Troon lifeboat makes an emergency visit to Ardrossan with sick crewman

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 21st January 1972

18th January 1972

LIFEBOAT?S EMERGENCY VISIT

Troon Lifeboat made an emergency dash to Ardrossan after a crewman complained of feeling ill during a search operation in heavy seas off the North Ayrshire coast on Tuesday.

The sick man was radio operator Tom Brownlee (24), 17 Harbour Road, Troon. He was suffering from ?severe pains? in his back and Coxswain William Dent radioed Arran coastguards to ask for an ambulance and a doctor to stand by at Ardrossan.

The lifeboat was called out early on Tuesday afternoon after red flares had been sighted two miles due west of Ardrossan by a man fishing.

The search which proved fruitless was carried out in heavy seas with the wind reaching gale force. After 2? hours the coxswain decided to call off the search and head for home but when the crewman complained of feeling ill he decided to put into Ardrossan.

The sick crew member was put ashore along with Mr Don Kinsman, the RNLI press liaison office, who went with the lifeboat on the search. A doctor was on hand to treat Mr Brownlee, who was then taken home to Troon by police car. Mr Brownlee is married and has a baby daughter.

"Iona" makes an emergency sailing from Brodick to Ardrossan

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 28th January 1972

EMERGENCY FERRY SAILING

A 14-year old Arran boy received treatment in Canniesburn Hospital, Glasgow, on Monday after he suffered severe facial injuries when a home-made gun exploded in his face.

The boy, Colin Masson, of The Towers, Dougarie, was rushed to the mainland on Sunday evening by a special emergency sailing of the car ferry "Iona" from Brodick to Ardrossan, and was then taken by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary before being transferred to Canniesburn.

A spokesman for Bute County Police said that on Sunday afternoon Colin had been in a yard at his home and was making a gun from a tube bound to a wooden stock. He inserted metal and gunpowder into the tube and lit it.
The tube exploded in his face and a piece of metal pierced his cheek. His teeth were also shattered and he had other facial lacerations.
Yesterday Colin's condition was described as "comfortable."

A large metal buoy was found on Saltcoats beach

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 28th January 1972

A Saltcoats householder reported to Saltcoats police that an object was lying on the shore opposite the Burgh Chambers.
The police investigated and found it was a large metal buoy.

Proposal to erect houses for Coastguards in Ardrossan

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 28th January 1972

HOUSES FOR COASTGUARDS

A proposal to erect six houses on a site at the junction of Montfode Drive and Boydstone Road, Ardrossan, was discussed at the monthly meeting of Ayr County Council on Tuesday.

The Department of the Environment gave the council notice of the proposal, and the houses are to be occupied by HM Coastguards.

The council agreed to offer no objections to the proposals, but to suggest that any screening is positioned on the building line on both roads and that the area between the screening and the rear of the footpath is laid out and maintained in grass.

Port Report dated Friday 28th January 1972

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 28th January 1972

There were 42 arrivals in Ardrossan Harbour this week, four of which were tankers.
Among the more interesting visitors to the harbour were the "Johanca" which left for Pasajes in Spain with a cargo of turnings, and the "Ardglen" which arrived from Bayonne with a load of sulphur.

Hunterston : New moves are planned

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 28th January 1972

HUNTERSTON : NEW MOVES ARE PLANNED

A Committee have been set up by Ayr County Council to consider what action the council might take to promote major industrial development - whether an oil refinery or some other industry able to exploit the deep water facilities available at Portencross and Hunterston - on an appropriate inland site in North Ayrshire.

The committee have been set up after the planning committee had considered a passage in the report on the Hunterston Inquiry which stated that the prospects of attracting oil-based and other associated industries would be enhanced if a refinery could be located on an inland site having adjoining land capable of being acceptably developed for such industries.
If this could be done,continue the report, the establishment at Portencross of an associated marine terminal alone would be justified.

The Secretary of State's decision letter said : "The Secretary of State is not, however, to be taken as accepting that the planning considerations which argue against the immediate development of an oil refinery at Portencross will always be valid or that these exclude an oil refinery on an inland site served by an oil terminal (with suitable storage facilities) at Portencross.

Similar consideration of the most suitable industrial development for the area is also being given by the private firm Hunterston Development Company Ltd. which has Government backing. The company have employed an international firm of consultants to conduct a survey of the prospects, and it is hoped that this survey may be in the hands of the company by the autumn.

The North Ayrshire Coastal Development Committee, in a statement issued this week, say that one phase of their work having been completed, they are "clearing the decks" for their successors to carry on the struggle for better planning and development in North Ayrshire.
For financial and technical reasons it was necessary for the original committee to wind up its activities. In consequence the balance of funds remaining at credit in the bank has been transferred into the names of trustees to meet outstanding liabilities. These trustees are the chairman, Mr. T. C. A. Hutchison, the finance convenor Mr. A. D. Cameron and the honorary treasurer Mr. A. W. McNicoll.

After all liabilities have been met, any remaining balance of funds will be dealt with at their discretion but in conformity with the intention of those from whom donations have been received. The trustees have agreed that when all outstanding liabilities have been met they will publish a statement of their intromissions and the disposition of any remaining balance.

Provision has been made for the estimated expense of the committee representation at a Parliamentary inquiry which may be held into the Clyde Port Authority's Draft Parliamentary Order regarding an ore terminal at Fairlie and in connection with which the committee and others submitted petitions.

REMIT

The NACDC originated in 1968 at a public meeting in Largs. A remit was given to it to promote thinking towards wider and better planning, to investigate the merits of the proposed industrial developments in the area and if necessary to propose alternatives, and to take part in any public inquiry which might be held. Money raised totaled over ?13,500.

After the longest public inquiry in the country's history, the findings were in favour of all but one of the committee's submissions.

A public meeting will be held in West Kilbride in March to discuss what action may be taken in the future.

The Scottish Landowners' Federation under the chairmanship of the Duke of Atholl have said they welcome the proposals presented in Oceanspan 11 - the plan to make the Forth/Clyde corridor a land bridge betwen Europe and the rest of the world.
The Duke of Atholl said : "We support Oceanspan 11 in so far as we consider the plans as detailed will make a large contribution to the economy of Scotland. I particularly like the proposal for the preservation of the amenity of the Clyde by limiting the area of development along this attractive coastline."

"Uganda's" 1972 school cruise to Italy, Greece and Turkey

From: Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald dated Friday 25th February 1972

February 1972

SCHOOL CRUISE

School children who joined the school cruise on the liner ?UGANDA? last week had an exciting start to the trip when they were first flown to Venice where they joined the ship. A total of 236 Ayrshire children are on the cruise, 137 of them from the North Ayrshire Schools of Ardrossan Academy, St Andrew?s Academy, St Michael?s Academy, Auchenharvie Academy, Ravenspark Academy, Irvine Royal Academy, Garnock Academy and Largs High School.

From Venice the ?Uganda? will visit Greece, Turkey, the Greek Islands, and then back to Italy.

Scribe Tango

Closure of Fairlie Pier described as "Dictatorship"

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 11th February 1972

7th February 1972

CLOSURE OF PIER ?DICTATORSHIP?

The attitude of the Caledonian Steam Packet Company over the closure of Fairlie Pier was described as ?dictatorship at its very worst? at the meeting of West Kilbride District Council on Monday.

The denouncement of the company came from the chairman, Mr Donald Robertson, who referred to the CSPC?s failure to reply to two letters from the council regarding the future of Fairlie Pier.

The Clerk reported that British Rail had sent the council a letter which stated officially that the pier had been handed over to CSPC, and Mr Donald Robertson said that the pier station had in fact been closed since last October and rails had been uplifted.

DREADFUL

?It is a dreadful thing?, he went on, ?that Fairlie Pier was closed without any forewarning. It is very extraordinary?.

The clerk pointed out that British Rail did not know for what purpose the pier would now be used by the CSPC.

Councillor Peter Robertson commented that the council should press for a meeting with the CSPC to find out what they had in mind; then the chairman said that it was dictatorship at its very worst as the council had not been advised beforehand.

?It is a lack of sense of common decency?, he criticised, ?and they have not even replied to our letters. I can?t see anything at all happening. We should ensure that they will not leave the pier a derelict mess or an eyesore?.

When Councillor P. Black said that it would be smashed if left as it was, the chairman agreed that it was an ?absolute shambles? and already a trench which had been created with rails taken away was gathering muck.

?HAMMER?

Mr Peter McNab urged the council to ?hammer the CSPC right from the start?.

Councillor Peter Robertson suggested that a letter to Sir Fitzroy Maclean, MP, might be necessary.

Mr Donald Robertston concluded by saying that it was obvious the decision to close Fairlie Pier had been made a long time ago, and the council agreed with his suggestion that they would ask the CSPC again about the pier?s future use.

Scribe Tango

Port Report dated Friday 4th February 1972

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 4th February 1972

Among the 42 arrivals at Ardrossan Harbour this week were three small tankers.
Another visitor this week was the "Vickers Venturer" which carries a miniature submarine for laying underwater pipes.

Sea-King helicopter from HMS Gannet lands at Royal Naval Armaments Depot, Beith

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated Friday 4th February 1972

"Chopper" at RNAD

A Royal Navy Sea-King helicopter from HMS Gannet was due to land at the armaments depot at Beith today (Friday) as part of a simulated "war" exercise.
The helicopter pilot, after landing, shook hands with the commanding officer of the base, but in a real warlike situation he would be able to pick up torpedoes and other weapons there.

Summer nights on South Beach Ardrossan, around 1900

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 4th February 1972

SUMMER NIGHTS ON SOUTH BEACH
Stories from the past
Walking across South Beach green in Ardrossan at this time of year, dodging the waves breaking over the promenade, head down against the biting wind, sliding on the frosty flagstones, or with boots slithering on the sodden grass, it is difficult to picture the green packed with Sunday School trips basking in the sun with their buns and milk.
If the grass is used mainly now for car parking, picnics and civic week services, in former years it was the scene of more diverse entertainments.

Before the turn of the century there were generally minstrel troupes on the green, one of the first being Ben Storey and his company. Our reporter of the time wrote that on the whole they provided very poor fare, but as they had no platform and only the flat ground to perform on this was no doubt a drawback to their success. They managed to struggle through a season but their profits were apparently small.
Storey was a singer and the favourite song with his audiences was one beginning ?Oh Annabella
Come under my umbrella? - perhaps not inappropriate to an Ardrossan summer.
STRONG MAN
Another well know entertainer was a strong man called ?The Mexican Spaniard? who had a perpetual smile on his face. He performed a few gymnastic tricks, but is favourite feat was to grip a rope between his teeth, invite several men to grip the ends of it and pull it from his teeth. They never could.
For a couple of summers before the first war a group of four university students became very popular. They erected a small platform at South Beach and with two singing, the third playing the banjo and the fourth the piano; they always attracted large crowds with their comic songs and banjo selections. Present day students might care to note that their songs and jokes were clean.
Over the years the Burgh Pipe Band have given concerts on the green, but a regular visitor years ago was the Motherwell Mission Silver Band who would march through the town to South Beach where they played selections and their male voice choir sang gospel songs.
Troupes of minstrels also performed on the castle hill in Edwardian summers. The most popular would give a musical concert until darkness fell, then finish their programme with a short cinema exhibition. However they did not get much support, and the hill, which seemed a natural spot for this type of performance has seldom been used by other groups. There were suggestions that the Ardrossan pageant produced on Coronation Day in 1953 might be staged at the castle but the venue was changed to Winton Park.
SERVICES
Without intention to appear irreverent, this may be an appropriate article in which to refer to another form of outdoor entertainment which has held sway on our shores for may years, the religious services conducted by revivalists or evangelists untrammelled by any order of service decreed by a general assembly, and perhaps the most famous of these in Ardrossan was the Albatross Mission.
There were, we believe, a group of young people who voyaged from resort to resort on a private yacht called ?ALBATROSS? in the 1920s and held evangelistic meetings at their ports of call - in Ardrossan mostly on South Beach green.
They had vanished from the scene before the lifetime of the present writer who?s knowledge of them is confined to recalling that his father was addicted to singing one of their hymns while shaving on Sunday mornings:-
I was drifting along on life?s pitiless sea
And the angry waves threatened my ruin to be
When away at my side there I dimly described
A stately old vessel, and loudly I cried
Ship ahoy! Ship ahoy!
Or words to that effect, with due respect, that hymn held more emotional promise than the unlikely chorus of ?Jesus wants me for a sunbeam?, in which we used to join with considerable doubts 30 years ago.

Ardrossan Town is not "selfish" over the Arran ferry service

7th February 1972

ARDROSSAN NOT ?SELFISH? ABOUT FERRY SERVICE

Ardrossan Town Council were not adopting a selfish attitude towards the ferry services to and from Arran, but were concerned to help provide better facilities for a service which has operated from the town for more than a hundred years.

This was stated at the council meeting on Monday when members reported on the meeting last month between the council, Arran District Council the Harbour Company, and the Caledonian Steam Packet Company.

Baillie William Currie said that the ferry had successfully sailed for 96% of the scheduled services, and in any island service it was probably impossible to secure 100% success because of stormy weather.

DECISION

The decision on whether to sail in stormy weather was the sole responsibility of the captain of the ship, but anything that could be done to improve facilities at Ardrossan Harbour would be welcomed.

The Baillie added that there had been complaints that intending passengers had not been fully informed at stations and pier when sailings were cancelled or altered, and the general manager of the Steam Packet Company Mr John D Whittle, had given an assurance that the communication of such announcements would be improved.

Treasurer D. McMillan referred to the reported remarks last week of the chairman of West Kilbride District Council Mr Donald Robertson, who said that Ardrossan were thinking only of themselves. Mr Robertson was expressing his concern that there are now no scheduled sailings from Fairlie Pier.

?SELFISH?

?Mr Robertson appears to think that we are adopting a selfish attitude?, said Treasurer McMillan, ?but we are elected by the people to represent Ardrossan. Fairlie and West Kilbride had their day - they had the opportunity to develop these places and turned it down. Of course we?re trying to do our best for our town?.

Provost J. McManus: ?Yes we?re trying to hold on to something we?ve had for over a hundred years. As you say, we?re elected to do our best for Ardrossan.

NO SAILINGS

It was confirmed in a letter to Fairlie Citizens? Association from the Caledonian Steam Packet Company this week that there will be no sailings from Fairlie Pier this summer and that it is not envisaged that there will be any regular sailings in the future.

Mr Donald Robertson, chairman of West Kilbride District Council, who expressed the view last week that the loss of the ferry service would be a serious blow to the village and would leave Fairlie without a tourist attraction, said yesterday that he did not know if the district council could do anything about the matter.

Mr Tom Hutchison, Chairman of the Citizens? Association, said it could now be expected that the pier railway station would also be closed.

Scribe Tango

Telephone call alleges a bomb planted on tanker "Ameland"

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 11th February 1972

BOMB HOAX

Emergency services were alerted and stood by to rush to Ardrossan Harbour on Tuesday when it was reported that a bomb had been planted on board the Dutch tanker "Ameland," carrying a cargo of napthalene and spirit, and which was due to berth at Ardrossan.

Late on Tuesday night an anonymous telephone caller got in touch with the control tower of Ardrossan Harbour and said, in an Irish accent, that a bomb had been planted on the tanker which was lying outside the harbour waiting to berth.

The crew of the ship searched the ship and nothing was found.
While the search was taking place the police, fire brigade and a bomb disposal unit were waiting to take over should anything have been found.

Port Report dated Friday 11th February 1972

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 11th February 1972

There were 43 arrivals of vessels at Ardrossan Harbour last week, including six tankers, the largest of which was the "Pallium" from Stanlow with crude oil.
On Wednesday the "Sapphire" arrived from Halden, Norway, with wood pulp.

A.T.Mays Travel Agents advert for cruising in 1972

From "The Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald" dated 11th February 1972

An advert for cruising, by A T Mays Travel Agents, Saltcoats.