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Paul Curtis Books

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22.01.2022 Sydney Hobart Round Trip Yacht Race for 2020? In England, there was Beken and Son, and in the USA there was Morris Rosenfeld. They were the acknowledged masters of boat photography. Yet, when it comes to taking photographs of the glory of yachts under sail, there is none finer than Australia’s Richard Bennett. He is the ultimate perfectionist, pushing lighting, composition, and printing techniques to new levels of greatness. His dedication to his art is beyond compare and his... talent is endless. His demonic quest for perfection has led him to now produce one of the finest books ever printed. It is his collection of photographs spanning 50 years of covering the famous Boxing Day Sydney-to-Hobart Yacht Race. Every page of amazing photography shows framing, lighting and printing technique to perfection. A copy of the 170 limited edition book costs $4995 dollars. But when you go for that level of reproduction, that is what it costs. Can’t afford it? Here’s the measure of the man. He has made it absolutely free for all of us humbler types to see and read online. Go www. richardbennett.com.au, and see the whole book gratis. It’s an incredible experience guaranteed to make you forget your Covid worries. I have just spent three hours on my large screen computer pouring and drooling over both all his images and his copy. But I wonder what will happen this coming Boxing Day. Surely, in these dark days of Covid we will be able to brighten our horizons and see a Covid safe round trip? This long race tradition must go on. Richard with his magnificent new book. https://www.richardbennett.com.au/index/across-five-decades See more

18.01.2022 The Day My Home Left Me! October 31, 1967: I am standing on the dock at Southampton photographing my former home, the RMS Queen Mary, departing her home port for the last time. Now a floating hotel at Long Beach California, she still surives, just as the Cunard Queens of today will survive this Covid Crisis. And it is the Covid restrictions that have at last given me a chance to upload to my website some of my photographs of cruise ships. If you like cruising photos, please check out the new galleries section on my website:paulcurtis.com.au. Photo:Paul Curtis

16.01.2022 Nothing to Say Here Hunting through my drawers (no, not those) I have discovered this invitation to the last Officers’ Party ever held aboard the RMS Queen Mary. For you young things reading this, that was QM1, before you were born. Lucky things. Being a sentimental sort of chap, I have squirrelled it away for 53 years and three continents. It has been all the stories that have come back to me from my posting that prompted me to go looking for it now. Unlike most previous Mar...y parties, it was not held at sea but in her home port of Southampton, just before she headed off for the last time to be screwed into a permanent dock in Los Angeles. Quite a few of our officers and crew went along, but in name she was no longer a Cunard liner. So, this was definitely our last official party. Obviously, there were later parties on board as the Queen Mary sailed into Long Beach. Although I did make mention in my book High Tea on the Cunard Queens, I won’t do that here as they were a disgrace to a proud monarch of the seas. So, we will move on and it is at this point that I am meant to regal you with tales of what we all got up to at this historical event. The truth is, I can’t remember! I must have gone, as I was staying at my parent’s home in Lymington, just 18 miles from the port, and I am known to never miss a party. But I can’t remember a single thing from that night. This is probably because, as I note from the invitation, the party started at 8.00pm and went onto next morning. Say no more See more

15.01.2022 What Happens at Crew Parties? The main differences from land-based parties is that there is usually a far greater mix of nationalities than ashore, which is not surprising given the nature of cruise ship crews. Also, there is a wider age mix. This is because we are a small community and we mostly all know each other and literally live in the same boat. As parties are a let your hair down gig, uniforms are not normally worn as it inhibits friendly interaction. It’s very hard...Continue reading

09.01.2022 A Lucky Escape from My First Ship I scored my first job on a passenger ship as a junior photographer. Cruising from Southampton, the Greek Line’s Lakonia used to take English passengers down to the Med, Tangier and the Canary Islands. With the slightly different spelling, the Lakonia and her running mate the Arkadia were often confused with Cunard ships with identical sounding names. However, once aboard, there was no doubting you were not on a Cunard ship! I don’t think Gr...Continue reading

01.01.2022 Former Cunard Contender: The Nieuw Amsterdam As a former entertainment’s officer aboard the RMS Queen Mary, I was saddened by the fact that the British Government appeared to go out of its way to make the retention of its Cunard Queens of the Atlantic as difficult as possible. Up until the Sixties, the prestigious Europe to USA run was the battle ground for national pride as to who had the greatest liners. Known as ships of state. The Dutch had the Nieuw Amsterdam, the French... had the Normandie, (later the France) and the British had the Queen Mary. When the airlines began destroying the sea crossings in the mid-sixties, many governments stepped in to help their proud ships carry. The British Government not only wouldn’t do this, but it also prevented Cunard from running its own airline business so that it couldn’t offer fly-cruise Transatlantic crossings. I knew the Holland America Line’s Nieuw Amsterdam well. Although the Lakonia was my first ship, just before the Lakonia’s fatal fire, I was transferred from the Lakonia as a Number Four photographer to the Nieuw Amsterdam to be a Number Three photographer. I thought it a fast promotion as the Dutch ship was bigger, very famous and the pride of Holland in the competition for the North Atlantic crossing trade. It was only when I got on board my new ship that I discovered there were only three photographers. So, I was still at the bottom, but just under a smaller heap! After the super-relaxed atmosphere of the Lakonia, the discipline on board was a bit of a shock. However, is spite of the strict attention to protocol, the Dutch officers and crew, when off duty, really knew how to let their hair down. There were even wilder timers than on the Lakonia. And I had thought the Dutch were a staid lot. Wrong. I must write a book about it one day! Anyway, before I digress into potentially litigious tales of life on board, back to my point at issue. The Nieuw Amsterdam was the pride of Holland, just like the Queen Mary was the pride of Britain. Both ships had newer running mates: the Queen Elizabeth for Cunard and the Rotterdam for Holland America. While Cunard, unsupported by its government, was forced to sell its Queens while in full running order, Holland America line discovered a problem with the Nieuw Amsterdam: her boilers were gone. No, the Dutch did not scrap her. Instead they cut a gaping great hole in the hull and installed replacement boilers. This was major surgery indeed, but with a new lease of life, she continued until 1974. How different the treatment of the Dutch Government to that meted out to the Queens by the British Government. Thanks to the Americans, the Mary lives on. In a slightly mummified state, she can still be seen at Long Beach California. And it is also thanks to the Americans, that Cunard can to this day carry on its long traditions. Photo: Photographer unknown but used as a postcard on board. See more