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THIS is Lieutenant Annabel Broad, commanding the fast patrol craft HMS Exploit making her way out to sea from Portsmouth naval base. At 23 she’s the youngest C.O. in the RN and plainly well up to her important assignment – and to the key task of leadership. Seamen under her command are plainly at ease working for her, and her ship was a pleasure to film on. (For the record, you respond “Aye aye ma’am” to orders from a female officer. And get cracking, of course!!) MFUK had a sparkling day on board as Annabel and her team conducted evolutions. And Annabel’s plans? “I’d like to be First Sea Lord” she told us (head of the navy in other words) – if, that is, she continues getting out of her career what she puts in. Well, you go for it!

OK it’s a pun of course – ‘Seascape’ / ‘Shescape’. Because the subject of the film for 2016 is women in the maritime sector and how they’re faring worldwide. Not great but improving seems to be the answer; their presence in seafaring across the world’s oceans stands a just 2%. Add to that problems of harassment, and stress depression reported by 40% of women seafarers calling the 24/7 helpline provided by the excellent International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network – and the picture doesn’t look too rosy right now. But first of all, life can be similarly tough for male seafarers; and women working in maritime careers are forging ahead despite everything. Check out the next blogs to meet some of them! We’ll start with the Royal Navy – the oldest navy in the world with a very modern Shescape!

It’s that time of the year again for Maritime Films UK – the Maritime Media Awards.  These are given by the Maritime Foundation, our parent organisation. The Foundation exists to promote the vital importance of the sea. Important? Vital, more like. Because with 95% by volume of all we need coming here by sea – fuel, gas, foodstuffs, cars, clothes, electronics, machine tools – the list  just goes on – our dependence on the sea is greater than ever. The Awards recognise those who’ve done the most in journalism, books, TV, film and digital media, to get this across. That is Ian Urbina, winner of this year’s Desmond Wettern Award, for his exclusive and hard-hitting series in the ‘New York Times’ on criminality at sea. Sadly, there’s a lot for Ian to report. MFUK’s keynote film was called ‘Shescape’. ????

All that mayhem, of course, rather put me off my stroke. Fortunately MFUK, though active as ever, had no at-sea filming booked,  so no need to hurl myself around ships (ill-suited to crocked shoulders) or climb pilot ladders (ditto), or do boat-to-ship transfers with both vessels cracking along (double ditto.) Our good friends at CHIRP (Confidential Hazardous Information Reporting Programme for Maritime), led by top good guy Captain John Rose (picture) have been their usual vigorous selves, so all 2016 bulletins are on-line – now for 2017! Their website is getting good hits, and we hope we’ve helped with that. Certainly the hair-raising case studies keep coming: a recent favourite is a superyacht crew member who thought it was a good idea to jump off his moving ship and swim up to the anchor to free it from a fouled rope..!

Sorry, loyal reader, to be gone so long. The picture is why – that’s my broken right shoulder, after a brilliant surgeon called Peter Reilly sorted me out. (The X-ray shows the titanium plate and 9 screws he used, not some weird internal alien I’ve acquired!) In April I tried to clear a porch gutter without making completely sure the step-ladder was OK. Result: ejection of self at speed onto ground. (Something happened to the ladder too, as became evident at the scene of the crime.) I was only four steps up, but the bill was: socket of shoulder joint fractured, ball snapped off upper arm bone – called the humerus – damage to same and two major nerves. Brilliant, eh? Anyway I needed to cut back on work, and so the blogs had to go. Orders from the top!

A new arrival at Portsmouth for the National Museum of the Royal Navy: RML 497. She’s a rarity: a ‘Fairmile B’ motor launch. These ‘Fairmiles’ were maids of all work during WWII, undertaking many tasks, from air-sea rescue to minesweeping and anti-submarine operations. 497 also delivered commandos in a raid on the occupied Channel Islands. Their sleek shape made them some of the best-looking RN craft on the water. 497 is a rare survivor, but now her wooden hull and superstructure need attention – after many years working as a ferry between Torquay and Brixham. She’ll continue that kind of work for the museum at Portsmouth. Nick Hewitt, Head of Heritage Development at the museum, has kindly agreed our request to film the project. Next: a move down-harbour to lift her out of the water for a look at her hull.