# M.V.Debut



## PADDY

Can anybody throw any light on a small vessel, M.V.Debut, which ran aground on tne Great Barrier Reef sometime in the eighties, and more importantly what became of her skipper, Richard Brooks.

I believe this vessel was a sister ship to the Rainbow Warrior, the greenpeace ship.

Regards to all
Paddy


----------



## trotterdotpom

"Rainbow Warrior", the first, was, I believe originally a fishery research vessel "Sir William Hardy", built in Aberdeen in 1955, according to Miramar.

"Debut", which is still aground on Emily Reef, near Cooktown in North Queensland, was originally the Grimsby trawler "Rinovia", built Selby 1947. She later became "Ross Stalker", "Ross Resolution" and finally, under ownership of Richard Brooks, "Debut".

She was the first ship of my friend Barney Warman, former Radio Controller of Ross Trawlers, and I tried to find out a bit of info for him a couple of years ago, without huge success.

I think I posted a photograph in the gallery of her up on the reef, but if I didn't someone else did, I'm sure. The photo was taken from the air by an American tourist who gave me permission to use it, but it is quite far off - I did see a better one somewhere.

There is an interesting comment about the ship and Richard Brooks on a "log" of "Eye of the Wind" at http://www.tallshipstales.de/80s/Newsletter_8.php

Paddy, did you know Richard Brooks? It seems he was a bit of a character. There are implications that he ran the ship aground in a huff because the authorities wouldn't give him a permit to run the ship as a passenger cruiser. He was sailing round the South Pacific with just his wife as crew! They stayed on board for 3 years - grounded in 1987.

The story was featured on "60 Minutes" and I emailed the program and also Cooktown museum to see if they had any information about what eventually happened to Dick and his wife, but didn't receive any replies.

Hope the foregoing is of interest.

John T.


----------



## PADDY

Hello John.
,
Many thanks for the info on M.V.Debut and Dick Brooks.
Yes, I knew Dick, I first met him when he was a Police Constable in Ipswich, Suffolk, that would have been in the 60's - 70's.

As you say, he was a colourful character, in more ways than one!. I remember he bought an old schooner I think called the 'Bieche' somewhere in Europe, sailed it up the Orwell river to Ipswich, beached her, and went to work renovating her. 
He left the force and I next heard of him when I read a newspaper article on him in a Sunday paper to the effect he had run aground on the Great Barrier Reef , that would have been in the 80's. 
That was the last I heard of him and I have often wondered since what ever happened to him. Some adventure on the other side of the world!!

Thanks again 
Paddy


----------



## trotterdotpom

No worries, Paddy. I'd forgotten about Dick being an ex Ipswich Bobby - had heard that somewhere. I'll be interested to hear if you find out anymore.

Attached are photos: (1) Rinovia painted by Barney Warman and (2) Debut up on Emily Reef.

John T.


----------



## PADDY

John 

Thanks for the photo's.
I'll be in Ipswich later this year, if I find out any more will be sure to let you know.

Paddy


----------



## jonny rotten

*debut*

yeah richard brooks now lives back in england tel no 01473421742


----------



## Sister Eleff

Many, many thanks TDP, for the link to the 'Eye of the Wind' newsletter. I know nothing of Richard Brooks but did enjoy re-reading the newsletters and looking at the old photographs (of many people I am still in touch with), after so many years!


----------



## trotterdotpom

No worries Sister. See also posts by Blue in Bim under Hull Fishing Vessels for some more info re Richard Brooks.

John T.


----------



## robertryan

*rob ryan re. mv ross resolution*

I spent two weeks aboard mv Debut on the G.B.R. back in Jan. 1990. Ross Resolution as she was formerly known is still on Emily reef. Captain Dick Brooks returned to Ipswich in the early nineties and is still there - I spoke to him a couple of months back. I will call him to see if it is ok to pass on his details. I see his phone number is listed on another post and you may have already called him , Paddy.


----------



## rggoodchild2311

*MV DEBUT & Dick Brooks*

I first met Richard Brooks in the early sixties when we were both in the same class at Ipswich Civic College, attending a full time science based O Level coarse. Even in those days he was "quite a character". One lunch time he connected the gas and water taps in the lab and turned both on. Many years later I met, by chance, the gas fitter who had the job of draining down the entire college gas system.Why he was not expelled I do not know!
He was still at college when he made the raft trip to cross the North Sea, but wether he was serious or not I could not say.
The next time I heard of him, he was the first community Police Officer for an Ipswich estate and was pictured with his bike in the local paper. About a year later I met him outside a small blazing shop and asked "do you think it's arson?" "a lot of arson about if you ask me" was the reply. Dick left the police, well let's just say that he was asked to resign when people phoned - up to enquire as to why a panda car was parked just across the road from a boat called BLUEBELL which was being rapidly made seaworthy.
Dick eventually sailed away and the next I heard of him was an artical in a sunday suppliment called YOU dated 23/07/1989. I still have this item and, discovering it, has has prompted this response. In 1990 I met Dick in Ipswich.He told me that his wife had not jumped ship but had gone with his blessing as her second child needed to be weened and this would have been difficult on a poor diet. He and his wife were living in Ipswich and he intended to write a book. I wonder if he ever did?

Roger


----------



## PADDY

*Richard Brooks*

Some newspaper cuttings from late 80's.

Paddy


----------



## trotterdotpom

Thanks for that Paddy - very interesting. I'll pass the cuttings on to my friend Barney who is very interested in the fate of his first ship.

John T.


----------



## TonyQld

*Dick Brookes*



PADDY said:


> Some newspaper cuttings from late 80's.
> 
> Paddy


New to the forum,and would like to say how interesting to read a little about the man .
I am from Ipswich,now in OZ ,my Father had his boat on the Orwell,and used to talk about Dick giving him an old admiralty anchor way back in the 60s .
I remember the boat he brought over from Holland, I think it was. It looked like it had been in a fire,.

I left for OZ in 1969 and often wondered what became of him and his boat ,never thinking that he would end up down this end,so it was nice to see him in a TV interview sometime in the 80,s.

I had not seen the paper cuttings you have, thanks for posting them.
I am hoping to be back in Ipswich for a few weeks mid year so will look him up .
Another feller that had a boat near Dicks was a bloke called Ronnie Ducker,I think him and Dick were close friends.
Anyway,thankyou again .all the best Tony


----------



## DEBUT...

hello,

My name is Debut my dad is Richard Brooks i have just recently come across this and i know my dad will be very happy with the many comments there are on here if anything he would probably laugh to himself remembering those times. gas and water taps?!?! wow! and he says im a little ****! well if there is anyone who would like to get in touch with my dad let me know i am sure he would love to catch up and talk about his days at sea  and yes he has wrote a book, hes wrote quite a few actually one of them being about my mother... 


Debut


----------



## TonyQld

*Debut*

Hello from Oz Debut.How nice to read your post on this here.

I never really new your dad to talk to,but my old dad used to talk about him .I think your dad , was about to live a lot of peoples dreams at that time he carried through with his.

My father had an old chugger sitting on the mud at the back of a pub on Werstead road.he along with people I can just about recall.
Ronnie Ducker ,and a bloke named Ken all buggering around with boats at that time all used to chat about your Father,I think a lot of them thought your oll man was a bit of a loony,for thinking about setting sail for god knows where, must remember there were a lot of talkers back then ,very few who stepped outside the box and away from the oll comfort zone [dreamers] nice lot though.

Well I myself am an Ipswich bloke ,64 now and just bought a 36ft cutter,my first ventur into something I have been talking about for a long long time, always been into boats of one sort or another,.but hopefully this one will get me going ,ha ha, maybe make the Orwell my destination ,who knows .
Okay best wishes to your dad and yourself, love to you both..I do hope you are both well ..nice 
Tony...down the bottom bit.


----------



## muzzbishop

Hi fellas , I just come across this site while googling MV Debut.
. I know Dick very well and we still keep intouch. I crewed on the debut on a trip round the northern group of the cook islands in the early 80s. I have quite a few picks of Dick and Debut from my time working in Pago Pago .
I will download some on to here for yous
Cheers Murray


----------



## muzzbishop

Photo Of Debut in pago pago harbour ... early eightys


----------



## muzzbishop

Dick Brooks and second engineer John Bates during the trip round the northern group of the cook islands .. around 1983


----------



## muzzbishop

crew on the Bridge on he way to rarotonga , early 80s
From left to right . Black Balls , Egon the first engineer who was a Sweede ( working on some thing on the cabin sole ) Muzz Bishop , Danish Mike and maryann holding the the dreaded Bear ! every one one was terrified of the bear and there wernt many of us the didnt get bitten by the thing ! i used to wear high leather work boots a lot of the time to prevent him latching on to my ankles ! It was a bastard of a thing and Dick killed it when Maryann had zyanya as he feared the bear would bite the baby !


----------



## muzzbishop

we thought we were going to get away with painting this crane ! Dick made us do it at sea ! beautiful weather tho !


----------



## trotterdotpom

Thanks for all the info Muzzbishop.

John T


----------



## muzzbishop

We thought we would get away with painting this ! Dick made us paint it once we were underway ! lucky the weather was good !
Thats Tony . A kiwi , we called him black balls 
This was about the time when the falklands ware was on and dick being as nostalgic as he was painted it up in navy colours with a big Union Jack on gthe side of the stack ! 
I found Debut toi be a very interesting Ship and i was very interested in its history . It still had all the ice pics / axes etc hanging there to chisel ice off the topsides in actic waters . the engine used to chug along at about 700 RPM and it seemed to me like it was breathing it ran so slowly . 
The main was a Ruston Hornsby Desiel and it had rolls royce gensets in it ... two I think if i remember rightly.
It had big open rocker gear for the tappets with funnels to pour the oil in to lubricate them .
It really was an amazing ship and i was so dissapointed to hear it had been wrecked on the reef. 
Dick lived on board for 3 years and on his time on the reef wrote nine books ! he never managed to get any of thgem published which i feel is a real shame.
They were also going to use Debut to make a movie about the rainbow warrior and dick wanted them to paint the whole ship and rig it with mast and sails but the deal fell through unfortunitly ! 
Yes Dick was a real character and i could right a book myself on the goings on , on Debut ! i loved the ship and i wouldnt have missed my time crewing on there for any thing ! I have plenty more photos i will will put on when i get some time.


----------



## muzzbishop

we always trailed a line out the stern . we caught a large Mahi Mahi .
In this Pic is Dick, Maryanna (Dicks wife, holding the fish ) , Emmy ( Egon the first engineers girlfriend )and danish mike who ended up on Debut when he jumped off a Danish training ship for way ward drug addicts that came thru Pago ! Thats what Dick told me any way !


----------



## muzzbishop

Black Balls , And black andy ( sigi ) we used to call him and Danish mike relaxing on the foredeck behind the main winch.
Sigi was from the carribean and he was the cook . I can still see Sigi throwing up out the porthole in the galley while stirring the stew !  
I also crewed with sigi on another ship , a converted korean longliner on another trip to the cook islands. Me and andy became very good friends and sadly he drowned quite a few years ago while working on an american purse seiner of New Guinea under suspicious cir***stanses . He was a great guy . RIP Andy


----------



## muzzbishop

Sigi the cook standing in the entrance to the bridge


----------



## muzzbishop

the dreaded Bear ! It a native of south america ! very smart and very deadly !


----------



## dick brooks

hey guys! its me dick, my daughter signed me up to this! reading all these messages has made me laugh seeing all the pictures! must catch up and get a grip on all this technology! lol! hope to hear from you all soon! keep in touch,

Dick


----------



## PADDY

Hello Dick,

Does '5 and St Margarets', '6 and Mulberry Tree', ring a bell?

Paddy


----------



## trotterdotpom

Welcome Dick, we've heard a lot about you.

John T


----------



## bluebossa

Hello Dick, remember me? 1980 - Trinidad to Tahiti. Long time no see.

Anybody else here on the forum who remembers the trip from Trinidad to Acapulco, from Acapulco to Tahiti?

Anne from Norway: ("the Wild Weird Viking Woman")


----------



## TonyQld

*Ipswich*



dick brooks said:


> hey guys! its me dick, my daughter signed me up to this! reading all these messages has made me laugh seeing all the pictures! must catch up and get a grip on all this technology! lol! hope to hear from you all soon! keep in touch,
> 
> Dick


How are you finding Ipswich these days?


----------



## muzzbishop

a couple of clippings you might be all interested in


----------



## muzzbishop

Brisbane newspaper clipping


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

Hello there!

Cpt Dick Brooks here. Please let me know if you have any questions you would like answered. It will be great to hear from any of you. And muzzbishop great photos!


----------



## Sister Eleff

Welcome to Ships Nostalgia Capt. Dick. I hope you enjoy the site and some will take you up on your offer.


----------



## billyboy

A warm welcome aboard from the Philippines Capt. Dick. Please enjoy all this great site has to offer.
Very interesting reading about the MV Debut.


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

*'The Black Ship's Odyssey'*



trotterdotpom said:


> Welcome Dick, we've heard a lot about you.
> 
> John T


Please do read my book, 'The Black Ship's Odyssey' by Cpt. Dick Brooks. My twelve year voyage on Debut through the South Seas and Australia. Published by Amazon on Kindle. Enjoy. Dick Brooks.


----------



## trotterdotpom

Cpt Dick Brooks said:


> Please do read my book, 'The Black Ship's Odyssey' by Cpt. Dick Brooks. My twelve year voyage on Debut through the South Seas and Australia. Published by Amazon on Kindle. Enjoy. Dick Brooks.


Thanks Dick. I'll try and find it. My old pal Barney from Grimsby will be especially interested - Debut, was his first ship in the late '40s ... known as "Rinovia" in those days.

John T


----------



## rikus

muzzbishop said:


> we always trailed a line out the stern . we caught a large Mahi Mahi .
> In this Pic is Dick, Maryanna (Dicks wife, holding the fish ) , Emmy ( Egon the first engineers girlfriend )and danish mike who ended up on Debut when he jumped off a Danish training ship for way ward drug addicts that came thru Pago ! Thats what Dick told me any way !


Hi Muzzbishop, Rikus here. This must have been on that trip to Tonga. I see myself way in the back of that picture. Seeing this brings back lots of memories. Can you shed some light on Andy's demise? He got the name' Sigi disco' in the Marquesas because of his antics on the dance floor. Lovely guy and indeed amazing dancer.
I joined theDebut in Acapulco and was on and off her till 1983 in Samoa where I crewed on most of her trips in between tunafishing.
Will try to get some photo's digitalized of those amazing days. Greetings from Holland


----------



## rikus

Anne ,how could we not remember.


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

*"The Black Ship's Odyssey"*

It was great to read all your comments about my good old ship, Debut. She took me on a twelve year voyage around the World, and now rests in peace on Emily Reef, 25 miles south-east of Cooktown, in Far North Queensland, with only the hundreds of terns and boobies to keep her company. She is now a monument to freedom, liberty and adventure. After that real bad cyclone that struck Cairns a few years ago, I was a little concerned for her safety, but Ben Cropp E-mailed me a photo he took last Christmas, showing her still upright on the reef, and still in one piece, be it a little rusty. Much of her light upper plating has rusted away, but her 3/4 inch hull plating is intact. Last October I had my first book published, "The Black Ship's Odyssey". It is published by Amazon on their Kindle system, and can be downloaded on tablets, laptops and I-phones after downloading the Kindle app, as well as the Kindle tablets. The Kindle code for my book is b00fnkv88a , or you could use Magic Link, http://getbook.at/BlackShip . My second book, "The Judas Kiss", should be published within the next two weeks, also by Amazon on their Kindle system, by Cpt Dick Brooks. Short stories can be read about Debut and her crew on the Nostalgia Ships website, under looking for lost crew-mates. Enjoy the read, Dick Brooks.


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

*bluebossa;663064 Norwegian Anne*



bluebossa said:


> Hello Dick, remember me? 1980 - Trinidad to Tahiti. Long time no see.
> 
> Anybody else here on the forum who remembers the trip from Trinidad to Acapulco, from Acapulco to Tahiti?
> 
> Anne from Norway: ("the Wild Weird Viking Woman")


Hi, Anne, I don't know if I can reach you by this, but here goes. I've been trying to contact you for some time, but I'm still that proficient on my laptop, other than word processing. I post a short story on the, "looking for lost crew-mates' website of shipsnostalgia every couple of weeks, trying to contact our old crew, with some success.
You are well represented in my latest book, "The 
Judas Kiss", hopefully to be published with in the next couple of weeks by Amazon on their Kindle system. My first book about Debut's voyage through the South Seas to Australia was published last October by Amazon; "The Black Ship's Odyssey", by Cpt Dick Brooks. Enjoy the read, and please get in touch again, Dick.


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

*My good old ship, Debut.*

It was great to read of the adventures of some of my crew, on the good ship Debut. Over the twelve years I owned her... and still do, as a matter of fact, the British registration do***ents snug in my strongbox... there were some 300 crew in all, from a dozen different countries. I hope they all cherish the memories they have for the time they spent on my ship, and can share these memories with their loved-ones and friends. This voyage of adventure was the highlight of my life, after spending 26 years at sea as captain of my own ships all over the World, and I hope it is the same for all of them. My latest book, "The Judas Kiss" was published two days ago. It is published by Amazon on their Kindle system, code B00KJ3664C . I hope you all enjoy the read, so why not read it's sequel, "The Black Ship's Odyssey" , also written by myself, Cpt Dick Brooks and published in October last year. It is also published by Amazon on their Kindle system, code B00FNKV88A . Please enjoy my books as much as I enjoyed writing them, let alone living the adventures. Good luck to you all, Dick Brooks.


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

*All those interested in M/V Debut.*

It is good to read about the interest shown in my old ship. She served me well over the twelve years I spent on board her, with some three hundred or so people joining the ship as crew through out the world. Most were hitch-hikers and back-packers, students taking a year out, or others who just wanted some adventure, and some who were 'on the beach'. Many returned to rejoin Debut after continuing on with their journey or visiting their families, some staying for a month or so, while others even stayed for up to four years. Many sent me photos they had taken of their experience on board the ship, and of the many exciting and wonderful places we visited. So many used the skills they gained while on board Debut to start or further their career at sea, such as deck-officers, artificer or commercial divers. She is still in one piece and upright after so many bad storms and cyclones have hit her, especially the really bad cyclone that devastated Far North Queensland a couple of years ago. She rests in peace on Emily Reef, 25 miles south-east of Cooktown, with hundreds of sooty terns and boobies to keep her company. I post a thread on the "Looking for old crew-mates" site every couple of weeks, trying to get into contact with my old crew and paying respect to those who have since passed on. You can read more of our adventures on board Debut in my two books, "The Judas Kiss", code B00KJ3664C and "The Black Ship's Odyssey", code B00FNKV88A , by Cpt Dick Brooks, both published by Amazon on their Kindle system. Enjoy the read, Dick Brooks.


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

*To all Debuts, guests and interested friends.*

It's great to read all these stories again and reminisce about the time we all spent aboard the good ship Debut. Earlier this year I received some photos from Ben Cropp, of The Shipwreck Museum in Port Douglas. After the severe cyclone that hit Far North Queensland a couple of years ago... the worst for a hundred years... Debut is still upright and in one piece, a tribute to her builders. She will remain a monument to freedom, liberty and adventure for many more years to come, and a home to hundreds of terns that crowd her decks, let alone the dozens of stingrays that live under the protection of the hull from the large hammerhead sharks that hunt them. There was even a 400 pound grouper living in a cave under the bow. 
I have this morning received from my literary agent news that my third book, Samoan Princess, was published today. It covers the year and a half Debut spent based in Pago Pago as a salvage vessel, and is a true love story set in the South Seas. It follows The Black Ship's Odyssey and The Judas Kiss by Cpt Dick Brooks, also published by Amazon on their Kindle system. The Samoan Princess is the second book in The Black Ship's Trilogy, after The Judas Kiss. I wrote these three books while I was castaway on board Debut for three years on Emily Reef, 25 SE of Cooktown, in Far North Queensland. The un-named reef that Debut rests on, a mile west of Emily Reef, is now named Debut Reef, after my ship. This is only ten miles north of Endeavour Reef, that Captain Cook ran his ship aground on some 250 years ago when he discovered Australia. All the best to all those interested in Debut. I post a short story on the Looking for Old Shipmates forum every couple of weeks, for anyone who wants to catch up with old friends. Cpt Dick Brooks.


----------



## Cpt Dick Brooks

*Debut Aground on Emily Reef.*

Last Wednesday, on 30th December, 2015, there was a David Attenborough program shown on BBC1 about surveying The Great Barrier Reef off Cooktown earlier in the year. They were using a helicopter and mini-submarine on a research vessel out of Cairns. On the chart table of that research vessel was the Admiralty chart, AUS 831, the same one that was on my cart table when I was shipwrecked on 30th May, 1987... the very one that now hangs on the wall in my living-room in Ipswich, in England.
It was such a good feeling when they flew over Emily Reef, and I saw Debut still lying there... upright and in one piece. The fore-peak was still intact, but the rest of the top-hamper was missing. The last photograph I saw of her was sent to me by Ben Cropp, of Port Douglas, that was taken four years. It shows the skill of the shipwrights who built her in Selby, back in 1948, and the quality of their work. There are two more programs in this series to be shown on the next two Wednesdays, and I'm just hoping I ay see her again. 
She is a monument to freedom, liberty and adventure, as I saluted her with a can of XXXX when I left her on board the Go Spirit out of Cooktown, in June, 1990, thanks to her owner, Birdcage. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


----------



## Mr Mate

*Emily Reef*



Cpt Dick Brooks said:


> Last Wednesday, on 30th December, 2015, there was a David Attenborough program shown on BBC1 about surveying The Great Barrier Reef off Cooktown earlier in the year. They were using a helicopter and mini-submarine on a research vessel out of Cairns. On the chart table of that research vessel was the Admiralty chart, AUS 831, the same one that was on my cart table when I was shipwrecked on 30th May, 1987... the very one that now hangs on the wall in my living-room in Ipswich, in England.
> It was such a good feeling when they flew over Emily Reef, and I saw Debut still lying there... upright and in one piece. The fore-peak was still intact, but the rest of the top-hamper was missing. The last photograph I saw of her was sent to me by Ben Cropp, of Port Douglas, that was taken four years. It shows the skill of the shipwrights who built her in Selby, back in 1948, and the quality of their work. There are two more programs in this series to be shown on the next two Wednesdays, and I'm just hoping I ay see her again.
> She is a monument to freedom, liberty and adventure, as I saluted her with a can of XXXX when I left her on board the Go Spirit out of Cooktown, in June, 1990, thanks to her owner, Birdcage. All the best, Cpt Dick Brooks.


I haven't Sailed up this way for a good few years and screwing up the range on the radar I see that the wreck on Emily Reef is still visible. We first came to know the Debut in Soloman Islands, Honiara we were just about to sail Patricia back to Australia.
Next after quite a few months blow me down she is steaming into Cairns. She didn't stay long no cash for harbour fees I helped Dick and Maryann Move her out to False Cape. They spent quit a while there be fore going out to the reef.
I'm remembering lots of days spent chatting on your market days and the rice beer that didn't work and the ones that did.
Cheers to you old friend this blog was found by Emily name sake of the reef. Cpt of the Patricia 3


----------

