Carrying Dispatches

Watercolour 14” X 20” In Private Collection

The carrying of reports and orders was often the job of fast schooners and armed brigs. Fast was, of course, only a relative term and it could take weeks or even months for orders to get to their destination by which time the situation could be very different than when they were written!

HMS Tenacity

Oil on Canvas 24” X 36” In Private Collection

By the second half of the twentieth century communications had become almost instantaneous but it still took ships some time to get where they were needed. The fast patrol boats like Tenacity reduced this problem considerably, by now fast meant fast.

In Search of the Combined Fleet

Nelson leaves the Mediterranean, May 1805

Watercolour 15” X 22” Available

After Admiral Villeneuve’s escape with the French and Spanish fleet, Nelson was trapped in the Mediterranean by contrary winds for five weeks. In May 1805 the weather relented and he was able to chase his enemy across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and back, eventually to bring him to battle at Trafalgar.

Orders at Dawn

Pastel 15” X 22” Available

In the days of Nelson everything depended on written orders. These were often sealed and only opened at sea for security purposes. In this painting the captain is returning to his ship with orders that might send him and his ship anywhere in the world.