The Waverley with red lions and yellow funnels in 1970
The 1948 nationalisation of Britain's railways brought their Scottish steamers into the Caledonian Steam Packet Company (CSP), a subsidiary of the Railway Executive. The funnels were repainted yellow with a black top.[8] In 1965, a Scottish red lion rampant was fixed to each side of both funnels. Waverley's hull was painted monastral blue until 1970.[8]
After a revival of fortunes in the 1950s, the 1960s saw a gradual change in holiday habits that led to a decline in passenger numbers and the closure of many of the small piers.[9] Since 1969, and the formation of the Scottish Transport Group, the CSP had been gradually merging with the West Highland shipping and ferry company David MacBrayne Ltd.[9] In 1973, the company became Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd (CalMac).[9]
Restoration
CalMac withdrew Waverley after the 1973 season as she was too costly to operate and needed significant expenditure.[9] By then, the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society had been set up as a registered UK charity and had bought the near-derelict small River Dart paddler PSKingswear Castle.[9] CalMac, keen to ensure that the ship was preserved, sold Waverley to the PSPS for the token sum of one pound.[9] Neither side really believed that the vessel would return to steam but, just in case, Caledonian MacBrayne stipulated that she should not sail in competition with their remaining cruise vessel, TSQueen Mary.[9]
A public appeal was launched to secure funding for the return of the Waverley to service and the fund-raising operation was successful.[9] The PSPS found itself running a cruise ship operation, "Waverley Excursions".[9] Since then, Waverley has been joined in the PSPS fleet by PSKingswear Castle and MVBalmoral and has had a series of extensive refits and much restoration work, including a new boiler and improvements to meet modern safety standards.[9] She has circumnavigated Great Britain and every year makes extensive sailings around the country.
Listed as part of the National Historic Fleet,[4] between 2000 and 2003 the ship underwent a substantial rebuild and reboilering at the shipyard of George Prior at Great Yarmouth, funded principally by the Heritage Lottery Fund.[8] The work, done in two stages, has added many 21st century safety and technological improvements and returned the ship to her original 1947 livery.[8]
In 2019, Waverley was withdrawn from service due to boiler problems.[12] An appeal was subsequently launched with a target of £2.3 million to recommission Waverley. It was announced on 11 July 2019 that new boilers had been ordered from Cochran Ltd.[13]
Following the boiler replacement, Waverley returned to sea on 13 August 2020 for sea-trials, and resumed service for a short COVID-19-affected season starting on 22 August.[14] This was cut short after she struck the pier at Brodick on 3 September, damaging her bow.[15]
The following year Waverley started operating from 29 June but with limited passenger capacity due to COVID-19.[16] The sailing season was described as a success, with a total of 52,000 passenger journeys, but shorter than normal as it only lasted until 19 September.[17] A highlight for passengers and crew were the dolphins that could frequently be spotted as they accompanied Waverley on her sails up and down the Clyde.[18]
Engine
Passengers passing the engine room see the huge piston rods driving the cranks on the shaft that turns the paddle wheels on each side. The supports here painted black are now painted green.
Waverley is powered by a three-crank diagonal triple-expansion marine steam engine built by Rankin & Blackmore, Engineers, Eagle Foundry, Greenock, Scotland.[19] It is rated at 2,100 IHP and achieved a trial speed of 18.37 knots (34.02km/h; 21.14mph) at 57.8 rpm. Passengers can watch this engine from passageways on either side of the engine room.[20]
The main crank is solidly attached to both paddle wheels so they cannot turn independently.[21] The Waverley therefore has a much larger turning circle than modern ferries.[citation needed]
Appearance
PS Waverley departing Red Bay in County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 2005
Waverley has had several colour schemes in her life.[8] At launch the paddle boxes were painted black, in 1959 they were changed to white, then returned to black but with white edges in 1972, then to all black in 1977.[8] The two gold stripes along the hull were removed in 1954 but restored during the 2000 rebuild.[8] Today, Waverley has the LNER 1947 livery of red, white and black funnels, traditional brown-grained (or "scumbled") superstructure and black paddle-wheel boxes, decorated with gold lettering on each side.
When launched Waverley had square windows on her sponsons, instead of the current portholes.[8] For most of her life, the upper passenger cabins were painted white and had wooden doors; all have had layout improvements at some time in the ship's life. Sailing in all weathers in salt water can cause pale brown rust streaks to appear by the end of each season, so cosmetic painting and improvements are done annually as the ship is drydocked and inspected by the Department for Transport.
Since 1962, when PS Waverley's original funnels were renewed, replacement items had been slightly out of parallel due to their heavier welded steel construction.[8] The problem was resolved in the 2000–03 refit and her two funnels are now parallel.[8]
Lifeboat arrangements have varied depending on the legislation at the time. Between 1975 and 1980, there was only one traditional lifeboat on the rear deck.[9]
Service
Waverley makes passenger excursions from various British ports, including ports in Northern Ireland. She regularly sails from Glasgow and other towns on the Firth of Clyde, the Thames, the South Coast of England and the Bristol Channel.[21] She also undertakes private charters and has provided a period setting for television documentaries and movies, such as Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011).[21]
Primarily during the summer she is based on the Clyde, operating excursions from Glasgow, Greenock, Largs or Ayr.
Typically her Clyde timetable ends at the end of August and Waverley spends 6 weeks between September and October cruising the Bristol Channel, the Solent and the Thames before returning to the Clyde for two sailings in October.[21]
On 3 September 2020, Waverley collided with the Brodick Pier on the Isle of Arran, causing damage to the bow.[22] Twenty-four people were injured. The ship was carrying 213 passengers and 26 crew, who were temporarily stranded on Arran.[23] A Caledonian MacBrayne ferry, MVCaledonian Isles, made an unscheduled sailing to return them to the Scottish mainland later that evening.[24]
During the 2021 season Waverley was unable to operate south of the Clyde owing to crew availability.[25] 2022 marks the 75th anniversary of her maiden voyage and she was able to return to other parts of the British coast.[26]
In 2023, during the ships sailing to the South Coast, Waverley and the steamship SS Shieldhall sailed side-by-side as the two vessels passed The Needles. The occasion of the two vessels with similar histories sailing together was met with great praise from guests on both vessels and garnered national attention for both vessels. [27]
Caledonian MacBrayne, in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsidiary of holding company David MacBrayne, which is owned by the Scottish Government.
TS Queen Mary is a Clyde steamer launched in 1933 at the William Denny shipyard, Dumbarton, for Williamson-Buchanan Steamers. She is currently being restored as a museum ship, in Glasgow.
PS Maid of the Loch is the last paddle steamer built in the United Kingdom. She operated on Loch Lomond for 29 years. As of 2022, she was being restored near Balloch pier.
SS Shieldhall is a preserved steamship that operates from Southampton. She is the largest operational historic steamship in Europe and one of the last reciprocating steam engined ships built, using technology that dated back to the last quarter of the 19th century and which was obsolete at the time of her construction. She spent her working life as one of the "Clyde sludge boats", making regular trips from Shieldhall in Glasgow, Scotland, down the River Clyde and Firth of Clyde past the Isle of Arran, to dump treated sewage sludge at sea. These steamships had a tradition, dating back to the First World War, of taking organised parties of passengers on their trips during the summer. SS Shieldhall has been preserved and offers cruises to the paying public.
The Clyde steamer is the collective term for several passenger services that existed on the River Clyde in Scotland, running from Glasgow downstream to Rothesay and other towns, a journey known as going doon the watter.
MV The Second Snark is a small passenger ferry, built in 1938 by William Denny of Dumbarton, later operated by Clyde Marine Services on the Firth of Clyde, Scotland.
Tighnabruaich; is a village on the Cowal Peninsula, on the western arm of the Kyles of Bute in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. In 2011 the population was 660. It is west of Glasgow and north of the Isle of Arran.
The Caledonian Steam Packet Company provided a scheduled shipping service, carrying freight and passengers, on the west coast of Scotland. Formed in 1889 to complement the services of the Caledonian Railway, the company expanded by taking over rival ferry companies. In 1973, they were merged with MacBraynes as Caledonian MacBrayne.
MV Argyle is a ferry operated by Caledonian MacBrayne on the route between Wemyss Bay on the Scottish mainland and Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. She is the seventh Clyde ship to have the name Argyle.
TSMV Shanklin was a passenger ferry that operated between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight between 1951 and 1980. Renamed Prince Ivanhoe she went on to become a pleasure cruiser in the Bristol Channel but in 1981 sank off the Welsh coast on her first season.
MV Maid of Argyll was a passenger ferry operated by Caledonian Steam Packet Company, initially based at Craigendoran. Rendered redundant by the car ferry revolution, she was sold to Greek owners in 1975. She caught fire in 1997 and was left to decay.
David MacBrayne is a limited company owned by the Scottish Government. Formed in 1851 as the private shipping company David Hutcheson & Co. with three partners, David Hutcheson, Alexander Hutcheson and David MacBrayne, it passed in 1878 to David MacBrayne.
PS Jeanie Deans was a Clyde paddle steamer, built in 1931 for the London and North Eastern Railway. She was a popular boat, providing summer cruises from Craigendoran until 1964.
RMS Columba was a Clyde paddle steamer, MacBrayne's flagship from 1879 to 1935. She ran the first leg of "The Royal Route" to Ardrishaig for fifty eight summers.
PS Iona was a MacBrayne paddle steamer, which operated on the Clyde for 72 years, the longest-serving Clyde steamer.
P & A Campbell was a shipping company based in Bristol which operated steamship services in the Bristol Channel between 1893 and 1979.
PS Waverley was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1899 and 1939. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during World War I and again in World War II, and was sunk while participating in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. The current PS Waverley, launched in 1946, was built as a replacement for this vessel.
PS Eagle III was a passenger-carrying paddle steamer that was built and sailed on the Clyde, and was twice requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during the world wars.
PS Waverley was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1885 and 1887, then on the Bristol Channel from 1887 until 1916, when she was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during World War I.
PS Lucy Ashton was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1888 and 1949. She was one of the longest serving Clyde steamers.
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