No sooner had we finished our freshly caught fish suppers than the explanation of the VHF radio chatter was apparent. a procession of tall ships was making its way down the Clyde. The leader was Mir, St Petersburg, Russia. She is a 108.8m long square rigged ship and was built in Poland in 1987.
We paddled out to the edge of the shipping channel.
PS Waverley, Glasgow, Scotland appeared, followed by...
...a procession of the most beautiful ships. This is Sorlsandet, Kristiansand, Norway. She is a 64.2m long square rigged ship and was built in 1927.
The
Waverley was built in Glasgow in 1947 in the Inglis Yard, which is now the site of Glasgow's new transport museum.
The Waverley now turned round to head back up the Clyde.
Europa, The Hague, Netherlands. She is a 54.6m long 3 masted barque built in 1911.
Constantia, Stockholm, Sweden. She is a 31.45m long 2 masted gaff schooner built in 1908.
Europa and Pelican.
Pelican and Europa.
Pelican of London, Weymouth, London, UK. She is a 44.42m long 3 masted barquentine built in 1948. However her rig is a very modern, designed to go to windward much better than a fully square rigged ship.
Europa.
Europa was one of the few to turn right towards the Kilbrannan Sound on the west coast of Arran.
the ex RNLI lifeboat Grace Patterson Ritchie (70-002) is now privately owned and based at Largs. She was built by
Yarrows on the Clyde in 1966. She was the first of three Clyde class lifeboats and the first steel hulled RNLI lifeboat.
MV Llanreath is a converted Milfordhaven pilot vessel/tug. She is privately owned and based in Girvan.
Gloria, Cartagena, Colombia. She is a 65.61m long 3 masted barque built in Bilbao in 1968.
Gloria.
Gloria.
Irene, Bridgewater, UK. She is a 35.45m long gaff ketch built in Bridgewater in 1907.
Irene.
Pogoria, Gdynia, Poland. She is ia 49.52m 3 masted barquentine built in 1980.
Pogoria.
Pogoria.
Eventually we decided to land on the Little Cumbrae again but had to paddle past the resident pod of porpoises.
It was time for a well deserved third luncheon...
...then home for tea. All this within an hour's drive of home!
The full list of tall ships in the 2011 tall ships race
can be found here.
