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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AS GREATER ‘EFFICIENCY NEEDS FEWER PEOPLE’
ON AUG 30, the Port of Tyne celebrated 20 years of cruise ship travel.
ON THE afternoon of Aug 30, a fishing vessel reported to the Coastguard that she had lost power near Peterhead,
THE Atlantic Container Line (ACL) won a contract from Boeing Defence UK to transport seven Chinook helicopters across the Atlantic
THE NEW Invergordon Shannon class lifeboat which enters service next spring will feature the names of thousands of people in
The Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) officially resumed operations and welcomed back its first commercial vessel following Hurricane Dorian.
THE EXTENSION of the barge service at the port of Morrow, in Oregon, is one of only three projects on
In a four-day operation off the coast of Oregon, three separate vessels of the US Coast Guard towed a 50ft
THE US Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the sinking of three vessels in the Illinois River near Hardin,
WORK has started on the expansion of Seattle’s Terminal 5 so it can handle container ships of up to 18,000
THE JAPANESE shipbuilder Japan Marine United has delivered what it described as “a next-generation energy-saving bulk carrier” to Nissen Kaiun,
THE Japanese shipping line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), have taken delivery of the coal carrier Corona Citrus, 88,000dwt, built
A new search has been demanded to recover the second Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) from the wreck of the South
THE SWISS-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has taken delivery of one of the world’s largest container ships, the MSC Gulsun,
THE Singapore-based container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) has taken delivery of the 14,000 teu capacity ONE Cygnus, 138,611dwt,
American News The expansion of the US Navy’s amphibious capability continues with the announcement that General Dynamics NASSCO has received
BRITISH News THE FOURTH and last of the new Tide class tankers, RFA Tideforce, was offi cially accepted into service
US News USS CINCINNATI is the latest member of the expanding littoral combat ship fl eet to be delivered to
indian News
The troubled Scorpene class submarine program hit another snag in June.
US News
The US Navy has unveiled its plans for the purchase of a new frigate known as FFG(X).
PROPOSED FERRY EXCHANGE ‘AND A TALE OF TWO STEAMERS...’
So, not many months ago, nationalisation was unfashionable and unlikely ever to return, especially within the EU where that institution’s
Those in management positions must dread the retirement of those characters who retire from their life’s work with a wealth
TMore and more, I am reading reports that say the media, and the public too, are well aware of the
Irish Continental Group has entered into a bareboat hire purchase agreement for the sale of its 1987-built Oscar Wilde to
In July, the brigantine Tres Hombres called at Brixham on passage from the Caribbean to Amsterdam with 35 tonnes of
Gloucester Dock is linked to the River Severn at Sharpness by a 16 mile canal.
The Hong Kong registered Zea Servant arrived late June from Hull. She was in Campbeltown to load wind turbines for
The Danish Maritime Museum had the schooner Bonavista built on the island of Aero at Marstal and this year they
I was in Montrose on the Norwegian National Day, 17 May, when its independent constitution from Sweden was confirmed in
FOR MORE THAN 30 years, Flying Focus, based in the Netherlands, has specialised in maritime aerial photography..
It was good news to hear in late September that, according to the ship’s owner, Stena Bulk, the detained tanker
IN THE ‘MESSAGE FROM THE BRIDGE’ I referred to the tensions with Iran in the Gulf, following the seizure in
THE WAVERLEY – the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world – had to be withdrawn from service in May this year
WITHIN the last two months the British cruise industry has welcomed the arrival of Saga Cruises, 58,250gt, Spirit of Discovery,
SILVERSEA CRUISES has partnered with French luxury glassmaker Lalique to enhance the dining experience onboard Silver Shadow and Silver Moon.
ARTHUR BLANK helped create the American home improvement store chain, Home Depot, and it seems that now, his new fl
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines were proud to have played its part in hosting 250 D-Day veterans.
If you have ever wondered what qualities a Captain of a cruise vessel might need to have listed on his
