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Saturday 31 October 2009

Police Helicopter on the Clyde



Strathclyde police helicopter prepares to land at its base on the banks of the Clyde in the city centre of Glasgow.

Friday 30 October 2009

Our Venture BM444





Fishing off the coast of Arran under a wintry sky is Our Venture BM444 built in Troon 1982

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Little Cumbrae Castle











Little Cumbrae castle was built by Lord Eglinton in the 16th century, some sources say as a base to prevent deer and rabbit poaching, apparently both animals being very common on the main Cumbrae island at the time .

In 1651 the Earl of Eglington sent his wife Lady Montgomerie to the castle with a garrison of men as he went off to fight Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester in September 1651, after the battle she was advised to surrender the castle to Cromwell or have it destroyed.

At some point during this period of unrest Archibald Hamilton a friend and correspondent of Cromwell was imprisoned in the dungeon of the castle, he was later taken to Stirling were he was hanged.

The castle was stormed by Cromwellian forces and destroyed apparently for the part it had played in his friend’s downfall, the castle was never reoccupied.

The castle looks at though it’s still in good condition; it lies on a little tidal islet.

In order to view the castle in any detail you have to take a boat trip round little Cumbrae,you cant land as the island is private.

The boat the Mary Anne leaves from Millport and is a pleasant trip of about an hour, the guide on board is very informative and friendly with a good knowledge of the whole island.

HMCS ATHABASKAN (DDH282)














Arriving in Glasgow before taking part in a NATO exercise.

HMCS Athabaskan (DDG 282) is an Iroquois-class destroyer that has served the Canadian Forces since 1972.

Athabaskan is the third ship of her class which is sometimes referred to as the Tribal-class or simply as the 280-class. She is the third vessel to use the designation HMCS Athabaskan.

Athabaskan was laid down on 1 June 1969 at Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon and was launched on 27 November 1970. She was officially commissioned into the CF on 30 September 1972 and carries the pennant number 282.

Athabaskan completed a refit known as the Tribal Class Update and Modernization Project (TRUMP) on 4 June 1994. At this time her classification changed from Destroyer Helicopter (DDH) to Destroyer Guided Missile (DDG).

She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax.

She was one of the ships that was deployed to the Mississippi to help with the relief effort after Hurricane Katrina.


Information courtesy of Wikipedia



Passing Greenock to join NATO ships on exercise.



Sunday 25 October 2009

SD Oransay






SD Oransay out on an exercise with the Royal Marines.

For more pictures of SD boats click HERE

Friday 23 October 2009

HMS Defender




























Defender being moved from the shipyard at Govan in Glasgow to the Scotstoun yard in Clydebank,here she will enter dry dock to be fitted out which will take a couple of years.




Click HERE to watch her launch