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Waverley visits Red Bay and Ballycastle (nearly)
By Stuart Cameron
After a superb 3 hour drive from Glasgow
along the spectacular shorelines of Lochs Lomond, Long, Fyne, Shira, Gilp,
Tarbert and the glorious 'West Loch' we arrived in Campbeltown just after 8pm
on midsummer's day. At first it appeared that the Waverley had not yet arrived
from her successful visit to Merseyside but a closer inspection revealed that
she was back in home waters after all, lying at anchor some way down the south
side of Campbeltown Loch, near the old Trench Point shipyard. The rare
occurrence of a Clyde steamer anchored overnight in whisky loch prompted a
before bed bout of photo taking.
Waverley came in to her normal berth at the
pier about 8am on Friday 22 June. As I boarded with the crew's mail and a few
stores for the shop (one of which is the excellent new PSPS Scottish Branch
publication 'More Clyde Steamers Remembered' by Branch Treasurer Iain MacLeod
(drawing on the bequeathed collections of Ian Shannon and Montague Smith and
others, it is a magnificent collection of Clyde steamer scenes from the last
50-60 years - many in colour), 'Chief' Ken Henderson was bunkering the ship
from a road tanker and the rest of the crew were busy as ever.
At 10 am Waverley left Campbeltown with over
200 aboard and made good time on her way across the flat calm North Channel.
The early morning glorious sunshine of Campbeltown deserted us temporarily as
Waverley approached the coast of County Antrim to berth for the first time ever
at the little stone quay of Red Bay. 180 of the Campbeltown contingent left us
here - half of them for a trip to the Giant's Causeway and the Bushmill's
Distillery and many others renewing old friendships on the quay - reinforcing
the old links between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
At about 1pm, with an almost equal complement
of Irish folk aboard, Waverley embarked on her first sailing along the Antrim
coast for 10 years. It was great to have aboard Waverley's (and Balmoral's)
champion in Northern Ireland, the redoubtable Willie Coates from Belfast - a
great friend and loyal supporter of these vessels for many years - who treated
us to a marvellous commentary in his distinctive voice. Breaking away from the
mainland coast Waverley was soon rounding the island of Rathlin with its 3
distinctive lighthouses - the most unusual being the west light where the
lantern compartment sits directly on the cliff top at the foot of the white
tower - now, there is a reason for this apparently bizarre arrangement but you
have to go on Waverley's next round Rathlin trip so that Willie Coates can tell
you what it is.
The glorious sunshine returned as Waverley
completed her circumnavigation of with a wide sweep of Church Bay, principal
settlement of the island (where her fleet mate called a few years back) then
headed over to the mainland of Ireland where Capt Graeme Gellatly performed an
almost complete approach to the berth at Ballycastle - the mighty paddler
drawing astern when she was only a hundred yards or so from the berth - watch
this space.
Arriving back at Red Bay slightly early, this gave an hour to go ashore and photograph Waverley, by then bathed in early evening sunshine at her new port of call. At 5.45 Waverley withdrew from Red Bay with 3 long blasts on her whistle and a wave from Willie Coates. Another fast run back to Campbeltown in perfect conditions and the paddler was soon off for Ayr Harbour where she commenced her 2001 Clyde Main season with a sailing to Girvan and round Ailsa Craig on 23 June.