ORGANISERS of the first ‘Steamers of the Clyde’ celebration day have hailed the event a ‘brilliant success’ with well over 800 people attending.
Featuring talks by PS Waverley Quartermaster Iain Quinn, a range of impressive models of paddle steamers and a number of maritime-related stalls, the event ran from 10am to 4pm at the pavilion building on the iconic pier.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better day” enthused Iain, chair of joint organisers ‘Ship Ahoy’, a Scottish maritime history group.
He said: “It was a brilliant success from the off. Many thanks to the hundreds of folk who came down and a special thank you to the volunteers on the day, Peter Welsh, Harbourmaster with Argyll and Bute Council, for his foresight in allowing the event to take place, and former harbourmaster Robert Reid who delivered a rousing closing speech.
“The levels of interest in and passion for the Waverley and steamers in general took us all by surprise with a ‘full house’ engaging with my three talks during the day. It was standing room only and very encouraging.”
He continued: “It was also very clear quite how much attachment there is to the pier. It’s a special venue that holds so many memories for the people of Dunoon as well as many who headed there from further afield. Hopefully this shows that the pier is a viable venue for similar community-focused events.
“Even the weather was good to us despite the predicted heavy rain.
“We would love to make this an annual event and will be looking at organising a repeat in 2027 once we’ve had a chance to take a breath.”
Rob Wilkinson of Cowal Heritage Society, joint organisers of the event, commented: “What a day. We’d counted around 800 visitors by 1pm and people were still making their way down the pier right up until the close.
“We spoke to many folks from Bute, Glasgow, Inverclyde and further afield who had come over especially for the event as well as a number of holidaymakers present in the town keen to find out more about Dunoon’s maritime heritage.
“The models, made by Inveraray-based John McNulty and Alistair Spencer from Toward, provided a real wow factor and it was encouraging to see so many younger people taking an interest.”
Groups including the Tighnabruaich Pier Association took out stalls that attracted significant interest from visitors.
Iain concluded: “Dunoon has a proud past and a great future if this inaugural event is anything to go by.”
