Chairman's Blog No 11 - New Chairman, New Season, Same Challenge!

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 dont know me my name is Gavin Stewart, I live in Greenock though originally hail from West Kilbride on the Ayrshire coast.

I became involved with Waverley / PSPS in 2004 when myself and my partner Shelagh began attending Work Parties on the ship during the winter. I was asked to join the branch committee in 2005 and took over the role of Exhibitions Manager in 2006 - the same year as Shelagh came onto committee. 2008 saw me join the Council of Management of the Society and become Vice Chairman of the branch. My background is in Electrical Engineering and I currently work at Howden Process Compressors in Renfrew - originally James Howden & Co who are a long established Scottish engineering company.

So there you have it - a potted history of your new Chairman! Can I take this opportunity to thank Stuart for all his efforts during the last two years and thank him for agreeing to stay on as a member of the branch commitee. I also have the pleasure of welcoming Paul Semple on board. Paul is well known in Waverley circles and will be a great asset to the branch. Stuart Cameron also rejoins us after an absence of a year as does Michael Hughan who will continue to keep us abreast of happenings with Scotland's other paddler Maid of the Loch.

So who is the Vice Chairman I hear you ask?? Well none other than "Uncle" Peter Reid - one of the original group who set the whole thing going back in 1974. No pressure there then!!

Anyway - back to the present day and our ship!

New Season


You will have seen from the previous post that our paddler is now safely docked down in Garvel Drydock, Greenock for her annual overhaul. She is expected to emerge on Monday 10th May when she will head out to the Tail O the Bank for compass adjustment before proceeding back up river to her Glasgow Science Centre berth where work will continue to ready her for the forthcoming season which starts at 7am on Friday 28th May with the annual trip to Oban for the weekend.


This season will present the same set of challenges as before - fuel continues to be a major issue and the recent steady increase in cost at the pumps equates to a similar increase for Waverley even though she doesn't (thankfully!!) run on pump fuel!! Couple this with the unpredictable climate (at least she won't be affected by volcanic ash issues) and you can see why operating the World's Only Seagoing Paddle Steamer is no walk in the park.


We can all play a part in facing this challenge - by sailing on our ships and also encouraging others to come along and share the pleasures of a relaxing day out on the river watching the world paddle past. Leave your cares ashore and collect them on your return.............


So on that note I'll sign off - below are some more excellent shots of Waverley's trip to Greenock on Wednesday taken by Gerry Deegan.


Heres to season 2010 - see you aboard!!


Gavin Stewart

Back into Service

Following a heavy contact with the breakwater berth at Dunoon in blustery conditions on the first day of her regular Clyde summer sailings (26th June 2009) it was necessary to take Waverley out of service for repair to her port, forward sponson. Fortunally, the Garvel Drydock company at Greenock was able to commence repairs immediately and the ship arrived in the adjacent berth at Greenock's James Watt Dock a few hours after she had returned her passengers to Glasgow. As all damage was well above the waterline it was not necessary for the ship to be drydocked. A sterling round-the-clock effort and cooperation between Waverley's crew and the staff at Garvel resulted in the ship being ready to re-enter service one week later on Saturday 4th July. The PSPS Scottish Branch thanks both Garvel Drydock and the paddler's dedicated crew for their great efforts to reduce the lost service time and the WEL office staff for their additional work to minimise the loss of revenue. We also thank passengers affected by the disruption for their understanding and support.

Very early on the morning of 4th July Waverley departed James Watt Dock and headed up the River Clyde to her base adjacent to Glasgow Science Centre where she resumed her timetabled service at 10am. The following pictures of the ship's early morning depature from the Dock are presented courtesy of long time Scottish Branch member Alex Russell.

Repairs complete, Waverley prepares to leave James Watt Dock. The colourful vessel Kingdom of Fife was also receiving attention by the Garvel Drydock company,




Waverley canted within the James Watt Dock and headed out into the river with the assistance of the Clyde Marine tug Biter







After a quick turn the paddler heads upriver to resume her summer timetable service - we hope that Waverley will enjoy great support and success through the remainder of the 2009 season so that we can secure a sustainable future for this icon of the Clyde's maritime heritage.