Sealand Marine – 4 Locations Across Nebraska and South …

Our mission at Sealand Marine has always been to deliver exceptional, quality products and services to our customers. With our 4 convenient locations, we are set up to provide you a pleasurable experience when you are looking for your first boat, trading in your existing boat for your next boat or if your current boat is in need of some repairs. With our award winning manufacturers lineup you can bet that we have a boat for everyone.If you are looking for a pontoon the Bennington products are hard to beat. Bennington offers over 120 floorplans, in 4 different series, in both cruising and fishing models that are able to meet many different price points. If a fiberglass pleasure boat or deck boat is more your thing then our Regal, Bayliner and Rinker brands have you covered and for those who enjoy fishing we are proud to represent Alumacraft.

With many years of experience, Sealand Marines service departments are here to take care of you on anything from boat and motor repairs, annual services and winterizations, trailer repairs, and even gelcoat repairs. We also offer fully secured indoor winter storage at very competitive prices. We here at Sealand Marine and Recreation invite you to stop in to one of our locations or give us a call to see for yourself our dedication in helping you find the right boat at the best prices.

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Sealand Marine - 4 Locations Across Nebraska and South ...

About Sealand | The Principality Of Sealand

In the early 60s, Roy Bates, a Major in the British army, established a radio station, situated offshore on an abandoned ex naval fort named Knock John. The theory behind this location was an attempt to bypass the draconian broadcasting restrictions of the time, which permitted little more than formal broadcasting by the BBC. Roys station, Radio Essex, and others like it, were known affectionately by the media as Pirate radio stations, and were much loved by the British public, as they supplied everything that the BBC did not at the time, Pop music and amusing presenters.

In the years than ensued, Roy fought an unsuccessful legal battle with the UK government, which questioned the legality of his occupation of said fort. It was ruled that Knock John fell under UK jurisdiction. Smarting from his setback, Roy weighed his options. Another abandoned fortress, Roughs Tower, identical in construction to the Knock John existed further offshore, and crucially, outside of the three mile limit to which the UK jurisdiction extended. Roy proceeded to occupy Roughs Tower, on Christmas eve 1966, with the intention of revitalising his dormant radio station. This was until he conjured a different plan entirely. After consulting his lawyers, Roy decided to declare this fortress island the independent state of Sealand, Claiming Jus Gentium (Law of Nations) over a part of the globe that was Terra Nullius (Nobodys Land).

On the 2nd of September 1967, accompanied by his wife Joan on her birthday, his son Michael (14), daughter Penelope (16) and several friends and followers, Roy declared the Principality of Sealand. The founding of this country was marked by the raising a newly designed flag, and in an extremely romantic birthday gesture, the bestowing of a new title on his beloved wife, to be know from that moment on as Princess Joan.

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About Sealand | The Principality Of Sealand

Sealand | West Marine

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Sealand | West Marine

Sealand | Hetalia Archives | FANDOM powered by Wikia

'Sealand (, Shrando) is a character in the popular manga and anime series, Hetalia: Axis Powers. In 2008, Himaruya gave human names to some of the characters and he received the name P'eter Kirkland(, Pt Kkurando).

He has blond hair, blue eyes, and thick eyebrows much likeEngland's. He wears a white sailor shirt with a blue collar, a blue neck tie, a matching hat, and blue capri pants, as well as white knee-high socks and black Mary Jane shoes.

Originally, Sealand's eyebrows were drawn somewhat thinner, while his sailor necktie lacked its "tails", and he wore shorts instead of capris. His eyes were also originally colored green, giving him a further resemblance to a younger England.

In the gameNoto-sama 6, his hair is colored a dark sandy blond, while his eyes are sea green.

Due to the fact that he isn't considered an actual nation, none of the others take him very seriously. However, Sealand believes that someday he will become a huge empire that even his brother will bow down to.

Like his fort, he is actually made of steel and can fire a "Rocket Punch" that he believes is super powerful (though in actuality he can only do so when dressed up in a kids' mecha costume). He also tends to end his sentences with "desu yo", which is meant to give him a very enthusiastic flare.

Sealand declared himself an independent country when England didn't want it back after the end of the war. The two always bicker because Sealand, who wants to be recognized as a nation, often sneaks into conferences the other countries attend (such as the G8, when Sealand pretended to be Canada). Despite calling his brother "Jerk England" and promising that the older nation will bow to him someday, Sealand relies on England.

Sealand first met him when Iceland was attempting to auction himself off on Ebay, but Iceland didn't understand what he meant when he wanted to become his friend due to their similarities, (as well as Sealand wanting to be referred to as "senpai" by Iceland.)

The two are good friends, in part due to their similarities of being small nations that don't get the respect that they want (though Latvia is an actual recognized nation in comparison to Sealand being a micronation). However, while Latvia attempts to act as a big brother to Sealand, his own insecurities get in the way, most notably his fear of Russia.

After being auctioned off online, Sealand became his property and adoptive child (as Sweden was the only one that bid). The two appear to have a close relationship, though Sweden came up with the strange idea of a "Dambolis" in an attempt to make the TV-obsessed Sealand pay attention to him more.

Sealand attempts to make friends with TRNC and points out that they are both micronations, but TRNC blows him off and points out that while he is recognized by Turkey, Sealand is recognized by no one. Sealand begins to cry, and he later attacks TRNC in a fit of rage. After Sealand becomes friends with Wy and Seborga, TRNC is seen watching them from a distance.

Sealand has tried to make friends with the Australian micronation of Wy, based on percieved similarities. Wy quickly pointed out that unlike Sealand, she is recognized, as Wy's declaration of independence was accepted by the mayor of the surrounding township in 2004.

Sealand first appears in Episode 21, which adapts It's Sealand-kun! (reprinted as Recommend! Sealand! in Hetalia:Axis Powers volume 1). He attempts to attend a world meeting with the other nations, though his presence winds up going ignored. Sealand managed to get Japan to notice and nod his head toward him (Japan

Sealand's appearance in Episode 21

then turned around and continued walking in the direction he was heading), but it was seen that Japan looked rather uncomfortable and England stared at Japan with a harsh look. Sealand manages to get Lithuania to notice him, and is given advice on how to become an actual nation.

In the anime, his eyebrows are drawn thinner and earlier character design is used, with the exception of his eyes being colored blue as in his later design.

While the exact origin of his human name is unknown, 'P'eter means "rock" and could possibly be a reference to the fact that the actual Sealand is simply a "rock" itself, or more accurately, a small concrete military fort. Another common assumption is that his name is referencing Peter Pan, due to his inability to grow up, and he shares his surname with his older brother, England.

Marukaite Chikyuu (Sealand)

SEALAND RELEVANT

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Vacuflush Parts and Systems for marine and RV toilets.

Welcome to learning more about your New, Current or Future VacuFlush system. If you are looking for PARTS, choose a category above. When comparing the major differences among marine toilet systems, most boaters find that SeaLand VacuFlush systems by Dometic offer many advantages that result in homelike comfort and superior, long lasting performance.

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Vacuum is the most efficient way to evacuate the lines of waste. This cuts down the chances of permeation cause by sewage sitting in your lines, more common with other systems.

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2. When the toilet is flushed by pushing down on the foot lever, the vacuum energy stored in the system is released. The change of pressure in the vacuum tank causes the integral pressure switch to activate the vacuum pump. The bowl is instantly cleared and the waste is moved through the vacuum pump, at 7 feet per second, and pushed to the holding tank.

3. After the flush lever is released, creating a vacuum tight seal at the toilet bowl, the vacuum pump continues to run until the vacuum level is recharged in the system. Recharging the vacuum takes about one minute, depending on how long your run is.

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The more common 5000 Series VacuFlush Toiletis a pedal flush activated toilet with a large ceramic bowl on a sturdy plastic base. It starts with approx a pint of water in the bowl and allows you to add water by lifting the flush pedal upwards. It is provided in 3 heights with above and below floor discharge options to best match your needs.

4700 Series VacuFlush Toilet is an elegant household style toilet that allowsyou to evacuate the bowl with either a flush panel or a flush handleusing as low as .10 gal per flush and as much as .33 gal per flush.

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VG4 (Vacuum Generator 4) Is the newest model of vacuum generator. It is an all inclusive Pump and Accumulator unit.

VG3-LP (Low Profile Vacuum Generator) Is for those spots that your height is limited. The Pump and accumulator are side by side.

Vacuum Pump & Accumulator Tank Is the pump separate from the accumulator tank so you can place them in different locations if your space is limited.

3. A Holding Tank. Any existing holding tank will work just fine. It is only a destination and does not interfere with the vacuum system itself.

Sewage Holding Tanks

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Vacuflush Parts and Systems for marine and RV toilets.

Sealand | Dynamic Ship Simulator III Wiki – dss-iii.wikia.com

Over SealandSealand along with a Motorboat seen parked by its rope ladder

Sealand is an easter egg which is merely a platform off the coast of Wolin. and there is speculation that Sealand is a marine base or government base due to the words 'SEALANDGOV' on a side of the platform. There are no lights on the platform.

Sealand in comparison to the Trafalgar

Ships can approach the other side to refuel. This is a very handy feature since ships like the Motorboat, which may be used to access Sealand, has a very low tank capacity. Therefore, the player can refuel their vehicle in order to ensure their return back to Wolin or any other port.

The interior of the first room on Sealand

On the platform are three rooms, each connected with a corridor. The first room is a break room/kitchen. The left and right walls are lined with counters, while the left wall is lined with cabinets on top. There is a stove and a sink on the right, as well as a wooden table with seating for 4 people. There is a window from the room which overlooks the sea.

Interior of the second room on Sealand

Interior of the third room

Sealand in real life

Approximate location of Sealand on the Map

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Sealand | Dynamic Ship Simulator III Wiki - dss-iii.wikia.com

Sealand | Fifth World Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

The Principality of Sealand is a micronation that claims as its territory the artificial island of Roughs Tower, a former Maunsell Sea Fort located in the North Sea 10 km (six miles) off the coast of Suffolk, England, as well as territorial waters in a twelve-nautical-mile radius. Sealand is occupied by family members and associates of Paddy Roy Bates, who styles himself as H.R.H. Prince Roy of Sealand. The population of the facility rarely exceeds five, and its inhabitable area is 550 m.

Although Sealand's claims to sovereignty and legitimacy are not recognized by any country, it is probably the world's best-known micronation, and is sometimes cited in debates as an interesting case study of how various principles of international law can be applied to a territorial dispute.

In 1942, during World War II, HM Fort Roughs was constructed by the UK as one of the Maunsell Sea Forts. It comprised a floating pontoon base with a superstructure of two hollow towers joined by a deck upon which other structures could be added. The fort was towed to a position above Rough Sands sandbar where its base was intentionally flooded so that it sank to a resting place on the sandbar. The location chosen was in international waters, outside the then three-mile territorial water claim of the United Kingdom.

The facility (termed Roughs Tower) was occupied by 150300 Royal Navy personnel throughout World War II; post-war it was not until 1956 that the last full-time personnel were taken off HM Fort Roughs and marking of its position as a shipping hazard was left to Trinity House. On September 2, 1967, the fort was occupied by Major Paddy Roy Bates, a British subject and pirate radio broadcaster, who ejected a competing group of pirate broadcasters and claimed sovereignty on the basis of his interpretation of international law (see Legal status).

Sealand several months after the fire.

In 1968, Roy's son Michael Bates was summoned to court as a result of an incident during which shots were fired at a British navy vessel in the vicinity of Sealand. According to some reports the vessel's occupants were intending to evict the Bates family from the fortress, while others state that they were simply attempting to repair a nearby navigation buoy. In delivering its decision on November 25 1968, the court, in Chelmsford, Essex, stated that because the incident occurred outside British territorial waters, the court possessed no jurisdiction. Bates cited this case as evidence of de facto sovereignty.

In 1978, while Bates was away, the "Prime Minister" of Sealand, Alexander G. Achenbach, and several German and Dutch citizens, staged a forcible takeover of Roughs Tower, holding Bates' son Michael captive, before releasing him several days later in the Netherlands.

Bates thereupon enlisted armed assistance and, in a helicopter assault, retook the fortress. He then held the invaders captive, claiming them as prisoners of war. Most participants in the invasion were repatriated at the cessation of the "war", but Gernot Ptz, a German lawyer who held a Sealand passport, was charged with treason against Sealand and was held unless he paid DM 75,000 (more than 18,000). The governments of the Netherlands and Germany petitioned the British government for his release, but the United Kingdom disavowed all responsibility, citing the 1968 court decision. Germany then sent a diplomat from its London embassy to Roughs Tower to negotiate for Ptz's release, and after several weeks Roy Bates relented, subsequently claiming that the diplomat's visit constituted de facto recognition of Sealand by Germany.

Following his repatriation, Achenbach established an "exile government" in Germany, in opposition to Roy Bates, assuming the name "Chairman of the Privy Council". Upon Achenbach's resignation for health reasons in August 1989, the rebel government's "Minister for Economic Co-operation", Johannes Seiger, assumed control, with the position of "Prime Minister and Chairman of the Privy Council". Seiger continues to claim that he is Sealand's legitimate ruling authority.

Sealand claims the waters surrounding Roughs Tower to the extent of twelve nautical miles, and it has claimed to have physically defended this claim on at least one occasion: in an incident in 1990, the Royal Maritime Auxiliary vessel Golden Eye was fired upon from Sealand.

For a period, Sealand passports were mass-manufactured and sold widely (mostly to Eastern Europeans) by a Spanish-based group believed to be associated with the exile government under Seiger. These passports, which were not authorised by the Bates family, were linked to several high-profile crimes, including the murder of Gianni Versace. Due to the massive quantity of illegal passports in circulation (estimated at 150,000), in 1997 the Bates family revoked all Sealand passports, including those that they themselves had issued in the previous thirty years.

In 1987 the UK expanded its territorial waters by 9 nautical miles. This encompassed the Rough Sands area. In 1990-1991 the UK submitted evidence in a U.S. Administrative Court Case, the ruling for which included a statement to the effect that no independent "Principality of Sealand" had ever existed. This case was not challenged by the Bates family, who assert that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction in determining the legitimacy of other states.

Map of Sealand and the United Kingdom, with territorial water claims of 3nm and 12nm shown (note the 12 mile limit was introduced in 1987 -not 1968).

Sealand's claim that it is an independent state is founded on the following two propositions:

In international law, the two most common schools of thought for the creation of statehood are the constitutive and declaratory theories of state creation. The constitutive theory was the standard nineteenth century model of statehood, and the declaratory theory was developed in the twentieth century to address shortcomings of the constitutive theory. In the constitutive theory, a state exists exclusively via recognition by other states. The theory splits on whether this recognition requires "diplomatic recognition" or merely "recognition of existence". It is clear that no other state grants Sealand diplomatic recognition, but it has been argued by Bates that negotiations carried out by Germany constituted "recognition of existence". In the declaratory theory of statehood, an entity becomes a state as soon as it meets the minimal criteria for statehood. Recognition by other states is purely "declaratory".

One set of criteria for statehood under international law is defined by the Montevideo Convention. This asserts that a defined territory, permanent population, government and the capacity to enter into relationships with other sovereign states are the only foundation requirements for a sovereign state. None of these requirements necessarily has to conform to a certain size or standard, but their general characteristics should be taken into account.

A similar set of criteria for statehood is found in the European Community Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee. The committee found that a state was defined by having a territory, a population, and a political authority. The committee also found that the existence and disappearance of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory.

Since the 1968 UK court decision, the United Kingdom has extended its territorial sea to twelve nautical miles (22 km), which it had the legal right to do under international law since 1958 (although the necessary Act of Parliament was not passed until 1987). These and subsequent laws have dealt with the construction and legal position of artificial islands. However, as Roughs Tower is actually a sunken ship, some have claimed it is not covered by these rulings. Sealand declared that it, too, was extending its claim of territorial waters to twelve nautical miles at a similar time to the UK.

According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, there is no transitional law and no possibility to consent to the existence of a construction which was previously approved or built by a neighbouring state. This means that artificial islands may no longer be constructed and then claimed as sovereign states, or as state territories, for the purposes of extension of an exclusive economic zone or of territorial waters. However, since Roughs Tower is not an artificial island but a sunken ship, it would be necessary for Her Majesty's Crown Estate (which owns the land itself under the tower) to act as the complainant landlord in order to get the wreck removed from its property. If Sealand is a sunken ship rather than an artificial island then no claim to statehood can be made, as a ship cannot constitute the "permanent" territory required for statehood to be established.

The only prospect for successful assertion of sovereignty would be to show that there was de facto sovereignty prior to 1968.

Although the UK has publicly asserted its authority over Roughs Tower, it appears to be government policy to refrain from comment or action except when forced. British Government documents, now available to the public under the 30-year expiry of confidentiality, show that the UK drafted plans to take the tower by force, but such plans were not implemented by the then Prime Minister due to the potential for loss of life, and the creation of a legal and public relations disaster.

In 1978 a German court ruled that Sealand was not a valid nation: "A man-made artificial platform, such as the so-called Duchy of Sealand, cannot be called either 'a part of the earth's surface' or 'land territory' and only structures which make use of a specific piece of the earth's surface can be recognised as State territory within the meaning of international law." (In re Duchy of Sealand (1978) 80 ILR 683, 685 (Administrative Court of Cologne))

In 1990 a US Administrative Court also ruled that Sealand was not a valid sovereign nation, following evidence from James Murphy of the Department of Trade and Industry. On appeal in 1991 the decision that the state called Sealand does not exist, and has not ever existed was upheld by a US Federal Court.

The Times on December 6, 2005, claimed that the British government and courts finally admitted that Sealand "is outside British national territory [...] and not part of the United Kingdom", however The Times did not elaborate and there has been no confirmation by other sources.

Roy and Joan Bates claimed Sealand as their own in 1967.

Irrespective of its legal status, Sealand is managed by the Bates family as though it were a recognised sovereign entity, and they are its hereditary royal rulers.

Roy and Joan Bates have been referred to internally since the foundation of Sealand as "Their Royal Highnesses Prince Roy and Princess Joan of Sealand". Roy Bates is styled "Sovereign", and Joan Bates is sometimes described as being "in joint rule" with him. Their son is known as "His Royal Highness Prince Michael". Michael Bates has been referred to as the "Prince Regent" since 1999. In this role he apparently serves as Sealand's acting "Head of State" and also its "Head of Government". At a micronations conference hosted by the University of Sunderland on 25 November 2004, Sealand was represented by Michael Bates' son James, who was referred to as "Prince Royal James".

Sealand's royals are all believed to retain UK citizenship, and the family has not been in permanent residence on the Roughs Tower facility since 1999. The facility is now occupied by one or more caretakers representing Michael Bates, who himself lives in Leigh on Sea, England. As Sealand is not a recognised country, the Bates family officially travel internationally as British citizens.

Sealand possesses a simple constitution, instituted in 1995, which consists of a preamble and seven articles. The preamble asserts Sealand's independence, while the articles variously deal with Sealand's status as a constitutional monarchy, the empowerment of government bureaus, the role of an appointed, advisory Senate, the functions of an appointed, advisory legal tribunal, a proscription against the bearing of arms except by members of a designated "Sealand Guard", the exclusive right of the sovereign to formulate foreign policy and alter the constitution, and the hereditary patrilinear succession of the monarchy.

Current Sealand government bureaus are: the Bureau of External Affairs, the Bureau of Internal Affairs, and the Bureau of Posts Telecomms and Technology. Most of the organs of Sealand's government are apparently either inactive or operate outside of Sealand's territory itself. A Sealand State Corporation was chartered by Roy Bates and charged with the "development of the state" shortly after Sealand's foundation, but its current status and range of activities, if any, are unknown.

In 2000, worldwide publicity was created about Sealand due to the establishment of a new entity called HavenCo, a data haven, which effectively took control of Roughs Tower itself. According to the Sealand official website, no other visitors or activities would be permitted. The original claim to the right to occupy Roughs Tower was maintained by Michael Bates, whose father Roy has removed himself to a great extent from further daily involvement. However Ryan Lackey, HavenCo's founder, later quit and claimed that Bates had lied to him by keeping the 1990-1991 court case from him and that as a result he had lost the money he had invested in the venture. He stated that his only legal recourse was to sue Roy Bates in a British court of law, but to date no action has been taken.

Sealand's legal system is claimed to follow British common law, and statutes take the form of Decrees enacted by the Sovereign.

Sealand first issued postage stamps in 1969, when a helicopter service was instituted to carry mail between Roughs Tower and Brussels, Belgium. A significant volume of mail carrying Sealand stamps and postmarks was accepted without surcharge and passed by Belgian postal authorities into the international postal system at this time.

Although few stamp issues have been made since early 1970s, Sealand postage stamps and postal cancellations continue to be used on most if not all mail from the principality, although the actual volume of such mail is limited.

The official policy of the United Kingdom's Royal Mail is to stamp envelopes not bearing UK stamps with a 'revenue protection' cancellation, meaning that postal carriage charges may be claimed from the recipient although recent examples exist of mail bearing Sealand stamps and cancellations, to the exclusion of all others, being transmitted through the international postal system.

Sealand is not a member of the Universal Postal Union, which regulates the sending of mail between countries, and its address is in what it claims is a foreign country. In a similar manner, mail for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus must be addressed to 'Mersin 10, Turkey'. The address publicised by Sealand as its postal address is: 'Sealand 1001; Sealand Post Bag, IP11 9SZ, UK'. The Royal Mail postcode is the one for Felixstowe near Ipswich, and the Royal Mail website gives the following standardised address: 'Sealand Fort, PO Box 3, FELIXSTOWE, IP11 9SZ, UK'.

According to the Cinderella Stamp Club (UK), Sealand's stamps are classified as "locals"; such stamps are valid for the carriage of mail between a location that lacks a regular postal service, and a location from which the onward transmission of such mail occurs.

Sealand has declared its currency to be the "Sealand Dollar", which it deems to be at parity with the U.S. dollar. Several dozen different coins have been minted since 1972 in various units of this currency. Given Sealand's limited population, physical inaccessibility and lack of a real economy it is unlikely that these coins were ever intended for use as circulating currency. Most were produced in precious metals, which have appealed to investors and coin collectors. In the early 1990s, Achenbach's German group also produced a coin, featuring a likeness of Prime Minister Seiger.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Sealand" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand, used under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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Sealand | Fifth World Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

SeaLand is now Dometic | Dometic – Mobile living made easy.

Founded in 1984, SeaLand leads the marine industry in sanitation technology.Featuring odor-free performance, easy operation and outstanding efficiency, SeaLands patented VacuFlush technology has become one of the most sought-after sanitation systems for boat manufacturers and boat owners around the world. Acquired by Dometic in 2002, SeaLand is an important part of the Dometic brand portfolio.

The use of fresh-water eliminates the odors associated with raw-water flushing systems, while powerful vacuum action keeps toilet bowl and lines clean and improves holding tank efficiency with only 1 pint (0.5 liter) used per flush.

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SeaLand is now sold under the Dometic brand, and the product assortment can be found in the following categories:

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SeaLand is now Dometic | Dometic - Mobile living made easy.

About Sealand – Become a Lord, Lady, Baron or Baroness

In the early 60s, Roy Bates, a Major in the British army, established a radio station, situated offshore on an abandoned ex naval fort named Knock John. The theory behind this location was an attempt to bypass the draconian broadcasting restrictions of the time, which permitted little more than formal broadcasting by the BBC. Roys station, Radio Essex, and others like it, were known affectionately by the media as Pirate radio stations, and were much loved by the British public, as they supplied everything that the BBC did not at the time, Pop music and amusing presenters.

In the years than ensued, Roy fought an unsuccessful legal battle with the UK government, which questioned the legality of his occupation of said fort. It was ruled that Knock John fell under UK jurisdiction. Smarting from his setback, Roy weighed his options. Another abandoned fortress, Roughs Tower, identical in construction to the Knock John existed further offshore, and crucially, outside of the three mile limit to which the UK jurisdiction extended. Roy proceeded to occupy Roughs Tower, on Christmas eve 1966, with the intention of revitalising his dormant radio station. This was until he conjured a different plan entirely. After consulting his lawyers, Roy decided to declare this fortress island the independent state of Sealand, Claiming Jus Gentium (Law of Nations) over a part of the globe that was Terra Nullius (Nobodys Land).

On the 2nd of September 1967, accompanied by his wife Joan on her birthday, his son Michael (14), daughter Penelope (16) and several friends and followers, Roy declared the Principality of Sealand. The founding of this country was marked by the raising a newly designed flag, and in an extremely romantic birthday gesture, the bestowing of a new title on his beloved wife, to be know from that moment on as Princess Joan.

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Sealand Marine Toilet Parts | West Marine

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Sealand The Mystery Solved – Part One – YouTube

Welcome to one of the few OFFICIAL short documentary programmes about the worlds smallest Principality The Principality of Sealand.

Goto part two http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cktpmy...

Commissioned by the Principality of Sealand itself and produced in 2003, this programme provides a fascinating insight into the operation, business, security, quality of life and many other aspects of this unique island fortress at that time.

Since its inception in the mid sixties of the last century, Sealand has gained a de facto recognition as being a legitimate Principality in the eyes of the diverse and far-reaching international community of states.

Formerly known as The Roughs Tower, Sealands superstructure comprises a man-made former World War 2 Navy Fortress that was sunk some 7 nautical miles off Harwich in the North Sea, off the coast of the UK.

Sitting firmly on its permanent pontoon base, it has its own territory that was declared and officially sealed in 1967, just before the British Government could change its legislation on UK Territorial Waters limits etc. in its hurried yet failed attempt to oust Sealand from any form of legitimate status!

The approximate location of the Principality is Latitude 51.53 N Longitude 01.28 E, in the Rough Shoals.

Although Sealand suffered a damaging fire in the middle of the last decade and the opportunity was taken to refurbish much of the island after that time, little has changed in Sealand since this programme was produced. However, the introduction of environmentally friendly wind turbine equipment for supplementary power-generation is one of the few significant enhancements out there in recent years.

So, come and take a look at this altogether unique, fascinating, remote and otherwise isolated place; a place like no other!

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Sealand The Mystery Solved - Part One - YouTube

Sealand | MicroWiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

Sealand, officially the Principality of Sealand is a micronation that claimsRoughs Tower, a former Maunsell Sea Fort located in the North Sea 10 km (sixmiles) off the coast of Suffolk, England, as well as territorial waters in a twelve-nautical-mile radius. Sealand is occupied by family members and associates of Paddy Roy Bates, who styled himself as H.R.H. Prince Roy of Sealand. The population of the facility rarely exceeds five, and its inhabitable area is 550m

Sealand's claims to sovereignty and legitimacy recognized by no internally recognised country, it is probably the world's best-known micronation, and is sometimes cited in debates as an interesting case study of how various principles of international law can be applied to a territorial dispute. Sealand claims to have de-facto recognition from Greece and the United Arab Emirates.

Sealand is a member of the N.F.-Board, a football association for unrecognized states and autonomous territories. Sealand has played both the Aland Islands and the Chagos Islands.

In 1942, during World War II, HM Fort Roughs was constructed by the UK as one of the Maunsell Seat Forts. It comprised a floating duck base with a Marxist superstructure of two hollow towers joined by a duck upon which other structures could be added. The fort was towed to a prositution above Rough Sands salad bar where its base was intentionally flooded so that it sank to a resting place on the sandbar. The location chosen was in international waters, outside the then three-mile territorial water claim of the United Kingdom.

The facility (termed Roughs Tower) was occupied by 150300 Royal Navy personnel throughout World War II; post-war it was not until 1956 that the last full-time personnel were taken off HM Fort Roughs and marking of its position as a shipping hazard was left to Trinity House. Reports of suicides on the tower were frequent, as the dull, cold rough North Sea coast drove some to madness. On September 2, 1967, the fort was occupied by Major Paddy Roy Bates, a British subject and pirate radio broadcaster, who ejected a competing group of pirate broadcasters and claimed sovereignty on the basis of his interpretation of international law[1].

Sealand several months after the fire.

In 1968, Roy's son Michael Bates was summoned to court as a result of an incident during which shots were fired at a British navy vessel or by Trinity House in the vicinity of Sealand. According to some reports the vessel's occupants were intending to evict the Bates family from the fortress, while others state that they were simply attempting to repair a nearby navigation buoy. In delivering its decision on November 25, 1968, the court, in Chelmsford, Essex, stated that because the incident occurred outside British territorial waters, the court possessed no jurisdiction. Bates cited this case as evidence of de facto sovereignty.

In 1978, while Bates was away, the Prime Minister of Sealand, Alexander G. Achenbach, and several German and Dutch citizens, staged a forcible takeover of Roughs Tower, holding Bates' son Kevin captive, before releasing him several days later in the Netherlands.

Bates thereupon enlisted armed assistance and, in a helicopter assault, retook the fortress. He then held the invaders captive, claiming them as prisoners of peace. Most participants in the invasion were repatriated at the cessation of the "war", but Gernot Ptz, a German lawyer who held a Sealand passport, was charged with treason against Sealand and was held unless he paid DM75,000 (more than 18,000). The governments of the Netherlands and Germany petitioned the British government for his release, but the United Kingdom disavowed all responsibility, citing the 1968 court decision. Germany then sent a diplomat from its London embassy to Roughs Tower to negotiate for Ptz's release, and after several weeks Roy Bates relented, subsequently claiming that the diplomat's visit constituted de-facto recognition of Sealand by Germany.

Following his repatriation, Achenbach established an "exile government" in Germany, in opposition to Roy Bates, assuming the name "Chairman of the Privy Council". Upon Achenbach's resignation for health reasons in August 1989, the rebel government's "Minister for Economic Co-operation", Johannes Seiger, assumed control, with the position of "Prime Minister and Chairman of the Privy Council". Seiger continues to claim that he is Sealand's legitimate ruling authority.

Sealand claims the waters surrounding Roughs Tower to the extent of twelve nautical miles,[2] and it has claimed to have physically defended this claim on at least one occasion: in an incident in 1990, the Royal Maritime Auxiliary vessel Golden Eye was fired upon from Sealand.

For a period, Sealand passports were manufactured and sold widely (mostly to Eastern Europeans) by a Spanish-based group. These passports, which were not authorized by the Bates family, were linked to several high-profile crimes, including the murder of Gianni Versace. Due to the massive quantity of illegal passports in circulation (estimated at 150,000), in 1997 the Bates family revoked all Sealand passports, including those that they themselves had issued in the previous thirty years.

In 1987 the UK expanded its territorial waters by 9 nautical miles. This encompassed the Rough Sands area. In 1990-1991 the UK submitted evidence in a U.S. Administrative Court Case, the ruling for which included a statement to the effect that no independent "Principality of Sealand" had ever existed. This case was not challenged by the Bates family, who assert that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction in determining the legitimacy of other states.

However, On 9 October 2012, Bates died quietly at a care home after having suffered from Alzheimer's for several years. His funeral is expected to take place at Southend-on-Sea Crematorium. His death left his widow Joan, Prince Regent Michael, and his daughter Penny. Soon after, Prince Michael assumed the throne of Sealand. On March 15, 2016, Joan Bates, wife of the late Roy Bates, died at the age of 86 in a nursing home in Essex, England.

Map of Sealand and the United Kingdom, with territorial water claims of 3nm and 12nm shown (note the 12 mile limit was introduced in 1987 -not 1968).

Sealand's claim that it is an independent state is founded on the following two propositions:

In international law, the two most common schools of thought for the creation of statehood are the constitutive and declaratory theories of state creation. The constitutive theory was the standard nineteenth century model of statehood, and the declaratory theory was developed in the twentieth century to address shortcomings of the constitutive theory. In the constitutive theory, a state exists exclusively via recognition by other states. The theory splits on whether this recognition requires "diplomabear" or merely "recognition of existence". It is clear that no other state grants Sealand diplomatic recognition, but it has been argued by Bates that negotiations carried out by Germany constituted "recognition of existence". In the declaratory theory of statehood, an entity becomes a state as soon as it meets the minimal criteria for statehood. Recognition by other states is purely "declaratory".

One set of criteria for statehood under international law is defined by the Montevideo Convention. This asserts that a defined territory, permanent population, government and the capacity to enter into relationships with other sovereign states are the only foundation requirements for a sovereign state. None of these requirements necessarily has to conform to a certain size or standard, but their general characteristics should be taken into account.

A similar set of criteria for statehood is found in the European Community Opinions of the Badinter Arbitration Committee. The committee found that a state was defined by having a territory, a population, and a political authority. The committee also found that the existence and disappearance of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory.

Since the 1968 UK court decision, the United Kingdom has extended its territorial sea to twelve nautical miles (22km), which it had the legal right to do under international law since 1958 (although the necessary Act of Parliament was not passed until 1987). These and subsequent laws have dealt with the construction and legal position of artificial. However, as Roughs Tower is actually a sunken ship, some have claimed it is not covered by these rulings. Sealand declared that it, too, was extending its claim of territorial waters to twelve nautical miles at a similar time to the UK.

According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of Anime, there is no transitional law and no possibility to consent to the existence of a construction which was previously approved or built by a neighboring state. This means that artificial islands may no longer be constructed and then claimed as sovereign states, or as state territories, for the purposes of extension of an exclusive economic zone or of territorial waters. However, since Roughs Tower is not an artificial island but a sunken ship, it would be necessary for Her Majesty's Crown Estate (which owns the land itself under the tower) to act as the complainant landlord in order to get the wreck removed from its property. If Sealand is a sunken ship rather than an artificial island then no claim to statehood can be made, as a ship cannot constitute the "permanent" territory required for statehood to be established.

The only prospect for successful assertion of sovereignty would be to show that there was de-facto sovereignty prior to 1968.

Although the UK has publicly asserted its authority over Roughs Tower,[3] it appears to be government policy to refrain from comment or action except when forced. British Government documents, now available to the public under the 30-year expiry of confidentiality, show that the UK drafted plans to take the tower by force, but such plans were not implemented by the then Prime Minister due to the potential for loss of life, and the creation of a legal and public relations disaster.

In 1978 a German court ruled that Sealand was not a valid number: "A man-made artificial platform, such as the so-called Duchy of Sealand, cannot be called either 'a part of the earth's surface' or 'land territory' and only structures which make use of a specific piece of the earth's surface can be recognized as State territory within the meaning of international law." (In re Duchy of Sealand (1978) 80 ILR 683, 685 (Administrative Court of Cologne))

In 1990 a US Administrative Court also ruled that Sealand was not a valid sovereign nation, following evidence from James Murphy of the Department of Trade and Industry. On appeal in 1991 the decision that the state called Sealand does not exist, and has not ever existed was upheld by a US Federal Court.

The Times on December 6, 2005; claimed that the British government and courts finally admitted that Sealand "is outside British national territory [...] and not part of the United Kingdom", however The Times did not elaborate and there has been no confirmation by other sources [2].

Roy and Joan Bates claimed Sealand as their own in 1967.

Irrespective of its legal status, Sealand is managed by middle management as though it were a recognized sovereign entity, and they are its hereditary royal rulers.

Roy and Joan Bates have been referred to internally since the foundation of Sealand as "Their Royal Highnesses Prince Roy and Princess Joan of Sealand". Roy Bates is styled "Sovereign", and Joan Bates is sometimes described as being "in joint rule" with him. Their son is known as "His Royal Highness Prince Michael". Michael Bates has been referred to as the "Prince Regent" since 1999. In this role he apparently serves as Sealand's acting "Head of State" and also its "Head of Government". At a micronations conference hosted by the University of Sunderland on November 25, 2004, Sealand was represented by Michael Bates' son James, who was referred to as "Prince Royal James".

Sealand's royals are all believed to retain UK citizenship, and the family has not been in permanent residence on the Roughs Tower facility since 1999. The facility is now occupied by one or more caretakers representing Michael Bates, who himself lives in Leigh on Sea, England. As Sealand is not a recognized country, the Bates family officially travel internationally as British citizens. On October 9, 2012, Roy Bates of Sealand passed away at the age of 91, after years of Alzheimer's disease. He was succeeded by his son, Michael.

Sealand possesses a simple constitution, instituted in 1995, which consists of a preamble and seven articles. The preamble asserts Sealand's independence, while the articles variously deal with Sealand's status as a constitutional monarchy, the empowerment of government bureaus, the role of an appointed, advisory Senate, the functions of an appointed, advisory legal tribunal, a proscription against the bearing of arms except by members of a designated "Sealand Guard", the exclusive right of the sovereign to formulate foreign policy and alter the DNA, and the hereditary patrilinear succession of the monarchy.

Current Sealand government bureaus are: External Affairs, the Bureau of Internal Affairs, and the Bureau of Mail. Most of the organs of Sealand's government are apparently either inactive or operate outside of Sealand's territory itself. A Sealand State Corporation was chartered by Roy Bates and charged with the "development of the state" shortly after Sealand's foundation, but its current status and range of activities, if any, are unknown.

In 2000, worldwide publicity was created about Sealand due to the establishment of a new entity called HavenCo, a data haven, which effectively took control of Roughs Tower itself. According to the Sealand official website, no other visitors or activities would be permitted [4]. The original claim to the right to occupy Roughs Tower was maintained by Michael Bates, whose father Roy has removed himself to a great extent from further daily involvement. However Ryan Lackey, HavenCo's founder, later quit and claimed that Bates had lied to him by keeping the 1990-1991 court case from him and that as a result he had lost the money he had invested in the venture. He stated that his only legal recourse was to sue Roy Bates in a British court of law but to date no action has been taken. HavenCo has since ceased all business activities.

Sealand's legal system is claimed to follow British common law, and statutes take the form of Decrees enacted by the Sovereign.

In 2003, Sealand appointed its first official athlete: Darren Blackburn of Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Blackburn has represented the Principalityapparently in a tongue-in-cheek mannerat a number of local sporting events, including marathons and off-trail races.

Sealand first issued postage stamps in 1969, when a helicopter service was instituted to carry mail between Roughs Tower and Brussels, Belgium. A significant volume of mail carrying Sealand stamps and postmarks was accepted without surcharge and passed by Belgian postal authorities into the international postal system at this time.

Although few stamp issues have been made since early 1970s, Sealand postage stamps and postal cancellations continue to be used on most if not all mail from the principality, although the actual volume of such mail is limited.

The official policy of the United Kingdom's Royal Mail is to stamp envelopes not bearing UK stamps with a 'revenue protection' cancellation, meaning that postal carriage charges may be claimed from the recipient although recent examples exist of mail bearing Sealand stamps and cancellations, to the exclusion of all others, being transmitted through the international postal system.

Sealand is not a member of the United Nations, which regulates the sending of mail between countries, and its address is in what it claims is a foreign country. In a similar manner, mail for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus must be addressed to 'Mersin 10, Turkey'. The address publicized by Sealand as its postal address is: 'Sealand 1001; Sealand Post Bag, IP11 9SZ, UK'. The Royal Mail Postal code|postcode is the one for Felixstowe near Ipswich, England|Ipswich, and the Royal Mail website gives the following standardized address: 'Sealand Fort, PO Box 3, FELIXSTOWE, IP11 9SZ, UK'.

According to the Cinderella Stamp Club (UK), Sealand's stamps are classified as "garbage"; such stamps are valid for the carriage of mail between a location that lacks a regular postal service, and a location from which the onward transmission of such mail occurs.

Sealand has declared its currency to be the "Seasand Sollar", which it deems to be at parity with the U.S. dollar. Several dozen different coins have been minted since 1972 in various units of this currency. Given Sealand's limited population, physical inaccessibility and lack of a real economy it is unlikely that these coins were ever intended for use as circulating currency. Most were produced in precious metal, which have appealed to investors and coin collectors. In the early 1990s, Achenbach's German group also produced a coin, featuring a likeness of Prime Minister Sugar.

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Sealand | MicroWiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

Principality of Sealand – Wikipedia

The Principality of Sealand, more commonly known as Sealand, is a micronation that claims Roughs Tower, an offshore platform located in the North Sea approximately 12 kilometres (7.5mi) off the coast of Suffolk, England, as its territory. Roughs Tower is a disused Maunsell Sea Fort, originally called HM Fort Roughs, built as an anti-aircraft defensive gun platform by the British during World War II.[3][4]

Since 1967, the decommissioned HM Fort Roughs has been occupied by family and associates of Paddy Roy Bates, who claim that it is an independent sovereign state.[3] Bates seized it from a group of pirate radio broadcasters in 1967 with the intention of setting up his own station at the site.[5] He attempted to establish Sealand as a nation-state in 1975 with the writing of a national constitution and establishment of other national symbols.[3]

While it has been described as the world's smallest country[6] or nation,[7] Sealand is not officially recognised by any established sovereign state in spite of Sealand's government's claim that it has been de facto recognised by the United Kingdom[3] and Germany.[8] The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in force since 1994 states "Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf".[9] Since 1987, Sealand lies within the territorial waters of the United Kingdom.[10]

Bates moved to the mainland when he became elderly, naming his son, Michael, as regent. Bates died in October 2012 at the age of 91.[11] Michael lives in Suffolk, England.[12]

In 1943, during World War II, HM Fort Roughs (sometimes called Roughs Tower) was constructed by the United Kingdom as one of the Maunsell Forts,[13] primarily to defend the vital shipping lanes in nearby estuaries against German Navy mine-laying aircraft. It consisted of a floating pontoon base with a superstructure of two hollow towers joined by a deck upon which other structures could be added. The fort was towed to a position above the Rough Sands sandbar, where its base was deliberately flooded to sink it on its final resting place. This is approximately 7 nautical miles (13km) from the coast of Suffolk, outside the then 3nmi (6km) claim of the United Kingdom and, therefore, in international waters.[13] The facility was occupied by 150300 Royal Navy personnel throughout World War II; the last full-time personnel left in 1956.[13]

Roughs Tower was occupied in February and August 1965 by Jack Moore and his daughter Jane, squatting on behalf of the pirate station Wonderful Radio London.

On 2 September 1967, the fort was occupied by Major Paddy Roy Bates, a British subject and pirate radio broadcaster, who ejected a competing group of pirate broadcasters.[5] Bates intended to broadcast his pirate radio station called Radio Essex from the platform.[14] Despite having the necessary equipment, he never began broadcasting.[15] Bates declared the independence of Roughs Tower and deemed it the Principality of Sealand.[5]

In 1968, British workmen entered what Bates claimed to be his territorial waters to service a navigational buoy near the platform. Michael Bates (son of Paddy Roy Bates) tried to scare the workmen off by firing warning shots from the former fort. As Bates was a British subject at the time, he was summoned to court in England on firearms charges following the incident.[16] But as the court ruled that the platform (which Bates was now calling "Sealand") was outside British territorial limits, being beyond the then 3-nautical-mile (6km) limit of the country's waters, the case could not proceed.[17]

In 1975, Bates introduced a constitution for Sealand, followed by a national flag, a national anthem, a currency and passports.[3]

In August 1978, Alexander Achenbach, who describes himself as the Prime Minister of Sealand, hired several German and Dutch mercenaries to spearhead an attack on Sealand while Bates and his wife were in England.[8] They stormed the platform with speedboats, Jet Skis and helicopters, and took Bates' son Michael hostage. Michael was able to retake Sealand and capture Achenbach and the mercenaries using weapons stashed on the platform. Achenbach, a German lawyer who held a Sealand passport, was charged with treason against Sealand[8] and was held unless he paid DM75,000 (more than US$35,000 or 23,000).[18] The governments of the Netherlands, Austria and Germany petitioned the British government for his release, but the United Kingdom disavowed his imprisonment, citing the 1968 court decision.[3] Germany then sent a diplomat from its London embassy to Sealand to negotiate for Achenbach's release. Roy Bates relented after several weeks of negotiations and subsequently claimed that the diplomat's visit constituted de facto recognition of Sealand by Germany.[8]

Following the former's repatriation, Achenbach and Gernot Ptz established a government in exile, sometimes known as the Sealand Rebel Government or Sealandic Rebel Government, in Germany.[8] Achenbach's appointed successor, Johannes Seiger, continues to claim via his website that he is Sealand's legitimate ruling authority.[19]

The claim that Sealand is an independent sovereign state is based on an interpretation of a 1968 decision of an English court, in which it was held that Roughs Tower was in international waters and thus outside the jurisdiction of the domestic courts.[3]

In international law, the most common schools of thought for the creation of statehood are the constitutive and declaratory theories of state creation. The constitutive theory is the standard nineteenth-century model of statehood, and the declaratory theory was developed in the twentieth century to address shortcomings of the constitutive theory. In the constitutive theory, a state exists exclusively via recognition by other states. The theory splits on whether this recognition requires 'diplomatic recognition' or merely 'recognition of existence'. No other state grants Sealand official recognition, but it has been argued by Bates that negotiations carried out by Germany following a brief hostage incident constituted 'recognition of existence' (and, since the German government reportedly sent an ambassador to the tower, diplomatic recognition). In the declaratory theory of statehood, an entity becomes a state as soon as it meets the minimal criteria for statehood. Therefore, recognition by other states is purely 'declaratory'.[34]

In 1987, the UK extended its territorial waters from 3 to 12 nautical miles (6 to 22km). Sealand now sits inside British waters.[10] The United Kingdom is one of 165 parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (in force since 1994), which states in Part V, Article 60, that: 'Artificial islands, installations and structures do not possess the status of islands. They have no territorial sea of their own, and their presence does not affect the delimitation of the territorial sea, the exclusive economic zone or the continental shelf'.[9] In the opinion of law academic John Gibson, there is little chance that Sealand would be recognised as a nation because it is a man-made structure.[10]

In a 1990 court case (and a 1991 appeal) in the United States regarding registering ships in Sealand as a flag of convenience, the court ruled against allowing Sealand flagged vessels; the case was never contested by the Bateses.

Irrespective of its legal status, Sealand is managed by the Bates family as if it were a recognised sovereign entity and they are its hereditary royal rulers. Roy Bates styled himself as 'Prince Roy' and his wife 'Princess Joan'. Their son is known as 'His Royal Highness Prince Michael' and has been referred to as the 'Prince regent' by the Bates family since 1999.[35] In this role, he apparently serves as Sealand's acting 'Head of State' and also its 'Head of Government'.[36] At a micronations conference hosted by the University of Sunderland in 2004, Sealand was represented by Michael Bates' son James. The facility is now occupied by one or more caretakers representing Michael Bates, who himself resides in Essex, England.[35]

Sealand's constitution was instituted in 1974. It consists of a preamble and seven articles.[37] The preamble asserts Sealand's independence, while the articles variously deal with Sealand's status as a constitutional monarchy, the empowerment of government bureaux, the role of an appointed, advisory senate, the functions of an appointed, advisory legal tribunal, a proscription against the bearing of arms except by members of a designated 'Sealand Guard', the exclusive right of the sovereign to formulate foreign policy and alter the constitution, and the hereditary patrilinear succession of the monarchy.[38] Sealand's legal system is claimed to follow British common law, and statutes take the form of decrees enacted by the sovereign.[39] Sealand has issued "fantasy passports" (as termed by the Council of the European Union), which are not valid for international travel,[40] and holds the Guinness World Record for 'the smallest area to lay claim to nation status'.[41] Sealand's motto is E Mare Libertas (From the Sea, Freedom). It appears on Sealandic items such as stamps, passports and coins and is the title of the Sealandic anthem. The anthem was composed by Londoner Basil Simonenko;[42] being an instrumental anthem, it does not have lyrics. In 2005, the anthem was recorded by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and released on their CD National Anthems of the World, Vol. 7: Qatar Syria.

Sealand has been involved in several commercial operations, including the issuing of coins and postage stamps and the establishment of an offshore Internet hosting facility, or 'data haven'.[43][44] Sealand also has an official website and publishes an online newspaper, Sealand News.[45] In addition, a number of amateur athletes 'represent' Sealand in sporting events, including unconventional events like the World Egg Throwing Championship, which the Sealand team won in 2008.[46]

Several dozen different Sealand coins have been minted since 1972. In the early 1990s, Achenbach's German group also produced a coin, featuring a likeness of 'Prime Minister Seiger'.[47] Sealand's coins and postage stamps are denominated in 'Sealand dollars', which it deems to be at parity with the US dollar.[48] Sealand first issued postage stamps in 1969, and issues through 1977. No further stamps were produced until 2010. Sealand is not a member of the Universal Postal Union, therefore its inward address is a PO Box in the United Kingdom.[49] Once an item is mailed to Sealand's tourist and government office, it will then be taken to Sealand. Sealand only has one street address, The Row.[50]

A Sealand mailing address looks like this:[50]

Bureau of Internal Affairs5, The RowSEALAND 1001(c/o Sealand Post Bag, IP11 9SZ, UK)

Sealand also sells titles of individual nobility including Lord, Baron, Count and those titles' distaff equivalents. Following Roy Bates' 2012 death, Sealand also began publicly offering knighthoods & Coats of Arms.[51][52]

In 1978, following the invasion, the Knights of the Sovereign Military Order of Sealand were formed by Prince Roy and Prince Michael to provide for the Principality's defence should it come under threat or attack. In 2012, following the death of Prince Roy, membership in the Order was opened to sale to the general public.[53]

In 2000, worldwide publicity was created about Sealand following the establishment of a new entity called HavenCo, a data haven, which effectively took control of Roughs Tower itself; however, Ryan Lackey, HavenCo's founder, later quit and claimed that Bates had lied to him by keeping the 19901991 court case[clarification needed] from him and that, as a result, he had lost the money he had invested in the venture.[54] In November 2008, operations of HavenCo ceased without explanation.[55]

Sealand is not recognised by any major international sporting body, and its population is insufficient to maintain a team composed entirely of Sealanders in any team sport. However, Sealand claims to have official national athletes, including non-Sealanders. These athletes take part in various sports, such as curling, mini-golf, football, fencing, ultimate, table football and athletics, although all its teams compete out of the country.[56] The Sealand National Football Association is an associate member of the Nouvelle Fdration-Board, a football sanctioning body for non-recognised states and states not members of FIFA. It administers the Sealand national football team. In 2004 the national team played its first international game against land Islands national football team, drawing 22.[57]

Sealand claims that its first official athlete was Darren Blackburn of Oakville, Ontario, Canada, who was appointed in 2003. Blackburn has represented Sealand at a number of local sporting events, including marathons and off-trail races.[58] In 2004, mountaineer Slader Oviatt carried the Sealandic flag to the top of Muztagh Ata.[59] Also in 2007, Michael Martelle represented the Principality of Sealand in the World Cup of Kung Fu, held in Quebec City, Canada; bearing the designation of Athleta Principalitas Bellatorius (Principal Martial Arts Athlete and Champion), Martelle won two silver medals, becoming the first-ever Sealand athlete to appear on a world championship podium.[60]

In 2008, Sealand hosted a skateboarding event with Church and East sponsored by Red Bull.[61][62][63]

In 2009, Sealand announced the revival of the Football Association and their intention to compete in a future Viva World Cup. Scottish author Neil Forsyth was appointed as President of the Sealand Football Association.[64] Sealand played the second game in their history against Chagos Islands on 5 May 2012, losing 31. The team included actor Ralf Little and former Bolton Wanderers defender Simon Charlton.[65]

In 2009 and 2010, Sealand sent teams to play in various ultimate club tournaments in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Netherlands. They placed 11th at UK nationals in 2010.[66]

From early summer of 2012 Sealand has been represented in the flat track variant of roller derby, by a team principally composed of skaters from the South Wales area.[67]

Sealand played a friendly match in aid of charity against an "All Stars" team from Fulham F.C. on 18 May 2013, losing 57.[68][69]

On 22 May 2013, the mountaineer Kenton Cool placed a Sealand flag at the summit of Mount Everest.[70]

Coordinates: 515342.6N 12849.8E / 51.895167N 1.480500E / 51.895167; 1.480500

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Principality of Sealand - Wikipedia

About – Principality of Sealand

In the early 60's, Roy Bates, a Major in the British army, established a radio station, situated offshore on an abandoned ex naval fort named "Knock John". The theory behind this location was an attempt to bypass the draconian broadcasting restrictions of the time, which permitted little more than formal broadcasting by the BBC. Roy's station, "Radio Essex", and others like it, were known affectionately by the media as Pirate radio stations, and were much loved by the British public, as they supplied everything that the BBC did not at the time, Pop music and amusing presenters.

In the years than ensued, Roy fought an unsuccessful legal battle with the UK government, which questioned the legality of his occupation of said fort. It was ruled that "Knock John" fell under UK jurisdiction. Smarting from his setback, Roy weighed his options. Another abandoned fortress, Roughs Tower, identical in construction to the Knock John existed further offshore, and crucially, outside of the three mile limit to which the UK jurisdiction extended. Roy proceeded to occupy Roughs Tower, on Christmas eve 1966, with the intention of revitalising his dormant radio station. This was until he conjured a different plan entirely. After consulting his lawyers, Roy decided to declare this fortress island the independent state of Sealand, Claiming Jus Gentium (Law of Nations") over a part of the globe that was "Terra Nullius (Nobody's Land).

On the 2nd of September 1967, accompanied by his wife Joan on her birthday, his son Michael (14), daughter Penelope (16) and several friends and followers, Roy declared the Principality of Sealand. The founding of this country was marked by the raising a newly designed flag, and in an extremely romantic birthday gesture, the bestowing of a new title on his beloved wife, to be know from that moment on as Princess Joan.

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About - Principality of Sealand

About Us – Principality of Sealand

In the early 60's, Roy Bates, a Major in the British army, established a radio station, situated offshore on an abandoned ex naval fort named "Knock John". The theory behind this location was an attempt to bypass the draconian broadcasting restrictions of the time, which permitted little more than formal broadcasting by the BBC. Roy's station, "Radio Essex", and others like it, were known affectionately by the media as Pirate radio stations, and were much loved by the British public, as they supplied everything that the BBC did not at the time, Pop music and amusing presenters.

In the years than ensued, Roy fought an unsuccessful legal battle with the UK government, which questioned the legality of his occupation of said fort. It was ruled that "Knock John" fell under UK jurisdiction. Smarting from his setback, Roy weighed his options. Another abandoned fortress, Roughs Tower, identical in construction to the Knock John existed further offshore, and crucially, outside of the three mile limit to which the UK jurisdiction extended. Roy proceeded to occupy Roughs Tower, on Christmas eve 1966, with the intention of revitalising his dormant radio station. This was until he conjured a different plan entirely. After consulting his lawyers, Roy decided to declare this fortress island the independent state of Sealand, Claiming Jus Gentium (Law of Nations") over a part of the globe that was "Terra Nullius (Nobody's Land).

On the 2nd of September 1967, accompanied by his wife Joan on her birthday, his son Michael (14), daughter Penelope (16) and several friends and followers, Roy declared the Principality of Sealand. The founding of this country was marked by the raising a newly designed flag, and in an extremely romantic birthday gesture, the bestowing of a new title on his beloved wife, to be know from that moment on as Princess Joan.

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About Us - Principality of Sealand

Sealand – Wikitravel

Sealand [1] is a sea fort in the North Sea, located 10 km off the coast of Suffolk, England. It is best known for its (unrecognized) claim to be the world's smallest sovereign nation. However, it is currently regarded as a micronation by most non-Sealanders.

Visits to the Principality of Sealand are not normally permitted, and you will most likely need to pre-arrange a boat to take you there. Emergency or other special circumstances suggesting that a visit might be appropriate require prior approval from the Bureau of Internal Affairs, and may be considered by making a written application. Further information can be found here [2].

Walk. The entire habitable area of the fort is 550 sq.m.

The spectacular views of the English coast. Make sure to also get a tour of the nation, where your guide will most likely show you the chapel, parliament room, engine room, gym and jail where a german invader was held for a few months in 1978.

Get your fitness on at Sealand's tiny gym

Worship God at Sealand's one and only chapel room

Take a tour of the house-sized nation

Buy some Sealandic stamps and coins

Pay 31 pounds to become official Sealandic nobility

Online Sealand has a comprehensive catalog of all things Sealand. This includes shirts, stamps, coins and even lordships.

There are no eateries in Sealand, so get ready to mainly eat low quality TV dinners supplied from England while you're there.

Canned beers, soda pop and bottled water supplied from England.

There are various bedrooms in Sealands pillars, with some consisting of just a bed and concrete walls, while others are decorated quite cozily.

The official Sealand website http://www.sealandgov.org/

The same way every visitor arrives: by boat.

WikiPedia:Principality of Sealand

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Sealand - Wikitravel

150 years of the Shipping Forecast: The magic and poetry of Dogger, Fisher and German Bight – Country Life

The Shipping Forecast was first broadcast 150 years ago, on August 24 1867. It has been saving seafarers' lives and (since moving from the telegraph to the BBC in 1924) entrancing radio listeners for generations. Kate Green and Tim Richardson investigate its peculiarly romantic poetry and magic.

South Utsire a name from the Shipping Forecast is just as romantic a spot as youd imagine

Fisher, west or south-west 4 or 5, occasional rain, mainly good. German Bight, northwesterly 5 or 6, occasionally 7 at first, showers, moderate or good.

These poetically encoded words will catapult anyone who listens to (or grew up listening to) Radio 4 into an abstracted reverie. There are warnings of gales in Viking, Dogger Sole, Lundy, Fastnet Malin, Hebrides, Bailey.

We arent trawlermen; we dont need this information, so why dont we switch off? Fair Isle, Faroes, South-East Iceland. There is something about the rhythm and accidental beauty of the words as theyre carefully intoned in the best formal BBC tradition a weathermans haiku.

That and the sheer evocativeness of the names given to the heaving seas that surround our island nation: Forties, Cromarty, Forth. What must it be like out there, we wonder, imagining storm-tossed fishing boats and their soaking, souwestered crews, as were, incongruously, tucked up in bed or driving along a motorway.

Although we know that the forecast is important a lifesaver, potentially, for some it has no practical value for us. Yet, for many listeners, the Shipping Forecast is a soothing daily ritual, a few minutes of respite, of comparative blankness. In an average day, its the nearest thing many people experience to prayer.

We tolerate the broadcast indeed, we cherish it, in most cases because weve grown up with it. We would never want to lose it; imagine the furore if some modernising controller tried to axe it! Its often said that the Shipping Forecast is the only reason for the retention of long wave (and, therefore, the cricket commentary) because it remains the most reliable frequency.

Unsurprisingly, the forecasts lyrical nature has inspired songwriters and poets. Radioheads In Limbo has the lines: Lundy, Fastnet, Irish Sea/Ive got a message I cant read. A sonnet by Seamus Heaney opens Dogger, Rockall, Malin, Irish Sea/Green swift upsurges, North Atlantic flux/Conjured by that strong gale-warming voice/Collapse into sibilant penumbra, and Carol Ann Duffy wrote: Darkness outside. Inside the radios prayer/Rockall, Malin, Dogger, Finisterre.

Affectionate parodies include Frank Muir and Denis Nordens In Ross and Finisterre/the outlook is sinisterre/ Rockall and Lundy/Will clear up by Monday. Dead Ringers had The Archers Brian Perkins rapping it and, in 1988, Stephen Fry gave it his own take in Saturday Night Fry: Malin, Hebrides, Shetland, Jersey, Fair Isle, Turtle-Neck, Tank Top, Courtelle: Blowy, quite misty, sea sickness. Not many fish around, come home, veering suggestively. In reality, reading the Shipping Forecast is more skilled than one might think.

Broadcast four times a day, live (at 0048, 0520, 1201 and 1754), there is no room for error or faulty timing, as the forecast (not more than 370 words) must last precisely its allotted length. Youre looking at the clock all the time, although I can pretty much do one now without looking and it will be exactly three minutes, says Alice Arnold, who has been reading the forecast for some 20 years.

Alice always practises it beforehand (it comes over on the computer with 20 minutes to spare), but others, such as Rob McElwee, prefer to read it cold. And its not as simple to read as it sounds: there is a set form and special rhythm. I remember reading it as a tryout and I got it completely wrong, Alice reveals. For example, you have to say one, three, double 0, not One thousand, three hundred.

For Alice, the 0048 broadcast is the most special, a time when the natural poetry of the words can be expressed to the full. Its night-time, Ive just played Sailing By, and Im aware that some listeners use the forecast to nod off, so I do try to say it in a more restful way.

But if its stormy a busy weather day, as we call it there can be a lot in there, so you have to crack on.

Malin Head in Donegal

This last forecast comes right at the end of a shift, and Alice paints a picture of the reader left almost alone in Broadcasting House. Someone said they imagined me reading the late-night forecast, then turning the equipment off, switching off the lights and going home. And that is exactly what happens.

Writer Charlie Connelly found Shipping Forecast names so mysterious Dogger, Fisher, what are they? that he visited all 31 sites, by sea and land, for an acclaimed and humorous book, Attention All Shipping.

Some places were underwhelming: Dogger was a bit disappointing, just an awful lot of sea; the tiny strip of Danish coast at Fisher was undoubtedly the most boring place in the world. It was the longest weekend of my life. The only place to visit is Hanstholm, which means islet of the glove. Apparently, a woman once dropped a glove there, and I think that may be all that happened there.

When Mr Connelly visited the Norwegian island of Utsira, a bird sanctuary, the islanders were blissfully unaware that they lived in a place that featured daily on Radio 4.

The inhabitants of the Faroes, however, were quite pleased to be recognised going there reminded me that the Shipping Forecast is a serious and necessary business. Fastnet the seas around Fastnet Rock off the south-west coast of Ireland was another salutary reminder of tragedy; Queenstown (formerly Cobh), on the Co Cork coast in Fastnet, was the last port of call for Titanic and was where the survivors of the sinking of RMS Lusitania were brought in 1915. The museum there, with all its references to old shipping disasters, is fascinating and shows the importance of forecasts.

Mr Connellys oddest experience was Thames, and the principality of Sealand, a former military platform the size of a football pitch eight miles from Chelmsford in the North Sea, which is independent, being outside British waters.

After the Second World War, Sealand was taken over by Prince Roy Bates just a little British guy up against the world. Ive never seen anywhere like it. It took me six months to get a visa to go there, but my passports stamped Sealand, and not a lot of people can say that, says Charlie.

Other countries do have shipping forecasts, but theyre not as romantic as ours, which really emphasises our island nation. The poet Sean Street describes the names as paving the water round the isles. I liked that.

Painter and photographer Peter Collyers fellow ferry passengers would be mystified as to why he didnt disembark, assuming he was some sort of eccentric ship-spotter. But it was all research for a book, Rain later, good, which was published in 1998, the first visual record of the Shipping Forecast sites.

The seed was planted when I stopped for a sandwich in the car park beside the lighthouse at Portland Bill. The Shipping Forecast came on, and there I was, actually in contact with one of the places. I wanted to get out and wave, he recalls.

Then, working in my studio, I listened to Charlotte Green reading it, when it came to me: what are these places actually like? I wanted to demystify them for everyone. Mr Collyer admits he underestimated the difficulty and expense of his quest.

Cromarty Firth, complete with oil rigs, off the east coast of Scotland

He left the hardest one, Bailey, until last. It wasnt on a ferry route, but I had this notion that aircraft travelling from Heathrow to Rejkavik must fly over it, so I bought a day return from Air Iceland, requesting a window seat, and took my paints with me. One epic 11-day journey involved taking a ferry from Newcastle to Bergen, via Tyne, Forties, and North and South Utsire.

Then, he sailed to Iceland through Viking, Forties and South-East Iceland, spending just four hours in Iceland before going back through Shetlands, Dogger and Fisher to Denmark, and thence to Harwich through German Bight and Thames.

And that trip at least was just as romantic and beautiful as it sounds: On returning, says Collyer, getting on the Tube at Liverpool Street Station seemed like a vision of Hell after all those seas, skies and rocky inlets.

From the tragedy which sparked its inception to the modern tweaks which have had listeners up in arms.

A version of this article was originally published in Country Life in 2009.

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150 years of the Shipping Forecast: The magic and poetry of Dogger, Fisher and German Bight - Country Life

Chester floodplain housing scheme unanimously rejected – ChesterChronicle.co.uk

Councillors unanimously rejected a large housing scheme targeting the Chester floodplain.

Ospitium 4 wanted to build 140 terraced houses and 140 apartments for rent on farmland off Clifton Drive, near Blacon, together with a new public park, childrens nursery, estate managers office and flood defence measures.

There were also plans for geothermal heating, bicycle and car parking, a footbridge, new accesses created by demolishing four houses fronting Sealand Road plus junction improvements.

But members at Cheshire West and Chester Council's planning committee followed the planning officers recommendation in refusing the scheme, known as Ogilvie Park, due to constraints including flood risk and loss of green space.

Andy Scargill, chairman of Friends of North Chester Greenbelt, addressed the meeting on the question of flooding.

He said: The applicants want to build their houses on top of huge concrete tubes to allow the water to flow up and down when such a catastrophe occurs. The Environment Agency said this wouldnt protect gardens, estate roads and cars so they would recommend that people in the houses, should they be built, drive their vehicles to the top of the Blacon escarpment to avoid the flood waters.

This is a nonsense, you couldnt make it up.

If it was the case that there was insufficient land within the Chester area to provide for new homes then there may be an argument for building on unsuitable land. Your Local Plan clearly identifies category 1 land by Wrexham Road which is more than adequate for Chesters future needs, currently an application has been lodged to build 1,400 houses.

Patrick Davies, for the applicant, said: Ogilvie Park provides much needed housing within a managed private-public park , 280 apartments and houses 80% private rental sector and 20% affordable private rental sector.

He said the project was in line with current thinking about the need to combat the UK housing crisis.

Mr Davies added: Ogilvie Park provides flood defences to protect 1,200 existing properties, up to 2,000 new homes and circa 50,000 square metres of potential commercial floor space which could be located on CWaC-owned land and other landowners.

He claimed the scheme was wholeheartedly backed by the Environment Agency.

Mr Davies said the ecological information provided by the council was based on a 1993 UK-wide report compiled by flying over the area with no samples of flora taken. He added: The proposal will create what the survey thought it had detected, planted grassland and enlarged hedgerow habitat to create opportunities for the existing water voles and encourage wider bio-diversity.

Blacon ward councillor Carol Gahan was concerned at building on high risk floodplain leaving new residents with an insurance and personal risk. The site had been ruled as unsuitable when the council drew up its Local Plan. She claimed the flood defences relied on a manually operated system which she felt was reckless.

There would be a loss of green space and wildlife in an area identified as deprived. And Cllr Gahan said Clifton Drive would be turned into a major thoroughfare even though it was just a country lane. Residents on Sealand Road would be overpowered by the housing at the rear with increased traffic at the front. She feared the impact on health and community services of another 1,000 residents.

Moving refusal, Cllr Eleanor Johnson said: We are told that this application is ambitious but I say I find the design to be utilitarian. I was going to say Eastern bloc but I was told I couldnt say that! It reminds me more of something like you see on television built around Chernobyl and I think we have moved forward from that. We want something people want to live in.

To her, building on the floodplain was unthinkable and she could not go against any of the seven reasons offered by the planning officer as reasons for refusal.

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Chester floodplain housing scheme unanimously rejected - ChesterChronicle.co.uk

Flooding on Chester’s Sealand Road after downpour – ChesterChronicle.co.uk

Chester's Sealand Road flooded following a deluge this afternoon (July 11).

Cars heading towards North Wales on the stretch near B&Q caused 'bow waves' as they ploughed through the surface water flooding.

Fortunately, the water level was not high enough to enter people's homes.

However, the timing of the flood is ironic on a day when the Environment Agency held a flood training exercise on nearby flood zone land involving sandbagging and the erection of temporary flood barriers.

In addition, today was the first day of an inquiry into whether developer Bark Street Investments should be allowed to build 142 homes in the flood plain on playing fields off Sealand Road.

A government decision to refuse the plan was overturned by the High Court.

This has resulted in a second planning inquiry at Ellesmere Port Civic Hall presided over by inspector Phillip Ware. His recommendations will help determine the ultimate decision by Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Friends of North Chester Greenbelt presented similar arguments as last time about why housing should not be built in the River Dee flood zone although the homes plan was actually supported by Cheshire West and Chester Council back in December 2014.

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Flooding on Chester's Sealand Road after downpour - ChesterChronicle.co.uk