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| February 2010 news 28/02/10.
Donald Meek was the speaker on Friday 26th February. Donald was born and brought up on the island of Tiree where he developed his love of ships and shipping.
His favourite ship is CLAYMORE (1955) on which he travelled to Oban where he attended Oban High School.
Donald recently retired from Edinburgh University where he was Professor of Scottish and Gaelic Studies.
Donald’s presentation was entitled: “John McCallum, Martin Orme and Cargo Services to the Hebrides 1850-1950”.
The presentation was based on the formation of McCallum, Orme & Company Ltd.
The company was formed in 1929 following the merger of two companies, Martin Orme & Company formerly known as Orme Brothers & Company, and John McCallum & Company.
Orme Brothers & Company was founded in 1853 while John McCallum & Company is on record from 1876.
The first regular cargo services from the Clyde to the Hebrides started in the 1850s. In the early days the carriage of livestock was given greater priority over the needs of the islanders. However it quickly became apparent that, having received the new steamship services, the islanders were wishing to take advantage of the services.
The best-known vessels in the fleet were HEBRIDES (1898,McCallum) and DUNARA CASTLE (1868, Orme).
It is often forgotten that Hebrides is not a David MacBrayne name. It is a John McCallum name.
The shares and goodwill, including the fleet of McCallum, Orme & Company Ltd, passed to David MacBrayne Ltd on 1st January 1948.
The cargo service to the Hebrides only ended in 1977 with the withdrawal of LOCH CARRON.
Donald’s research into his subject was meticulous in the extreme. It is obvious that his first love is McCallum, Orme very much more so that David MacBrayne.
Members of the Orme family were present at the launch of Donald’s book The Kingdom of MacBrayne at Oban in November 2006.
The McCallum’s appear to have vanished into history and Donald would very much like to know if any of the family still in existence today.
Duncan Wilson gave the Vote of Thanks.
The next meeting is on Friday 26th March. The speaker is Mr Gavin Stewart and his presentation is entitled: “ Meanderings in Medium Format-The Climie Collection”.
The current winter session of meetings concludes with the Annual General Meeting on Friday 30th April. After the close of business Alistair Deayton will give a DVD presentation of shipping interest.
All meetings are held in the Kirk Lounge, Renfield St Stephens Church Hall, Bath Street, Glasgow round the corner from Charing Cross Station and commence at 19.30.
Duncan Wilson.
The West Highland Steamer Club 2010 Calendar is still available for sale, either at Club meetings or by post.
The front cover portrays CLANSMAN (1998) sailing through the Sound of Gunna, while the back cover features the Club outing to Bute using the preserved MacBrayne’s AEC Reliance coach, which is owned by Past President Lawrence Macduff.
The following vessels are included in the calendar:
January. HEBRIDEAN ISLES and ISLE OF ARRAN at Kennacraig.
February. ARRAN at Port Ellen.
March. LOCHMOR and LOCHEARN at Lochboisdale.
April. LOCHNEVIS (2000) at Sconser.
May. LOCH ARKAIG at Canna.
June. MOUNTAINEER at Crinan.
July. ISLE OF LEWIS and ISLE OF ARRAN at Stornoway.
August. IONA (1970) in West Loch Tarbert.
September. LOCH CARRON approaching Scarinish.
October. CORUISK (2003) departing from Armadale.
November. CLAYMORE (1955) on the Firth of Clyde while on builder’s trials.
December. HEBRIDEAN PRINCESS passing through the Corran Narrows.
The calendar is priced at £6.50 if purchased at Club meetings or £7.50 if ordered by post. The calendar is available in a twelve-page format in limited numbers at a price of £9.00 including postage on a first-come-first-served basis.
Those of you who would like to buy a calendar should write to Mr Robin Love, Treasurer WHSC, 29 Cyprus Avenue, ELDERSLIE, PA5 9NB.
Please make cheques payable to the West Highland Steamer Club.
The subscription rate (2010-2011) is £15.00. For those who would like to join the Club please write to Robin Love at the above address.
In addition to the calendar the Club publishes a Journal twice a year, which includes news of the Caledonian MacBrayne fleet and personnel.
Members are given the opportunity to buy the photographs, which are published in the Journal.
Duncan Wilson.
23/02/10.
The Islay service is facing disruptions from Sunday 28th February until Saturday 6th March due to technical issues.
The following sailings have been withdrawn during this period:
Kennacraig - Islay
09.45 Monday 1st, Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd, Thursday 4th and Friday 5th March.
18.00 Tuesday 2nd, Thursday 4th and Saturday 6th March.
Islay - Kennacraig
09.45 Sunday 28th February.
17.00 Monday 1st, Tuesday 2nd, Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th March.
18.00 Friday 5th March.
The 07.00 departures from Port Ellen on Monday 1st and Thursday 4th March and the 07.00 departure from Port Askaig Saturday 6th March will depart at 04.15.
There will be an additional sailing from Port Askaig on Monday 1st at 20.20.
Source: Caledonian MacBrayne. www.calmac.co.uk
16/02/10.
The Berneray - Leverburgh (Sound of Harris) route is facing disruptions due to tidal conditions from Saturday 27th February until Wednesday 3rd March.
The following amended timetable will operate:
Saturday 27th 11.10 sailing from Berneray and 12.20 return from Leverburgh are cancelled. Sunday 28th 13.30 from Berneray and 14.40 from Leverburgh are cancelled.
Monday 1st 12.20 from Leverburgh and 14.30 from Berneray are cancelled.
Tuesday 2nd 11.10 and 14.30 sailings from Berneray and 12.20 from Leverburgh are cancelled. There will be an extra sailing departing from Berneray at 11.50.
Wednesday 3rd 11.10 and 14.30 from Berneray are cancelled. There will be an extra sailing departing from Berneray at 12.10.
For further information contact Lochmaddy Office 01876 500337(option 2) or Tarbert Office 01859 502444(option 2).
Caledonian MacBrayne are advising their customers to allow extra time to drive to Uig and Sconser due to major roadworks on the A87 in the Sconser area. This will go on for approximately twelve weeks.
Tonight’s freight service, which departs from Stornoway at 23.30 and returns from Ullapool at 05.00, is cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.
Source: Caledonian MacBrayne. www.calmac.co.uk
09/02/10.
A landmark review of Scotland's ferry services has been postponed until
after the next Holyrood election amid a fresh row over whether to break up the publicly subsidised Calmac network. Ministers have put back a consultation on its plans until after the UK election in May - four years after it was first ordered by the previous Labour/LibDem administration - and have set the final publication date for between April 11 and May 6 next year. But a Government memo seen by The Herald concedes that "in reality" the date is likely to be later, putting it beyond the latest date for a Scottish parliamentary election of May 5, 2011. The delay comes after a key report commissioned by the Scottish Government recommended hiving off some of the services run by Caledonian MacBrayne to private operators to encourage investment in new vessels. The report, which was presented to ministers in November, found that in spite of a ruling by the European Commission that tendering the Calmac network as a whole did not constitute illegal state aid, there was still an economic case for breaking it up. Researchers at Napier University's Transport Research Institute, who were asked to look at options for renewing the ageing vessel fleet that serves 24 destinations in the Clyde and Hebridean islands, concluded that offering tenders for single routes or "small bundles" of up to six routes would be the best way of encouraging private-sector investment. Analysts have estimated that the cost of replacing vessels in the next decade could be up to £240m, given that many of those serving the Clyde and Hebridean Islands, as well as publicly-funded Northlink ferries operating to the Orkney and Shetland islands, are nearing the end of their working life. The Napier report, written by Professor Alf Baird, Professor Kevin Culinane and Gordon Wilmsmeier, claimed that smaller bundles or single routes would be more attractive for private operators. "Large bundles are not considered attractive for private operators to bid. Continuation with a large bundle would appear to be unlikely to result in private investment in Scottish ferry services," it warned. It appeared to dismiss fears that offering single routes or small clusters would run the risk of having no replacement vessels available for lifeline ferry services. "Our findings suggest that tendering small bundles and even single route tenders could be designed to include within these sufficient vessel relief cover options/safeguards to ensure service continuity," the report stated. But the findings have prompted fears of undermining the viability of the Calmac network, which accounts for the bulk of the £105m annual ferry subsidy, by allowing private companies to "cherry pick" profitable routes. Professor Neil Kay, a leading expert on Scottish ferries, accused the report's authors of pushing their own agenda. "It's nonsense to suggest that private operators will bring investment to Scotland's ferry fleet. What you will get is interest in the high-value, low-cost operations, while the public sector will be left to pick up the more vulnerable, non-profitable routes," he said. The Herald understands that Scottish Government ministers reacted warily to the report and sought to reassure stakeholders that breaking it up is not on the agenda, while asking the Napier team to re-draft their findings. One Government source said: "Ministers have not ruled out debundling in some specific cases if a case can be made for it but they're not considering breaking up the network as a whole." However, Gordon Ross, whose Western Ferries service competes with Calmac on the Gourock to Dunoon route on the Clyde, backed the report's findings. "There would be benefits from bringing private-sector investment in lifeline and commercial ferry services," he said. "There are issues in dealing with unforeseen events which could lead to a ship being out of service but as long as there was spare capacity in CMAL (the publicly-owned fleet) there wouldn't have to be any interruption to services." A Scottish Government spokesman said: "This Government is committed to providing ferry services to our remote and island communities. The ferries review will consider current provision of ferry services and what changes should be made to meet future needs and all these issues will be considered as part of this review. "We will publish the consultation on our draft vision for the future of lifeline ferry services in the spring." Source: The Herald, Monday 8th February per Gary Andrews, Ferries of Northern Europe.
07/02/10.
Passengers have been evacuated from a ferry after it crashed into a pier on
the Kintyre peninsula. The incident occurred at Kennacraig at 9.30am. A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said the fourteen passengers were unhurt and disembarked safely after the ferry was reversed into the harbour. She said the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry was also carrying a few commercial vehicles. The ferry travels between Scotland's West coast and the islands of the Inner Hebrides. The spokeswoman said: "It is now a case of assessing the damage to the vessel and the pier." A Caledonian MacBrayne spokesman said the vessel was ISLE OF ARRAN and travelled to the mainland from the Isle of Islay. He said: "I can confirm that it struck the pier and a full investigation is under way. "Early indications are that it was due to a mechanical fault. Nobody was hurt." He said all "relevant bodies" had been informed and engineers would now assess the damage to the pier, which is not thought to be too severe. Source: The Herald, Saturday 6th February per Gary Andrews, Ferries of Northern Europe.
As a result of the incident at Kennacraig, in which ISLE OF ARRAN struck the pier, the following amended timetable will operate on Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th :
Monday 8th -
04.15 from Port Ellen (Operating instead of the 07.00)
07.00 from Kennacraig ( As timetabled)
09.45 from Kennacraig has been withdrawn.
09.45 from Port Ellen ( As timetabled)
13.00 from Kennacraig ( As timetabled )
15.30 from Port Askaig ( As timetabled )
17.00 from Port Ellen (Withdrawn)
18.00 from Kennacraig ( As timetabled )
20.15 from Port Askaig ( Additional )
Tuesday 9th –
07.00 from Port Askaig (Withdrawn)
07.00 from Kennacraig (As timetabled)
09.45 from Port Ellen (As timetabled)
13.00 from Kennacraig (As timetabled)
15.30 from Port Askaig (As timetabled )
Source: Caledonian MacBrayne. www.calmac.co.uk
ISLE OF ARRAN received damage to her hull below the bow visor, which was punctured on the starboard side. She arrived at Gourock this afternoon before entering dry-dock for repairs.
Source: Clydesite, various.
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Contact WHSC: info@westhighlandsteamerclub.co.uk