Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Tugs FLYING MERLIN, FLYING DRAKE and FLYING DUCK assist the Clan Line's CLAN MACKAY to Kelvin

This entry is posing quite a problem for your reporter.

The Dockmaster's Log-book shows the CLAN MACKAY as Ex "something" G. to Kelvin. The "something" is indecipherable and obviously a very personal type of shorthand peculiar to the writer, As a guess it may mean that the ship is coming astern from Govan Drydock, or upriver from Greenock or even coming from the Graving Dock (Drydock) in the Kelvin River, Who knows, and we will probably now never find out.

So, as we do not know the placing of the tugs, at the bow or at the stern, the Log-book reads FLYING MERLIN, FLYING DRAKE, CLAN MACKAY, FLYING DUCK. The reader must make his own judgement on the matter.

At this time there were two shipyards on the River Kelvin (just beside Yorkhill Quay and Yorkhill's West Basin) On the West side (nearest Clydebank and Greenock) was D & W Henderson's Meadowside Shipbuilding Yard and Drydock, and on the East side (nearest the Glasgow City) was A & J Inglis & Company's Pointhouse Shipbuilding Yard