WHAT’S THE STORY?

THE paddle steamer Waverley crashed into Brodick Pier on Arran on Thursday, with the total number of injured people put at 24 yesterday. Fortunately none of the injured was reported to be in a life-threatening condition.

Witnesses spoke of some of the 213 passengers and 26 crew being flung forward violently in the collision which happened just after 5pm and caused a major alert for the emergency services.

With the stricken vessel unable to move, CalMac ferries stepped in to organise a ferry sailing back to the mainland for those passengers not hospitalised.

WHAT HAPPENED?

THERE is extensive damage to its bows and the management announced late on Thursday that the remainder of her sailing season would be abandoned. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) confirmed yesterday that a formal inquiry has begun to find out exactly what happened.

MAIB tweeted: “We’ve started an investigation into the contact of the passenger vessel Waverley with the pier at Brodick, Isle of Arran, Scotland yesterday, resulting in passenger injuries and damage to the vessel.”

It was described by MAIB as: “Contact by a passenger vessel with the pier on arrival at Brodick, Isle of Arran, resulting in passenger injuries and damage to the vessel.”

Speculation is mounting that the collision may have had something to do with the fact that the Waverley had recently undergone a major refit. She is also known for its wide turning circle while paddles are possibly not the most accurate form of propulsion, even if they do lend her all her considerable charm.

IT HAS NOT HAD A LOT OF LUCK RECENTLY, HAS IT?

IT has actually had a lot more luck than the original PS Waverley which was sunk while on minesweeping duties during the Second World War.

As long ago as 1974 the current Waverley was struck by problems with its boilers and these have recurred again and again. Two years ago they got so bad that Waverley was taken out of service for a major refit costing more than £2 million.

She has also had problems with trying to negotiate dry land. In 1977 it struck rocks off Dunoon and only stayed afloat because it had been given extra protection in case it was needed for future minesweeping duties.

In 2009, Waverley collided with the breakwater at Dunoon with 700 passengers on board, 12 of whom suffered minor injuries. The latest refit had only just ended early last month when it returned to service under the cloud of coronavirus with special safety precautions in place throughout the ship.

A SHORT HISTORY, PLEASE?

THERE is an ongoing dispute about whether ships should be called “she” or “it”, but it is hard to think of the Waverley as anything other than the Grand Old Lady of the Clyde. Built for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and launched in 1946 from Pointhouse Shipyard by A&J Inglis of Glasgow, she took the name of the former PS Waverley in tribute – Waverley being derived from the series of novels of that name by Sir Walter Scott.

LNER sailed Waverley from Craigendoran Pier near Helensburgh, a stop on their line which doubled as their port on the Clyde for Waverley and other vessels on the “doon the watter” circuit. After being taken into the nationalised rail service in 1948, she mostly sailed to Arrochar on Loch Long.

Run by the Caledonian Steam Packet Service, Waverley transferred to the newly established Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd in 1973. But the company found on a full inspection that the steamer needed massive refurbishment and they sold her to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS) for the sum of £1 on condition that they renovated her.

Waverley looked likely to become a static museum piece, but with her engines and boilers refurbished – passengers are able to view the engines while in motion – she began a new phase in a career that has now lasted more than 70 years.

No-one really expected Waverley to go back to seagoing duties, but after that successful refurbishment she began sailing on the Clyde and then made excursions around Britain. Her typical year would see Waverley on the Clyde in the summer followed by six weeks of excursions on the Bristol Channel and the Thames before returning to her home berth in Glasgow.

The multiple ownership of the vessel has seen her decked out in several different liveries over the years, and she now has the original LNER colours of red, white and black on her funnels.

WILL SHE SAIL AGAIN?

MUCH will depend on the MAIB inquiry which will be followed by a full inspection of her seaworthiness.

She usually spends part of the winter in dry dock so only then will we know if Waverley can sail again. We should all hope this Scottish treasure survives.