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Newsletter
Update
February
, 2008
Following
on from the galley alterations noted
in the previous newsletter various
personnel involved in galley operations
went on a HACCP course on food hygiene
(Hazard,Analysis,Critical,Control
Point) and passed with flying colours.
Nick and Lyal also attended a First
Aid Course and again passed. A passing
point of interest…when the local
health officer inspected the galley
she was impressed but unfortunately
did not know what category to put
the Puffer in so we are officially
classified as a marine mobile hamburger
stand !!.
It was a great thrill
to organise a 12 day cruise from Ardrishaig
to Glasgow and back and which included
participating in the Glasgow River
Festival. After being greeted by Richard
Davies the Maritime Director we had
two days of great fun. Kenny Pirie
was seen persuading local entertainers
,bagpipers and belly dancers on board
to do their own thing ( if the censor
allows look out for photo’s
of the belly dancers and see if you
can spot the Skipper…he’s
in the line up ! ). With the help
of Rachel, Alice and Colin and Isobel
Sharp we collected £1000 in
sales and donations from the generous
Glaswegians. There was also a visit
to the Clyde Coastguards at Greenock
where it was great to put faces to
names and to see the impressive array
of equipment that is that their disposal.
During the year we
also came across the Navy’s
new destroyer D 32 on its working
up cruise near Largs and caused a
minor security scare by ‘creeping’
up behind them, passing close alongside
and whistling and dipping our ensign.
She was still in dockyard hands at
the time and flying the Blue ensign,
she returned our whistle with a siren
that nearly blasted us out of the
water , recognised our dipped ensign
and eventually lowered hers. At this
moment we saw approaching at high
speed a police launch, we were just
about to throw the skipper overboard
when they waved in a friendly fashion
and stormed off in another direction.
There was an embarrassing
incident in Tayvallich Bay when on
a windy day and with Richard Albanese
in control when we missed the gap
between the island in the middle of
the bay and the southern peninsular
and ended up on the rocks ! After
4 hours and by dint of moving heavy
equipment and getting all the passengers
to move to the port side we floated
off. With Richard’s confidence
slightly damaged but an invaluable
lesson learnt we continued with the
cruise.
There was also an
amusing incident after we had moored
off the Loch Melfort hotel one night.
We had steamed off the next morning
to arrive back at Crinan when Nick
received a call from the Coastguard
saying that the police wanted to contact
us. As mobiles do not work at Crinan
we had to wait till we were alongside
and could use a land line. We then
ran the police but for 1 hour 40 minutes
got no response…..it appeared
that they changed their number !.
When they did arrive it transpired
that the telephone box at the Loch
Melfort hotel had been stolen the
night before and that as we were there
overnight we were regarded as suspicious
characters. However once they had
interviewed everyone they said we
looked pretty honest and departed.
The end of season cruise’s on
the Caledonian Canal were notable
for a number of reasons, the supply
of mushrooms picked by the skipper
and Richard on their rambles in the
local area, the sighting of osprey,
kingfishers, and Golden Eagles. After
waiting for the army to move it’s
tank landing craft and for the dredger
Shearwater to pass through the locks
at Inverness we entered the Beauly
Firth, struggled under the Kessock
Bridge and off Fort George and Chanonry
Point were treated to a fine display
by a school of dolphins. There was
also a trial of two tons of compressed
wood bricks, now called ‘weetabix’
to see how it compared to coal ( not
favourably ),we also picked up with
the aid of passengers, an enormous
pile of wood from the lock keeper
at Clachnaharry that had been dredged
up ,and then spent the next week convincing
Lyall the engineer to use it in the
boiler.
Time was spent in the shipyard at
Corpach at the end of the season for
VIC32’s annual overhaul, and
then she was steamed back to Crinan,
via an overnight at Oban where high
winds caused her to drag her anchor,
arrving back on the 12th November.
Thanks go again to
the crew and volunteers for all their
efforts which are much appreciated,
to the passengers who made the trips
fun and not least of all you the ‘Friends’
for supporting such a worthwhile cause.
Mike Smith
Read
the previous Newsletters:
4th
june, 2007
4th November, 2005
9th
June, 2005
14th
March, 2005
17th February, 2005
27th
August, 2004
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