Waverley comes South 2016
Words and pictures by Martin
Longhurst (except where stated)
Waverley’s Clyde season ended on 28 August 2016 with a cruise from
Glasgow to Lochranza. The steamer headed south to the Mersey without
delay. She arrived in good time and was
able to give both her planned cruises.
On 30 August she sailed from Liverpool to Llandudno and the Anglesey
coast with a cruise up the Lancashire coast given the following day. Then it was straight off to the Bristol Channel
with a destination of Avonmouth to take fuel, water and stores.
The paddler’s Bristol Channel season commenced on Friday 2 September at
Penarth, steaming away at 09.30. The
first call was at Clevedon where a good number joined the ship from the top of
the pier. With a Pilot on board we
headed up river to view the two Severn Bridges under grey skies. By the time we had passed the original
bridge, with the old ferry slipways still visible, the tide was ebbing. Very shortly we turned and, with tidal assistance,
the vessel was noted as travelling at 18 knots over the ground. By the time we returned to Clevedon and
berthed in the strong current, we were running a little late. While all the passengers were struggling up
and down the pier steps the water level continued to drop rapidly until the
minimum acceptable depth had been reached and Captain Cochrane ordered the
gangway pulled in and the steamer sailed without more ado. Unfortunately, quite a few passengers had to
be left behind – such are the vagaries of the Bristol Channel tides.
The afternoon cruise took Waverley round both Steep Holm (English) and
Flat Holm (Welsh) before returning to Clevedon just as soon as there was once
again sufficient depth of water to go alongside. After the passenger exchange had taken place,
Waverley steamed off to Penarth on the final leg of the day’s sailing.
Saturday’s cruise was scheduled to see the paddler reach Ilfracombe for
the first time in 2016. However, this
was not to be as the weather was wet and too windy to sail that far west. While the steamer stooged around the Holms
and eventually steamed west to Blue Anchor Bay near Minehead, we headed off to
the Tal-y-llyn Railway in mid-Wales instead.
The cruise was enlivened by a Coastguard helicopter exercise.
Although the rain had gone on Sunday, the sea remained too rough for
Waverley to sail safely. Consequently,
the sailing was cancelled entirely and the steamer retreated to Avonmouth. The Vale of Rheidol Railway between
Aberystwyth and Devil’s Bridge was our alternate destination and very enjoyable
it was.
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Tom Rolt
enters Brynglas Station, Talyllyn Railway |
No 8 rests
at Devils Bridge, Vale of Rheidol Railway |
Fortunately, the sea became calm in time for Monday’s sailing. This started at Clevedon carrying English
passengers across the Channel for a coach trip to the Brecon Mountain
Railway. Cruising then took over with a
return to Clevedon for a sea cruise, a third call at Clevedon before returning
to Penarth to pick up the Railway passengers to return them to Clevedon. Following completion of her public sailing,
Waverley sailed light to anchor in Swansea Bay.
Tuesday saw a Swansea – Ilfracombe – Lundy cruise with a little time
ashore on the ’mystic isle.’ The weather was very kind and the sea produced a
gentle swell so that the steamer rolled gently on her cross-Channel leg. The trip was well supported with a veritable
fleet of coaches awaiting our return to Swansea. No-one is allowed to walk to the berth at
Swansea with passengers coached into the docks from the local Fabian Way park
and ride or from Porthcawl.
Landing at Lundy 6 September 2016
– There is an urgent appeal for repairs to St Helena’s Church – click here for details
After disembarkation was completed, the paddler took fuel before
steaming off round Land’s End with Weymouth as her
destination. The South Coast season
kicked off on 8 September. As the Bestival music festival was in progress,
Portsmouth was too busy for the paddler to call and the initial sailings did
not follow the normal pattern, being based more to the west. The first call at Portsmouth had been planned
for the Saturday but unfortunately the boiler gremlins struck and the steamer was
unable to start her sailing from Southampton.
Eventually the decision was taken reluctantly to cancel the entire day’s
sailing. This was very disappointing as
the ship had been fully booked for some weeks and, indeed, a special train had
come from Solihull to bring passengers for the circumnavigation of the
Wight. As the weather was, yet again,
wet and windy, the ship would have been confined to the Solent in any case.
Fortunately, Sunday dawned bright and still and the boiler gremlins had
been sent packing, so Waverley was able to undertake her scheduled sailing from
Southampton to Yarmouth, Bournemouth, Swanage and Weymouth for time
ashore. There was a good turn-out
throughout the day. The Weymouth
Triathlon was in progress when we arrived and passengers had to wend their way
across the course and through the special attractions. Nevertheless, we managed to drink a pint of
St Austell Proper Job at The Globe.
Monday was an off-service day at Southampton but Waverley was off to
Swanage bright and early on Tuesday morning.
Her cruise was to take her to Bournemouth and Yarmouth to steam round
the Isle of Wight. There was a
tremendous thunder storm as the paddler set off. Fortunately, we joined the steamer at
Yarmouth having crossed from Lymington on Wight Light, so we only saw a few
spots of rain ourselves. The trip round
the island was magnificent and was accompanied by Chris Philip’s knowledgeable
commentary.
After Wednesday’s sailing the paddler steamed east and dropped anchor
in Cowes Roads for the night to be ready for Thursday’s sailing from Portsmouth
Harbour. This took the steamer to
Yarmouth, Bournemouth, Swanage and Lulworth Cove. It was a lovely day with excellent views of
the Jurassic Coast. Fortunately, there
was no firing taking place that afternoon and we were able to enjoy the coast
at close quarter. Although more thunder
storms had been predicted from 2 p.m., we were lucky enough that rain did not
start to fall until we were back alongside Portsmouth Harbour Station Pier at 8
p.m. Subsequently the paddler sailed to
Southampton for the night.
Friday’s trip to The Needles had to be varied as, due to a fresh
north-westerly wind, both calls at Yarmouth were cancelled, although the rest
of the cruise went ahead as scheduled.
The same thing happened the following day which meant the steamer was
only able to call at Southampton and Portsmouth. Nevertheless, Waverley was able to complete
the rest of her cruise. Up until
Thursday former Senior Master Andy O’Brian had been acting as the ship’s Chief
Officer. This meant that Pilots were not
required for Southampton or Portsmouth waters as he retained his Pilotage
Exception Certificate. However, as he
had left the ship, the paddler now required to pick up and drop off a Pilot for
each trip in the Pilotage Areas. The
omission of the two Yarmouth calls on Saturday saved a lot of time against the
schedule but Pilots had to be re-booked for the revised times. Most of the passage around the Island was
undertaken at reduced speed and on arrival at Bembridge the steamer continued
eastwards towards the Nab Tower to avoid entering the Pilotage Area until a
Pilot was available. Similarly, the
paddler had an extended stop at Portsmouth during which Brittany Ferries
Bretagne entered the port, presumably to suit the Southampton Pilot.
Calm conditions returned on the Sunday and Waverley was able to carry
out her full schedule from Southampton to Weymouth under largely blue
skies. Tidal conditions had ruled out
the return Bournemouth call and passengers were returned by coach from Swanage
as planned. Excellent views of the
Jurassic Coast were complimented by Chris Warren’s commentary on the return
leg.
Monday 19 September 2016 was an off-service day for Waverley at
Southampton. Unfortunately, the Engineers
had to undertake a lot of paddle wheel repairs. By the time they were completed, it was too
late for the steamer to position to Swanage or Bournemouth for the scheduled
Round the Island cruise. Nevertheless, the paddler was able to take about 300 passengers
for the circumnavigation before proceeding to Weymouth for the night.
Wednesday’s cruise took Waverley from Weymouth to Swanage and Yarmouth
for a cruise round Portsmouth Harbour. The boiler gremlins struck again at Yarmouth
on the return leg. In the event, the
paddler could not complete her voyage as the delay meant there was insufficient
time to do so within certificate limits.
Relief Purser Helen Ellis had to make a lot of complicated arrangements
to get everybody home. Waverley was
eventually able to steam off to anchor in Cowes Roads for the night.
Thursday saw the steamer alongside at Portsmouth to take her usual
Lulworth Cove cruise. The arrival of a
large Dutch warship delayed our departure but soon we were heading off into the
Solent. Shortly afterwards we were
spotted by a Coastguard helicopter which decided to carry out a winching
exercise on to Waverley’s stern, much to our passengers’ excitement.
It had been grey and dry to begin with but soon we encountered two
light showers, which were carried on a cold front, and then we were able to
enjoy blue skies and clear visibility for the rest of the day.
The recent cancellations combined with the sun to produce large crowds
at Yarmouth, Bournemouth and Swanage.
Although this was a good result, the time taken to effect
the passenger exchanges meant the steamer was an hour late leaving Swanage for
the cruise.
Today was the 50th
anniversary of PS Embassy last cruise.
Waverley flew her pennant to mark the occasion, courtesy of Richard
Clammer
To maintain the return times, Captain Cochrane turned the steamer off Kimmeridge Bay rather than Lulworth Cove. The rest of the cruise passed
uneventfully. Approaching Portsmouth we
slowed to follow Brittany Ferries Baie de Seine,
arriving from Bilbao, into the harbour.
While we docked, her sister ship Bretagne passed us outbound. As the next leg of her itinerary was direct
to Southend, the Engineers set about taking water prior to departure. Good progress was made along the South Coast, Waverley’s anchor being dropped just upstream of the
pier about 08.30.
Friday’s timetable took the paddler upstream to The Tower, with fuel
being taken during an extended stop at Gravesend. Unfortunately, the fuel barge was late,
which made the rest of the day’s programme about 30 minutes behind time. On arrival at Tower Pier, the Southend and
Gravesend passengers were coached home while the steamer gave the PSPS London
Branch charter, complete with jazz band.
Departure on the Saturday was made with about 500 on board. As there are no pier trains at Southend at
present, one large party took advantage of the Gravesend call to avoid the 1.25
mile walk. Before we arrived at
Gravesend Captain Cochrane announced that there would be no call at Clacton
owing to the strong southerly wind.
Now the boiler gremlins struck again.
During a long delay at Gravesend, the Engineers managed to persuade the
boiler back into life and we were then able to proceed to Southend. I understand the problems appear to lie in
the burner control system. Although
there was a strong wind, it was from the south.
This was accompanied by much sunshine, making it very pleasant on
deck.
As the call at Clacton was off, the steamer gave a cruise out to the
Knock John Fort before turning south-west to the Shivering Sands Fort. On the way back to Southend, we diverted south
of the buoyed channel to steam around the Red Sands Fort twice!
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Knock John |
Shivering Sands (6 towers) |
Red Sands (7 towers) |
Bad news came on the return leg as it had been decided to withdraw the
steamer on the Sunday for boiler repairs, meaning Sunday’s sailing was
cancelled. However, Waverley was able to
complete her trip back to Tower Pier.
As her return bridge lift was booked for Sunday at 10.10, the paddler
remained in London overnight before steaming downstream light to
Gravesend. This gave me the opportunity
to take the take this sequence of the paddler leaving the Upper Pool of London.
Following two days off service at Gravesend, Waverley successfully
completed her Tuesday sail. This started
early with a light sailing to Whitstable, where she was joined by a feeder coach
connection from Margate as well as local passengers. After calls at Southend and Gravesend, the
steamer carried about 700 on a round trip to the Upper Pool of London, passing
through Tower Bridge twice. All
passengers were disembarked at Gravesend with coaches provided to the other
three departure points.
The weather on Wednesday was delightful with blue skies and balmy
breezes. The paddler steamed away from
Gravesend promptly at 10.00 for her one-way trip to Clacton. There was an intermediate call at Southend
where about 100 joined the ship. After
the first call at Clacton, where another good load joined the paddler, she
headed west for the River Blackwater. We
enjoyed the delights of seeing Bradwell Nuclear Power
Station (disused), Tollesbury Pier (remains) and
rounding the Radio Caroline ship, the Ross Revenge (museum piece). Passengers were coached home although quite a
few used the rail link in preference.
As the forecast winds for the following day were unfavourable, Captain
Cochrane elected to take Waverley straight back to Gravesend - without
passengers as arrival back would have been too late to meet the schedule. Thursday’s passengers from Clacton were
taken by coach to join the steamer at Southend, leaving at 15.00 for Gravesend
and Tower Pier. Friday 30 September saw
the steamer sail for Gravesend and Southend for a Thames Forts cruise. Waverley took a near capacity crowd from
Gravesend on a day blessed with very sunny weather.
On Saturday 1 October Waverley gave three single trips between Tower
and Southend. The first leg took a huge
number of single journey passengers to Essex and then an extremely busy return
sail from Southend and Gravesend, turning in the Upper Pool. Having dropped off her final passengers at
Southend, the steamer proceeded light to Harwich, arriving around
midnight. On the Sunday the full annual
closure of the Thames Barrier took place, so Waverley had been scheduled for an
up-river trip from Harwich and Clacton to Tower. The day was also the 70th
anniversary of her launch in 1946 which was marked by dressing the ship
overall, Jeremy Gold mentioning this fact in his knowledgeable commentary. A comfortable load for the length of the
trip was carried.
Monday was a planned off-service day at Gravesend, as was the following
Thursday. It was planned to offer a
single sail to Clacton on the Tuesday and one from Harwich to Tower on the
Wednesday. However, a strong
south-easterly wind put paid to these plans with a complete cancellation being
necessary. Indeed, I took the
hovercraft from Ryde to Southsea on the Thursday and, so strong was the wind,
it took three times longer than normal!
I understand there were white horses on the Thames at Gravesend.
Friday saw the steamer back in service offering a return trip from
Southend and Gravesend through Tower Bridge, followed by a single evening
cruise back to Tower, partly to position for the following day.
Leigh Sedgwick was on the south
bank on 7 October as the paddler picked up tug General VIII to assist with her
turn on the approach to Tower Bridge from Southend and took this sequence.
Saturday took the paddler from Tower Pier to Gravesend, Southend and
Whitstable for time ashore. We spotted
four seals basking on the river mud at Crossness. Excellent numbers were carried and we were
able to enjoy a pint and a half of Whitstable beer at our favourite Continental
Hotel.
Waverley resting in Whitstable
Harbour on 8 October (ML)
Then the dreaded boiler burner gremlins struck again. While the Engineers worked away at solving
the problem, the tide ebbed out.
Whitstable Harbour dries out, so Waverley would have to depart to avoid
being stranded. Finally, about an hour
and three-quarters after time, the paddler gently eased away from the quay
using only one of her two boilers. In
perfect but dark conditions, the steamer headed for Southend, Captain Cochrane
keeping us informed of developments.
Gradually full power was restored and the ship was able to complete her
journey, finally berthing at Tower Pier at one o’clock after traversing the
twinkling Thames.
The final sailing of the Thames season took the paddler back to
Gravesend and Southend for a cruise up the River Medway. The weather was very kind and we enjoyed
good views in brilliant sunshine until dusk fell when it became quite
autumnal. The ship once again carried
good numbers.
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Waverley
from Touchstone (Jean Spells) |
Touchstone
from Waverley (Dave Bassett) |
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Waverley
(Charles Turner) |
During the foray into the Medway we met, as is now traditional, the preserved
diesel tug Touchstone which appeared to be carrying a Russian admiral! We also enjoyed a surprise extra when
another preserved tug, Kent, emerged from the Swale as we passed. Salutes were exchanged with both tugs. Good time was made upriver. The timetable takes advantage of necessity
by offering a return evening cruise from Gravesend to the Tower which attracted
about 100, arriving back at 22.30.
Waverley
whistles her farewell to Tower Bridge (Paul Semple)