Chairman's Blog No 14 - Winter is Upon Us! (in more ways than one)

On behalf of the Scottish Branch Commitee may I wish you all a Happy New Year! Lets hope that season 2011 is a good one.

Well winter is once again upon us - what do you mean I hear you cry - its been here for weeks!! The deep freeze set in earlier than last year with temperatures in Glasgow and the West of Scotland plummeting to below -10degC. The photos below show our paddler shivering at her snowy Glasgow Science Centre berth.

Another winter is also upon us - volunteer winter work parties commence on both Waverley and Balmoral on Saturday 15th January. This year - as with every year since the ships entered preserved operation - voluntary input vital to their ongoing operation. Remember formal skills are not required - just enthusiasm!

If you are interested in attending work parties on Waverley then just turn up at the ship from 10am onwards on the 15th and ask for the person in charge.  The only restriction is that you must be over 18 years of age.You will be required to give the ship's engineer contact details for H&S purposes and if you have safety shoes and a boiler suit that you dont mind using then please bring them along. You'll be pleased to hear that the ship is heated throughout the winter but additional layers of clothing may be an idea in case you are given an outdoor job.

Car parking is via the Glasgow Science Centre car park - tokens are available from the ship's engineer to allow you exit the car park. Waverley is located adjacent to the Science Centre tower (her berth is sometimes also referred to as Pacific Quay)

There are no catering facilities available on board during the winter but the microwave in the crew mess is available as is on tap hot water, tea & coffee. The only toilets operational are the crew toilets but not to worry you will be shown the ropes on arrival!!

The main thing is to enjoy yourself - theres a good bunch of up to twenty people attend over the winter so you'll be made very welcome -  that coupled with the fact that you can take satisfaction from the knowledge that you contributed to the ship's operation in 2011 make volunteer work parties a must.

Go to the Waverley Excursions Website for a blog entry about work parties.

Balmoral work parties take place in Bristol - see http://www.pswaverley.org/ for further details.

I'll sign off for now - leaving you with the forementioned snowy pictures!!

Gavin Stewart

Scottish Branch Chairman

Photo Copyright Joe McKendrick

Photo Copyright Joe McKendrick

Photo Copyright Joe McKendrick

Waverley in the Western Isles 2010

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 queue wending its way towards the gangway

At 06:50 in the morning it looks even better

After all the winter work, drydock overhaul, trials and careful planning by all involved, 

the official start of the 2010 season at 07:00 on Friday 28th May was delayed............

because the Sandwich man was late!!

Finally on the move at the start of her 2010 season.

Canting into Prince's dock entrance

Off she goes down the Clyde - or so we thought!

 A good 250/300 metres into her stride and still she won't let go of her winter berth!

The cant rope got stuck on the wooden rubbing piles on the face of the quay 

and can be seen stretching out behind Waverley. 

 Waverley finally detached from the rope and heading downriver

with the new Glasgow Transport Museum taking shape in the background.

This shot gives some impression of the potential future difficulties for Waverley,

when the Tall Ship Glenlee gets moved to her Transport Museum berth, 

where she will be lying in the river above, but to the left of,

where Waverley's port paddle box is in this photo.

Waverley arriving into a very sunny Oban bay on Sunday evening 

with the small cruise ship Quest heading out of the bay, having just

vacated the North Pier berth (and holding up Waverley with her delayed departure)

 Arriving into North pier Oban

Seeing the crowds on board I was a bit worried about there being something left to eat for my tea 
However not only was there plenty of food, but the highlight of my weekend was getting 
one of the really excellent  "Sunday lunches" for my tea - good food and travel must go together!
Well done to Craig and his team! 
 

Monday morning dawned bright and sunny with the promise of a great day.

 Waverley arriving into Oban bay after her run down from Fort William

Heading across the bay to North pier

The repainted funnels looking resplendent in the sunshine alongside Tiree pier

Waverley going astern from Tiree pier on her short cruise

Heading out from Tiree

Paddles biting in as she starts to move ahead

Returning to Tiree after her short cruise

Waverley alongside at Tiree with the David MacBrayne house flag 

(kindly supplied by her supporters from Arran) shown off to good effect above the bridge.

For many, the first weekend on Waverley is just another (or a first) day trip away somewhere.

However, for a significant number of her passengers over the whole weekend it is a chance to meet up again
with good friends and acquaintances that you said cheerio to on the last sailing day, the previous October,
or maybe even haven’t seen since the last West Highland weekend.

There is plenty of time to chat, laugh, eat and drink in good company while catching up 
on the events of the past six months and reminiscing about days and years gone bye. 

However I did think it was a bit much when I was sitting having my breakfast 
in the B&B on the Monday morning and suddenly found myself surrounded by Arranites – 
or maybe it was the scary stories I was being told about vicious Teddy Bears that put me off my “full Scottish”!! 


A larger selection of photos of Waverley and other sights and shipping seen over the weekend can be found at 

Recent Shipping Photographs

Charles McCrossan

Yet Another Glasgow River Festival is Upon Us!!

Over Sat 25th & Sun 26th July the banks of the River Clyde will once again come alive as the Glasgow River Festival swings into action.

As ever the Scottish Branch will have a stand at the festival located in front of the Crowne Plazza Hotel just across from Bells Bridge.

On Sunday this year we are pleased to announce that Waverley will also be present and will be giving short sailings between her berth at Glasgow Science Centre and Clydebank. These sailings are non landing return and will be approx 75mins in length and will cost £10 for every adult. Every adult ticket bought permits one child to sail free!

When she is not sailing the ship will be open for the public to come aboard and have a look round.

More information on this and the rest of the festival can be found at the official festival website.

Waverley's third move of 2009 - Arriving back in Glasgow

Waverley arriving back upriver after her move from Drydock yesterday,
and a short "shakedown trip" around the upper firth this morning.

Passing the former Elderslie drydocks as she makes
her approach towards her berth at the Science Centre

Safely alongside at the Science Centre at 13:00

All involved have put in a really huge effort AFTER the boiler repairs were completed to get her steaming back up the river today. There will still be long hours to be worked so that we can all sail off on Friday morning at 07:00 with a few gallons (or litres - for those so inclined) of sunblock on board as the weather forecast looks really good at present.

A very big thank you and well done to all involved in getting her back into operation!

Charles McCrossan