The
2010 Purser's Tale - Part 2
Tony Gamblin's Notes from on board
Balmoral arrived in Swansea on the last day
of June to prepare for the first of her Bristol Channel seasons. The first day ran as scheduled but on the Friday
the 17.30 (low water) call at Clevedon was omitted with an extended Holms
Islands and Welsh Heritage Coast cruise offered. That evening the ship was due to make a now
rare evening cruise up the Avon to
Bristol but soon after entering the River a message was received that the lock
gates at Bristol had failed so the Captain and his Pilot were given no option
but to turn the ship in the confines of Sea Mills Reach - believed to be a
'first' for a large passenger vessel.
The vessel then proceeded back down-river to Portishead whence people
were returned homewards by coach. In
view of this, the next day's scheduled sailing from Bristol to Ilfracombe also
started at Portishead (with a coach connection from Bristol) and passengers
were returned here in the evening in lieu of Clevedon due to the increasing
wind. The following day's programme was
cancelled due to strong winds (the tail-end of the gales that was playing havoc
with Waverley in Scotland) and the ship locked in at Avonmouth as she was off-service
on the Monday.
On Tuesday 6th July Balmoral was able to make
it to Swansea for her sailing over to Ilfracombe, but with more strong winds
forecast for later that day the Lundy sector was cancelled and a cruise along
the Exmoor coast substituted - the return sailing being brought forward by two
hours and the ship sailing light to Penarth after disembarking her passengers
at Swansea. This necessitated Swansea
passengers being coached to Penarth for the next day's popular '3 Rivers and 5
Bridges' trip - which unfortunately was not as well supported as in the past.
The following day's cruise (Clevedon to Minehead and Porlock Bay) operated as
scheduled and in good weather conditions.
A highlight of this year's schedule was
undoubtedly the trip to Padstow on Friday 9th July. After an early start from Penarth the ship
sailed down-Channel to Ilfracombe to pick up more passengers and cruised to
Cornwall with over 300 aboard. The
tight tidal window allowed less than an hour ashore to enjoy the delights of
"Padstein"- though many managed to obtain fish and chips (it had to
be done!) before returning for the homeward voyage in superb weather
conditions.
The following day was full of drama. The
early afternoon call at Clevedon had been cancelled due to very low water and a
broadcast navigational warning by Swansea coastguard - but unfortunately the
coach bringing the passengers to Penarth missed the ship due to a combination
of motorway traffic at a standstill and the seafront closed for the annual
Penarth carnival. Balmoral was about to
enter Watchet harbour when a yacht - ignoring all instructions from the harbour
authorities - crossed right under her bows: the incident was filmed and soon
appeared on You Tube, which led to an interview with Captain Davies for the BBC
television local news programme 'Points West' (Google 'Balmoral Watchet' to see
it all).
Sunday's trip from Clevedon to Lundy was
rather special, with a cruise around the island offered after the landing
passengers had disembarked - all achieved in classic Bristol Channel weather
conditions. The following day's
schedule was also rather unusual - a sailing from Newport to Clevedon (for the
West Somerset Railway) and Ilfracombe, returning via Minehead and Penarth :
again the weather was stunning - we could have been in the Med! This was a complete contrast to the next
day's trip from Lydney and Sharpness with nearly 400 passengers being carried
in dull and overcast conditions with frequent heavy downpours of rain. The weather remained unsettled for the final
day of the first Bristol Channel season, though there were some warm sunny
spells between the torrential showers. This trip was another highlight of the
programme : a double navigation of the River Parrett being possible due to the
early summer daylight hours. Most of
the passengers (both local and from further afield) were fascinated by the
ever-changing views as the vessel navigated the winding course of the river to
and from Bridgwater.
Balmoral was then due to sail to Bridport to
begin her South Coast programme, but after dragging her anchor overnight in
Penarth Roads and with severe force 9 gales forecast for almost all sea areas,
the decision was made to seek shelter at Bristol's Cumberland Basin. Here she
remained until mid-day on Saturday 17th July, sailing direct to Newhaven to
begin her Thames programme - the whole four days on the Solent sadly having to
be cancelled.
It was from this point onwards that things
really started to improve. Over 500
passengers were carried to London on 20th July, revenue beating any day of the
previous season. Good loadings were also achieved on the sailings to and from
Rye in warm, bright and sunny conditions broken only by a few brief heavy
downpours. It is worthy of note that the vessel was able to lie alongside at
Rye on the Wednesday night.
Some pictures taken by Martin Longhurst
during the passage to Rye on 21 July
The new shop counter, now separated from the
Forward Lounge
The new upholstery and curtains in the
Forward Lounge, financed by the PSPS Bristol Channel Branch
Entering the River Rother
The last mile of the voyage is up the River
Rother to Rye Wharf
The view from the Bridge...
...and from the stern
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Finally alongside for the night at Rye Wharf
The weather remained excellent for the
following days, with almost 1,000 people cruising up London River over the
course of the weekend. After a day off service at the London International
Cruise Terminal (i.e. Tilbury Landing Stage), Balmoral set out for Southwold on
Tuesday 27th July, returning inwards from Great Yarmouth to London on the
following day.
The excellent summer weather continued over
the next week and was clearly reflected in Balmoral's passenger loadings. After
cruising from Tilbury up the River Orwell to Ipswich on Thursday 29th July she
carried almost 500 from Ipswich to London on the following day. Even higher
loadings were achieved over the weekend, the high passenger turnaround at
Southend on the Saturday resulting in the ship running late and finishing her
day an hour late at 1.00 a.m. on the Sunday.
Two pictures taken by Geoffrey Vickery on 5
August
