PS Waverley - Season 2020 is go!!

[Clydebuilt1971]

Hi Folks,

Waverley returned to Glasgow from Greenock last Friday afternoon (14th August) having successfully completed her sea trials.

Her very much shortened sailing season timetable has been announced as per attached PDF.

She is sailing on the Clyde from 21st August until 6th September.

The cruises are very much changed from the usual Clyde timetable so hopefully the short season will realise a high demand (and also the reduced passenger capacity due to COVID) and get some money in the bank to help see them through the winter into 2021.

Congratulations to all on getting The World's Last Seagoing Paddlesteamer back into service!

Gav

[Lynda Bradford]

Unable to access the Waverley website - error message that the site has reached bandwidth limit.  Will try again tomorrow. 

I hope they have a successful seasons to recoup some of the losses

[Lynda Bradford]

Waverley website was working today and I have booked a wee cruise "doon" the Clyde next week.  I will report back on the experience.  I feel that as there is plenty of deck space and there will be. limit on the number of passengers, it should be possible to social distance. 

[Rob Lightbody]

Unable to access the Waverley website - error message that the site has reached bandwidth limit.  Will try again tomorrow. 

With respect to their website, my feeling is they need a bit more expert help here.... there's not really any excuse for running out of bandwidth on your website nowadays.   They also need to be very adept at contacting ticket-holders when the trip has to be cancelled (as it did yesterday).  They pretty much need a button they can push, which emails & texts everyone to tell them the info as soon as they have it.  I implemented something similar at my work recently.

Also I recently discovered that their email was misconfigured when I realised all the Waverley newsletters were going into my gmail spam filter.... there's some clever stuff you can do with your email configuration to guarantee emails get to where they're meant to (and I've done this for our QE2 story emails).  However, stupid people must actually be clicking the "spam" button on their Waverley emails, instead of unsubscribe... the very opposite of supporting their cause.

And I noticed on their Facebook page, some outraged people at the cost.  Various people were trying to reason with them, but I think it comes down to people in the West of Scotland totally taking her for granted...

[Rob Lightbody]

Waverley website was working today and I have booked a wee cruise "doon" the Clyde next week.  I will report back on the experience.  I feel that as there is plenty of deck space and there will be. limit on the number of passengers, it should be possible to social distance.

I'm sure you'll have a lovely time, and I look forward to hearing about it - photos please!

It doesn't fit my risk profile for this year, however I hope things will be OK next year.  In the meantime I am going to make a further donation to help them.

[Thomas Hypher]

Waverley website was working today and I have booked a wee cruise "doon" the Clyde next week.  I will report back on the experience.  I feel that as there is plenty of deck space and there will be. limit on the number of passengers, it should be possible to social distance.

Looking forward to seeing how you found your trip, Lynda. Hope it goes well

[Clydebuilt1971]

I'm sure you'll have a lovely time, and I look forward to hearing about it - photos please!

It doesn't fit my risk profile for this year, however I hope things will be OK next year.  In the meantime I am going to make a further donation to help them.

We are off to Orkney for a break the week after her season finishes so I wont be on board this year - after this weekend we are going to limit our exposure to public places as the last thing we would want to do is take this virus to Orkney (they have had some small outbreaks but nothing major to date).
Hoping that by the time Season 2021 comes along the restrictions will have been eased or indeed lifted but who knows.

Gav

[cunardqueen]

We are off to Orkney for a break the week after her season finishes so I wont be on board this year   

I do hope you enjoy it,I spent the first 25 years of my life there. I hope your crossing on the most enviromental ferry there is, Privately funded, if he was ever able to get the subsidy to run the ferry he always said he would run it and not charge the passengers anything.

As a matter of interest have a look at the other company with the big white ships and compare the fares . 

[Clydebuilt1971]

I do hope you enjoy it,I spent the first 25 years of my life there. I hope your crossing on the most enviromental ferry there is, Privately funded, if he was ever able to get the subsidy to run the ferry he always said he would run it and not charge the passengers anything.

As a matter of interest have a look at the other company with the big white ships and compare the fares .

Hi Myles - we always use Pentland Ferries. Looking forward to doing the sailing on their new vessel mv Alfred. We always try to support local businesses where possible.

We love Orkney and would move there in a heartbeat if circumstances permitted!!

Mr Banks bought former Clyde ferry mv Saturn from CMAL in 2015 with the intention of running her on wind farm projects however the Govt grants for that type of project was cut not long after he bought her so she is laid up at St Margaret's Hope awaiting a buyer which I dont think will come sadly.

I am at a loss why Pentland dont get the RET subsidy.

Gav

[Clydebuilt1971]

Waverley only has a matter of days to go until her 2020 Micro Season is over.

As far as I am aware the numbers have been OK but (obviously) restricted due to distancing.

Dunoon on the Cowal Peninsula is a regular calling point for the paddler during a normal Clyde season however the way the timetabling has been scheduled this year she has called only once - yesterday (01.09.2020)

John Huggins was out with his trusty drone to capture the moment and his shots are posted below.

Her last sailing of 2020 is Sunday 6th September after which she will return to Glasgow and (I presume) commence layup procedure for the oncoming winter.

As of last Friday Shelagh and I have taken the decision to enter a kind of lockdown (no essential travel or visits to bars etc) as we dont want the risk of receiving a Track & Trace call requiring us to self isolate as this would prevent us going to Orkney - it is also a precaution as we would not want to be the ones who take it to that place we love so much!

So we wont board Waverley this year - heres to 2021!

Gav

[Peter Mugridge]

The season has been extended; they've added five more days of sailing. 

8th to 12th September.

[Rob Lightbody]

She's had an accident.

I don't believe it.

BBC News - Emergency response after Waverley steamer hits pier
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-54011504

[Thomas Hypher]

 

2020 rears it's ugly head again.

I hope nobody was seriously injured but judging by the article and her usual practice of docking at some speed for steerage (I think - Gav correct me if I'm wrong) I'm not so sure.

[Twynkle]

This doesn't look good - So very sorry for Everyone.
Hoping that the damage to the shocked people isn't serious - and the same for Waverley...
Memories of Dunoon 2009 - and the injured Ladies WC
https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/waverley-paddle-steamer-crashes-harbour-causing-multiple-injuries-2961086

[Peter Mugridge]

Good Lord!  That's not good.

[June Ingram]

Awful thing to happen. I hope no one was seriously injured. Waverley's bow looks badly crunched.

[Rob Lightbody]

Quite worried about her future just now.

Look forward to Gavin's comments on whether she can return to service - I'm sure she can be repaired etc., but certification might be a problem now that MAIB is involved.  They'll want proof this won't happen again, for example.

I'm no expert, but they've made it look like she's extremely difficult to handle, and will have on average one incident every year. 

People need re-educated to appreciate that they're getting on board a very old and difficult ship.  They need to take great care on board.  She's totally unsuitable for a "booze cruise" which is what many/most of Glasgow thinks she's for.

[tramscape]

Whilst the handling of Waverley in general is different to vessels with variable pitch propellors and thrusters which allow such things as sideways movement, it does require skills which the master in charge definitely had

The issue appears to be why the ship did not stop as intended. There are a number of actions/responses both human and mechanical in that process and it is important not to speculate as to which of these might have led to the incident (and it might be none of these)

The new ferry terminal at Brodick seems to have had its fair share of criticism  but the fact is that if you overshoot the appointed stopping point, you run into a concrete construction. This would not be the case with most other traditional steamer piers where a degree of overshooting is not uncommon and often inevitable in difficult conditions. It is also possibly a good thing to allow manoevering into the appointed section of the pier

I would say it would be wrong to say that Waverley is any less suitable than any (or at least most) other ships for most passenger activities. Whether booze cruises are a good thing or not is a different discussion ! 

[Bruce Nicholls]

Given that she has been extensively in various areas anyway, would the addition of bow thrusters say be totally wrong. Would it help some of the slow speed manoeuvring  problems and possibly persuade the authorities to look more kindly on her future licencing?

[Rob Lightbody]

That's interesting about the design of the pier and overshooting, thank you.  Yes I think when on board I've seen them sort of deliberately over shoot (often throwing lines in the process) then pull her back?

I remember at the Dunoon incident, when I was on board, they said the old wooden pier was far preferable to the new concrete one.

I do think it'll be wise regardless to tell people to sit down/hold on when docking..