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Thursday 2 July 2009

Cloch



Built in Troon by Ailsa Shipbuilding in 1968,she was a pilot cutter,but is no longer in use and is seldom seen out on the river.

Crown Princess






A real leviathan of the sea sailing past Gourock ,she obliterated the landscape.

Built in 2006 she is a massive 113000 thousand tons and 951 feet long carrying 3000 passengers and a crew of over 1200.

Although new she has had a few incidents one of which caused many injuries to her passengers.

"On July 18, 2006 at approximately 3:30 pm, one hour after departing her last port of call in Port Canaveral, Florida, the Crown Princess reported "listing" or making "heavy turns" to the port side, about 16-19 degrees from the horizontal. TheCoast Guard was contacted shortly after and crews arrived within minutes to assist the troubled vessel. The cruise ship was on its way home toNew York City, and the decision was made to return to Port Canaveral due to what was initially thought to be a malfunction in the steering equipment, causing a severe tilting of the ship and injuries. However, it was reported that a junior officer "panicked," then took the ship out of automatic pilot thinking a meter was showing that the ship was turning too sharply to one side. Instead of turning the Crown Princess back to the right, it is alleged that the junior officer accidentally kept the ship in an even sharper left hand turn - similar to over-correcting in a car. The massive 113,000-ton cruise ship listed severely, tumbling passengers, pool water and everything else on board into chaos.

A number of passengers were critically injured, one suffering breathing difficulties after being hit in the chest by an airborne chair. Water from the four on-board pools poured into staircases and lift shafts. Most injuries were on the outdoor areas of Decks 15 and 16, where large beach chairs and tables hit and injured passengers. The other area that had many injured passengers was the balcony areas in the grand atrium. Many there were hit by falling objects and heavy marble tables. One woman with an extended hospital stay was thrown against the glass wall on Deck 15 and covered by pool chairs and water from the pool themselves, being trapped underwater for several seconds. One passenger said "Afterward it was like a war zone with people walking around bleeding." and another added "All the windows were smashed. The top deck looked like a hurricane had hit it."

As of 8:30 AM PT July 19, Princess says that "approximately 240 passengers [were] treated onboard for various injuries such as abrasions, bruises and fractures, of which 94 were transferred to local hospitals ashore for evaluation and treatment."

This makes the incident one of the worst in the history of modern day cruising.

The matter was referred to the National Transportation Safety Board and United States Coast Guard for investigation. After an internal review by Princess Cruises, its president Alan Buckelew publicly stated that "the incident was due to human error and the appropriate personnel changes have been made." With approval from the Coast Guard and the Bermuda flag authorities, the vessel returned to service."




Friday 26 June 2009

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Dumbarton Rock



For more detailed photographs and the history of Dumbarton Rock click HERE

Tuesday 23 June 2009

SD Mars




SD Mars was built in Holland by Damen Shipyards at their Gorinchem yard. SD Mars will replace SD Spaniel.



Firth of Clyde

One of the Rothesay ferrys on her way to the Island,taken from Skelmorlie.

Western Ferries


Sound of Shuna in James Watt Dock







The Western ferries sail between Between Hunter's Quay Dunoon and
McInroy's Point Gourock.

St Just









St Just is a familiar site on the Clyde during the summer months.

She made headline news in 1986 when she was engaged in a drug run to Nigeria-West Africa, from Oban, during which 1 ton of cannabis was brought back. The voyage lasted approx 9 months and came to an abrupt end.

Puiladobhrain (pulldorran) anchorage, Isle of Seil. The Customs cutter Seeker had been following the St Just from Land’s End and, ironically they boarded just as the crew were toasting the apparent success of their trip.

At the time it was the biggest drugs haul the UK had ever seen and was front page news, although by today’s standards the quantity is relatively insignificant.

The St Just was impounded by HM Customs and Excise and taken to the Railway Pier at Oban, then moved to the Great Harbour, Greenock where she was disposed of by auction on completion on the trial.