TCM's McCircumnavigation

[tico]

Please sir!

'That chap Matthew'

Seriously great fun guy
Had a wild day out Antibes - MC and dropped off next to our cruise ship... classier than a heli transfer!
Spent a few days on the abortive return trip from The Hamble to Antibes ... blown fuel pipe and bilge alarms going off mid channel... diverted to Roscoff. TCM persuaded me to come to a posh hotel for dinner even tho i was filthy and soaked in diesel having been in the E/R sorting things out.. dont think the waiter was too impressed!
Ended up into Brest 'en panne' on one engine with a knackered fuel pump.

His is truly the spirit of adventure... long may he continue

 

[longjohnsilver]

Yup! There were so many classic posts. How to drive fast in France (never make eye contact). How to get a discount on the stansted airport car park fee. Firing the swedish captain on the Leopard the day England got knocked out of 2002 world cup. The ilustrated photo of the bog fix with the Tecma loo on the quai in Antibes. Coliholic falling off the jet tender at 40knots

Anyone remember what tcm stands for and why he adopted the name?

Tax collector Matt, a biblical reference if I recall, I remember the post where he'd just written a cheque to HMRC which he said would have bought him a jumbo jet.

Another classic, street surfing on a webcam in NY. His boat show parties were legendary. Well done to him on completing his trip, but what's he going to do next?

 

[Greg2]

Wow....fantastic achievement!

Remember him well on here......the New York webcam stunt summed him up I think

 

[henryf]

A whey in a manger. Baby cheesus.

Had me spitting out my coco pops


Having the Bx to go out there and do it rather than just dream or talk about it on an Internet forum deserves a pat on the back.

Let that be a lesson to all of us.

I also thought 23 feet wasn't very big !

Henry

 

[tico]

who can forget the leopard-skin carpet and purple carpets?

 

[MapisM]

How to get a discount on the stansted airport car park fee.

Didn't he (or was his wife maybe?) also find a trick for bringing in the cabin a bag after it was marked for being stored?

 

[mjf]

Nice one jfm bring this up on here - as many know him or can recall previous 'adventures' from the Mobo days.

You are right on the money with the blog - I followed it since you mentioned it at LIBS last year and it is indeed a worthwhile read - interesting too with gear failures, crew changes, Wx situations and not least the performance with various HM officials cleaning in/out etc.

I think he was right to go S bound and avoid the Oman Gulf and the bad guys.

Hopefully now this is done he might pop in here again from time to time as he did after he moved to sailboats.

I still remember the exchange concerning a SoF departure one year which involved towels. Do you still have that pix??


Oh - tcm, many congrats on this achievement - Well done Old Chap!

 

[burgundyben]

who can forget the leopard-skin carpet and purple carpets?

Purple leather headlining in the saloon, nice.

 

[jfm]

Tax collector Matt, a biblical reference if I recall, I remember the post where he'd just written a cheque to HMRC which he said would have bought him a jumbo jet.

Another classic, street surfing on a webcam in NY. His boat show parties were legendary. Well done to him on completing his trip, but what's he going to do next?

Haha, yes. He was matts on here, but employees started snooping in so he switched to The Tax Collector, which was a biblical referecen (Matthew). Then some posters back in those days (like sometimes-cantankerous ChrisP, remember?) though he *was* a tax collector, jeeze, and started being all cautious about finances on the forum and then he got a nasty PM or two iirc. Yeah, honestly! So he changed to tcm, which as you say LJS simply stands for tax collector matt.

The NY steet cam video of him in Times Square in an inflatable tender was indeed classic comedy

 

[jfm]

Purple leather headlining in the saloon, nice.

I found some 2002 pics of the boat in build last night at home on another puter. I'll try to post them sometime. It was a purple leather sofa

 

[jfm]

I still remember the exchange concerning a SoF departure one year which involved towels. Do you still have that pix??

Yep, tho not on this puter. I'll dig it out...

 

[jfm]

Didn't he (or was his wife maybe?) also find a trick for bringing in the cabin a bag after it was marked for being stored?

Yes, that was Diana's invention. Very clever.

If you check in online with easyjet you print boarding pass at home and go straight to gate. At the gate they check your bags and if your wheelie bag is bulging they tag it then write on your boarding pass in big felt pen "Baggage for hold"

When you get to the aircraft door you show your boarding pass again, and the cabin crew see the felt pen, take your wheelie bag, and put it in the hold.

So, Diana's clever trick is *always print the boarding pass at home TWICE*. Then after the gate, as you walk along the airbridge to the plane, you switch the felt-pen marked boarding pass for the clean one, and rip the tag off your bag, and arrive at the airplane door "clean".

The car park discount scheme cannot be written on open internet forum

 

[[2068]]

Then some posters back in those days (like sometimes-cantankerous ChrisP, remember?) though he *was* a tax collector

Unfortunately now deleted, but I did have a pm from tcm many years ago where he wanted me to pretend to be an employee of the Inland Revenue. It all got very silly, very rapidly.

 

[burgundyben]

Yep, tho not on this puter. I'll dig it out...

Do you have the extreme ironing pic?

 

[tcm]

hi all, thanx for the kind thoughts...

Yep, in st martin now, circumnavigation complete. It took a year and 8 days, which some say is quick but is in fact a whole WEEK slower than the owl and the pussycat...

I am quite enjoying have absolutely no plans for a change...



cheers all

 

[wakeup]

Big congrats Matt.

Quite an achievement.

 

[EME]

Congrats Matt

He is omniscient .. and you know he'll read this thread.

JFM hasnt mentioned it but TCM also wrote some great stuff for MBY for about 6 issues(?). The first article was called "The Office Chair" and was totally about his first visit to the then Editor's Office in IPC Towers. All were Brilliant and carefully wordsmithed.. I'll post some images of the Purple Sofas and carpet later -- it was actually gorgeous.

A great sense of humour ... and bloody good skipper ( which is stating the obvious given he has just circumnavigated ..)

 

[mjf]

hi all, thanx for the kind thoughts...

Yep, in st martin now, circumnavigation complete. It took a year and 8 days, which some say is quick but is in fact a whole WEEK slower than the owl and the pussycat...

I am quite enjoying have absolutely no plans for a change...



cheers all

Matt

Nice to hear. This RTW stuff is ok. But.......what about underwater lights. Not a mention!

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Great stuff, tcm. Congrats from me and the SWMBO. My abiding memory of tcm was getting drunk on his boat anchored off Theoule whilst he swam around the bay with a wooden shark's fin strapped to his back. Haven't laughed so much in my life
How about doing it in a mobo now?

 

[petem]

Lots on here will remember tcm - prolific poster up to a few years ago and a guy with a serious gift for comedy writing. And a major boater of course

Those who follow his blog will know this but for anyone else I just wanted to let you know that a couple of hours ago he completed a life long ambition to sail round the world. He docked in st Martin, caribee, in s/y Mojomo, having left there last year. Trip was via Cuba, Panama, Galapagos/Tahiti et al, South Africa, Cape of Good Hope then transat back to St Martin.

I didn't know he was doing this. Anyway, no use telling us about the blog now that we know there's a happy ending!

Well done Matt, quite an achievement.

Pete