Anyone for Campbeltown?
On Sunday 14th August Waverley offered her annual return sailing from Glasgow to Campbeltown via Largs and Lochranza. This sailing has been a feature of the summer Clyde timetable for a few years now and tends to attract very good loadings – 2016 was no different in that respect. The weather was generally good with little wind and some rare sunshine (well for the current summer at least) during the afternoon.
Waverley at her Glasgow berth shortly before her 9am departure for Kintyre.
Fan Boards with pier calls and cruise destination.
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Waverley departed Glasgow at 9am for what turned out to be a 14 hour sail with a good crowd from the city. On arrival at Largs the queue of passengers stretched down the pier with further passengers joining at Lochranza, by which time just under 600 were aboard for the cruise down the Kilbrennan Sound. On arrival at Campbeltown a large number disembarked but with a good pick up from the Kintyre town the steamer still had a fair crowd on for the afternoon cruise to view the Sanda Isles.
Approaching Largs under with threatening skies with a large crowd on the pier awaiting Waverley’s arrival.
Waverley delayed her approach to the pier at Campbeltown on the return to allow Cal Mac’s Isle of Arran to depart her berth at 4.55pm bound for Ardrossan. Following a large exchange of passengers the paddler departed about 20 minutes down for the return leg. Owning to the fact that a few passengers from Millport were aboard, Waverley made an impromptu call at Keppel since they would have missed the last sailing from Largs to Cumbrae Slip. As Waverley made her way back to her home port darkness fell on what was an enjoyable sail by those aboard. Unfortunately due to the delayed return to Campbeltown, the additional call at Keppel and the large number of passengers transferred she never made up time but for those on board that didn’t appear to detract from the day.
Waverley passes Isle of Arran as each ship salutes the other.
Berthing at Campbeltown.
Video of Waverley serenely arriving back at Campbeltown.
Passengers rejoin the steamer for the return sailing to Lochranza, Keppel, Largs and Glasgow.
Lochranza on the return call.
Arriving back at Glasgow.
No doubt Waverley’s crew were glad of an ‘off-service day’ on the following Monday after such a long and busy day. However ‘off-service’ will not have meant a day off as there is always work to be done to keep a 69 year old paddler sailing!
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