Paquebot

In simple language Paquebot means mail begins at sea, postmarked on land.

Covers and cards mailed at sea are generally referred to as "paquebot" covers. "Paquebot" is French for "packet boat," and postal administrations use paquebot handstamps to mark mail received from a seagoing vessel that has no on-board post office. First used in Great Britain in 1894, the term was adopted for general use by the Universal Postal Union in 1897.
Other paquebot markings that have been used include "Loose Ship Letters" or "Ship Mail" (Australia), "Posted at Sea" (various countries), "New York Ship" (New York City), "Schiffsbrief" (Germany and Austria), "Pacchibot" (Italy), "Paketboot" (Netherlands and colonies), "Paquete" (Portugal and colonies) and "Paquetboat" (United States).

Source : Wiki, Linns.com  

Switzerland 1978 Lemanex 78 Stamp Exhibition sheetlet

The sheetlet above is Switzerland 1978 Lemanex 78 Stamp Exhibition sheetlet containing 8 stamps (Lake Steamers plus 4 labels) unmounted mint, SG MS 952.

The stamp featured are :

1. LA SUISSE:  "La Suisse" is the flagship of the General Navigation Company (CGN) of Lake Geneva. The steamer has generous proportions: it is 78 metres long, 15 metres wide and has a capacity of 1,200 passengers.
2. IL VERBANO: Commissioned in 1826 it was the first steamer on lake Maggiore Postal service between Magadino and Sesto Calende
3. MS GOTTHARD: Early steam navigation on both Lake Maggiore and Lake Lucern benefited mainly from the heavily used St Gotthard Pass route.
4. DS LOETSCHBERG :Steam navigation on the lakes of Thun and Brienz was taken over by Bern – Lotchberg – Simplon Railways in 1913. Loetschberg was commissioned to provide a service between Brienz and Interlaken.
5. VILLE DE NEUCHATEL: This steamer is a low and flat bottomed saloon-type motor craft typical of the lakes and canals at the foot of the Jura mountains. She has been in service since 1972.
   
6. MS ROMANSHORN: The stamp shows the car and passenger ferry "Romanshorn". She is a double-ended ferry, with 457 tdw, driven by two Voith Schneider propellers and was built in 1958. She can carry 560 persons and 35 cars on Lake Constance.
7. LE WINKELRIED: The ship is 60 metres long she can  embark 1100 passengers. She is equipped of four boilers, and her Compound engine with oscillating cylinders of 850 hp give a speed of 28.5 kilometres per hour. She is the fastest steamer at that moment
8. DS WAEDENSWIL: The steamer Waedenswil was commissioned in 1895, converted to diesel operation in 1931, and finally laid up and scrapped in 1965.      

 

 Source: http://www.swissinfo.org/

India - INS Nilgiri

Issued in 15th Dec 1968 to commemorate Navy Day, the stamp depicts INS Nilgiri, the first indigenously built frigate of the Indian Navy.

The Nilgiri class frigates of the Indian Navy are updated versions of the Leander class, designed and built for the Indian Navy by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai. Six ships have been built between 1972-81. The last two vessels (F41, F42) have more powerful engines than the remainder. Vessels of the class form the 14th Frigate Squadron. The Nilgiri class and its lead ship, INS Nilgiri are all named for the Nilgiri Hills. Subsequent ships of the class are also named for hill ranges of India. The Nilgiri class will be decommissioned by the Navy. Four ships from the class have been decommissioned, with the remainder being used primarily for training and testing roles. These will be decommissioned by 2009-10, once the Shivalik class vessels enter service.

Commissioned : 23rd June 1972

Decommissioned : 1996

Sunk on 24 April 1997, by a Sea Eagle AShM fired from a Sea Harrier Frs Mk.51 of the Indian Navy from INS Viraat.

 **If anybody has spare stamp,will be interested in exchange**

India - I.N.S.TARANGINI

Denomination :Rs 5

 Design: K. Singh

Stamps Printed : 0.8 Million 
Miniature Sheet Quantity: 0.05 millions

Date of Issue :25-04-2004

Theme: Armed Forces

 

 The name Tarangini comes from the Hindi word 'Tarang' meaning waves. She is the only Sail Training ship of the Indian Navy. She is termed as a three-masted Barque in sailing parlance i.e. square rigged on the Fore and Main masts and fore and aft rigged on Mizzen mast. The ship has been designed by Mr. Colin Muddie, a famous Naval Architect and yacht designer of U.K. and built by Goa Shipyard Ltd.  Reputed firms from U.K  have supplied the sailing rig.   INS Tarangini was commissioned on 11 Nov 1997, and is primarily meant for the sail training of cadets. She also conducts sail training capsules for cadets of the National Defence Academy, Naval Academy and INS Shivaji, the training establishment for technical cadets.

A sailing ship is the natural training ground for naval personnel and sail training provides an excellent platform for basic seamanship. It teaches initiative and how to use it to the best advantage. The main value of sail training in this modern machine age lies in its unique ability to foster the somewhat old-fashioned character virtues of courage, comradeship and endurance.

          Sail training ships are increasingly being used as basic seamanship and character building platforms by navies the world over. Sailing platforms provide an ideal setting to provide first hand experience of the vagaries at sea to cadets embarking on a naval career. All sailing manoeuvres require experience of the basic elements of marine environment viz wind and weather. They also need nicety of judgement and that indefinable quality of Sea Sense, which a sailing ship demands. The principal qualification for command or any other position of responsibility at sea requires strength of character and a good deal of Sea Sense. Sail training imparts all these virtues.

         Tarangini is built for long voyages. She carries eighteen sails with a sail area of almost 1000 sq m. The ship has very high endurance and can be deployed at sea continuously for a period of over twenty days. She has a complement of six officers and twenty-seven men as permanent crew and can accommodate and impart sail training to 30 cadets. 

INS Tarangini started its first circumnavigation of the globe in the year 2003-04 with the theme of ‘Building Bridges of Friendship across the Oceans’.During the fifteen month voyage, the ship covered 33,000 nautical miles (61,000 km) and visited 36 ports in 18 countries. The ship was received by the President Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam

On 10 January 2007, INS Tarangini started for another overseas voyage of ten month duration named Lokayan 07. In all the Tarangini will be calling on 23 ports in 16 countries on this voyage. The ship departed Kochi on 10 January 2007 and transited through the Suez Canal to reach the Atlantic Coast of North America. The ship participated in a series of Tall Ship events such as The World Peace Cup, Maritime Festival of Charleston, Sail Virginia, Sail Rhode Island and Sail Boston and returned to port on October 2007 after covering 22,000 nautical miles.

Source :Wiki,Indian navy 

Great Britain - Dunkirk Stamps

The Dunkirk evacuation history:

The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, France, between 27 May and 4 June 1940, when British, French and Belgian troops were cut off by the German army during the Battle of Dunkirk in the Second World War.

The Stamp Detail:

A special series of four stamps has been issued to commemorate the Dunkirk evacuation, Royal Mail has announced.

The four stamps, released to mark the 70th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, feature black and white images depicting the famous rescue of more than 300,000 Allied troops stranded on the beaches of Normandy by the Royal Navy and a 'mini-Armada' of civilian vessels in 1940.

The first class stamp shows the evacuation of British soldiers from the beach at Dunkirk, queuing to be picked up by a Royal Navy destroyer.

Small vessels making up the fleet of "little ships" appear on the 60p stamp.Relief on the faces of British soldiers on board a Royal Navy destroyer as it arrives in Dover is clear to see on the 88p stamp, while the 97p stamp shows two boats returning from Dunkirk packed with evacuees.

Source:wiki, Royal mail

India- Definitive Series Expensive Stamps - Interesting Facts

Again something new on ship stamps blog, going onwards will be sharing with you all some interesting facts on stamps..

In India the highest denomination of Definitive Stamp is Rs.50/-.

The wind energy stamp was issued on November 15, 1986, in the seventh definitive series after independence, for ordinary and regular use.

In the eighth definitive series, the other stamp with a pair of Paradise fly-catchers ,was issued on October 30, 2000, replacing the windmill stamp.

Columbus 1451-1506

After five centuries, Columbus remains a mysterious and controversial figure who has been described as one of the greatest mariners in history and a visionary genius. Columbus's enterprise to find a westward route to Asia grew out of the practical experience of a long and varied maritime career, as well as out of his considerable reading in geographical and theological literature.
The widely published report of his voyage of 1492 in command of three ships: the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria made Columbus famous throughout Europe and secured for him the title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and further royal patronage. Columbus, who never abandoned the belief that he had reached Asia, led three more expeditions to the Caribbean in 1493, 1498 and 1502.

Technical Description

 
Illustrations: Christian Hook
Stamp layout: Stephen Perera
Printer: Lowe-Martin (Canada)
Process: Offset Lithography
No of Colours: 4 Colours
Stamp Size: 30mm x 40mm
Values: 40p, 42p, 66p.78p
Issue Date: 1st November 2006 

Source: www.gibraltar-stamps.com 

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