THE GANGPLANK - welcome aboard the Radio Waves web site
THE BRIDGE - a guide to the pages on this web site
THE MEMORIES - the swinging sixties
THE RADIO STATIONS - a summary of the offshore atations that were audible in the UK
THE SHIPS - a summary of the offshore radio ships broadcasting to the UK
SOUNDS OF THE SEA - Offshore radio jingles and songs
THE CHART ROOM - album and singles charts
TODAY'S RADIO OFFERINGS - Bureaucrasy and boredom
ROCK THE BOAT - music no longer heard on the radio
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - a pictorial tour of the famous Radio Caroline ship
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - a pictorial tour of the famous Radio Caroline ship
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - welcome aboard
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - down below
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - transmitters and aerials
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - studios and library
THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY - studios and library
THE LEGEND LIVES ON - the spirit is still alive
THE CAPTAIN'S LOG - sign the log and say hello
THE RADIO LINK - the best radio and music web sites
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RADIO WAVES
The story of the rise and fall of offshore radio and how it affected the music industry.

THE ROSS REVENGE TODAY
A pictorial tour of the famous Radio Caroline ship
THE SHIP
The Ross Revenge during the Clacton broadcast
This was my first view of the Ross Revenge - August 1995. Although I had been a long-term listener, I had never been near the ship. It was an unrepeatable experience, for on this occasion she was moored about one mile offshore from Clacton during a one-month special broadcast.
The sea was a little choppy, although nothing like that which must have been experienced in the Knock Deep, enough to make boarding an interesting experience. The ship itself was hardly moving - the concrete in the fish holds put there to compensate for the original massive aerial ensured that!


Another view during the Clacton broadcast
A close-up view of the fore-end of the ship distorts the perspective and makes the ship look enormous.
At this time, repainting had clearly only been carried out on the parts of the hull easily reached! The remainder had to wait a few years but now matches the rest.
Notice how the tide has caused the anchor chain to twist on itself as the ship revolves with it. It is generally thought this was the cause of the final failure of the anchor chain that led to the ship running aground on the Goodwin Sands in 1991.


Broadcasting from London's docklands
In contrast, the Ross Revenge is dwarfed by the tall office buildings in London's Docklands, where she was moored for another one-month broadcast during October and November 1995. Had the 300 foot mast still been there, things might have looked a little different! For this broadcast, a micro-wave link to a mast on Shooters Hill was used.
The ship remained here for a while after the broadcast, but in February 1996 she was towed from here to a new location. Within days, a terrorist explosion ripped through the area. A close shave indeed.


Moored off Queenborougfh
More recently, the ship has been moored off Queenborough (Isle of Sheppey) and a number of broadcasts have been made from the harbour. This photograph was taken during the August 1997 broadcast which finished without the usual celebration, as it was also the day of the announcement of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.