This is exciting. While out surfing the net, I came across this notice of a new documentary on a subject close to all out hearts TUGs!
So I made contact to find out more. You can buy direct from the producers. If you would like to get a copy of this fine documentary, click the icon below
In the exchange of emails that followed, I received this lovely email:
Hi there Russell:
This is Robin of the Rosetta and Robin Williams FILM TEAM.
You might be interested in a little history of how this all came about. Exactly 50
years ago I was sitting on the harbor at Cobh, Ireland waiting for my ship (SS New York)
to enter the bay and take my group of students on board for the return voyage back to the
USA. I had been a Life Guard on the beaches of Laguna Beach in California and I had
collected people off the beaches to join my tour of Europe the following summer.
We had already journeyed around Europe and had returned to London to pick up
the ship when they informed us that the ship was having engine trouble in the North Sea
and we had to wait for three weeks. So, I took the boys of the group (the girls
stayed in London to shop and attend theater) and we hitch hiked to Edinburgh and took the
train over to Glasgow and the ship to Ireland and then walked and hitch hiked in driving
rain toward Cork. We spent the night in Cobh waiting for dawn and the day arrived
and it was very hot weather. We sat around the harbor all morning and I decided to
jump off the pier in the bay and take a swim. Bad idea! I hit the water and
almost went unconscious because of the COLD. My arms quit working and I frogged with
my legs over to the ladder and waited for the strength to return to my arms so I could
climb out. I was warming myself by leaning against a rock wall where the sun had
heated the stones and my eyes focused on a Deep Sea Rescue Tug tied to the bollards on the
quay.
I went up to the ship and talked to a sailor who appeared on deck. I said,
"What is this thing?" He replied, "It is a Deep Sea Rescue Tug and
was one of the heroes of WWII. It went out to bring in the torpedoed ships."
I told him, "I will bet she has many interesting stories to tell." And
that was the genesis of the idea for me to track down the men who were on these rescue
tugs and let them talk. Well, I could not find them and could not think of a way to
get this film in the can. We did not have INTERNET and it was very difficult to do
much of anything. So when I began making films, I concentrated on research that had
already been done and made films about CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS,CHARLES LINDBERGH, AMADEUS
MOZART, LEWIS & CLARK and finally thought I should film the travels of St. Paul so I
tracked him through the Roman province of ASIA and made three films. PAUL'S
JOURNEYS, BIBLICAL TREASURES of TURKEY and BIBLICAL TREASURES of TURKEY--PART TWO.
Then one day my wife was driving me to the John Wayne Airport to fly off and show my films
across the USA when she asked me, "What's our next film?" "Let me tell you
a story," I said. Then I told her the story that I just told you. She
screamed, "We'll do it and we'll do it in HIGH DEF."
I got on the computer and found the DEEP SEA RESCUE TUG ASSOCIATION and its President,
Deane Wynne, living in Penzance and highly capable on the computer. Off we went,
sharing emails till our fingers were raw. Then I jumped a flight to Heathrow,
changed for Newquay, and Deane was waiting for me on the ground. He took my son (age
14) and me to our small hotel just down the street from Deane's apartment and we spent the
next two months visiting the tugmen all over the U.K. and getting their stories onto
high definition video tape. We then took the ferry from Portsmouth to Ouistreham,
Normandy and began filming there. I then returned to the USA and we began the EDIT
process. In October I flew back to Amsterdam, rented a car and drove (forgot my
driving glasses) to Maassluis (Don't know how I found it) and began filming the story of
the DUTCH TUGS which escaped Holland when the Germans invaded and their crews were not to
see their families for the next five years. I flew all the way back to California
and we began searching for archival footage and when we were in the final stages of the
editing, we sent the tapes back and forth to England and Holland for verification that
everything was correct. After several months of this procedure we began the downwind
leg to the final product. My wife and I paid for the entire production out of
our pockets and life savings and borrowed on our home. We spent it all and now
must make it all back before the foreclosure process begins. In the USA it is very
easy to become homeless.
I am leaving for the U.K. to show this film production in various cities. The tugmen will
be attending these showings and meeting the public "in person." It
will be quite a treat. The audience will see them in the film and then shake their
hands in the lobby of the theaters. Jim Radford will be on stage singing a song that
he wrote while walking along the beaches of Normandy after the war. On the screen at
the same time, the audience will see Jim Radford singing. He will suddenly appear on
the stage and sing along with himself on the big screen. This will have a flavor
that is NEVER seen in motion pictures. Later I will send you an article about
this whole experience that perhaps your readership will enjoy. I will take copious
notes and photographs and write it all up for you and others. Would this be okay?
Sincerely,
Robin and Rosetta Williams
Thank you, Robin, I think we'd quite like to hear more on this front. I look forward to sharing it.
NEW ZEALAND'S OWN RESCUE TUG TOIA
Meantime, let's look at the now almost forgotten Saint Class tug Toia who spent 30 odd years based at Wellington.
She was one of the Saint class of 46 tugs built 1918-19 by various yards including several in the Orient. Their dimensions were Length 135'6" Beam 29' Draft 14'6" Max displacement 860 tons. They were triple expansion single screw IHP 1250 carrying 240 tons of coal. There were two Saints in service in the Royal Australian Navy in WW2. St Giles was leased by the RAN 1939-46 St Erth also served with the RAN as Heros at that time.Both were armed unlike Toia.
Toia (meaning drag draw or pull) was built by Fleming and Ferguson Paisley Scotland who were to build the Aucklander for the AHB in 1956. Built as St Fergus, she was given the name St Boniface a build that was cancelled at War's end and launched as St Boniface. She was given as a gift by the British Government to NZ. The salvage gear was updated for her intended purpose and she was presented on 15 April 1925 making her way via the Suez and Melbourne arriving in NZ 1 July that year. Auckland didn't appear to want her so she was stationed for her NZ life in Wellington where the Harbour Board leased her for a nominal sum but she was available for naval duties at short notice.
Notable jobs are recorded in Bob McDougall's book NZ Naval Vessels and included the coaster Opua which was lost on the Wairarapa coast October 1926; coaster Pakura refloated again on the Wairarapa coast; freighter Golden Harvest refloated off Barrett Reef; freighter Port Bowen lost at Castlecliff Wanganui 1939; freighter Armidale assisted from a collision off Cape Campbell 1940; freighter Koiwarra lost on Motunau sIsland 1942, minesweeper South Sea sunk in collision with the Wahine 1942; tanker Trocas 1943; Liberty ship J Sterling Morton who lost her rudder 1943; coaster Port Waikato towed to Wellington 1946; freighter Karepo refloated near Westport 1946, liner Wanganella refloated after 18 calm days (a record in the area) on Barrett Reef February 1947. She also assisted with seven serious ship fires in the port.
One of these was an excedingly hairy job involving the Liberty ship John Davenport afire with a cargo of 3000 tons of ammunition 1943 although companion tug Terawhiti moved the blazing ship to Aotea Quay for partial unloading so the fire brigade could get at the holds.
A major refit was given in 1945 and in 1948 she was laid up and briefly commissioned in the RNZN for the trip to Auckland where she is seen alongside the Navy dockyard while deliberations were held on her fate which included conversion to oil firing.
Sadly the end was nigh and (like a lot of navy ships nearing the end) she was laid up (aka went into reserve). Toia was sold in January 1955 and made the short trip under tow to the Wester Viaduct late 1956. Like so many other ships, she was reduced to a few momentoes left behind after the dock yard tiffies had finished with her, scrap steel and non ferrous.
Sad really. But yer can't save them all. Anyway, we were just kids at the time. She lasted longer than most of her sisters.