Prebon Tullet - his life at sea

[dylanwinter]

I have been doing some work on that great sailor Prebon Tullet

I am amazed that there is so little about him on the web and am thinking of writing his life story

I wondered if any of you YBW forumites could add anything to what is known about his life. I have discovered that his whole family history is threaded through that of this great seafaring nation.

One of his ancestors was captain on the third ship to pass through the gap in the French Line at Trafalgar - he would have gone onto a glittering career had it not been for what has come to known as the Rocna affair.

Another was with Shackleton.

It turns out that it was his brother Mullet Tullet who was the Enterprise National champion in 1965.

Then of course there was the Fastnet Scandal and the unfortunate incident in the 1987 Americas cup.

I wondered if you chaps could help me to flesh out the story. Personal anecdotes of dockside or race course encounters would be wonderful and if any of you have any dusty old texts on your bookshelves that could throw some light on this illustrious and unsung family and its wealthy scion who now finds himself sponsoring the London Mobo Show

Dylan

 

[lustyd]

Oh comeo on Dylan, are you really that bored?!

 

[dylanwinter]

ennui of short days

small touch of ennui on the second shortest day of the year

no chance of sailing until jan

so.....

any suggestions about filling out this great life gratefully accepted

Dylan

 

[Searush]

I understand that his great uncle Seborn Tullet was lookout on the Titanic, but had a nasty bout of tonsilitis on the night it sank. It was the lack of a Fisherman's Friend that actually caused the loss.

My understanding is that this was largely covered up at the time as the purser had allegedly spent the funds allocated for these essential medical supplies on an extra bottle of Pusser's Rum for the Officers' Mess.

 

[dylanwinter]

excellent detail

I understand that his great uncle Seborn Tullet was lookout on the Titanic, but had a nasty bout of tonsilitis on the night it sank. It was the lack of a Fisherman's Friend that actually caused the loss.

My understanding is that this was largely covered up at the time as the purser had allegedly spent the funds allocated for these essential medical supplies on an extra bottle of Pusser's Rum for the Officers' Mess.

this is just the sort of detailed information that will help me to create a best seller

I think that few people realise how great this family was

Dylan

 

[Downsman]

A little known fact is that one of Prebon's predecessors was the first to find the Golden Rivet in a Victorian Iron Clad off the Greek coast. Rupert later went on to find fame on the Music Hall stage as Madame Ermintrude and her performing Poodle Troop..

 

[dylanwinter]

at the time

A little known fact is that one of Prebon's predecessors was the first to find the Golden Rivet in a Victorian Iron Clad off the Greek coast. Rupert later went on to find fame on the Music Hall stage as Madame Ermintrude and her performing Poodle Troop..

at the time they said that the family were going to the dogs

how wrong they were

Dylan

 

[Roberto]

Don't forget the thrilling account of the match race series against Cantor Fitzgerald, it's out of print now but a quick google search would provide some insight about this major step of world sailing history

 

[KenMcCulloch]

Not nautical but an interesting story that demonstrates what a varied and creative family they were, is the tale of 'Red' Montague Tullet (1818-1883). Pretty much the black (or red) sheep of the family at the time he was a contemporary of Karl Marx and used his share of the family fortune to support various left wing causes, including it is said joining the Paris Commune in 1871. A footnote in volume 2 of Das Kapital mentions 'my dear friend Montague Tullet' as having helped Marx establish his analysis of the falling rate of profit in capitalism.

I hope that helps with the book Dylan.

 

[dylanwinter]

Cantor Fitzgerald

Don't forget the thrilling account of the match race series against Cantor Fitzgerald, it's out of print now but a quick google search would provide some insight about this major step of world sailing history

the interesting thing is that Cantor decided that the best place from which to keep an overall eye on the crew was by working as the foredeck gorilla

he was close to winning the final race when an unfortunate accident with a caribiner spoiled his concentration and Prebon was able to steal the series

great, great days for us yachtsmen.

It was a shame about the post series celebrations -

how they managed to keep the incident with the seven "nuns" out of the newspapers is testament to the friends Prebon has in high places

fortunately the web allows us all to enjoy the full story


Dylan

 

[Habebty]

Dylan

You’ve obviously been getting your information from Wikipedia – that font of all that is known and unknown. However, in this case the wiki has let you down and should have read the fact that S/Lt. Prebon Tullet 2nd class was in fact a serving officer in the Royal Fleet Auxillary 1965-90.
After Tullet jnr's long and undistinguished career replenishing HM ships at sea the QM(naval) and the RNSTS (RN Supply and transport people) tracked down a long standing and virtually untraceable reconciliation error in the MODs fuel oil account.
It was subsequently discovered that S/Lt. Prebon Tullet 2nd class had in fact been “cutting” the fleet’s fuel supply with chip oil from the galley of the RFA Dock Leaf whilst alongside in Gosport.
The excess fuel oil had been siphoned off to supply the various watermen and fishermen of the locale with HMs best high sulphur diesel (without air miles).
It is rumoured that smell of an approaching chip shop alerted the General Belgrano - hence the steaming away of said vessel from the Falklands maritime exclusion zone.
Discovery of the chip oil scandal led to a hush up of the whole thing and a dishonourable discharge for S/Lt. Prebon Tullet 2nd class who took to using his devious mind to extract revenge on the maritime community by spamming them with Boat Show ticket offers and………setting up an expensive chip shop franchise at the shows.

I feel more than let down by Prebon.

yours
Capt. Sidney Downe-Tullet RFA retd.



UPDATE:- Chip franchise closed down after oil analysis by Tower Hamlets Environmental Health Officers.

 

[awol]

Not nautical but an interesting story that demonstrates what a varied and creative family they were, is the tale of 'Red' Montague Tullet (1818-1883). Pretty much the black (or red) sheep of the family at the time he was a contemporary of Karl Marx and used his share of the family fortune to support various left wing causes, including it is said joining the Paris Commune in 1871. A footnote in volume 2 of Das Kapital mentions 'my dear friend Montague Tullet' as having helped Marx establish his analysis of the falling rate of profit in capitalism.

I hope that helps with the book Dylan.

The support for left wing (?) causes continued almost into the present day with donations/loans to Tony Blair's Labour Party though, apparently, insufficiently large to guarantee a peerage.

 

[lenseman]

. . . It was subsequently discovered that Lt. ! Prebon Tullet 2nd class had in fact been “cutting” the fleet’s fuel supply with chip oil from the galley of the RFA Dock Leaf whilst alongside in Gosport.
The excess fuel oil had been siphoned off to supply the various watermen and fishermen of the locale with HMs best high sulphur diesel (without air miles). . . . . .

I heard it was red tainted FFO and he was selling it on to the Belgium boats.

 

[Searush]

His cousin, Coromandel Tullet is rumoured to have been involved in recent highly secret submarine sea trials. The story implies that he was testing underwater wheels in shallow water when the bearings failed. It was only thro the gallant self-sacrifice of the Commanding Officer claiming to have "run aground" that the device was kept secret. Those of us in the know understand that this is clearly impossible with modern electronic aids, but the cover story worked well enough to fool the media (which is not known for its understanding of maritime issues)

The noble spirit of self-sacrifice for the greater good still lives on in our current troubled & diminished fleet of auxilliary craft.

 

[sarabande]

I wonder if he is any relation to "Stand On" Tullet of the Imperial War Museum (and bar) who was charged with creating the first set of Collision Regulations at the direct request of Prince Albert (of that ilk).

If so, a distinct family characteristic (the inability to tell left from right) allied to a rare form of colourblindness may explain why the original basic rule, "After you, unless you are French" was translated into 48 clauses which now form the basis for HMG's new Citizenship test (you knew it was boaty, didn't you ?)

Stand On's habit of sharpening the outboard end of the bowsprit to near needlepoint finess, in the hope of achieving linear aerodynamic perfection, is reputed to have founded the world-wide industry of Barbecueing, when he ran ashore just below Osborne Castle, transfixing one of the Highland Cattle grazing on the foreshore and finally coming to rest with the animal suspended above the Squadron festive mark and bonfire.


We have so much to thank the Tullet family for.

 

[Habebty]

I would also like the record to show that "Stand-on" (my grandfather) was subsequently knighted for services to shipping.


yours Capt. Sidney Downe-Tullet RFA retd.

 

[dylanwinter]

Prebon Tullet is a woman

I am most dreadfully sorry.

It turns out that Prebon is a woman!



Dylan

 

[Twister_Ken]

I met his great aunt, Terpischore Tullett,when she was in her dotage but I'm sure the stories of what she and Pansy Golightly-Fawcett got up to with the "old King" must have had some basis in truth. She was also rather indiscreet with a tale about Wallis Simpson and billiard balls.

 

[Lady Campanula]

.....She was also rather indiscreet with a tale about Wallis Simpson and billiard balls.

If you have in mind the apocryphal tale loosely termed 'Potting the black', let me remind you that the relevant papers and MI5 reports are still subject to the '80-year Rule' and at least two past editors of NOTW-type rags have languished in chains at Her Majesty's Pleasure in the White Tower for preparing to publish 'harmful and seditious innuendoes'.....

 

[Sybarite]

His cousin, Coromandel Tullet is rumoured to have been involved in recent highly secret submarine sea trials. The story implies that he was testing underwater wheels in shallow water when the bearings failed. It was only thro the gallant self-sacrifice of the Commanding Officer claiming to have "run aground" that the device was kept secret. Those of us in the know understand that this is clearly impossible with modern electronic aids, but the cover story worked well enough to fool the media (which is not known for its understanding of maritime issues)

The noble spirit of self-sacrifice for the greater good still lives on in our current troubled & diminished fleet of auxilliary craft.

He too was also known to have suffered from TB.