POSITIVE CRITICISM OF FAREWELL CHAPELON BY A VERY SPECIAL LADY

 Sue Nelson is an old friend and colleague. She was the first lady to become a

career coastguard, smashing many glass ceilings in the process and no doubt having to
tolerate entrenched opinions at the same time. For many years she served at the
Coastguard Rescue Centre in Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands, becoming a shift supervisor
at that station. We first met in her operations room in 1994 when I was visiting the
Orkneys to conduct survey work. At the turn of this century when the Kirkwall
Coastguard operations room closed, she transferred to the Rescue Centre in Falmouth
whilst I was Operations Manager there. While her search and rescue skills, commitment
and reliability are of the highest order, she is also well travelled and has lived a fascinating
life. It came as no surprise when following retirement she became committed to the
charity Shelterbox, being deployed to locations when resources were committed in the
wake of disasters.
She and a friend recently read my novel ‘Farewell Chapelon’. Her comments and a
recollection of her own experiences with the Breaches Buoy are printed below, along with
my reply. The following key should help those not particularly versed in maritime matters!
I/C In Charge
FV Fishing Vessel
7 kts A tidal stream of 7 Knots – 12 -13 Kilometres per hour. The tides in
the Pentland Firth and around South Orkney can be savage.
Aux I/C Auxiliary in Charge.
LW Low Water. – referring to the tide.
Hi Peter
At last I have had the opportunity to read Farewell to Chapelon thanks to the heat – far too
hot to tackle any of my current DIY tasks.
Congratulations on a well written novel as well as being a good story. My friend Vicky, who
reads continuously and is quite critical of grammar and construction, thoroughly enjoyed it
and was full of praise. She had no idea who the author was so well done.
The breeches buoy segment brought back many memories. Firstly Ian Powell Mantle
made me rig the 3 methods over and over again in the dark until I was confident and
secondly I believe I was the last person to rig the gear, setting up the rocket etc.
It was a cold, sleety, stormy night and I had been designated as I/C at a wreck of a FV off
Stromness a couple of years before the gear was withdrawn. Half way through setting up,
the local policeman said he thought the crew had abandoned ship into a liferaft and had
fetched up on a wee beach half a mile down tide (7 kts). A farmer checking on his lambing
had seen them and taken them back to the farm where he could phone the police – no
mobiles then!
An amusing side to the story is that my husband and I went back to the scene at about
0200 to see the Aux i/c who was sitting in the Defender guarding the wreck. The storm had
abated a little and it was then LW with the wreck, illuminated by the floodlight. The FV,
about 450 yards offshore, was “perched” up on a reef at a jaunty angle with a huge slab of
rock piercing the hull. As we approached I saw a regular flashing light. As the light closed
the shore it became clear that it was a Dolphin waterproof torch held firmly in one hand
belonging to a man who was desperately trying to reach safety whilst clutching a large
object in his other hand. He had managed to scramble aboard the wreck and with cable
cutters had removed the Mk 12 Decca Navigator. He was very surprised to see my
husband, Ian the Decca Engineer, on the beach to greet him especially as Ian told him that
sea water ingress aside, it was the cable that was the expensive bit, worth far more than
the rented box of tricks!!
Happy days.
Sue
Dear Sue.
Thank you for the kind words and fascinating recollections about using the Breeches Buoy
– and thank you Victoria for your criticism too. I remember Ian Powell Mantle, he was one
of the assessors when I completed my own coastguard proficiency test as a new entrant.
Of course, this is a reminder that your husband was a Decca Engineer too. Like the
breeches buoy, the Decca Navigation System is no more.
For the record, the last deployment I was involved with was 22 November 1985, another
dark and stormy night, when the MV Anne, a small cargo ship grounded on the Long Scar
at Seaton Carew near Hartlepool. At least I was warm, I was in the ops room at
Tynemouth! Unlike my novel, the Boulmer helicopter was able to safely lift the crew from
their ship, so the coast rescue equipment was not needed.
I now need to think about signing the book for you. If you are unlikely to be in this neck of
the woods, we may have to think about Cornwall! In October during National Libraries
week I have agreed to give a talk as a local author at Woolston Library.
You were certainly a pioneer in 1978 – and given that I have nearly always spoken to ladies
at Austin Macauley, perhaps the staff there might wish to reflect that you helped to break
glass ceilings on the way.
Stay Well
Peter

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