Supporting the preservation and operation of paddle steamers Waverley and Kingswear Castle
This YouTube video is a tribute to the diesel electric paddle vessel Vevey which ‘retired’ on 30 September 2010 after 103 years service on Lake Leman, joining DEPV Italie and DEPV Helvetie in the laid up fleet at their owner’s shipyard in Lausanne, Switzerland. The three diesel electric paddlers were all originally built as steamers but…
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[youtube][http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpkRskry_Ps/youtube]
Yes folks it getting towards that time of year again – you know – the one where we all eat and drink far too much, watch the Wizard of Oz and The Great Escape for the zillionth time on Christmas Day and then eat Turkey for the next month!! Well how about getting away from…
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Re following link – officially its not alllowed but its been going on since my first paddle steamer trip in Switzerland in 1975 and probably much longer. Youths of the lakes, especially Lake Leman, surf on top of the large rudders of the lake steamers until distance from shore or a swift turn of the helm…
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Jim the Purser, on the paddlebox of his beloved Waverley, at the Isle of Tiree (picture by Helen Strachan) Waverley’s final sailing of the 2010 season on Sunday 17th October brought the retiral of one of her longest serving crew members, Chief Purser Jim MacFadzean, after 23 summer seasons ‘Just Behind the Funnels’…
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To Dr Moore’s widow Mona and the family we wish to record our sincere thanks for all of the hard work that he performed on a completely voluntary basis over the last 3 decades and offer our condolances on your sad loss – he will be long remembered by his many friends on the Waverley. During her final sailings of…
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On Tuesday 12th October Waverley undertook a sell out cruise to view and escort newly delivered Cunard cruise ship Queen Elizabeth leaving Southampton on her Maiden Voyage. This is the second cunarder Waverley has escorted in 2010, the first being QE’s Vista class sister Queen Victoria when she visited Greenock in July. Photos can be found here &…
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As you may recall the PSPS were offered the former Humber Car / Passenger paddler Lincoln Castle earlier this year. For very real reasons the society council made the difficult decision not to take on the ageing vessel due to the level of work required to make her a viable entity for ongoing preservation whilst…
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After looking at the video clips suggested by Stuart I thought I could share some pictures taken of La Suisse when I visited Lake Geneva in 2009. The standards of the recent rebuild are very high and I was particularly impressed by the main dining saloon. I tend to take a number of interior photos as…
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Some interesting short High Definition videos of the recent circa £12m (if I remember correctly) rebuild and re-entry to service of the Lake Leman (Lake of Geneva) paddle steamer and flagship La Suisse, which has been celebrating her 100th year on the lake in 2010. The videos appear on YouTube and, as I could not…
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Another short story from Robin Copland – this time focussing on a trip more than a particular vessel. Photos are all copyright and cannot be duplicated elsewhere without premission of the holder. Buses have never done anything for me – really, they haven’t. It is funny how very early in your life, you take…
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A super colour film of the weekly Friday cruise up the River Clyde to Glasgow on one of the paddle steamers of the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. The film dates from 1965 (probably August). The Friday upriver sailing was shared by the paddle steamers Caledonia and Waverley. In this film we join the Caledonia…
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The 43rd anniversary of the launch of the iconic Queen Elizabeth 2 is to be marked by events at her birthplace of Clydebank.
After a dismal July it was good to see Waverley enjoy better weather and loadings in August. The last 2 days of her main Clyde season were particularly good with blue skies and crystal clear views – the following pictures were taken during the last half hour of the final day sailing to Ailsa Craig…
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Good to hear and see that the paddler has been attracting good numbers in August 2010 following the atrocious weather conditions in July. The picture below shows the big queue that was awaiting her arrival at Largs pier on Sunday 22nd August for the ‘one-off’ sailing to Ardeishaig. This would have been Waverley’s first call…
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When the Clyde from Glasgow to the Tail of the Bank was still full of ships A sail from the Bridge Wharf on Glasgow’s turbine steamer Queen Mary II Points of note On departing from Bridge Wharf (beside KGV Bridge) – brief view of dredger and William Sloan’s vessels (traded to Bristol and London at…
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Any of us who have viewed the Clydesite web forum will know Robin Copland – a long time Clyde steamer enthusiast who is well known on the site for his stories and musings entitled “Monday Morning Light Relief”. During Waverley’s sailing to Oban this year I was chatting to Robin over a dram when the…
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(All pictures are my own except where noted otherwise – click on them to enlarge) Last Sunday Waverley operated her longest excursion of the 2010 summer season – all the way along the navigable River and Firth of Clyde – and all the way back again. In the 198 years that paddle steamers…
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The former steam yacht NAHLIN, which was built at the John Brown shipyard in Clydebank in 1930, has recently returned to operational service. However, her original steam turbine prime movers have been removed and she is now powered by a diesel electric installation although she retains some form of steam-raising plant as she can be…
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Waverley’s first Saturday call at Greenock of the 2010 summer season (Pictures are my own except where stated otherwise, click on picture for full screen view). Like parts of Waverley’s 2100 IHP triple expansion, reciprocating steam engine, the newly repainted Customhouse Quay clock tower was cast in the nearby Rankin & Blackmore’s Eagle Foundry in Baker Street,…
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If you have not visited the website of SGV (Schiffartgeselschafft des Vierwaldstattersee or the Lake of Lucerne Navigation Company) for a while you might find some interest in a relatively new addition to their website – movies introducing the services and ships operated by the company. Of particular interest to paddle steamer enthusiasts will be…
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No sooner have Waverley’s Western Isles trips finished but our little paddler is on it’s way somewhere else! Somewhere else at the moment is the Bristol Channel where she will spend a couple of weeks entertaining her friends, supporters and the public in general undertaking varied sailings. Her timetable for this area can be found…
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I saw Waverley off from Glasgow on the Friday morning and then joined her at Oban for the Sunday evening run up to Fort William and the sailing to Tiree on the Monday. Two days of glorious weather, great passenger numbers, good company and great sailing. Its always good to see an orderly…
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Following on from the previous post – WSN Secretary and Scottish Branch Committee member Deryk Docherty has given permission for a couple of his photos of the ceremony – taken from the port side paddle box. Thanks again to Deryk for permission to post these images. Gavin Stewart
Shortly after departing from the pier at Armadale on the Isle of Skye on Saturday 29th of May 2010, heading for Oban, paddle steamer Waverley stopped in the Sound of Sleat to commemorate the part played by her predecessor HMS Waverley during Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied Forces from the beaches of Dunkirk,…
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Waverley acknowledges Lord of the Glens as the two ships pass on a tranquil Loch Linnhe Surrounded by magnificent scenery Heading for a very busy day at Oban Only 3 of many thousand photos taken of Waverley during 2009, but certainly 3 of the best! Hopefully these photographs will encourage a…
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With just a week to go to the start of the 2010 season, Waverley sailed downriver from Glasgow to the mouth of Loch Long on Friday 21st May. Some photos from her afternoon out are below. Hopefully the trip to and around Oban, next weekend, will get similar glorious weather, apart from the mist on…
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The following short video represents the end of yet another era – when the final cranes and the floating drydock from the River Tyne’s last shipyard, Swan’s at Wallsend, were shipped out to a new yard in India aboard the heavy lift ship Osprey. The floating drydock was shipped on the Osprey’s deck with the…
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In just over a year from now the new £85m Riverside Museum that will replace the Glasgow Transport Museum and be expanded to tell the story of the city’s industrial heritage will be opening its doors for the first time. The new museum is being constructed on the site of the former A & J Inglis…
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New Chairman After two years as Chairman of the Scottish Branch, Stuart Mears decided to stand down at the recent branch AGM held on Friday 16th April in Glasgow. Having been Stuart’s Vice Chairman for the same period the “baton” was handed to me for the next two years. For those of you who don’t…
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