James Gallacher

on Dec 8, 2014

In the Post Office Directory for Glasgow for 1838-1839 there is an intriguing entry referring to a steamboat James Gallacher of 25 tons, listed as sailing to Dalmuir. Who was James Gallacher and why was there a steamboat carrying passengers to Dalmuir? To add to the intrigue, in “The Fouling and Corrosion of Iron Ships” (1867) by Charles F.T. Young, the James Gallacher is claimed to be none other than the Aglaia, built by David Napier in 1827 and reputed to be the first iron steamer. Young notes that Aglaia had an iron bottom, and wooden sides above water, and that her dimensions were; length, 62ft 8in; breadth, 13ft 0in; depth, 4ft 6in; gross tonnage, 49 and 36/94 tons. Is there really a connection between the Aglaia and the James Gallacher? In 1826 Napier had purchased the estate of Glenshellish at the north end of the Loch Eck and built Kilmun pier to which he ran his...

Old Gourock

on Nov 28, 2014

The town of Gourock achieved some prominence when it became the home base of the Caledonian Steam Packet Co.’s operations on the Clyde around 1889. Before then it was a bathing resort, much frequented by the population of Paisley from where, when the pennies were short, the inhabitants could use Shank’s pony to reach the sea shore. Descriptions of the town appear in early guides to the Clyde including Lumsden’s “Steamboat Companion” of 1820:— “Having left Greenock, many neat villas are seen on the left along the shore; and, at a short distance, a small battery to protect the town. About 2 miles from Greenock, is the village of Gourock, resorted to, in summer, as bathing quarters; and above which stands the House of Gourock, Darroch; on the east side of the bay is a whin dyke running into the sea. Here are some mines which formerly produced copper and fluor spar, but are not now...

Collision in the Gareloch

on Nov 26, 2014

On 8th January 1912 the Lucy Ashton was sailing from Craigendoran to Garelochhead in a snowstorm when she ran into the stern of the Allan liner Siberian which was moored between Rahane and Mambeg. She was travelling at speed when the accident occurred and stove in her bow both above and below the waterline. The vessel was able to make Garelochhead and disembark her passengers. She then returned to the Siberian to see if assistance was required. The skipper was Roderick McDonald who had a reputation for driving the little steamer hard. The Siberian was laid up at the time.  Apparently, the moorings of the Siberian had dragged her anchor in the storm and moved her into the track normally taken by the steamer. Siberian in Service The following account is from a contemporary newspaper: “During the severe snowstorm in the Gareloch on Monday night the North British steamer Lucy Ashton,...

Hornby at Gourock

on Nov 26, 2014

On 23 March 1907 the tug, Hornby, sank off Greenock after a collision with MacBrayne’s Handa.  The Hornby was launched in 1890 from the yard of Samuel McNight & Co. Ltd of Ayr for the Alexandra Towing Co. of Liverpool. At 197 tons and with her engines delivering 80 hp to her two screws, she was a powerful vessel, capable of over ten knots in service.  She had been on the Clyde for some repairs and was returning to Liverpool when the accident occurred. Hornby sunk off Greenock MacBrayne’s Handa at Blackmill Bay The Hornby was beached next to the coastguard station at the end of the Caledonian Pier at Gourock. The photograph below shows two Ross and Marshall puffers, one of them the Mellite, and a diving barge in attendance.  The Hornby was raised and repaired and sold to French owners who used her on the Mediterranean under the name Lutece.  She was replaced by Alexandra...

Thomas Bollen Seath

on Nov 25, 2014

A small album of old cartes de visite of ships got my attention.  When it was opened, it revealed some images that were familiar and some that were not.  Many of the ships were connected with the Rutherglen shipbuilder Thomas Seath.  It took me quite some time to identify all the ships and the original owner and purpose of the collection still remains a mystery, but the little album remains one of my favorite finds. The most intriguing picture in the collection is a sweet pose of a young bearded man and, presumably, his wife.  The connections of the pictures of the ships to this picture is readily apparent.  The man is surely Tommy Seath, born on 20th September of 1820 at Prestonpans in East Lothian, and the young lady he married in 1848 was Helen Young. T B Seath and wife (Bell, Trongate, Glasgow) When he was eight years old, Seath’s family moved to Glasgow and at the age of...

Comte de Smet de Naeyer

on Nov 20, 2014

The Comte de Smet de Naeyer was a full rigged sailing vessel launched on the 11th of October 1904 by the Greenock and Grangemouth Dockyard Company at their Mid-Cartsdyke Yard in Greenock as a sail training vessel for cadets of the Association Maritime Belge. At 1863 tons, she was 267 feet long and just over 41 feet in breadth with a draught of almost 24 feet. On the 20th of October, when fitting out in James Watt Dock, she capsized. From the Greenock Telegraph As the following sequence of pictures reveals, she was righted and completed for service. Capsized on 20th October 1904 The turbine steamers King Edward and Queen Alexandra can be seen on their winter lay-up in the background. Initial salvage efforts Initial salvage attempts were not successful and she sank completely Here the puffer Mellite helps as a new attempt is made Counter-weights attached and in place and the parbuckling...