Funeral For A Friend
Taken From The Caroline Website.
Funeral for a Friend – by Peter MooreThe process of cutting up the radio ship Communicator for scrap is now well advanced and it is probable that nothing will remain of her by the end of September.
The ship started life as a two decked cargo vessel and those who have been on board may have seen the side loading doors in the hull from when she was allegedly used to transport livestock. Later she was owned by Gardline Surveys before being sailed to the USA to be converted in to a broadcasting ship.
The conversion was imperfect in that the studios were located right at the stern and while this was probably done to distance the studios as far as possible from the noise of the generators, the most violent movement of any anchored ship is always at the stern end. She was not a stable ship, sitting high in the water even after having been ballasted with loose sand on the lower cargo deck.
However, while the vessel may have been unremarkable, the station on board her, Laser 558 quickly captured a massive share of the listening audience in the South East of England with a fast American style pop format and the slogan stating that the listener was never more than a minute away from more music. It seems probable that pressure from UK based stations, specifically Essex FM caused the DTI to mount a marine blockade to silence Laser, while DTI road shows toured the South East where the media were gathered to hear very dubious arguments of how the signal from Laser might just combine with another signal and these two blended signals may then find their way on to an emergency channel. The arguments were technical nonsense but the authorities could hardly admit that Laser had to be silenced since it was just too popular.
After the blockade forced Communicator to enter Harwich harbour, the ship was disabled by the authorities and was later purchased by the colourful radio entrepreneur Ray Anderson who took her back to sea and briefly operated her as Laser Hot Hits. Then the vessel lay for some long time in Portgual before being brought to Holland and placed on the shore of an inland sea to operate as a legal Dutch AM station. During this era new generators were installed and a splendid new radio tower.
When this era came to an end, the ship was the property of the Dutch broadcasting contractor Nozema who were more than pleased to be rid of it by selling it to ex Caroline man Dave Miller for 7000 Euros. Dave's wish was always to take the ship out to sea again to broadcast as The Super Station, but from the moment he became a ship owner he seemed to be cursed with ill fortune.
Failing to put a caretaker on board, Dave arrived to find that thieves had taken all the bridge gear, namely the ship's wheel and telegraph and radio equipment and that the interior of the vessel had been smashed and vandalised. The ship was also partially flooded. Our men Steve Bradley and Tim Charles went on board and did their best to secure the ship, but the vandalism only ceased when Miller had the ship pumped out and taken to a coastal port.
Even here it is alleged that someone opened the sea valves and the ship was saved just before she sank. Large holes existed in the side of the ship where some previous action had been taken to install windows and turn part of the upper cargo deck in to office accommodation. The near sinking motivated Miller to have these apertures welded shut. He then decided to bring the ship to the UK where he could physically take control of it and Communicator was brought to Lowestoft, where attempts were made to exploit the ship's remaining anorak appeal, but the sad collection of misfits who came to the ship and volunteered help brought Dave to despair and further, he was spending huge sums to bring engineer Martin Gilbert down from his home in the Orkneys to make improvements and repairs.
It was at this stage that Dave made a fatal decision that rather than bringing Mr Gilbert to the ship, he would take the ship to him and Communicator was towed to the Orkneys, where plans were made to use her for a short term Community station, showcasing the possibility of a full time station for the Islands.
However, no sooner had the ship arrived than Martin Gilbert turned against Miller, denouncing him in the local press, Suggestions were made that the intention was to topple Miller and his plans so that Martin Gilbert could gain control of the vessel. The trial Community broadcast went ahead, but in an atmosphere of some hostility and work on the ship ceased.
Then interest was shown by a member of the group trying to start a Long Wave station on the Isle of Man. This group having been thwarted from building a transmitter site on land and being unable to afford a fixed marine structure off the coast, decided to try and launch from a radio ship. Communicator was sold for this project with 25% of the purchase price being given to Miller with the promise of the balance at a later date. Assurances were also made concerning insurance and harbour fees. However, these assurances were not honoured and no further payment was made. The ship reverted to being Miller's property.
It was at this point that Dave offered Communicator to Radio Caroline as a gift and indeed had she still been at Lowestoft it would have been difficult not to accept, but we could think of no way of managing two vessels at opposite ends of the country.
Desperate to be rid of the ship after yet another incident where the she mysteriously flooded and had to be beached, Dave sold her for 1000 to the owner of the local ferry service Pentland Ferries and this person removed various valuable items, whilst leaving the structure of the ship intact.
The last attempt to save Communicator came when a contact of Caroline, wishing to have a radio ship as a tourist attraction on the Isle Of Man, tried to negotiate her purchase even in derelict condition as she then was. The owner suggested a sale price of 35,000.
A sharp rise in the value of scrap metal sealed the ship's fate and work to cut her up started some weeks ago, the splendid mast being allowed to fall in to the harbour.
It is a sad end to a ship with an interesting history, but it does leave Ross Revenge as the very last intact offshore radio vessel in the world
Does make for some interesting questions,
Did Dave Miller really plan to take the Communicator back to sea to broadcast as the Superstation, What format would he have used and If he did how long would it last before the authorities clamped down?
Personally i think there is still a market for the Laser way of broadcasting with a all American team,
Also if Peter Moore and Caroline had taken Dave's offer of it as a gift, Could they afford to keep it? After all they seem to be having trouble finding a decent berth for the Ross,
Perhaps even they would have eventually bitten the bullet and had it scrapped for the money.
Richard
--- Richard Sharpe <(Address removed)> wrote:
but it does leave Ross Revenge as the very last intact
offshore radio vessel in the world
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Quoting a previous Richard Sharpe contribution:-
Did Dave Miller really plan to take the Communicator back to sea to
broadcast as the Superstation, What format would he have used and If he
did how long would it last before the authorities clamped down?
It wouldn't have had any audience though would it. The main enemy of offshore radio in this millennium, and a contributing factor to its demise last millennium, is the complete lack of interest in anything it broadcasts. It doesn't do anything to extend choice beyond what's already available anyway. Hence why nobody (apart from anoraks) is listening to Big L Frinton or Caroline Maidstone – both are 'inferior' versions of radio styles that are more easily accessible to audiences from other organisations.
Also if Peter Moore and Caroline had taken Dave's offer of it as a gift,
Could they afford to keep it? After all they seem to be having trouble
finding a decent berth for the Ross,
Well, if they'd have taken it, at least it would have been theirs, and not somebody else's ship they were squatting on.
—
* Christopher England just said that *
----- Original Message -----From: Alan MilewczykSent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 2:36 PMSubject: Re: [Anorak Nation] Funeral For A FriendFrom “The Orcadian”, 6th September 2007:Former radio ship being scrappedThe one-time radio ship, the Communicator, is being broken up by owner Andrew Banks of Pentland Ferries.The vessel, which has been sitting at the St Margaret’s Hope pier for some time, did not attract a “firm offer” from potential buyers.Andrew’s wife, Susan, commented this week: “I haven’t heard of any stirrings in the community regarding the breaking up of the Communicator.“We did, however, have a good few negative comments before, about her being an eye-sore.“We had a few inquiries over the last year or so regarding purchasing her as a museum piece or such like, but no one ever came up with any firm offer and we couldn’t keep her sitting at the ’Hope pier forever in the condition she was in.“We are trying to improve the terminals with new offices and so I’m afraid the area has to be tidied up and scrapping the Communicator was simply the next item on our list-------------------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message -----From: Alan MilewczykSent: Sunday, September 09, 2007 2:44 PMSubject: Re: [Anorak Nation] Funeral For A Friend
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Christopher England <(Address removed)> said:
Well, if they'd have taken it, at least it would have been theirs, and
not somebody else's ship they were squatting on.
We often hear that said but no one ever comes forward and says who owns the Ross and dont say the Grottom Steemship Co or whatever they are called because most people know this is just a front?
I have been doing a bit of research on the subject and the same few names keep popping up, James Ryan who we know was done for fraud in the States and this Guy, http://www.amfm.org.uk/tx/tx15/news.html
I very much dought if anyone will have the guts to come forward and confirm this!!
Richard (Now ducking for cover)
Quoting a previous Richard Sharpe contribution:-
I have been doing a bit of research on the subject and the same few
names keep popping up, James Ryan who we know was done for fraud in the
States and this Guy,
<Nelson Skalbania>
Isn't the James Ryan name associated more so with the Laser project than Caroline?
I very much dought if anyone will have the guts to come forward and
confirm this!!
Some might argue that the Canadian guy might consider he has a lien on the Ross Revenge in way of a 'mortgage', but it still doesn't alter who is behind Grotham Steemships, and so, who ultimately and currently owns the Ross Revenge! The answer to that is a lot closer to home than anoraks imagine.
Anoraks are mystified as to why the owners don't actually come forward and take the Ross, or at least throw the squatters off. It's quite simply because they don't want to have to pay to look after the ship. And why should they whilst there are anoraks happy to pay for everything instead?
Here's a parallel concept which hopefully demonstrates why they are keeping quiet:
Think of your house. If, for no readily apparent reason, I fell in love with your house, indeed, if I became a scary anorak of your house, and started turning up to fix the leaking roof, or mend the broken glass, you'd think I was a bit odd. However, if you sussed that I was going to methodically turn up on a regular basis, charge you absolutely nothing, but do all the maintenance on your house, you'd just let me get on with it, right? If I started paying your gas and electricity bills, paying your Community Charge, and so on, so that you didn't have to, you'd certainly let me get on with it.
In law, even though I'm a scary mad house anorak (of Your house!!), I'm actually entitled to none of your house, because it's your house, not mine. It will never be mine, because you never asked me to repair it or pay your bills. Even though I keep leaping forward and paying your bills instead of you paying them, it's still your house, not mine. I'm entitled to nothing.
Yet, things are cool for you. You're living a life of luxury, with a house that you own that's costing you nothing, because I keep paying all your bills.
Why would you want to stop me? You wouldn't, would you. And likewise, why should the owners of the Ross Revenge come forward and do anything to stop those who are paying all the bills? There is no reason for them to disturb the status quo.
The only time you'll hear from the owners of the Ross Revenge is if or when a rumour hits them that the value of the Ross Revenge in their hands and under their direct control is greater than allowing the squatters to pay for everything. That's why they were nosing around a little while ago, innit.
—
* Christopher England just said that *
Christopher England <(Address removed)> said:
Isn't the James Ryan name associated more so with the Laser project than
C
Not necessarily from what i can find out he was one of the main backers for the relaunch of Caroline although some of the money may have come from dubious sources and he had the Ross chained up at one time in Santaner until another organisation called Caroline Communications had it released, There is a book called Fountain pen Conspiracy" which details some of Ryans other funding deals and may be worth a read,
I believe Nelson Skalbania came into the picture a bit later on when Caroline were short of money and put quite a bit into the project and to this day may hold a mortgage on the ship,
I remember at one time John Patrick let it slip that a Canadian Guy had put a lot of money in and may be refering to Mr Skalbania,
Some might argue that the Canadian guy might consider he has a lien on
the Ross Revenge in way of a 'mortgage', but it still doesn't alter who
is behind Grotham Steemships, and so, who ultimately and currently owns
the Ross Revenge! The answer to that is a lot closer to home than
anoraks imagine.
There you go but i got the impression that most of your reply was just a whitewash and if you do know who the real owner is you are not prepared to say,
Anoraks are mystified as to why the owners don't actually come forward
and take the Ros
The only time you'll hear from the owners of the Ross Revenge is if or
when a rumour hits them that the value of the Ross Revenge in their
hands and under their direct control is greater than allowing the
squatters to pay for everything. That's why they were nosing around a
little while ago, innit.
Interesting!! I heard that as well, I think it was part of a post now wiped on the Chris Cary board, Purely a guess on my part but the only way the Ross would be of any value would be if there were plans to use it as a base for a legitimate project like the 279 thing,
At the moment i am also looking into a possible link between Radio Monique and the Communicator but that will be a subject for another thread.
Richard
... but if the Communicator was worth £35,000 in scrap what is the Ross worth?
Does it have a commercial value exceeding the scrap value?
Quoting a previous Richard Sharpe contribution:-
if you do know who the real owner is you are not prepared
to say,
Absolutely. That's the position that I and others who post here and elsewhere will always take, have always taken (and should always take). It is not for me to give out to the public what is in fact another person's off-the-record private business (more so if they have asked me not to), in exactly the same way that I wouldn't expect my private affairs to be liberally distributed without my consent either. I know there are anoraks out there who are quite mad and quite dangerous. They love nothing more than trying to dig into people's past and to expose them in a nasty way that can possibly put them or their family in danger. They love to try to goad others to spill the beans, but I believe that when the owner of the Ross Revenge wishes to step forward, they'll step forward. Let it be their choice.
Purely a guess on my part but the only
way the Ross would be of any value would be if there were plans to use
it as a base for a legitimate project like the 279 thing,
There are a lot more stable transmitter platforms out there I would have thought. Does anybody still believe the whole Isle of Man 279 thing? Surely the thickest of anoraks must have sussed the truth by now.
At the moment i am also looking into a possible link between Radio
Monique and the Communicator but that will be a subject for another
thread.
Did I ever tell of the time when I thought Peter Chicago and I were going to be shot on the Communicator after we'd accidentally sussed something? Sigh. Happy days.—
* Christopher England just said that *
Christopher England <(Address removed)> said:
Quoting a previous Richard Sharpe contribution:-
if you do know who the real owner is you are not prepared
to say,Absolutely. That's the position that I and others who post here and
elsewhere will always take, have always taken (and should always take).
It is not for me to give out to the public what is in fact another
person's off-the-record private business (more so if they have asked me
not to),
I agree and i think any sensible person would respect you for that,
Purely a guess on my part but the only
way the Ross would be of any value would be if there were plans to use
it as a base for a legitimate project like the 279 thing,There are a lot more stable transmitter platforms out there I would have
thought. Does anybody still believe the whole Isle of Man 279 thing?
Surely the thickest of anoraks must have sussed the truth by now.
I think most people realise they have a major problem and the whole thing is still in a state of limbo but that wasn't exactly what i was on about and was only given as a example, In your post you said that the owner was sniffing around recently and the only reason they would do that would be if the ship was to be used for something more profitable than now and it would be to their financial advantage to take it back,
Did I ever tell of the time when I thought Peter Chicago and I were
going to be shot on the Communicator after we'd accidentally sussed
something? Sigh. Happy days.
No but it seems like a good story if you are prepared to share?
Richard
Christopher England <(Address removed)> said:
Quoting a previous Richard Sharpe contribution:-
if you do know who the real owner is you are not prepared
to say,Absolutely. That's the position that I and others who post here and
elsewhere will always take, have always taken (and should always take).
It is not for me to give out to the public what is in fact another
person's off-the-record private business
But surely then Mr Moore is telling lies to may people or organisations Chris:
http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/mars/ship_search.sh#start
First read the 'note' then click on Ross Revenge....
Regards,
Jim.
shorewayradio shorewayradio <(Address removed)> said:
Christopher England <(Address removed)> said:
Quoting a previous Richard Sharpe contribution:-
if you do know who the real owner is you are not prepared
to say,Absolutely. That's the position that I and others who post here and
elsewhere will always take, have always taken (and should always take).
It is not for me to give out to the public what is in fact another
person's off-the-record private businessBut surely then Mr Moore is telling lies to may people or organisations
Chris:http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/mars/ship_search.sh#start
First read the 'note' then click on Ross Revenge....
Regards,
Jim.
in ship name enter Ross Revenge,then 'submit query'
Like many things it didn't work first time the way that I thought it would... Jim.
----- Original Message -----To: Anorak NationSent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 12:15 PMSubject: Re: [Anorak Nation] Funeral For A Friend
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----- Original Message -----To: Anorak NationSent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 12:24 PMSubject: Re: [Anorak Nation] Funeral For A Friend
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Roy Radio 603 <(Address removed)> said:
Re: Funeral For A FriendHi brains,
do anyone of you know if the mast/antenna still is intact of the ship MV communicator???
Can it be in service on shore on 558 kHz???Bests from
Roy Sandgren
Hi Roy,
It appears that it was cut away at deck level and allowed to free-fall into the harbour at St Margarets Hope.If you look carefully at the photo of the Communicator being demolished,you can just see it bottom right of the piccie. Regards,
Jim.
----- Original Message -----To: Anorak NationSent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 1:50 PMSubject: Re: [Anorak Nation] Funeral For A Friend
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Roy Radio 603 <(Address removed)> said:
Re: Funeral For A FriendCan't find any pic's of the ship.
Hi Roy there is one here, http://www.josvanheerden.nl/index.php?itemid=93 and you can see the mast on the left but i know there is others about.
Richard
Quoting a previous Richard Sharpe contribution:-
Did I ever tell of the time when I thought Peter Chicago and I were
going to be shot on the Communicator after we'd accidentally sussed
something? Sigh. Happy days.No but it seems like a good story if you are prepared to share?
Aha, I'll write it up soon. It was 1989, and when the Communicator was parked at a mysterious location many kilometres away from the Ross Revenge, but not being used for anything radioish, as such. See? If events have turned out differently, I might not be hear today to entertain you on Anorak Nation!—
* Christopher England just said that *
