Stuart Hill (Captain Calamity) Forvik

[fratelli]

http://www.forvik.net

 

 

C'est magnifique!!!

[Infiltrator]

Ahem.. I beg to differ.

 

That is certainly not how I remember things being when I was part of a crew called out to one of a high number of coastguard operations & neither does my husband nor the rest of the crew. As of yet, Ive yet to see a more Ill equipped boat for such a journey.

 

 

LOL, slight difference of opinion there, I know who I believe.

 

Anyone know what Stuart Hill has done previously? Eccentrics like this don't just 'appear', he must've been making a nuisance of himself elsewhere previously.....wonder what else we can uncover?(slopes off to do some googling)

[khitajrah]

 

Anyone know what Stuart Hill has done previously? Eccentrics like this don't just 'appear', he must've been making a nuisance of himself elsewhere previously.....wonder what else we can uncover?(slopes off to do some googling)

 

Howtobegod.com (the site doesn't seem to be working but the Who.Is listing says it's his still). I imagine there are a few cds still floating around Shetland. Another project from a few years back.

[fratelli]

http://www.forvik.net

 

Loving the T-shirts!

[JAStewart]

As Hill is independent, will he have to pay for the inevitable lifeboat scramble?

[Infiltrator]

Found this as a reminder of his exploits. He accepts the 'Captain Calamity' tag in the spirit of gentle fun, his sailing history points to it being more of an accurate reflection of his sheer ineptitude. In another story from the site the quoted his wife and family who all thought he was mad - Mrs Hill, I think we can confirm your suspicions. Personally I blame the RAF's poor aim for all our grief...

 

Manningtree: It's finally the end for sailor Stuart

 

From the archive, first published Thursday 23rd Aug 2001.

 

Stuart Hill's determined attempt to sail round Britain has ended, but he went further than anyone expected.

 

Mr Hill set sail in May from Manningtree, but was dogged with problems throughout his trip.

 

His efforts earned him the exasperation of some coastguards, but also a growing respect as he made his way round the coast of Britain.

 

At first, he thought the trip would take 30 days, but things didn't go to plan.

 

For more on this story see 'Manningtree: Captain Calamity capsizes' in the drop-down menu at the bottom of this story Even before he set off there were problems, as he suffered an allergic reaction to resin being used on the boat, and then his mast broke during a trial run.

 

Mr Hill, who runs an internet showcase for IT companies in Manningtree, had been aiming to raise about £20,000 for six charities.

 

His attempt earned him the nickname Captain Calamity, and here's why:

 

May 12: Sets off from Manningtree. Collides with moored boat within minutes and helper has to swim out with centreboard - essential for steering

 

May 17: Mast breaks, picked up by Cromer lifeboat. Month's break for repairs

 

June 17-28: Returns homeward. Yarmouth Coastguard voices concern. Beaches at Southwold for repairs and decides to try once again

 

July 22: Off Norfolk again and making little progress

 

July 26: Begins moving up coast, but narrowly avoids being 'blown out the water' when sails into RAF bombing range

 

August 20: Boat turns over in heavy conditions but manages to right it

 

August 21: Rescued by helicopter after boat capsizes in heavy seas

[Infiltrator]

I'm in stitches reading all the news articles from his sailing trip - I'd forgotten all the details, he really is missing a trick here, he should have sold the film rights to this story.

[tlady]

^^

Then donated the proceeds to the coastguard and lifeboat services

[righter]

spookily enough,my cousin has done the same as Stuart...though he is now stranded with some (long suffering) community in Canada.

 

He also boasts of being an excellent sailor...though the canadian coastguard,and the local fisherman think otherwise.Perhaps its a well known syndrome (I feel a competition coming on...)

 

He has also, over the years come up with grand schemes and lays claim to many "successes" ....though strangely enough no one else sees them in quite the same light.

but seriously,i think there is a problem in that people like Stuart and my cousin,don`t quite see the world in the way we do. at its best it is eccentricity,at its worst,it causes upset for family,friends and people they work for,and sometimes there are even worse consequences.....

[EM]

The saying is 'no publicity is bad publicity', which means something else.

 

The saying? I think you will find that both (and other variations) are ubiquitous:

 

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080209091623AA97Ed1

 

 

Until that time I must leave you linking away to yourselves.

 

This is a remarkably ironic line. Shetlink users may be linking within a smallish group, but few I'm sure are in the habit of establishing a correspondence with themselves as was apparently done in the Cedric Swick situation.

 

It reminds me of the Kundera tale where a Czech newspaper editor is removed from his post and basically isolated at home. Initially he goes to pieces, but as soon as he discovers his home is bugged he brightens up. The knowledge that he once again had an audience was what he needed to exist.

[fratelli]

he should have sold the film rights to this story

 

It coulda been called 'Calamity Stu'

 

I feel a sing comin on....

 

Oh! A disastrous yacht is a-rollin' on over the seas,

With the captain flappin' and the Coastguard copping the fees.

Gale force winds! A Stormy day!

Ship float-away!, Ship float-away!, Ship float-away!

[Fjool]

The saying? I think you will find that both (and other variations) are ubiquitous

The meaning of the saying (in whichever form you care to take it) is "a lack of publicity is bad". It does not logically follow that "all publicity is therefore good", however. There are many examples of bad publicity.

 

"All publicity is good publicity" is not a 'variation', it is a corruption which says something entirely different. The two are not equivalent in meaning.

[Brink]

I dunno how search engines work, but when I googled "forvick" (yes, I took the bait!) the two top links were Shetlink, in fact there was no sign of Stuart Hill's website?

[trout]

^^ that is true - and that term with a "k" was used on here initially - and in other publications - with regards this particular topic. The term Stuart is referring to is without the "k".

 

It'll be interesting to see how the 'ol googlemeister matures with regards this search term.

[Fifi]

..It is simply not true, as widely reported, that I wasted the time and money of the rescue services during my trip in 2001. Along the North Norfolk coast I did have a total of 9 lifeboat call-outs and one helicopter, who landed a man on my boat. In every case they were responding to calls from people who thought they were seeing a windsurfer in trouble. Although they knew perfectly well who I was and what I was doing, they had a duty to respond, so they would come out, exchange greetings and go back. I presume the helicopter was sent as part of their training schedule. .....The boat itself was probably the best equipped of its size in the world at the time – in fact it received a gold sea safety award from the RNLI for its level of equipment.

http://archive.billericayweeklynews.co.uk/2001/7/24/177655.html

 

Captain Calamity Stuart Hill is in trouble again - after once more setting off on his round-Britain trip. He is now near Sheringham but coastgards said today (Tuesday) the intrepid sailor was going round in circles. And, soon after setting off on his journey from Southwold at the weekend, he lost his radar reflector which warns ships of other vessels in their area..... Colin Tomlinson, district controller for Yarmouth Coastguard said: "He is out there, it's up to him what he does, we have advised him not to go. He is not in regular contact with us, but he has flares and things.

"He is convinced by his own infallibility, and that's when it becomes dangerous because in life no-one should ever be convinced by their own infallibility. We have enough to do without Mr Hill being in the way."

 

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http://archive.billericayweeklynews.co.uk/2001/8/23/175651.html

 

Stuart Hill's bid to sail round Britain will not raise a single penny for charity - but may have cost his rescuers more than £20,000, it has been revealed. Speaking to the Evening Gazette from the Shetland Isles, Mr Hill blamed "administrative difficulties" for the problem with the charity cash.

 

Mr Hill, who was rescued on Tuesday night after his boat capsized, said a competition was meant to have amassed about £20,000 for six charities, but it never got off the ground.

 

He said: "I have been able to raise no money whatsoever for the charities - that's probably the biggest disappointment."

His rescue is thought to have cost about £10,000, and previous emergency assistance means the final bill for his rescuers is likely to be at least double that.

 

Mr Hill, 58, of Maltings Wharf, Manningtree, now faces a new challenge - as he is stuck in Lerwick with no means of getting back home.

 

His 14ft boat, Maximum Exposure, is drifting in the Atlantic with all Mr Hill's resources on board. It is thought it will drift until it turns over and sinks, together with Mr Hill's laptop and notes with which he was hoping to write a book.

 

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http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20010620/ai_n14393613

 

Chris Barnes, honorary secretary of the Cromer lifeboat, said it would always go to help, but Mr Hill should never have attempted his voyage. "My coxswain described it like putting someone blindfold in the middle of the M1 and telling everyone else to miss them," he said.

 

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Amongst various other URLs such as www.howtobegod.com as Khitarajah says, there are the following, which may not be a comprehensive list -

 

http://www.stuarthill.com/castle/ - "The Captain's Castle - The Cyprus home of Stuart Hill for the past 14 years. Castle vacation - stay in the first castle to be built in the Kyrenia Mountains since the Crusades."

 

http://www.rawsails.com/ - "Real Aerofoil Wing Sails Ltd - This is the site for the next generation of sail propulsion systems."

http://blurringlines.com/ - "Extraordinary and intriguing award-winning images. Stuart Hill: "I intentionally try to blur the lines between photography and painting. I'm not afraid to defy convention and believe my work is at the cutting edge."

 

http://www.sovereignterritory.co.uk/ - "I deal in all British coins, specialising in gold sovereigns for collectors and investors." (Gold sovereigns on sale up to £1,450 in price.)

 

http://www.best5search.com/finance/

 

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What with his sailing expeditions, his various business, artistic and political ventures, including his foray into magazine publishing and diet tips and now his declaration of independence, Stuart is obviously a man of many talents..