Who wants to go for a paddle..?
IT’S no wonder that Waverley Excursions general manager Paul Semple is smiling. Not only has he completed five years at the helm of a company that runs PS Waverley, the world’s last sea-going paddle steamer, but for the first time since he took over in 2019, there’s been no need for an appeal to keep the famous paddler paddling.
“We had our best season for years in 2023 and we carried a record 157,000 passengers on the Clyde, the Bristol Channel from the south coast of England piers and on the Thames. That means we raised enough to cover this winter’s repairs and dry docking for the first time since I took the hot seat and we’re absolutely delighted,” said Paul.
Winter maintenance is currently under way with deck planking being replaced by Mackay Boatbuilders of Arbroath, with traditional caulking being replaced with a longlife modern weatherproof material. The paddler will move downstream from her Glasgow berth in April for dry docking at Greenock before returning to service on the first sailing of 2024 from Glasgow on Friday, May 17. Children up to the age of 16, accompanied by a fare-paying adult, will travel free on Clyde sailings this year for the first time, in a bid to attract more children and families to the Waverley experience.
“I fell in love with Waverley as a wee boy,” laughed Paul. “We want to make sure that children do the same today as they are our passengers of the future.”
Paul puts the success of last season down to losing very few days due to poor weather or technical issues, as well as fuel oil prices dropping from a record 94p per litre in 2022 to 69p in 2023.
But, he says, the greatest success was visiting piers that Waverley hadn’t called at for many years as well as calling at new ones.
The call- again list included Craignure, Troon, Portishead and Ipswich, with cruises for the first time from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland and Shoreham- by-Sea, with Bristol Channel, south coast and Thames trips proving to be especially successful.
“Keeping the timetable fresh is what brings passengers on board,” said Paul. “And for 2024, when we’re marking the 50th anniversary of the ship being sold to us for £1 by Caledonian Macbrayne, we’ve new destinations as well as returns to favourites, while in August, we’ll be on the River Dart at Kingswear to meet and sail alongside PS Kingswear Castle, and that will be quite an event. That and full details of all our sailings for the 2024 season are at www. waverleyexcursions.co.uk – please come on board.”