You know what makes me grumpy? All the Grumpy Old Men who appeared on the BBC TV series were younger than me, that's what makes me grumpy. Mutter, mutter....

The Grumpy Old Artist

The Grumpy Old Artist
Would YOU pose for this man???

Exhibition Poster

Exhibition Poster
Catterline Event, 2011

Oil Painting by Jim Tait

Oil Painting by Jim Tait
Helford River, Cornwall

Oil Painting by Jim Tait

Oil Painting by Jim Tait
Full-riggers "Georg Stage" and "Danmark"

Other Recent Works

Other Recent Works
Fordyce Castle and Village

Hay's Dock, Lerwick

Shetland-model Boats at Burravoe, Yell

Tall Ships Seascape

The Tour Boat "Dunter III", with Gannets, off Noss

The "Karen Ann II" entering Fraserburgh harbour

Summer Evening, Boyndie Bay

1930s Lerwick Harbour

Johnshaven Harbour

"Seabourn Legend"

Greeting Cards!

Greeting Cards!
Now Available in Packs of Five or in Assorted Sets of Four

Sunday 4 May 2014

THE LAST MINUTES OF THE "UGIEBRAE"

I've ventured into the realms of maritime history with this recently-completed painting of the last minutes of the Peterhead steam drifter "Ugiebrae".  She was sunk by gunfire after the German submarine (probably the U38) had cut away her fleet of nets and ordered the crew to abandon ship.  This took place on 23rd June 1915, and the "Ugiebrae" was one of 16 casualties of U-boat action in that area that fateful night.  The event effectively put a stop to the herring fishery for the duration of the war.

Ten of the sinkings were of Peterhead drifters, two were from Yarmouth and four were Aberdeen steam line-boats which were also working in the area, to the east and north-east of Shetland.  Some crews were picked up by other steam-boats, but others had to sail or row their lifeboats to land and, in the case of the "Ugiebrae"crew, this involved a 35-mile row to landfall in the Skerries.  The ten men (and a dog!) were exhausted as they approached, and were helped on the last few miles of their journey by men from the Skerries.  From there they would have been transferred to Lerwick and thence home to the Scottish mainland by the regular steamer service.

The newly-acquired lifeboat was of little use for sea-going purposes to the Skerries men, as it was short, bulky and heavier to row and sail than the lighter-built and faster traditional Shetland-model boats, so it was put to good use as the roof of a lambie-hoose" on one of the islands.  It is the current owner of this building, now being restored as a historical project (the lambie-hoose, not the owner!), who commissioned the painting from me.

It's nice to be back working again, and my order-book seems to have filled up again.  I thought I'd get some peace now, but my clients won't let me retire, so I'll continue to fulfil their commissions the best I can, for as long as I'm able to!  I had my appointment with the orthopaedic department of the ARI a fortnight ago.  Apparently the bone density of my spine is not too bad, but my hips are ready to collapse any minute!  I've been o'd-ing on Vitamin D these last few months, but it appears that a more potent mix will have to introduced into my diet soon - ugh!!

Enjoy whatever you're ingesting this week!

7 comments:

Download Free PC Games said...

Nice WOrk

Unknown said...

Hey I might want to say that you composed an extremely pleasant article. visit Online Shopping in Pakistan 

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Clipping Path Service said...

Wonderful style Blogs, Such an excellent list. Thanks for sharing of these blogs all are terribly helpful to each one

Angel Ana said...

Very Useful post With important facts and information which can be very useful to us. I liked this incredible blog and its posts. Thanks For Posting Such an extraordinary article for us. in addition, I have a Photoshop clipping path service provider Website, Where we give a wide Rage of Photoshop image editing services.

David said...

Thank you for the post. It saves my days!

Clipping Mask Service said...

Thanks for this wonderful post, I get so much information from your post.
I hope that you will do more excellent work and have more knowledge for others.
if anyone need this type of car image editing service article then go to our website.