Waverley’s Autumn 2015
Report by Martin Longhurst
Waverley’s Clyde season ended on the traditional Cowal
Games weekend, the last weekend in August. After some mechanical work the
paddler headed for Liverpool for two days of sailings. On the first day 1 September her departure
from the Mersey was delayed by a shipping movement but it was finally possible
for her to berth at the rebuilt Llandudno Pier before heading further west to
the Anglesey coast. Conditions had
deteriorated by the second day and it was not possible to get alongside at all
at Llandudno, so all the Liverpool passengers enjoyed the full cruise.
The weather was, however, kind enough to let the steamer’s positioning
voyage to the Bristol Channel to go ahead without delay and Waverley was able
to offer her morning cruise under the Severn Bridges and her afternoon sail
round the Holm islands as planned. The gremlins intervened and the paddler
retired to Avonmouth Docks for further mechanical attention. Unfortunately this
meant that the planned evening cruise on Friday and the entire cruise on
Saturday had to be cancelled. But the
repairs were just completed in time for Sunday’s trip from Clevedon and Penarth
to Ilfracombe and Lundy Island to go ahead.
The steamer then sailed light through the night to give a short charter
out of Milford Haven before heading round Lands End
to Weymouth to position for her South Coast season.
Once again the strong winds, which had been a feature of the entire
season, returned again and the first scheduled cruise out of Weymouth on
Wednesday 9 September had to be cancelled.
Thursday’s cruise went ahead with some amendments. Saturday saw another enforced
cancellation. A short break in the
weather led to Sunday’s sail from Southampton to Yarmouth, Bournemouth, Swanage
and Weymouth running. At return time,
the wind had increased and it was decided the second call at Bournemouth would
not be possible and passengers were either given their train fare or coached
back from Swanage.
The next trip we did was the Thursday cruise from Portsmouth to
Yarmouth, Bournemouth, Swanage and along the Jurassic
coast to turn off Lulworth Cove. There
was a coach connection from Worthing but the coaches were delayed by heavy
traffic and the steamer departed 50 minutes late. This meant there would be insufficient water
at the return time from Bournemouth so coaches had to be laid on again from
Swanage, limiting the number that could be taken.
Friday’s cruise to The Needles from Southampton, Portsmouth and
Yarmouth went ahead in good weather with good numbers as did Saturday’s Round
the Island trip. Sunday dawned rather
foggy – in fact, it was not possible to see across the River Test. There were also technical problems and these
were not resolved until 50 minutes after sailing time. Revised times were quickly worked out but
the need to reach Bournemouth at a workable state of the tide and get back to
Class IV waters in time meant that the Weymouth call had to be dropped with a
coastal cruise to Durdle Door being substituted.
Then strong winds returned and the cruise on 15 September was
cancelled. On the Wednesday a shortened
cruise was offered from Swanage and Yarmouth to tour Portsmouth Harbour but
after the second Yarmouth call, the paddler returned to Southampton and her
remaining passengers were coached home. The Thursday cruise was also curtailed. From Portsmouth the steamer proceeded to
Yarmouth as planned but then headed back east through The Solent and round Bembridge Ledge, turning back between Sandown and Shanklin. On the
return to Portsmouth, water was taken preparatory to the positioning voyage to
the Thames.
Waverley arrived off Margate in good time but there was a paperwork
problem which prevented the planned call going ahead. The intending passengers
were coached to join the steamer at Whitstable.
The remainder of the trip to Southend and Gravesend, turning in the Pool
of London, was operated as planned.
After disembarking her passengers and taking bunkers, the paddler gave a
one-way upriver cruise to Tower Pier where she spent the night.
Next morning’s departure for Southend direct was all but full. This trip is notable as it carries one-way
coach parties almost exclusively. Indeed, only 6 passengers stayed on the ship
for her round trip to Gravesend, again turning in London, which was fully
booked. After disembarking her
passengers at Southend, the paddler anchored nearby for the night. She had an early start on the Sunday,
arriving at Harwich Ha’penny Pier just after 10
a.m. The day’s cruise took the steamer
one-way to Clacton and Tower Pier. 15
coaches were needed to take everybody home, including those who started their
journeys by coach from Ipswich!
Captain O’Brian was relieved by Captain Steve Colledge
on Monday which was an off-service day at Gravesend, although a private evening
charter was run from Tower Pier in the evening.
Tuesday should have taken the paddler from Gravesend and Southend to
Clacton. However, a strong easterly wind
prevented the sailing to Clacton going ahead. Therefore Captain Colledge arranged a trip around the Forts in lieu,
including a rare visit to the Knock John Fort. Having dropped off the
passengers at Southend Pier, the steamer anchored in Southend Roads for the
night. On Wednesday the Southwold
passengers (who had been due to be coached to Clacton) and the Clacton
passengers were all coached to join the Waverley at Southend. The steamer then
took everyone up river to Tower Pier, where she spent the night.
The Thames Forts were the intended destination on the Thursday. The
steamer left Tower Pier as scheduled at 10.00 for Gravesend and Southend for
the non-landing cruise. Numbers were
very good for a mid-week sail and the weather was excellent. Good views were had
of the Red Sands and Shivering Sands Forts and a distant view of Knock John
Fort. An evening cruise was also
offered from Gravesend to The Tower and back with Waverley remaining there
overnight.
Friday’s cruise was upriver from Southend and Gravesend to turn in the
Pool of London during the day followed by a one-way evening cruise from
Southend, with coach return. Again the
weather was excellent and good numbers were carried. Waverley spent the night at Tower Pier so as
to ready for her Saturday trip to Southend and Whitstable for time ashore. The day was very misty with limited visibility
persisting all day. Nevertheless,
numbers on board were very good with plenty of passenger turnover. A lot of people went one-way to Southend
which meant there was space to take others from Whitstable to Tower Pier.
Fortunately the mist did not re-appear overnight and glorious blue
skies accompanied Sunday’s sail to Gravesend, Southend and Clacton as Captain
O’Brian resumed command. This was a
relatively quiet sailing as the distant destination of Clacton makes for an
early start and late finish, not an ideal combination for a Sunday. Unusually, the paddler was berthed port side
to at Clacton.
Monday was spent off service at Gravesend. The weather forecast at the weekend suggested
that strong winds would again put pay to Waverley’s mid-week round trip to the
exposed Essex coast. Fortunately this
did not turn out to be the case. So the
paddler steamed off as planned on Tuesday to Southend and Clacton for a cruise
to the River Blackwater, with a coach return for Gravesend and Southend. Difficulties berthing at Clacton
unfortunately reduced the cruise as passengers had to be returned in time for
their coaches. The steamer then
positioned to Harwich where she spent the night. Wednesday’s sail took her to Tower Pier,
calling at Clacton for more passengers, with Great Yarmouth passengers being
coached to Harwich. The annual PSPS
London Branch charter took place with about 300 on board. As Thursday was again off service at
Gravesend, Waverley returned there light ship.
The boiler gremlins were at work again on Friday 9 October when an
electrical fault delayed steam raising.
The Margate call had already been replaced by a coach connection to
Whitstable, which has a short tidal window for Waverley calls. By the time repairs had been effected it was
too late for the steamer to reach Whitstable in time. Efforts to find coaches from Whitstable were
unsuccessful so the trip had to cancelled, although some people made their own
way to Gravesend by train. The Margate
coaches took their loads straight home.
However, the paddler was able to make her Southend call as planned prior
to steaming up the Thames, calling at Gravesend. A non-landing round trip was then made
through Tower Bridge turning in the Upper Pool of London. Finally, the steamer made a public
positioning trip back to Tower Pier, ready for the next day’s sailing.
Saturday’s cruise took Waverley back to the Thames Forts calling at
Gravesend and Southend. Regular Purser
Ian O’Brian was on leave for the weekend (watching football in Portugal) and
his duties were carried out by Helen Ellis from the Glasgow office. Sunday saw Waverley’s final Thames cruise for
2015 and this took her from Tower Pier to Gravesend and Southend for a River
Medway cruise. It was a fair day which
brought out a reasonable crowd. While we
were alongside Southend Pier we heard the distant roar of the Avro Vulcan jet
bomber making one of her farewell flights around Britain. The steamer picked up the Medway pilot off
Sheerness before proceeding past the Thamesport
container berths and turning back downstream.
The preserved diesel tug Touchstone had come out to meet the Waverley as
in 2014 and commentator Roddy McKee called for three cheers for her crew, some
of whom were former Kingswear Castle volunteers. After dropping the Medway pilot, the steamer
passed close to the wreck of the liberty ship Richard Montgomery before
zig-zagging around the Estuary before berthing back at Southend Pier for the
2015 last call.
An evening round trip was offered from here with coach return from
Tower Pier. Then on to Gravesend where
an evening circle cruise was given. The
steamer passed through Tower Bridge in the darkness before berthing to
discharge most of her passengers. Only
about 50 remained on board for the final leg back to Gravesend.
Waverley took bunkers in the morning before departing Gravesend for
Southampton where fuel was again taken the following morning. She then sailed direct to Glasgow arriving in
the early hours of Thursday 15 October.
Waverley final weekend 2015
Early risers on Saturday 17 October 2015 enjoyed clear skies and were
looking forward to a lovely day’s sail on the paddler. However, in the hour
before departure thick fog rolled in limiting visibility to about 100
metres. Given it was low tide,
navigating the steamer would have been tricky in good visibility but out of the
question in thick fog. Captain O’Brian
announced a delay in departure, although he decided to turn the vessel straight
away to avoid having to turn later against the flood tide.
Those PSPS members who had attended the previous evening’s excellent
talk on “Handling the Waverley” by David Howie now had some appreciation of the
difficulties of navigating the steamer in good conditions, let alone in poor
visibility.
Visibility came and went for the next hour and a half before a
sustained improvement was observed.
Waverley’s RIB was sent downstream to assess whether the improvement was
general or localised. Then Stand By was rung on the Engine Room telegraph about
12.05 (scheduled departure had been 10.00).
The steamer proceeded sedately downstream past ghostly half obscured
riverside buildings then around Clydebank speed had to be further reduced
through a thicker patch of fog. From Dumbuck onwards things started to return to normal with the
sun piercing through. Despite the
extended delay, large crowds were waiting to board at both Greenock and Helensburgh.
On we steamed in the sunshine to smaller pick-ups at Kilcreggan and Blairmore. A three hour cruise up Loch Long and Loch Goil had been scheduled but the need to get back to Glasgow
in time for the evening cruise meant the afternoon trip had to be curtailed to
about 90 minutes. However, we were still
treated to the sight of Carrick Castle!
Arrival back at Pacific Quay was just before the 19.30 scheduled
departure of the evening cruise which took a load of about 400 on a non-landing
trip.
Sunday also dawned bright and sunny but fortunately there was no
repetition of the previous day’s fog. A slightly
longer trip was offered to Greenock, Largs, Rothesay and Tighnabruaich
for 30 minutes ashore. The first leg was relatively quiet but large numbers
joined at Greenock and Largs meaning over 700 were on board for the hop to
Rothesay.
While heading north up the Kyles of Bute, we passed MV Loch Riddon heading from her station at Tobermory
to Ardmaleish for her refit. She had spent the previous two nights at Oban
and Campbeltown.
On the return voyage we saw her berthed inside Rothesay Pier.
About 25 minutes were allowed at Tighnabruaich
which was enough time to view the Pier Association’s displays and take a
picture or two. Suzi’s Tearoom had to
wait for next year! The return voyage
was punctuated by rounds of applause to show our appreciation for each pier’s
staff’s efforts throughout the season and the traditional long whistle blast on
departure. The large numbers joining
and leaving the steamer made her 50 minutes late at one stage but this had been
clawed back a little by Greenock. After an exceptionally boisterous series of
whistle blasts, the paddler accelerated to a spectacular 58 rpm! Although this speed could not be sustained
for long in the river channel, it contributed to a 15 minute reduction in
lateness.
One of the other traditions of the last day of the season is the
creation of weird and wonderful destination displays. Today was no exception with three different
displays appearing, the final one marking the Farewell Cruise of Captain A. O’Brian.
After our arrival back at Pacific Quay, PSPS Chairman Iain Dewar made a
presentation in Waverley’s Jeanie Deans lounge to Captain Andy O’Brian who was
leaving command of Waverley to become a Clyde pilot. The presentation was on behalf of the PSPS
Council, funded through individual contributions, and consisted of two
specially engraved Waverley whisky glasses, reading 'Captain Andy O’Brian / 10 Years at the Helm / Best Wishes from
PSPS Council’, a bottle of 10 year old Isle of Jura whisky and a bottle of
Champagne.
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Speaking on behalf of the PSPS Council, Iain Dewar gave a few
well-chosen words: “Captain O'Brian, Ladies and
Gentlemen, This is not only the end of the season but the end of an era. It was
10 years ago that a rash young (ish) officer
allowed himself to be persuaded to join Waverley Excursions. Shortly
afterwards, with the resignation in quick succession of two captains, he
found himself Senior Master. That is no small undertaking. Driving this ship
with her unique handling characteristics — especially when going astern — is
not for wimps. As any master finds, there is however always a source of
plentiful advice — on the promenade deck. Fortunately for the ship, Captain
O'Brian took his own counsel and became an excellent handler of Waverley. But that of course is not all that is involved in being Senior
Master. It is more than a full-time job, extending right through the year,
doing everything that would be done by shore staff in a normal company.
Everything from arranging bunkers, planning timetables, securing pilots,
chatting up tug and pier staff to secure favours, through to, I am assured,
procuring uniforms for female staff. And to save pilotage money, on one
famous occasion he even managed to find a cost-free helicopter to lift him
off the ship. I could go on, but Captain O'Brian is owed much more than anyone can
know for sticking with it for 10 years: he has been unbelievably loyal, doing
a job few would want or have the ability to do. So we wish him well in his new job as a Clyde pilot, knowing he'll be
back to help whenever he can. Andy, very many thanks and best wishes for the future. Here's a small
memento from the PSPS Council to remind you of your time with us.” |
For some pictures taken during the season, please visit my Flickr
site.