COMMONWEALTH GAMES FLOTILLA 2014
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2014
COMMONWEALTH
GAMES FLOTILLA
July 2014 Largs Sailing Club Cruising Section Log
On July 26th 2014, 250 boats set sail from James Watt Dock, Greenock for a
temporary marina at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. The Flotilla was to
celebrate the City’s Commonwealth Games and this log describes Largs
Sailing Club Cruising Section’s participation in this historic event.
2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
ON FEBRUARY 9TH 2014, JAMES STUART, CEO OF RYA SCOTLAND, CAME TO
LARGS SAILING CLUB TO GIVE A TALK AS PART OF OUR WINTER SERIES.
DURING THIS, HE ANNOUNCED THE PLANS FOR THE COMMONWEALTH
GAMES FLOTILLA, AND POSED THE QUESTION:
Clearly, for several Club members who regularly enjoy Cruising in Company, the answer
to this was a resounding YES!
In the following weeks and months, a significant group of cruising yachts from LSC registered for the
event and we all received clear instructions for joining the Flotilla. When the final Skippers Pack was
issued by RYAS, the following Largs sailing Club boats were spotted on the fleet list:
Ace of Rhu
Asherah
Aztec
Bethany
Carpe Diem
Corshyecan
Dawn Magic
Machar
Nimbus
Sunshine
This log is a compilation of notes, stories and pictures from many of these participating boats and their
crews
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2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
FRIDAY, JULY 25TH
Departures from Largs Yacht Haven started at around 8am and boats met their agreed arrival times at
James Watt Dock. Dawn Magic was one of the first to depart with Corshyecan, Asherah and Carpe Diem
close behind. We met with Machar, which had departed from Port Bannatyne and enjoyed a sedate
cruise up to Greenock in glorious weather: winds
Variable 2/3; sea state slight; weather mainly fair.
Met by the Greenock berthing team on ribs and
ashore, we were soon all receiving our
instructions as to which raft to join, with most of
us allocated places in the Turquoise raft…….
Just to see 250 boats arrive in the course of the day at
James Watt dock set up a buzz, and as they all
decorated up and visited old and new friends, the
atmosphere was electric…..
All boats were responsible for their own secure rafting
and once this was done, registrations were completed
and all participants were handed their event flag,
unique number and colour group and a goodie bag of
essential bits and pieces
Following a Skippers briefing in the Sugar Sheds at 1800
there was an evening of music, dancing, eating and drinking.
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2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
Meanwhile, the pontoons were also alive with the sounds of parties and banter with the inhabitants of
the apartments overlooking the water. In a beautiful, balmy evening, more crews left the confines of
the sugar sheds to enjoy al fresco partying and soon, the marina was ablaze with lights from boats in
celebratory style.
SATURDAY, JULY 26TH
With a forecast of light winds, (V3 or less) and fair weather, the Flotilla began leaving Greenock at 0800.
Everyone was eager to get underway and dismantling the rafts became quite an exciting experience
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2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
We were instructed to muster outside James Watt Dock according to the colour group of our
participation numbers, and again, most LSC boats were in the Orange group although some were in
Pink and others, including the large Westerly contingent, were in Red:
The exit and mustering took about 2
hours and then the Flotilla was underway,
passing huge crowds at Greenock water
front, who had gathered to see the
spectacle.
What an amazing spectacle it was! Many boats entered into the fun with flags, lights, and sometimes
an entire crew dressed up as pirates and so forth.
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2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
Carpe Diem was carrying an extra crew mate who turned
out to be hopeless, so was banished to the rear arch with
his whisky bottle, pictured!
During the sail, there was one thing that deeply
impressed us all - the number of spectators lining the river all the way from JWD to Glasgow. It brought
tears to the eyes. Our fleet responded to each cheering group by blasts on the fog horns, which
became almost a continuous noise
Arms were aching after continuously pumping up
our ECO horns, while other mouth-blown horns
sounded like cows in labour by the end!
One of the Westerlies cheated with an electric horn
sound relayed to a speaker tied to the mast, so
obviously had done this sort of thing before.
Page 5
2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla Speaking of Westerlies, an impressive surge of these boast was seen under the Erskine Bridge…..led by Clar Innes, the Westerley owners Association made their presence felt and heard (behind Dream Weaver!). Page 6
2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
The boats stretched out into the mist both in front and
behind us…….
…..and all too soon, we arrived at our destination, the
newly installed pontoons at Princes Dock, by the Glasgow
Science Centre.
Once again, a mammoth on shore organisation plan kicked into action, with boats being guided to their
berths by ribs and pontoon rope catchers. With one or two minor hitches, all were safely installed in
positions within rafts conducive to their planned departures, by 1500.
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2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
From here, we arguably had the best digs in town from which to enjoy Glasgow, the Commonwealth
Games and one of the best summers in several years.
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS NOTES FROM THE FLOTILLA….
Andrew & Doreen Smith on yacht Dawn Magic
While the main Flotilla was in Princes Dock, Dawn Magic was moored round on Plantation Quay with
some of the more unusual participants. This required coordination with the shore crew for bridge
opening….
Moored in front of us was the Clyde Puffer "Vic 32", one of the last few surviving coal-fired steam-powered
puffers, she is based on the Crinan Canal. VIC 32′ was built by Dunston’s of Thorne, Yorkshire in November
1943.
"Vic 32" might look good but try
cleaning your boat after she has fired
up her boilers for three hours. It's no
fun. It took three washes before we
could see the decks again.
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2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
The most interesting vessel for us was "Wee Spark" and we wished we had known more about her at
the time. She is pretty special
diminutive scaled-down Clyde
Puffer that is usually seen in the
sheltered waters of the inland
waterway of the Forth & Clyde
Canal. Her skipper was an
interesting character who carried
on the boat a copy of Para Handy
that he continue to re-read.
"Para Handy is the crafty Gaelic
skipper of the Vital Spark, a Clyde
puffer (steamboat) of the sort that
delivered goods from Glasgow to
Loch Fyne, the Hebrides, and the
west coast highlands of Scotland in
the early 20th century. The stories
partly focus on his pride in his ship,
"the smertest boat in the tred"
which he considers to be of a class with the Clyde steamers, but mainly tell of the “High Jinks” the crew
get up to on their travels."
There were two Tall Ships moored with us one called "Maybe" that is a traditional Dutch Sailing Ketch
launched in 1933. She took part in the first ever Tall Ships Race in 1956.
In 1989 she underwent complete restoration returning to sailing in 2007. She returned to the Tall
Ships Races in the Baltic's in 2009 and successfully completed a full season of Tall Ships Races and
Regatta’s in 2010.
"Wee Spark" and "Maybe", were participating in the 'Sound and Sea' event 1st and 2nd August in
Pacific Quay. "Maybe" had two gymnasts on a hoop hanging from the rigging rehearsing for the event
that was part of Festival 2014 set on the water and quayside to celebrate and showcase Glasgow’s
history, industry, dynamism and Scotland’s wealth of talent.
We stayed until Tuesday afternoon, had great
time at the athletics on Monday night and had
plenty of time for a bit of people spotting on
the Quay. Here's a list of a few faces we
recognised:-
Claire Balding - on the Quay
Matt Baker - on the Quay
John Inverdale - flagging down our taxi
Page 92014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla Jackie Bird (news) - buying a coffee at the BBC Paulo Nutinni - leaving the BBC Carol Kirkwood(weather)-passing through BBC foyer Wet Wet Wet - rehearsing for the Gig Our American friend thought the Flotilla was a great example of a Flash Mob. "A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression." Marilyn and Graeme Robertson, on yacht Corsheycan We had already booked tickets for the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens Finals and were delighted to be part of the Flotilla to complete an extraordinary Games experience. Being part of the historical parade up the Clyde also taught us about our new home city…we moved West from Edinburgh earlier this year and are still getting to know Glasgow and the upper reaches of the Clyde. Who knew that Braehead was right in the river! A short walk from Princes Dock, we had a fantastic day at Ibrox for the rugby…… Finally, the trip back down the river on Monday lunchtime, following a pancake breakfast on board Corshyecan with the crews from Nimbus, Sunshine and Machar. The departure from Princes Dock was quite sedate, although we were sad to see the temporary pontoons being dismantled as we left. Maybe one day, a more permanent marina facility might be built in Glasgow, opening the city centre with all its delights, to sailors from far and wide…. Page 10
2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
A leisurely return trip gave us the chance to take in more of the sights that we had missed in the
excitement of Saturday.
Then, all too soon, we were back at Greenock, bunting removed, sails swiftly launched of off for a
delightful late afternoon sail home to Largs.
And so much more sailing to look forward to this season…….
Asherah’s Commonwealth Moment
Chick Young, BBC Reporting Scotland correspondent, admits that he is not at all “sporty”. In an
interview on Saturday 2nd August, he was asked what his Commonwealth moment was. To our surprise,
he replied without any hesitation, “the Flotilla” on the Saturday set against the backdrop of the sound
coming from Ibrox and the Rugby 7’s.
Perhaps our surprise at his statement echoed what most of us had thought one day way back in late
autumn, that the RYA Scotland’s proposal of two hundred and fifty boats, sailing up the Clyde in the
biggest flotilla ever, was pretty improbable. How wrong we were! Without doubt, this experience
counts as one of the best highlights we have had in our sailing career.
Sharing the moment in spectacular sunshine, surrounded by an array of small and not-so-small craft
against the volume of sound from spectators on the banks of the Clyde was a privilege. The sight and
Page 112014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla sound of pots and pans being clattered on the top floor of flats as we approached Princes Dock epitomised the warmth of the welcome of Glaswegians. The River Clyde herself bore us all with steady pride as she sprang into life with echoes of a long past sea-going tradition set within the regeneration on her banks. We had our own BBC moment too…..this interview (with all its spelling mistakes!) appeared on the website: We are certain that each skipper and her or his crew will share their “moments” of a well organised and supremely successful event with friends, family and colleagues as we all contributed in our own unique way, to “the best Games ever.” Page 12
2014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
LARGS SAILING CLUB MEMBERS ALSO PLAYED SIGNIFICANT ROLES IN THE ON SHORE OPERATIONS THAT
LED TO SUCH A SUCCESSFUL F LOTILLA. EWEN MAC PHERSON , CLUB VICE COMMODORE , WAS INVOLVED
AS A COUNCIL MEMBER OF RYA SCOTLAND AND WRITES ……
RYA Scotland had three landward bases for the Flotilla. One, for the send-off on Saturday morning was
the Beacon Arts Centre at Custom's House Quay, Greenock. Another was the quayside at the Riverside
Museum/Tall Ship at Yorkhill Quay in Glasgow, and the third was of course at Princes Dock, the site of
the pop-up marina for the weekend.
Wearing my RYA Scotland hat, my station was at Riverside Museum/Tall Ship role where the
Participation and Development team had set up a static display of dinghies, catamarans and windsurf
training rigs on the concourse, with equipment and volunteers from Cumbernauld Sailing Club, CCC
Dinghy Section and others, including Lindsay Johnston from LSC. (Unsurprisingly my particular role was
'Berthing Master' for Kelvin Harbour, the small pontoon harbour at the mouth of the River Kelvin,
under the Glen Lee's stern. Kelvin Harbour was the emergency beaching point which thankfully was
not needed!).
The morning started with the usual setting-up of kit, visits from the police and fire brigade including fire
tender (why?), and a gradually growing flow of interested spectators. The flow of spectators increased
to a flood as the morning progressed, with the most asked question being 'When are they coming?'
('Are we nearly there yet?') By early afternoon our defensive safety barriers had been breached by the
sheer number of spectators, and whilst the official maximum number permitted on site was 3,500
there must have been many more - we gave up counting by midday. Entertainment was provided by
singers, dancers and the Commonwealth Games mascot Clyde.
Eventually the lead vessel, CalMac's new hybrid ferry MV Lochinvar hove into sight by BAE Systems,
Govan (Fairfields to me!) followed by the host of boats, and the real fun began. Each boat was
introduced by our compère aboard Glen Lee as the fleet gilled around awaiting their turn to berth. The
atmosphere was quite electric.
Into the middle of this we received Prince Edward in his role of patron of the Duke of Edinburgh Award
Scheme. He chatted to the various dignitaries in attendance, and to members of the public, and
boarded OYTS Alba Venturer for the short passage from Yorkhill Quay to Princes Dock where many of
our members will have met him on walkabout.
As the last vessels in the Flotilla turned into Princes Dock the crowd dispersed, satisfied. We hope that
our 'touch and try' display coupled to the sheer spectacle which unfolded from downriver will have
inspired some of the spectators to join us in the joys of sailing.
Page 132014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
FINALLY, IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE EVENT , JAMES STUART , CEO OF RYAS , RELEASED THE FOLLOWING
YOU TUBE CLIP , PERFECTLY CAPTURING THE MOOD OF THE FLOTILLA FOR ALL OF US WHO TOOK PART :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THTufUvWqbQ
Page 142014 Commonwealth Games Flotilla
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