My Journey on PS Waverley

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

I have a great delight in travelling on steam trains and of course steam ships, where possible . In 013 I had the chance of travelling on one of the best known coastal excursion paddle steamers the PS Waverley . For those that haven't had the experience of traveling on a paddle steamer I thought it might be of interest to show just some of the pictures of a truly, memorable trip along North Wales coat to Anglesey. .Included are number of on board shots of this steamer from a by gone age when speed and comfort wasn't every thing but the experience was . In the past this run from Liverpool along the North Wales coast was the preserve of the Irish sea Coastal steamers such as the St Seriol and St Tudno at one time in the 1950s one of the must do trips .

The con trails in the sky are perhaps at odds with this more sedate form of travelling but I know where I would rather be .

Heading out to Anglesey by sea

And along the way an even more sedate form of travel

The Diagonal triple expansion steam engine .

Some of the magnificent views of the North Wales coast line .

Not quite cruise ship luxury but probably more enjoyable .

Eight hours at sea on the Waverley in perfect weather what more can you ask .

Dave Wooley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Dave

Nice photo's of a memorable trip…….What was the route, as I don't recognise the Lighthouse?

I'm amazed at the slenderness of the handrails?

The paddle wash is very clear and long lasting but rarely seen with model boats. I often think about drilling holes in the blades to produce some?

GE produced some at New Brighton a few years ago during the telegraph cable trials and was nice to see

Must be special water?

Bob

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

Dave,

Nice to see these excellent photographs as we were booked on the 2014 sailing to Puffin Island. The sailing was cancelled due to high winds in Liverpool Bay. I was given a copy of the DVD (as a present) showing her sailing along the Jurassic coast, Dorset.

Bob,

The wash from paddlers is always nice to see behind a vessel, but to re-create this scaled down is a difficult task. Model paddlers have a lovely wash behind them, a nice steady wave pattern from the floats.

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

Hi Bob yes the wash at the stern is difficult to generate from a model but you GE did rather well at giving it a good try. I don't know the exact location of the light house in the picture but it is on the stretch of coast between Llandudno and Anglesey .

Thanks for taking interest

Dave Wooley

Hi Tony On the trip that was cancelled there where no scheduled departure from the Mersey . Just waiting and hoping that the refitted Balmoral steamer will return in the not to distant future .Had a superb trip to Llandudno . back in 2006 but as they say narrow hulls role of wet grass and the Irish sea as you know is not always the best place to be when on a vessel like the Balmoral but it is certainly a nostalgic sea voyage .

Thanks for taking interest

Dave Wooley

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

This youtube clip from 1994 shows the Waverley in rough seas. Filmed in St. Ives bay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaybtYIAURc

Tony.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Hello Tony

What a frightful predicament!

Do you think the Captain felt safe in such weather?

Do you know if the paddles were linked together or independent?

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I wonder if the ship was carrying passengers at that time or on a positioning voyage. At one time Waverley did have a bit of a reputation for putting to sea in marginal weather.

The paddles on commercial vessels have to be linked together by law as otherwise there is a risk of flipping the ship over. The naval tugs designed for handling the aircraft carriers at Portsmouth did have independent paddles though. Rough seas are not good for paddling as one side digs in and the other is flailing in the air which makes them inefficient and of course puts strain on the machinery.

Colin

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

Wasn't the paddleshaft rule introduced by the Board of Trade after the 1978 sinking of the paddle steamer Princess Alice in the River Thames, can anyone advise?

The paddler was rammed and sliced in half by the Cargo vessel Bywell Castle, approx. 700 lost their lives (no requirement for a passenger register then). The majority died from being poisoned by the raw sewage in the river.

Tony.

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

Firstly apologies – my previous post should have read the 1878 sinking of the Princess Alice. 

Although Colin's post about the paddle shaft having to be linked together is correct, I can't find further detail/rules about this and will continue to research.

Tony.

 

 

Edited By Tony Hadley on 13/01/2015 19:35:19

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