Waverley on
the South Coast 2012
Words
by Martin Longhurst
Waverley’s brief Bristol Channel season ended with a cruise from
Milford Haven on September 9. She then headed
to Lundy Roads to await a suitable opportunity to round Lands End. In the event, she had to put back to Swansea
for some repairs and the chance was taken to top up with fuel and fresh water. Unfortunately these delays meant that the
first two days’ sailings on September 12 and 13 had to be cancelled, although
the weather would have been marginal in any case.
On the Friday she had been due to serve Worthing but coaches to
Portsmouth were laid on as the sea remained rough. The cruise had been set to call at Swanage
on the way to Lulworth but in the event was confined to the Solent and Sandown
Bay, in the lee of the Isle of Wight.
Fortunately the sun shone brightly on Saturday 15 September for the
paddler’s first circumnavigation of the Garden Isle with over 600 on
board. The sea remained calm the
following day but the skies had turned grey for her first successful Sunday
trip to Weymouth for two years.
Sailings continued to timetable throughout the following week and good
numbers were carried in the favourable conditions. This culminated on Saturday 22nd when just
under 600 rounded the Isle of Wight, some 200 joining the paddler at Portsmouth
Harbour off a special train from the West Midlands.
Then a big storm arrived, wreaking havoc across the country as well as
to the steamer’s programme. No sailings
were possible at all on Sunday or Tuesday – Monday was an off service day and a
Friends of Waverley Open Day event was held alongside at her Southampton berth. On Wednesday Captain O’Brian took the
paddler away from the Hampshire port and steamed for Swanage. Unfortunately the sea turned out to be too
rough for a passenger sailing from Swanage or Bournemouth. So the paddler reversed course to Ryde to
offer her afternoon cruise round Portsmouth Harbour, which was, unfortunately
poorly supported. The steamer returned
to Portsmouth to spend the night alongside the Station Pier, ready for her
cruise the next day.
Thursday
turned out to be a lovely day and the steamer was able to carry out her full
programme, getting as far west as Durdle Door.
On arrival back at Portsmouth, Captain O’Brian passed his command over
to Captain Clark, who was due to take the ship for the remainder of her season. She sailed overnight to Margate to commence
her Thames season.
There
were several hundred on board from Margate as the ship sailed for Whitstable
where passengers had time ashore while the paddler took fuel. This was a complicated exercise as passengers
are embarked on the western side of the harbour but the fuel tanker could only
reach the eastern side so the paddler had to be warped across the harbour
twice. Then she steamed on for Gravesend where Captain Clark cut a ribbon to
mark Waverley’s arrival at the new pontoon at Town Pier, before she completed
her voyage to Tower Pier where she spent the night.
Saturday’s cruise took the steamer from London to Gravesend, Southend
and Clacton. The weather and numbers
were good but this year’s timetable only allowed 30 minutes ashore at the Essex
resort, hardly enough time to get to the pier gates and return! As usual, a one way cruise was offered from
Clacton to view the Twinkling Thames with a band on board.
On Sunday the steamer was extremely busy with several large parties on
board meaning only booked passengers could be taken from Tower and
Gravesend. There was a little more
space after Southend as Waverley proceeded south to the River Medway to
rendezvous with Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle. It was 27 years since the first such occasion
in 1985. On the return leg to Southend,
Captain Clark took the steamer past the wreck of the Richard Montgomery, still
retaining her deadly cargo of ammunition after nearly 70 years. Another party joined at Southend for the
evening, while another 26 lucky people enjoyed the round trip from Gravesend to
Tower Pier.
Waverley was off service at Gravesend on Monday 1 October but the
following day she departed Town Pier for Southend, Clacton and a River
Blackwater cruise. Numbers on board
were very low but this was essentially a positioning run as the next day’s
cruise was planned to be from Southwold to London. Unfortunately, the weather intervened again
and the paddler retired to anchor in the River Blackwater for the night. The plan was for booked passengers to be
coached from Southwold to Clacton to join the ship in the partially smooth
waters of the Thames Estuary, but conditions the following morning were too
rough to allow the paddler to berth at Clacton and she had to retire to
Gravesend.
Thursday was an off-service day anyway and
Waverley was able to resume her timetable on Friday 5 October with an up river
sailing from Margate and Whitstable to Tower Pier. She was now in place for her weekend’s
sailings from London. Saturday took her
to Southend and Whitstable while the lure of the Thames Forts attracted good
support on the Sunday. Monday was
another off service day before a near repeat of the previous week with a single
trip from Gravesend to Clacton preceding an up-river trip the following day,
but this time from Harwich. She spent
Wednesday night at Tower Pier prior to offering a round trip to the River
Medway on Thursday. Again the steamer
turned at Bee Ness Jetty before describing a large circle back to Southend
Pier.
Waverley was engaged for two charters on
Friday 12 October. At lunch time
Gravesham Borough Council had taken the paddler for a two hour trip to mark the
official opening of the Town Pier Pontoon.
This was attended by a large number of officials representing the
Borough and County Councils, funding bodies, river authorities and pier
users. Later the steamer moved to Tower
Pier for the annual PSPS London Branch evening charter. This trip was not as successful as in the
past owing to being well into October and entirely in the dark.
Saturday’s itinerary took Waverley for a
non-stop sailing from Tower Pier to Southend (primarily intended for coach
parties who generally only want a one-way trip) followed by a non-landing round
trip through Tower Bridge also calling at Gravesend. Overnight the steamer moved to Harwich to
position for her final Thames sailing which was up river to Clacton, Southend
and Tower Pier with coach return. An
evening circle cruise from Gravesend was also offered.
The sailing instructions then called for Waverley
to steam to Whitstable on the next tide to take fuel at the tidal Kent
port. Incidentally, during her Thames
visit the paddler had switched to using gas oil to avoid the need to visit
Tilbury, which is the only location on the Thames where her normal fuel would
have been available. Her next call was
intended to be Weymouth but a gale intervened and the steamer was unable to
proceed past the Isle of Wight.
Progress west ceased south of St Catherine’s Head and Captain Clark had
to change course back to Ryde Roads to anchor.
It soon became clear that the delay would
be substantial and the paddler proceeded to Southampton to await
developments. Although the wind was
abating, a swell of 17 feet was reported at Eddystone. It seemed unlikely that Waverley would be
able to return to the Clyde in time for her final weekend so on Thursday most
stewards were paid off and they left the ship along with the Purser and
shopkeeper.
At 08.40 on Friday October 19 the paddler
was finally able to leave Southampton, heading for Glasgow direct where she
arrived at 04.30 on Sunday. This meant
she missed her Saturday sail but was able to give her Sunday sail in full. This took her from Pacific Quay to Greenock,
Helensburgh, Dunoon, Rothesay and Tighnabruaich. It was a sparkling autumn day and good
numbers were carried throughout.
Instead of lying alongside Tighnabruaich
Pier, Waverley steamed a short way down the western Kyle. Passengers were invited to go to the stern
to witness Douglas McGowan paying tribute to the late Joe McKendrick before his
ashes were scattered. Single rose
blooms, one for each year of Joe’s life, were passed out so that individuals
could pay their own tributes to this exceptional enthusiast for Waverley.
On arrival back at Glasgow, WSN Chairman
Nick James paid tribute to the dedication of the ship’s Captains and crew
members throughout the season and looked forward to seeing all the passengers
again in 2013.