Old Hairy:
Don't thank me, it is for me to thank you for the excellent stories. I enjoyed them very much indeed.
I do think that this thread and others like it, in aviation and other fields, bring a subject to life. My own fascination with Flying Boats started when I was young and my father told me about his trip on a C-Class Boat. Ever since I have read as much as I can find about them. However, it was the first hand experience that whetted my appetite. Yes, I have read technical publications about a large number of Boats, but have always found that for pure enjoyment there is nothing better, or more informative, than reading or listening to people who were actually involved.