Robert Simper lives in Suffolk, but has travelled a great deal, usually to places connected with traditional sailing craft.
In recent years he and his wife Pearl have had a second home at Looe in Cornwall. Robert had his first article published in Sea Breezes in 1962 and since then has had countless articles published in numerous magazines and newspapers.
His first book was published in 1966 and he has now had thirty-seven books published. Originally he was published by David & Charles and Boydell & Brewer, but in 1992 Pearl and Robert started Creekside Publishing because they wanted to produce high quality books, both in the standard of research, being readable and well-presented. This has been achieved in having a long association with Lavenham Press.
From early on Robert has been on and off sailing craft. His brief time on the last of the Thames sailing barges carrying cargoes under sail comes to the surface in his books In Search of Sail and The Barge Coast. At nineteen he bought a gaff cutter Sea Fever and sailed across the North Sea. Next he owned the 1904 35ft Swedish customs cutter L’Atalanta for twenty three years and then had the 1896 18ft Suffolk beach boat Three Sisters rebuilt. In 2005 he bought the 23ft Sennen Cove lugger Silver Stream and keeps it in Cornwall. For the last few years he has helmed Jonathan, his son’s, bawley Mary Amelia in the East Coast smack races.
Early on Robert realised that articles about boats require good photographs so he bought a good camera and took his own photographs. Over the last forty seven years he has built up a vast library of photographs taken all over the world and is constantly travelling and sailing to up date photographs.
In the early days information, and news was sent in by readers, but this has largely stopped with the advent of e-mail. However he would always welcome sail news from readers.
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The second heavy cargo of equipment for the refitting of the Centrica power station at King’s Lynn arrived at the
The Saudi Arabia flag tanker Abqaiq, 302,977dwt, was hit by a shore-launched anti-ship rocket fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia in
What is believed to be the largest ship to visit the harbour in the history of Blyth, in Northumberland, arrived
Three separate multi-million dollar contracts with a major oil and gas company have been won by the Aberdeen-based subsea services
Ayr has become the first port in the UK to take delivery of the new model of the Liebherr Materials
Under the 2,232 page omnibus spending measure signed into law by President Donald Trump, the US Maritime Administration is to
A large heavy lift ship carrying four of the largest container cranes for the US West Coast sailed through Puget
The first of four conversion periods that will see the two Orca class rollon, roll-off vessels of Tote Maritime Alaska
Construction of the new NYC Ferries landing stages on New York’s Lower East Side began at the end of February.
The US Coast Guard’s only operational heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, arrived at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, after completing her mission
The one ship that can’t be missed is the first for a new container line formed by three Japanese owners.
The collision between the US Navy destroyer John S McCain and the Greek owned oil/chemical tanker Alnic MC, 50,760dwt, in
The first four of nine giant cranes for the DP World Australia container terminals at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle
The first of the new Flexie series of car carriers building for the Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines, Ltd
The Evergreen Marine Corp of Taiwan, has ordered eight 11,000 teu container ships from the South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy
British News Ahead of the American led missile strikes against suspected chemical weapon manufacturing plants in Syria in early April,
Japanese News It has been a particularly busy period for the Japanese with a number of new vessels being accepted
US News In a significant move in March, the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson made an historic port
Russian News By 2027 the Russian Federation Navy is expected to have acquired a total of ten Alexandrit class minesweepers
Danish News On 11 December, in a ceremony held at Naval Station Korsør, the Royal Danish Navy commissioned the third
I am not normally drawn to such films as the latest Dunkirk release, but on my recent viewing it proved
The issue of ferry operation, subsequent to the UK leaving the EU, will rather, regretfully, but unavoidably, continue to feature
The issue of ferry operation, subsequent to the UK leaving the EU, will rather, regretfully, but unavoidably, continue to feature
Ever since the 1950s when I was aware of the Soviet merchant marine’s Baltic SS Co vessels which linked Leningrad
Viv Llewellyn’s image of the IOM Steam Packet’s chartered Arrow at Poole indicates how advantageous her long term charter to
The Anna (see the print edition for details), like all Dutch craft, has a band around the outside of her
The Dutch 27.7m steel ketch Gallant, was built as a ‘logger’ in 1916 for the North Sea herring fishery.
The Scandinavian connection this month, continues with the welcome reappearance of the magnificently versatile Severn Sea 147gt of Bideford seen
I followed up the casualty Fame which featured in my last Coastal Commentary.
The Hollow Shore yard had been bought by the Testers who totally rebuilt several smacks including Primrose, Lily May, Ethel
Norway is a country which takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and is at the vanguard of changes to reduce
In 2017, I had the pleasure of visiting Wight Shipyard Co’s famous Columbine Yard in East Cowes (Isle of Wight)
Red Funnel, the Isle of Wight’s awardwinning ferry operator, welcomes the promotion of Alice Duncan to the position of captain.
Way back in 1818, the founders of the Black Ball Line inaugurated the first scheduled freight and passenger service across
"Quilliam Today" is is this year's title for the Spring Quilliam Lecture on Thursday 5th April in Arbory Church.
There will be many readers who, for the last decade, have followed the fortunes of the Queen Elizabeth 2.
The future of superyachts and how they may develop over imminent years, keeps superyacht commentators, like me, amused for hours.
Diana Yacht Design is doing its bit to help solve the housing shortage.
QM2 vs the Super Yachts race results between the St Nazaire Bridge and the Verrazano Bridge in New York
Notwithstanding a number of attempts to emulate “The World” by other operators, any past thoughts of competing with the only
