Caption Competition #42 Winner!

[anteros_lmc]

It gives me great "pleasure" to announce the winner of quite possibly the most WTF?! Caption Competition ever to grace following_sea. (And that's saying something....) I think the winner this time round was a bit of a foregone conclusion, yes, it's the original and bestnaomi1642! HUZZAH!!

Horatio looked doubtfully at Dr Hepplewhite. "And you're sure that a barrel to

Comments

[vespican]

"If not," said the doctor, "it will at least remove that ridiculous hat from the top of your head!"

Historically speaking, I think the athwart style hat came first. The French went to fore and aft, and I believe I've read somewhere that the British were not all that impressed with the style... a character supposedly remarking that it would never be seen in the Royal Navy. A few years later, however...
Dave

[anteros_lmc]

Heh, I like that. Damn French! What do they know about style?! ;)

Personally speaking I think fore and aft is the only way to go!

[vespican]

At least with "fore and aft" one can have a bit of a bill and shade the eyes a little. I like ball caps or anything with a brim, both to help keep the sun out of my eyes or the rain off my glasses.

I think I read the comments mentioned in my first comment in Sea of Grey by Dewey Lambdin. Battle of Camperdown era, if I remember right.
Dave

[eglantine_br]

Our Navy uses ball-caps-- but i have a hard time imagining EP wearing one!

[anteros_lmc]

Can you imagine Archie in a cap then? Hmn? ;)

[eglantine_br]

He looks like he got a little sunburn anyway. I wonder what he is thinking, gnawing his lip like that. He is listening hard to whatever is being said-- that is not an acting face.

[anteros_lmc]

This is one of bamber-news pics from DragonCon earlier this year. I think this may have been taken during the BSG panel on the final day of the con, in which case I suspect the pensive look is the result of a hangover ;) Whatever it is, he's beautiful.

[anteros_lmc]

I must have a look in Dudley Jarrett's British Naval Dress to see what he has to say on the subject of hats. He covers the changing arrangement of buttons in minuscule detail so I'm sure the introduction of fore and aft hats can't have escaped his attention!

[vespican]

I think the change from athwart style to fore and aft can be seen in the Hornblower TV films. In the first few movies, when HH is a mid and at last a lieutenant, almost everyone wears the athwart style. By the time of "Mutiny" and "Retribution", at least some of them are wearing the fore and aft version. I think the older officers, those with more time in service tended to stay with what they were familiar with.
Dave

[anteros_lmc]

You're right. Sawyer in Mutiny and Retribution wears his hat athwart ships while the officers have adopted fore and aft rig.