RRS Discovery 1901 by gak1965 - 1:72 - First Scratch Build

[Kevin-the-lubber]

The Victory inside makes for a very interesting visit but be aware the ship is almost entirely enclosed in scaffolding and wrapping right now, with all the outer planking, masts and rigging removed. The stern and quarter galleries are still intact and viewable. I made a mental note that when I next return, to focus more on the Warrior, as I always seem to leave too little time for a really good walkthrough of this ship, which I have vague ideas of modelling one day. You didn’t mention the Cutty Sark in London so I guess you’ve either seen it or aren’t interested. Have you thought of a day trip to Dundee, to see the Discovery in person? It’s very do-able, Stansted (nearish to Cambridge) to Edinburgh return flight, 1 hr drive in a rental. Probably not much different cost-wise to visiting Portsmouth.

[gak1965]

11 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

The Victory inside makes for a very interesting visit but be aware the ship is almost entirely enclosed in scaffolding and wrapping right now, with all the outer planking, masts and rigging removed. The stern and quarter galleries are still intact and viewable. I made a mental note that when I next return, to focus more on the Warrior, as I always seem to leave too little time for a really good walkthrough of this ship, which I have vague ideas of modelling one day.

 

Hm. I assume that the wrapping isn't transparent? Might have been interesting to look at the structure, but perhaps not ideal. FWIW, the last few times I've been in Boston (which tended to correspond to move in/move out dates where my kids where in college), the Constitution was similarly or at least partially dismasted. 

 

11 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

You didn’t mention the Cutty Sark in London so I guess you’ve either seen it or aren’t interested.

 

Yep - I've visited the Cutty Sark (and the NMM and the Royal Observatory) in her current (post fire) state. I was really impressed with how well they have her displayed, and it was very cool to walk under the keel.

 

11 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Have you thought of a day trip to Dundee, to see the Discovery in person? It’s very do-able, Stansted (nearish to Cambridge) to Edinburgh return flight, 1 hr drive in a rental. Probably not much different cost-wise to visiting Portsmouth.

 

I thought about it. The interviews are in Manchester, then Oxford, then London. I will have a bit of time the day before the Manchester interview and depending on a bunch of imponderables (where the hotel I'm being put up is relative to the airport and train station, I might be able to take the Transpenine express to Edinburgh and then Scotrail. My concern is that I absolutely have to be at the interview site in Manchester at 9:30 AM the next day and I don't like being dependent on trains like that.

 

I hadn't thought about a plane. London to Dundee seems to about the same distance is Washington DC to Boston, and I've certainly taken day business trips to Boston. I need to think about that. The main reasons I had kinda decided to do something else was because (a) I wanted to be within driving distance and (b) because the ship in Dundee isn't really the ship I'm modeling. Discovery was heavily modified in 1923. The only thing above the main deck that is the same is the engine enclosure. All of the rest of the deck furniture was changed, the masts moved and switched to a different rig (from 4 to 5 yards on the fore and main). It would be cool to see, but the time factors (4 hours sitting in airports + 3 hours airborne + 3 hours in hire cars) - I dunno. If the job offer comes through and I take it there will be lots of time to visit Dundee. Maybe Bristol|Bath|Brunel this trip - though I'm sure the thought will be in back of mind for the next couple of weeks...

 

Regards,

George

[Kevin-the-lubber]

I hadn’t realised Discovery now is so different. I guess that’s the story with most ships though, they are constantly modified.

 

There is a tiered walkway inside the victory scaffolding that allows an up close view of parts of the framing and what they are doing restoration-wise. Also, chances are it will be very quiet at this time of year - but also, pretty cold.

 

Good luck with the interviews. I’m so glad that stuff is now behind me!

[Rick310]

George, good luck with your interview!  Have a safe trip!

Rick

[KeithAug]

Yes - good luck George. I think you are right not to increase interview stress by being too dependant on public transport. 

[gak1965]

Well, I am back from the UK. 9 hours of interviews in Manchester (Thursday), 8 hours of interviews in Oxford (Friday), and then a panel in London (Tuesday). I returned Tuesday night to another 3 hours of interviews for something else Wednesday morning - most of us are generally best jet lagged out of our minds. Alas, I will not be moving to the UK, I found out the day after that they had decided on someone else (I was one of 4 at that point). I wasn't overly surprised, but rather than contacting me directly, they went through the search firm to tell me.

 

Okay. With that said, on Monday, I did one of the coolest (ha ha!) things I've even done. I went to the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge, and they let me look at the ORIGINAL photo albums from the 1901-1904 British Antarctic Expedition. I couldn't take photos, but I got 2.5 pages of notes on details about the ship. The facility also had some pretty cool artifacts. A model of the Roald Amundsen:

 

 

Here is a model of the Fram.

 

 

The Erebus:

 

The Terra Nova:

 

Tagging @Tomculb who is working on Endurance, this is the only piece of the ship that made it home:

 

 

Like I said, very cool.

 

Getting back to work on the ship this weekend.

 

Regards,

George

 

Edited Saturday at 06:43 PM by gak1965

[JacquesCousteau]

Sorry to hear about the interview results, but the Polar Research Institute sounds like it was a fantastic trip! Very cool that you were able to see the original photos.

[KeithAug]

George - sorry the visit wasn't more productive from a career point of view, I am glad however that you visit wasn't entirely wasted.

[Kevin-the-lubber]

Commiserations. I realise this is a little superficial, but I’m not sure I’d really want to work for an organisation that doesn’t have the courtesy to call each of the final four personally. It’s never a nice task but it’s an important one. I had a comparable experience 20 odd years ago and, on reflection, realised I hadn’t liked them nor they me. I figured that might have been because we had different values. So maybe you’ve had a lucky escape.

 

Anyway, I wasn’t even aware of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. That’s now added to the must visit list! There is also a beautiful botanical garden near Cambridge, Anglesey Abbey, so I can kill two birds with one stone.

[Rick310]

Sorry the trip wasn’t more successful, but these things generally work out the way they should!

Your visit to the research institute looks wonderful and I’m sure the information you got will be invaluable to your build!

Welcome home friend!

Rick

[gak1965]

8 hours ago, JacquesCousteau said:

Sorry to hear about the interview results, but the Polar Research Institute sounds like it was a fantastic trip! Very cool that you were able to see the original photos.

 

7 hours ago, KeithAug said:

George - sorry the visit wasn't more productive from a career point of view, I am glad however that you visit wasn't entirely wasted.

 

6 hours ago, Kevin-the-lubber said:

Commiserations. I realise this is a little superficial, but I’m not sure I’d really want to work for an organisation that doesn’t have the courtesy to call each of the final four personally. It’s never a nice task but it’s an important one. I had a comparable experience 20 odd years ago and, on reflection, realised I hadn’t liked them nor they me. I figured that might have been because we had different values. So maybe you’ve had a lucky escape.

 

5 hours ago, Rick310 said:

Sorry the trip wasn’t more successful, but these things generally work out the way they should!

 

Appreciate it guys. FWIW, my younger daughter kept telling me that if this potential employer had been a man, I wouldn't want her dating him! So, probably for the best.

 

The Scott Polar Research Institute was quite cool. They operate a small museum, library, and picture library, and obviously support research. They were extremely accommodating - all I had to do was sign up for a study desk in the picture library, and they brought me whatever I asked for. The URL for the institute is here: https://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/. They cover a whole range of expeditions, not just Scott's, and they have a nice (if incomplete) online picture catalog.

 

 

Great people all around.

 

Regards,

George

[Rick310]

What a great resource!

Rick

[Jared]

Sorry you had to spend so many hours interviewing and all for nought.  Their loss!