IAN MARSHALL, "HMS Kent, Last Hope Inlet, Queen Adelaide Archipelago, Chile, 1915," watercolor, 32 x 39 inches. "At the so uth ern extremity of the chain of the Andes, fearsome, jagged mountains rise directly out of the deep waters of the Pacific. Eight weeks after the Battle of the Falklands the one surviving ship of Van Spee's squadron, SMS Dresden, was still a fugitive pursued by the Royal Navy. She had taken refuge in the archipelago of ironbound islands and peninsulas which comprise the sourhwest coast of Chile, much of it still at that time uncharted. "British warships doggedly stalked the German cruiser. Creeping up gloomy fjords, Kent unshipped her 56-foot steam picket boat and sent her ahead to sound our a passage between the hidden rocks. The small craft was provided with two 14" torpedoes in case she should stumble on the enemy. 'The Kent had been engaged at the Falklands, sinking the Dresden's sister ship Niirnberg after a long chase. Kentwas hit by 38
German 4.1" shells and suffered 16 cas ualties. She herself was armed with fourteen 6" guns, including twin turrets fore and aft, and she had a top speed of over 23 knots. "During her fruitless search through the channels between Tierra del Fuego and countless smaller islands which lie to the west on both sides of the Straits of Magellan,
"Monterey Bay," oil, 22 x 32 inches. "On the day I took rhe photos I am using for this painting, there was an intensely co ld wind blowing the mist from the surf onto my camera lens and I kept having to refocus because the wind wo uld
change the setting on my camera. The view of beautiful golden California light often does not betray the fierceness of the icy northern current that helps to keep the popular Mo nterey Coast unspoiled. T he bit of land silhouetted in the backgro und here is part of Pebble Beach." - JC
J UNE CAREY,
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Kent intercepted a signal indicating that her quarry had left the area. Dresden was now near the island of M as Afuera in the Juan Fernandez group, 1,100 miles out in the Pacific to the northwest of the Straits. The Royal Navy followed suit, and within days three British ships closed in on Dresden and cornered her. " - IM
SEA IHISTORY 97, SUMMER 2001