Waverley Slides — 1996 & ’97

Photographs from Waverley's South Coast sailings in May are included in the diary of that trip and are not repeated here. They can be viewed by clicking here.

Waverley at Inveraray — Saturday, 22 June 1996

Waverley at Ayr — Sunday, 23 June 1996

QE2 at Greenock — Saturday, 6 July 1996

Waverley on the Clyde — Sunday, 14 July 1996

Passing the Carola — Saturday, 24 August 1996

Waverley at Ayr — Wednesday, 28 August 1996

Waverley on the Clyde — Thursday, 29 August 1996

Waverley on the Clyde — Saturday, 31 August 1996

Passing Innellan Pier — Sunday, 1 September 1996

mv Jupiter at Tarbert — Sunday, 8 September 1996

Waverley on the Clyde — Sunday, 20 October 1996

Waverley sailings in 1997

Next stop Ayr.

After an exciting weekend, it was back to more mundane (well, almost) sailings from Glasgow.

Oil rig legs on the "Giant 2" at UIE, Clydebank		The bit that goes on top, still on-shore

Sailing ship Malcolm Millar at Custom House Quay
	QE2 off Rosneath	Half the QE2 and a tug at the Tail of the Bank
	QE2 turning at the Tail of the Bank prior to berthing at the Greenock Container Terminal

This is the oil rig superstructure which famously scraped the underside of the Erskine Bridge on its way down the river. Apparently, whoever calculated the necessary clearance forgot to allow for the freeboard of the barge.

mv Jupiter at Tarbert — Sunday, 8 September 1996

Yes, I know there's not a Waverley in sight but Tarbert is a standard (Tuesday) destination so I've decided to put these here.

For reasons long since forgotten, I (and presumably others) decided to take advantage of a CalMac rail/sail to Tarbert for �11.70. This involved catching the 09:20 train from Central to Gourock arriving at 10:11 then boarding Jupiter to sail at 10:55, calling at Dunoon (11:15 - 11:24), Largs (12:09 - 12:25) and Rothesay (13:04 - 13:15) before arriving at Tarbert at 14:09, where some refreshment was taken. The return sailing left at 15:30, calling at Rothesay (18:18 - 18:35), Largs (19:18 - 19:27) and Dunoon (20:16 - 20:25) before reaching Gourock at 20:46. The train left at 21:20 and arrived at Central at 22:12.

mv Juno en route from Dunoon to Gourock	mv Jupiter at Tarbert Pier

mv Rhum arriving at West Loch Tarbert from Portavadie

Catamaran "Patricia Olivia" of Montevideo at Yarrows (built by Incat Shipyard, Hobart, Tasmania in 1992)

1997

This was the seventh year that I purchased a Scottish Commodore ticket allowing unlimited sails on Waverley and Balmoral in all Scottish waters. The price of the Commodore Ticket was increased slightly to �325, so to get value for money I enjoyed as many sails as I could manage (40) over the year, and saved �445.95 in unpaid fares. We won't mention the approximately �800 I spent onboard and getting to and from all those sailings.

Round the Holy Loch Piers — Easter Sunday, 30 March 1997

"Lord Nelson" at stobcross Quay — Tuesday, 24 June 1997

"Endeavour" at Greenock — Saturday, 5 July 1997

The Campbeltown - Ballycastle ferry — Wednesday, 9 July 1997

QE2 — Tuesday, 15 July 1997

Fair Monday to Arran — 21 July 1997

Troon — Monday, 28 July 1997

Largs — Tuesday, 5 August 1997

Campbeltown — Wednesday, 13 August 1997

Bleo Holm blocks the river — Monday, 18 August 1997

Black Prince — Thursday, 21 August 1997

Going down the river — Saturday, 23 August 1997

Passing Lochranza — Wednesday, 27 August 1997

Balmoral to Tighnabruaich — Monday, 29 September 1997

Round the Holy Loch Piers — Easter Sunday, 30 March 1997

I can't find the timetable for this Easter Weekend but I know that I sailed on the Saturday to Tighnabruaich, Sunday round the Holy Loch Piers and on Monday to Loch Fyne. On Sunday, we left Glasgow at 10:30, were at Ardnadam from 14:58 to 15:52, and back in Glasgow at 19:23.

Strone Pier from the departing Waverley	Waverley outside the Western Ferries vessel "Sound of Shuna" at Kilmun

	Waverley at Ardnadam Pier This pier was built for the US Polaris Submarine Base in the Holy Loch

And then it was off for a walk on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.

Waverley to Tarbert — Tuesday, 24 June 1997

These slides were undated. The internet informs me that "Lord Nelson" was in Glasgow for Rotarian celebrations during the week 15 - 22 June. I guess she was still there when I sailed on Waverley on Tuesday 24th

An unusual start to a Tuesday sail, Waverley left Glasgow at 09:30, rather than leaving Ayr at 10:00, and sailed direct to Largs (12:10) then calling at Rothesay (12:50), Tighnabruaich (13:40) and Tarbert (14:45) for a cruise on Loch Fyne returning to Tarbert at 16:20, Tighnabruaich (17:25), Rothesay (18:15) and Largs (19:00) for a coach return to Glasgow arriving at 20:00.

Sail Training Ship "Lord Nelson" under the crane at Stobcross Quay

Waverley to Tighnabruaich — Saturday, 5 July 1997

A standard Saturday sail, leaving Glasgow at 10:00 and calling at Greenock (11:40), Helensburgh (12:05), Dunoon (13:45) and Rothesay (13:40) to reach Tighnabruaich (14:30 - 15:40), returning to Rothesay (16:30), Dunoon (17:20), Helensburgh (18:00) and Greenock (18:25), arriving back at Glasgow at 22:00.

I stayed aboard for the full sail, enjoying some refreshment at Tighnabruaich. Clearly, the only object of interest was the "Endeavour" at Greenock on the way out. We were 20 minutes late back at Glasgow.

A replica of Captain Cook's barque "Endeavour" was visiting ports around the British Isles and was at Greenock when we passed.

Campbeltown — Wednesday, 9 July 1997

A standard Wednesday sail leaving Ayr at 10:00 and calling at Brodick (11:30) before arriving at Campbeltown at 13:40 for a cruise to the Sanda Islands and Mull of Kintyre, returning to Campbeltown (16:10) and Brodick (18:20) before arriving back at Ayr at 19:45.

On the day, I caught the 08:30 train from Central (�8.20 day return), detrained at Newton-on-Ayr and walked the rest of the way. At Campbeltown, the former CalMac ferry Claymore was sporting the colours of the Argyle and Antrim Steam Packet Company (a front for Sea Containers) to provide a three year trial service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle. There was a lot of politics involved, CalMac wanted to run the service themselves but HMG refused to allow that and forced them to sell Claymore for �750,000, somewhat less than it could have achieved on the open market, and the service terminated at the end of the government subsidy. We were five minutes late back at Ayr and I ambled leisurely up for the 20:43 train to Glasgow, arriving at 21:35.

	Waverley heads off for the cruise

Somewhere down the firth — Tuesday, 15 July 1997

The standard Tuesday sail left Ayr at 10:00, calling at Millport (11:40), Largs (12:10), Rothesay (12:50), Tighnabruaich (13:40) and Tarbert (14:45) for a cruise on Loch Fyne returning to Tarbert (16:20), Tighnabruaich (17:25), Rothesay (18:15), Largs (19:00), and Millport (19:30) before arriving back at Ayr at 21:00. On this occasion Waverley was 45 minutes late returning to Largs (and subsequent ports) having loitered in the firth to view the departing QE2.

On the day, I left Glasgow on the 9:45 train (318252) arriving at Largs at 10:47 to sail to Tarbert, more or less on time, for a small refreshment. We were back at Largs at 19:46 in time for a quick sprint up to the station to catch the 19:54 train (318268+253) arriving at Central at 20:52.

Next stop, that exotic destination - Parkhead Cross

Fair Monday to Arran — Monday, 21 July 1997

Leave Glasgow at 09:30 calling at Helensburgh (11:30), Dunoon (12:10), Rothesay (13:00) and Largs (13:40) before arriving at Brodick (15:00) for a cruise round Holy Isle returning to Brodick (17:00), Largs (18:15), Rothesay (18:55), Dunoon (19:40) and Helensburgh (20:20) and arriving back at Glasgow at 22:20.

I went ashore at Brodick for a small refreshment, otherwise things went more or less to schedule.

Newark Castle and Ferguson's Shipyard, Port Glasgow	Scottish Office fisheries research vessel "Scotia" fitting out at Ferguson's

Somebody made a mess of the demolition of the Goliath 225 ton crane at the former Scott Lithgow shipyard. Only one side collapsed. Red faces all round. (Click here to see what it once looked like.)

Troon — Monday, 28 July 1997

The standard Monday cruise from Glasgow (09:30) calling at Largs (11:55), Troon (11:55), Ayr (14:15) and Girvan (15:45) for a cruise round Ailsa Craig returning to Troon (18:15) and Ayr (19:00) for coach returns to Girvan (20:00), Largs (20:00) and Glasgow (20:00).

Everything went to schedule until we returned to Ayr where the numbers game resulted in the merger of the Largs and Glasgow coaches so we were an hour late back at Glasgow at 21:00.

Former Skye ferries "Loch Fyne" and "Loch Dunvegan" in the basin at Ailsa Troon.

Largs — Tuesday, 5 August 1997

The standard Tuesday sail left Ayr at 10:00, calling at Millport (11:40), Largs (12:10), Rothesay (12:50), Tighnabruaich (13:40) and Tarbert (14:45) for a cruise on Loch Fyne returning to Tarbert (16:20), Tighnabruaich (17:25), Rothesay (18:15), Largs (19:00), and Millport (19:30) before arriving back at Ayr at 21:00.

On the day, I left Glasgow on the 9:45 train (318254) arriving at Largs at 10:43 where the Cumbrae ferries Loch Linnhe and Loch Riddon were tied up inside the pier as the CalMac crews were on strike. I then sailed to Tarbert, more or less on time, for a small refreshment. We were back at Largs at 18:58, time for a small refreshment before heading for the station to catch the 19:52 train (318253+263) arriving at Central at 20:51.

Campbeltown — Wednesday, 13 August 1997

A standard Wednesday sail leaving Ayr at 10:00 and calling at Brodick (11:30) before arriving at Campbeltown at 13:40 for a cruise to the Sanda Islands and Mull of Kintyre, returning to Campbeltown (16:10) and Brodick (18:20) before arriving back at Ayr at 19:45.

On the day, I caught the 08:30 train from Central (�8.20 day return) to Ayr. At Campbeltown, we again saw the former CalMac ferry Claymore arriving from Ballycastle sporting the colours of the Argyle and Antrim Steam Packet Company. We were five minutes late back at Ayr, not too late to catch the 20:13 train to Glasgow, arriving at 21:10.

mv "Claymore" in Argyle and Antrim Steam Packet Company colours arriving from Ballycastle

	Dave	Eddie

Josh	Dave	Ronnie, Eddie, Dave

Bleo Holm blocks the river — Monday, 18 August 1997

This should have been a normal Monday cruise but, due to an obstruction in the river (see below), it was a coach from Glasgow to Helensburgh to join Waverley which sailed from there at 11:00 and presumably picked up the normal timetable thereafter, calling at Largs (11:55), Troon (13:30), Ayr (14:15) and Girvan (15:45) for a cruise round Ailsa Craig returning to Troon (18:15) and Ayr (19:00) for coach returns to Girvan, Largs and Glasgow. This time there were separate coaches for Largs and Glasgow and we were back at Anderson Quay at 20:24.

The Clyde at Bowling, from a bus on the Erskine Bridge	FPU Bleo Holm has almost reached Dumbarton on her way up river for fitting out at UIE, Clydebank

(from a bus on the A82)		Waverley at Helensburgh

Culzean Castle on the Ayrshire coast

Black Prince — Thursday, 21 August 1997

A standard Thursday, I caught a train from Shettleston at 09:20 arriving at Helensburgh at 10:14 and Waverley sailed at 11:00. I went ashore at Brodick (14:45 - 17:00) for a small refreshment and, after passing an outbound cruise ship, probably Fred Olsen's "Black Prince", off Bute, we were back at Helensburgh at 20:40 in time for the 20:54 train (320309). It wasn't going to Shettleston so I changed at Queen Street (21:44 - 21:53) and finished the journey on 320322 (Glasgow Festive Orchid) arriving at Shettleston at 22:02.

Spot the cruise liner

	Arran beyond Bute

Going down the river — Saturday, 23 August 1997

These are undated in the database so they were taken either on the 23^rd, on a standard Saturday sail to Tighnabruaich or on the holiday Monday sail to Arran on the 25^th, or even on both of these dates.

FPU Bleo Holm at UIE (Clydebank) for the addition of some superstructure

Newark Castle and Ferguson's shipyard, Port Glasgow	Scottish Office fisheries research vessel "Scotia" fitting out at Ferguson's

The Scott Lithgow crane finally brought to earth at the second attempt

Former oil tanker "Balder" being converted to a Floating Production Platform by UIE in the former Scott Lithgow dry dock at Port Glasgow	Container ship "Saga Challenger" (Nassau) at Greenock Terminal	A nuclear sub leaving the Gareloch, off Rosneath

Passing Lochranza — Wednesday, 27 August 1997

This should have been a standard Wednesday sail to Campbeltown but, presumably due to weather conditions (wind and waves), was diverted through the more sheltered waters between Brodick and Tarbert affording a rare (in those days) opportunity to view the north coast of Arran, hence the photograph of Lochranza.

I had travelled to Ayr on the 08:30 train (318267), getting off at Newton at 09:34 and walking the rest of the way for the 10:00 sailing from the harbour. We arrived at Tarbert at 13:15 where I had ample time for a small refreshment and to purchase some kippers before the return sailing at 16:15, arriving back at Ayr at 20:05. Someone gave me a lift back to Glasgow arriving at 21:05 whence I caught a bus home.

Balmoral to Tighnabruaich — Monday, 29 September 1997

The last of the September Weekend cruises by Balmoral called at Largs instead of Greenock, leaving Glasgow at 10:00 and calling at Helensburgh (12:00), Dunoon (12:40), Largs (13:35) and Rothesay (14:15) before arriving at Tighnabruaich at 15:05. The return sailing should have departed at 16:15 for Rothesay (17:05), Largs (17:45), Dunoon (18:35) and Helensburgh (19:15) before reaching Glasgow at 21:00.

On the day, we were 12 minutes late arriving at Tighnabruaich, 18 minutes late leaving and 30 minutes late back at Glasgow.

Balmoral at Tighnabruaich

Last sight of Tighnabruaich for 1997

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