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Have you ever heard of a ship called the Corvus J? Or the Baltic Ace? (See picture.) No? Well neither had I till MFUK started working for the Mission to Seafarers. Last year we made three films for the Mission, who look after seafarers in 260 ports in 70 counties all round the world – and all that funded by voluntary donations. Amazing. This organization – under the sign of the Flying Angel – helps the often lonely, broke and far-from-home seafarers, offering them everything from phone cards and internet connection, to professional advice and care when in hospital. And loads more. Church of England foundation, but open to all. And they had to be very open – and quick and compassionate – the December night 11 seafarers lost their lives in the North Sea, following a collision between those two ships…

To BVE (‘Broadcast Video Expo’) at London Excel, No.1 tech show for anyone in contemporary TV and film. Here’s Andy Jones with one of a good few cameras Maritime Films UK probably won’t be buying, not without winning the Lottery. The show is brilliantly organized with friendly follow-up to make sure you’re coming, occasional checks on your badge to clock what stands you’ve tried, and plenty of food outlets to restore morale. And why would you need to do that…? Well, every time you go to one of these shows, everyone around you looks a) more competent b) more commissioned c) more funded to buy gear and d) more knowledgeable about… well, just about everything! But there are some wonderful goodies, boys’ toys à go-go. Had to tear myself away from a beautiful Canon HD camera…very sweet… yum yum…

Shieldhall’s boiler cleaning continues – now it’s getting intimate. Here’s one of the engineering team inside the furnace – the bit that’s an inferno of burning fuel oil when the ship is under way. To enter it, the heroic cleaners have to lie on their backs (like a car mechanic on his under-the-car trolley) and slide in through an opening about the size of an ordinary kitchen oven door. Then it’s clean by hand again, in a space not much wider than your shoulders. (Anyone with the slightest tendency to claustrophobia need not apply.) There’s a twist, too: the inside of the boiler has a corrugated surface, just right for all the soot and muck to collect in. So, being one of the volunteers looking after Shieldhall’s boilers means taking the term “enthusiast” to a whole new level… and they do…

That’s the title of the film we’re making about  Shieldhall. The point being, that without her volunteers (see above on a well-earned tea break from boiler cleaning, with MFUK’s Andy Jones filming them – we missed the round, dammit!) – without them, Shieldhall would soon cease to exist. Indeed, nearly did cease to exist: when she was declared surplus to requirements in July 1985, the eventual plan was to scrap her. It took the urgent intervention of far-sighted volunteers to save her – starting by raising £20,000 – but save her they did, and so here she is: Britain‘s largest steam-powered vessel still operating and afloat. In her cruising season she’s open to visitors, and this year she’ll have a special new look following her Heritage Lottery-funded restoration and upgrade. Come aboard for a trip if you’re in Southampton in the summer. It’s fun.

Of course a steam engine needs… steam. (Brilliant.) On Shieldhall, that’s provided by two ‘Scotch Boilers’ – and they take quite a bit of cleaning. (See picture with me on camera staying well clear of the action.) For why? Well the boiler is basically a big kettle, but big enough to make a gazillion cuppas. Under the big round boiler is an L- shaped furnace. The heat from the fire lit beneath shoots up the upright bit of the L, and into dozens of tubes inside the boiler – which is surrounded by a jacket full of water. Which becomes steam. The remaining heat etc from the tubes goes out up the funnel. But burning fuel means soot – and if you accumulate too much, just like a furred-up kettle, the boilers don’t work very well. Hence the big clean. Mucky, but essential.

Right, class! Please pay special attention! (Steam enthusiasts among you can look away now, or prepare to e-mail MFUK about any howlers I commit. Or both.) THIS (see picture) is a triple expansion, steam reciprocating engine. The kind of engine that built the nineteenth century empire. Shieldhall‘s steam engine system was very unusual by the time she was built (1954), because most ships were diesel. Still are.  Anyway –“triple expansion” means the steam is used 3 times – squashed into a small, then a larger, then the largest of the round cylinders whose tops you can see. The pressure of the steam drives the engine.  Then it’s recycled back as water and heated into steam again.  The “reciprocating” bit means that the pistons round the propeller shaft are pushed up and pushed down – reciprocation. Phew. Now I need to lie down!