Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Clyde puffer LADY ISLE goes aground on Davaar Island near Campbeltown

 The Irvine puffer LADY ISLE today ran aground on

 Davaar Island at the entrance to Campbeltown Loch.

   There was dense fog and a heavy sea running, and

the puffer, which was on passage from Irvine to Islay

with a cargo of bricks, ran onto rocks at the East side of the Island.

   Efforts were made to back the vessel off the rocks

using her own engine and eventually she came free

 but was deeply awash at her bow.

   The four crewmen were so concerned that the ship

 was in danger of sinking that, despite the heavy sea,

they launched the puffer’s life raft and left the ship.

   Three distress rockets were fired, and, when one back-fired,

 the ship’s engineer, 40-year old Robert Fachau of Greenock,

 suffered severe burns to an arm.

   The rockets failed to attract attention and the

 ship’s master, Calum MacCorquodale of Troon, returned

to the heavily listing puffer, raised steam and started

the engine by himself, and steered the vessel, with the

life raft with the three crew in tow, from the Island,

up Campbeltown Loch and brought her to berth in

Campbeltown.

   When the LADY ISLE reached Campbeltown Mr. Fachau

was removed to Hospital and later flown to Renfrew Airport

(now known as Glasgow Airport) and taken to the

Southern General Hospital in Glasgow for treatment.

   Mr MacCorquodale said that the puffer had a hole

below the waterline at her bow and he hoped to have

the hole repaired and the water pumped out within a

few days and the ship would then resume her

 voyage to Islay. 

Model of Clyde puffer LADY ISLE