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| February 2005 news Ferguson Shipbuilders, the last independent shipyard on the Clyde, is facing a “life or death” battle over two government contracts for fisheries vessels. Mr. Alan Dunnet, chief executive of the Port Glasgow yard, believes that “hidden subsidies” and cheaper labour in other countries, Poland in particular, are slowly but surely killing the yard. Mr. Dunnet is critical of the Scottish Executive who are forcing Fergusons to compete for contracts without taking labour costs and the possibility of subsidies into consideration. In the last six months Fergusons have lost £80 million worth of government work, which have been placed with one particular yard in Poland. In the last ten years or so Fergusons have built up a good reputation with various clients by building ships such as ferries, tugs, anchor handling ships and other specialist ships. It is noticeable that other countries such as France, Germany and Holland government contracts are kept in-house while the Scottish Executive appear determined to do everything by the book. In doing so they appear happy to throw 300 skilled workers on the dole as another Clyde shipyard closes down. Following on from the above report the Northern Lighthouse Board are replacing the PHAROS after only twelve years in service. It is thought that the Board favour another buoy handling ship. The replacement ship will, like PHAROS, be based in Oban. She will be built in; yes you’ve guessed it, Poland! One of Scotland’s most famous tourist attractions, the Loch Katrine steamer SIR WALTER SCOTT, has received a boost after being given a grant worth £85,000 by the Scottish Executive. Another £400,000 over the next two years is also being made available. The ship, which has been owned by Scottish Water since 2002, is being handed over to a charitable trust headed by Sir William McAlpine. £85,000 will be spent on emergency repairs to the ship and slipway to secure sailings for 2005.Scottish Water is offering up to £1 million towards the eventual cost of refurbishing the ship and associated infrastructure. An application to the Heritage Lottery Fund will also be made for grant funding towards the project. The SIR WALTER SCOTT, built in 1900 by William Denny & Bros, is still powered by its original triple-expansion steam engine. She was transported by barge up Loch Lomond to Inversnaid, from where she was taken over the hill to the slipway at Stronachlachar, where she was assembled. Meanwhile on Loch Tay, another ship, an echo of a bygone age, is lying high and dry and has been so for almost a year. The 111 ft replica steamship, SPIRIT OF THE TAY, was built by Ferguson Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow and transported north in sections before being assembled on the shores of the Loch. The ships owners, The Loch Tay Steam Packet Company, are powerless to proceed with their plans due to a wrangle between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the builders over alleged faults in the construction. The MCA provides the necessary certification to the vessel before she can take to the water. The project is now 16 months behind schedule. The SPIRIT OF THE TAY, complete with a Victorian themed restaurant, is capable of carrying 250 passengers. The last ship to sail on Loch Tay was the QUEEN OF THE LAKE. Built by Ailsa Shipbuilders of Troon, she was transported in sections by rail to Killin. There the sections were loaded onto a barge and towed by SYBILLA to Kenmore where she was assembled and launched on 19th June 1907. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, she was hauled out the water on the slipway at Kenmore. She was sold on 17th May 1950 and scrapped on the same slipway on which she was assembled. 1/02/05. Polish shipbuilding chief Mr. Jan Paszkowski has responded to the letter from Mr.Alan Dunnet in which he refers to the possibility of hidden subsidies in the Polish shipbuilding industry. In his letter Mr. Paszkowski claims that any subsidies are restricted to a few types of cargo ships. His shipyard has no chance of receiving any support. The success of his yard is dependent on top quality products, the skills of his staff and the efficiency of the production process. Mr. Gordon Ross, managing director of Western Ferries, has spoken out in support of Ferguson Shipbuilders, as has Mr. Alf Young in his Herald business column. Mr. Dunnet has replied by challenging Mr. Paszkowski to publicly prove that the Polish yard is not receiving subsidies. Following up a report from January Mrs. Suzanne Forman has written to the Oban Times stating that she was quite clearly sending copies of her letter of complaint to CalMac to her MP, MSP and to the Editor of the Oban Times. Mrs. Forman also states that at no time did she ask for compensation. She is now seeking a retraction and an apology from CalMac. In a move, which has taken many by surprise, the Scottish Executive has invited commercial tenders for the Gourock-Dunoon ferry service. No Government subsidy is included in the offer. A private company, Western Ferries, already competes on the route. There will be no timetabling restrictions but minimum standards will be set. CalMac, itself, has yet to decide whether to enter a bid. Western Ferries has confirmed that the company will bid for the route. Unions representing CalMac employees have threatened strike action if the Clyde and Hebridean services are put up for tender against their wishes. The Sound of Harris service faces disruptions next week due to tidal restrictions. The following sailings are cancelled: Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th Dep Berneray 1110 Dep Leverburgh 1220. Thursday 10th Friday 11th and Saturday 12th Dep Leverburgh 1220 Dep Berneray 1430. 5/02/05. This evening’s 1715 (07/02) sailing ex Ullapool and tomorrow morning’s 0715 return crossing have been cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Also cancelled is this evening’s 1710 from Ardmhor to Eriskay and the return sailing at 1815. 07/02/05. Two MSPs have warned that strike action taken by CalMac crews would not change the EU law on the tendering of CalMac ferry services. Mr.George Lyon and Mr. Jim Mather said that while the public may support their cause any goodwill would evaporate if they were to alienate their passengers. Luing has a once-in-a-generation chance of building a fixed link to the island, which must not be missed according to FLAG (Fixed Link Action Group) who have been campaigning for a bridge to the neighbouring island of Seil. Argyll and Bute Council, however, want to build new slipways and a ferry. The present ferry, BELNAHUA, is thirty years old and due for replacement. Residents of Luing fear that if they lose this chance to build a bridge they will have to wait for another thirty years. The population of Luing numbered around 700 in the nineteenth century. Now down to about 100, 40 or so use the ferry to commute to work elsewhere. The public enquiry into Oban’s second ferry linkspan finished after hearing two days of evidence in the Corran Halls, Oban. At the time of writing this report Caledonian MacBrayne and Oban Port Users will have already made their written submissions. The enquiry came about after written objections were submitted against Caledonian MacBrayne’s request to the Scottish Executive for a Harbour Revision Order to build a second linkspan at the Railway Pier. CalMac’s option, one of an original six, showed the linkspan at a slight angle to the Railway Pier, the furthest dolphin being 14.8 metres from the Pier with space for two or three fishing boats behind. Oban Port Users preferred plan showed the linkspan at a much wider angle from the Pier parallel with the existing linkspan. Operators of fishing and charter boats were not only concerned about the effect of wash from ships propellers while berthing at the new linkspan, but also about any reduction of berthing facilities for their own boats. CalMac masters were questioned on berthing procedures at the present linkspan while taking weather conditions and the proximity of smaller vessels into consideration. They were then asked about the implications of berthing at a second linkspan under similar conditions. Reporter Ron Jackson told the enquiry he would make a recommendation as soon as possible. LORD OF THE ISLES is back in Oban together with ISLE OF MULL following her overhaul and repairs to her bow area. EIGG and CLANSMAN are due in at Corpach and Birkenhead for their respective overhauls on Monday 14th. HEBRIDEAN ISLES is reported to be loading by the stern only suggesting a problem with her bow visor. The weather has caused problems over the weekend. On Saturday 12th ISLE OF MULL and CLANSMAN were delayed at Oban due to berthing difficulties caused by high winds. Today (13/02) the following sailings were cancelled: 1200 Lochmaddy – Uig 1400 Uig – Lochmaddy, Sound of Barra until further notice, 1000 Raasay – Sconser 1030 Sconser – Raasay, Tayinloan – Gigha until further notice, all sailings to Islay, 1500 Oban – Castlebay/Lochboisdale, Fionnphort – Iona until further notice, Portavadie – Tarbert until further notice. 13/02/05. The Glenelg ferry is back on sale today (14/02) after villagers voted 2 – 1 against a community buyout. Their main concern was the scrapping of tolls on the Skye Bridge. Ferry owner Roddy Mcleod is preparing his ferry, GLENAHULISH, for the summer season. 14/02/05. LOCH PORTAIN is in the Garvel Drydock for overhaul having left Lochmaddy at 0700 on Monday 14th. She spent the night at Craighouse, Jura, arriving on the Clyde the following morning. The residents of Colonsay face a future of life without a pub as the Colonsay Hotel has been put up for sale. Now it is feared that the property may be sold as a private house. The island, with a population of 130, needs a focal point, not only for locals to meet, but also to help bring in visitors. During the summer the population can rise to 500 boosting a fragile economy. Without the hotel there are obvious fears for the tourist industry. Check out the Colonsay Community Website on www.colonsay.org.uk. 16/02/05. Talks to avert strike action between the RMT and Caledonian MacBrayne have broken down. The union is angry over plans to put the state-owned company ‘s ferry routes out to commercial tender. The Scottish Executive said there was no alternative under European Union competition rules. The proposal would have allowed private operators to bid to take over CalMac’s Clyde and Western Isles routes. Earlier the union accused ministers of pressing ahead with the tender without proper consultation. The Gourock-Dunoon route has been specifically held apart from the other routes because a private company-Western Ferries-already competes on the route. Eight companies have expressed an interest in taking over the route. 18/02/05. Oban has welcomed a new visitor in the shape of THV MERMAID. She is standing in for the NLB ship PHAROS which is in drydock Weighing in at 2,820 tonnes, MERMAID was built in South Korea and commissioned in 1987. The Northern Lighthouse Board and its English equivalent, Trinity House have a joint ship sharing arrangement. While she is in Scottish waters a member of the crew from PHAROS will be on board to represent the NLB. MERMAID is assisting with the refurbishment of the McArthur’s Head Lighthouse and also transporting oil and water to and from Sanda Island. Her sister ship, PATRICIA, is presently operating in English waters. 19/02/05. The February Club meeting took place on Friday 25th when the speaker was Club Member and former Club President Hamish Stewart. On opening the meeting President Duncan Wilson said that Hamish should need no further introduction and this was evident in the excellent turnout by Members. Hamish’s subject was “ From MV Hebrides to MV Coruisk “. Starting in the year 2000, when HEBRIDES was launched, he took us on a journey of events and places up to the present day. As usual the standard of photography was superb, as we have come to expect from Hamish. An experienced shipping photographer, he has built up knowledge of the best locations in order to get the best results. Duncan gave the vote of thanks. He had a personal interest, as it was Hamish who invited him to join the Committee. A brief update on shipping movements was then provided by Robin Love and Iain Quinn who advised the Club that the construction of a second linkspan at Oban had been shelved. Duncan then spoke about the Club Website for a few minutes. He advised the Club that, although the site needs a bit of tweaking, all the important information is available i.e. Committee, Syllabus, Subscription and Calendar. Club Calendars are still available for sale. The next meeting will take place on 1st April when the speakers will be Robin Boyd and Eric Schofield. Their subject will be “ The Two Claymores 1955 and 1978”. 26/02/05. On Friday 25th 600 members of the maritime union RMT who work for Caledonian MacBrayne were balloted for strike action or industrial action short of strike action. The union had asked for assurance from the ferry company that none of its members would be made redundant or face a change of pension, pay and conditions should they or the services on which they work be transferred to a private company. The company was unable to give this assurance consequently the union felt there was no alternative but to ballot members. The island of Lismore could be facing a fuel crisis as the Marine Coastguard Agency (MCA) has prevented the Port Appin passenger ferry, THE LISMORE, from carrying any more fuel to the island. The ferry, run by Foster Yeoman, does not have a dangerous goods licence. The MCA was notified after fuel cans were washed overboard. The fuel cans were picked up at the Port Appin slipway and transported across to the island. Caledonian MacBrayne operates the car and passenger ferry from Oban to Achnacroish. Passengers should declare any fuel they may be carrying. However should any fuel be carried then CalMac are duty bound to limit the number of passengers on board. The Small Isles ferry LOCH NEVIS is not calling at Muck at the present time as warning beacons marking the approaches to the island were wrecked during the storms on January 11th. The writer is assuming that the flit boat WAVE has been crashed into service for the time being. From this week’s Oban Times “Lochaber Lines” column comes this snippet from 100 years ago. Despite severe weather the previous week all steamers calling at Mallaig were up to time. SHEILA went south to Glasgow to have her propeller repaired on Thursday morning, returning the following Monday. Her place was taken by PLOVER (1904). Compare that with the time taken to repair CORUISK (2003) shortly after entering service. The report also tells us that 13 trains left Mallaig with large consignments of herring, kippers and white fish during the course of the week. Now the Mallaig railway is devoid of freight traffic. HEBRIDEAN PRINCESS is berthed in Oban until Tuesday 1st March when she leaves on a short cruise arriving back on Friday 4th. If you have to check the website for prices (www.hebridean.co.uk) then you can’t afford to go! 27/02/05. This year marks the centenary of the first appearance of Para Handy, the Captain of the Vital Spark, a small cargo boat or puffer, which operated along Scotland’s coastal waterways. Para Handy was the creation of Neil Munro who was born in the little town of Inverary near the head of Loch Fyne, Argyllshire, an area of exceptional beauty, which was to influence him all his life. He was born to Ann Munro in the building known as Crombie’s Land on 3rd June 1863. Soon after, Neil and his mother moved in with his grandmother Anne McArthur Munro who lived in a one-roomed house in McVicar’s Land. Both his mother and grandmother were fluent Gaelic speakers and it is from them that Neil received his knowledge of the old language and culture. He spent much of his childhood in Glen Aray and it was to become the setting for many of the tales in his The Lost Pibroch and Other Shieling Stories. Although he was to become one of the outstanding literary figures of his day, Neil Munro did not attend university. He was educated at the parish school in Inverary and in the little school in Glen Aray. After he finished his education he took employment in a local lawyers office. This was to become the setting for his novel The Daft Days (1907). However good careers were hard to come by in the Highlands and two days before his eighteenth birthday he set sail for Glasgow on 1st June 1881. He never forgot Argyll or Inverary. They were to influence him for the rest of his life. Neil soon moved into journalism becoming successively a reporter with The Greenock Advertiser, The Glasgow News, the Falkirk Herald, and finally the Glasgow Evening News where he was made chief reporter at the age of only 23. He also got married to Jessie Adam, the daughter of his landlady in North Woodside Road. In 1896 he was to make his first real mark on the literary scene with the publication of his collection The Lost Pibroch and Other Sheiling Stories. In 1898 he published what could be the first truly authentic Highland novel-John Splendid. Like most of Neil’s novels it is set in a period of major social change. After the publication of John Splendid Neil reduced his journalism to the part-time commitment of two weekly columns to the Glasgow Evening News called “The Looker On” and “Views and Reviews”. This allowed him to concentrate on his literary work and in 1899 the novel Gilian the Dreamer was published. After three more novels, Doom Castle (1901), The Shoes of Fortune (1901) and Children of Tempest (1903), Neil felt that he had carried the theme of historical and social change far enough. In 1905 the first of the hilarious Para Handy stories was published in the Glasgow Evening News “Looker On” column and Neil continued writing these for most of his working life. He published them in three book collections: The Vital Spark (1906), In Highland Harbours (1911), and Hurricane Jack of the Vital Spark (1923). In 1908 he was honoured with an LLD from the University of Glasgow. The following year he was awarded the Freedom of Inverary. With the outbreak of the First World War Neil returned to full time journalism, visiting the Front on four occasions as a war correspondent, but the most traumatic moment for him during the war was the death of his son, Hugh, at the battle of Loos in 1915. The pressure of work increased in 1918 when he becomes editor of the Glasgow Evening News. In 1927 Neil Munro’s health was failing. The kindest and most affable of men, he retired from the Glasgow Evening News reluctantly for he enjoyed his work and the camaraderie of his colleagues. Neil Munro died on 22nd December 1930 at his home, “Cromalt”, Craigendoran, Helensburgh and is buried at Kilmalieu Cemetery near Inverary. He was survived by his wife, Jessie, one son and four daughters. In 1935 An Comunn Gaidhealach built a monument to his memory at the head of Glen Arary bearing the inscription Sar Litreachas – Excellent Literature. Neil Munro’s Para Handy character was adapted for television for three different series. The first, transmitted from 1959 to 1960, starred Duncan Macrae as Para Handy. Macrae and his crew tried, without much success, to operate an efficient cargo service among the Highlands and Islands. The second series, in 1974, starred Roddy McMillan in the title roll. The third series was broadcast from 1994 to 1995 this time with Gregor Fisher as Para Handy. The Clyde puffer was a sturdy steam coaster, which could carry cargo wherever there was enough water to float her. Instead of berthing in a harbour the ship would be beached, the cargo unloaded, and then sails away on the next tide. The early vessels had non-condensing engines, the exhaust going directly up the funnel. The resulting sound caused them to be called puffers and puffers they have been ever since. Many were built on the Forth and Clyde Canal mainly by John Hay and Sons and also Peter MacGregor and Company, two yards situated in Kirkintilloch. This dictated the size of the ship. At least two different puffers were used in the filming of The Vital Spark series of programmes. One of them was SAXON built in 1903 by John Hay and Sons. For many years she served the Isle of Cumbrae with coal. However this writer has a distant memory of her sailing through the Kyles of Bute before being beached at the Gunpowder Pier, Kames. Duncan Wilson 28th February 2005.
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