Balmoral left her berth at Princes Wharf, Bristol at 0900 hrs yesterday and proceeded to Glasgow/Greenock where shortly, she will be dry docked together with Waverley.  She left Bristol with a lot of part finished jobs still to be completed – looking rather like a floating workshop with all the usual winter work-party clutter lying around the alleyways.  Again this year, I’ve been recording the winter work and will write up a short article in the next week or so.

I was watching Bals progress down the Avon on AIS and was wondering how I could get off  work to take a photo as she came down channel, when I noticed Isambard Brunel  hovering around Avonmouth dock entrance.  If Chris Jones is aboard IB, he’ll take a photo, I thought  – and he hasn’t let me down!

Landed the Avon River pilot at Avonmouth Dock entrance – photo courtesy of Chris Jones

Bals AIS track 0900 to 1930 on route to Clyde –  April 11th 2012

Peter Havard