Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Ross & Marshall's Clyde Puffer fleet around 29th May 1958

STORMLIGHT had left Glenarm (Northern Ireland) on 27 May

with a cargo of Lime for Port Ellen (Isle of Islay).  On 28 and

29 May she was discharging, and on the afternoon of 29^th she

left Port Ellen for Paisley to load 1000 bags of Malt and Empty

Casks for Port Ellen.

MOONLIGHT at Troon (Firth of Clyde) on 28^th May loaded 114

tons 13 cwts of coal for Eriskay, for the account of S. McIsaac. 

She also loaded 17 tons 6 cwts of coal for her bunkers

and then left on passage to Eriskay.   At  2.30pm on 29^th May

while MOONLIGHT was approaching Eriskay Sound she struck

a reef at the south end of “Harlimeal Isle.” ????

SEALIGHT in the morning attended the Cunard passenger

liner CARINTHIA which had arrived from Montreal (Canada)

at Tail-of-the-Bank anchorage off Greenock and the Greenock

dockers (= stevedores) who had embarked on SEALIGHT

unloaded the mails and passengers’ luggage from the liner

and the items were taken to Princes Pier where they were

landed.    In the afternoon SEALIGHT underwent a deck

survey at Greenock.

WARLIGHT had left Glenarm (Northern Ireland) on 28^th May

with a cargo of Limestone Dust for Glasgow (account of

Eglinton Limestone Co. Ltd.) and on 29^th discharged at

Prince’s Dock, Glasgow. In the afternoon WARLIGHT went

on hire to the G.P.O. cable ship IRIS.

RAYLIGHT was laid up / repairing at Scotts Shipyard at

Bowling (near Glasgow).

POLARLIGHT on 26^th May arrived at Corpach (near Fort William)

and that afternoon loaded 130 tons of tarred metal for

Tobermory (Isle of Mull) for account of Banavie Quarries Ltd.

  On 28^th and 29^th  May she discharged her cargo at Tobermory

and then left, returning to Corpach for another 130 tons of

tarred metal, again for Tobermory and again for Banavie Quarries Ltd.

LIMELIGHT was laid up / repairing at Scotts Shipyard at

Bowling (near Glasgow).

STARLIGHT arrived at Furnace (Loch Fyne) from

Campbeltown and loaded 110 tons of crushed granite

for Glasgow, for account of William Sim & Co. Ltd., Glasgow.

SKYLIGHT on 28^th May had loaded a cargo of coal at

Rothesay Dock, Clydebank for account of the Dunoon

Gas Works and that morning she left for Dunoon.   Next day

she would discharge the coal at Dunoon Coal Pier, and then

leave for Troon to load a cargo of coal for

Lochranza (Isle of Arran).

TEXA (on charter from McCorquodale of Troon / J & J Hay Ltd)

had left Troon on 27^th May with a cargo of coal for

Eoligarry (North Bay, Isle of Barra) for the account

of M M McLeod) and arrived at the Bay on 29^th but

was unable to beach due to lack of sufficient

water.  

The puffer was intended to sit on the beach when

the tide went out and the purchasers of the coal would bring

horse-drawn carts or motor lorries to the side of the beached

puffer and the boats crew, working in the hold, would shovel

the coal into a large steel bucket and tip the coal into the carts

and lorries.

   Unloading was halted when the tide next came flooding in,

and was resumed when the tide went out and the puffer was

again high and dry on the ground.

   It was only on 31^st May and 1^st June that TEXA was finally

able to discharge the cargo of coal.