
The Prize
'Waiting for the Hurricane'
Our prize is a stunning, large framed original photo of our legendary former pirate radio ship Ross Revenge, believed to be the last photo taken of the ship with its towering 300 ft mast before it came down during a storm, after being weakened during the 15/16 October 1987 hurricane - nearly taking the ship with it. It was taken by Chris Southworth from ferry en route to Holland. The photo measures 15" x 11" and it is mounted in a new gold-colour 21" x 17" frame. It comes with a hanging kit. (Framed photo does not have a watermark)
Background story to the mast collapse
Ross Revenge rode out the hurricane during the night of 15/16 October 1987, which had damaged or grounded other vessels, then on 24 November a storm whipped up heavy seas and caused the radio ship to pitch and roll.
Caroline continued to broadcast, but left the air suddenly at 2.51am on 25 November, when aerial feeder cables split. About 1 1/2 hours later DJs and crew on the Ross Revenge heard a huge crash and went on deck to discover that the ship's massive 300' aerial tower had broken away at deck level and fallen into the sea.
The remains of the mast hanging over the side of the Ross Revenge were causing the vessel to list, and at first light on 25 November 1987 they were cut away to prevent the ship from going over with the mast.
Radio Caroline Station Manager Peter Moore writes:
‘Cause there ain’t no place to hide, waiting for the hurricane.' Borrowing a song lyric from our new Ross Revenge charity patron Chris de Burgh, here is what we believe to be the very last photo taken of Ross Revenge on a deceptively calm sea with her 300-ft mast.
The tower was Radio Caroline founder Ronan O’Rahilly’s statement that Caroline could not just come back, but had to come back bigger and better than before and indeed it was impressive.
Sadly, only a few days later, the sea had become what DJ Peter Philips so eloquently described as a 'seething cauldron of saline hostility' which weakened the mast such that it collapsed shortly after. Various means were devised to get back on air, some modest and practical and some quite nonsensical. But the loss of the tall tower was the beginning of the end of Caroline's time at a sea.
‘Ross Revenge' is in urgent need of dry docking, where surveys and important structural repairs can be carried out. Our prize draws supplement our fundraising appeal to achieve our goal of securing the future of our historic ship for generations to come. The former pirate radio ship 'Ross Revenge' is still regularly broadcasting at sea today and more than 1,400 visitors from all over the world tour the ship each year. The vessel is on the National Ships Register and is an important part of both deep sea fishing and broadcasting history. To lose her would be a tragedy.
How to Enter
Enter our Crowdfunder Prize Draw and you will be supporting our Charity fundraising to get Ross Revenge into dry dock
A donation of £5 = 1 entry
A donation of £10 = 4 entries
A donation of £25 = 10 entries
A donation of £50 = 25 entries
The Prize Draw ends at 6 pm on Saturday 22 February 2025 and the winner will be announced soon after
We thank you for your support