Postcard of the S.S. ‘Cygnet’ approaching Gott Bay pier.
Courtesy of Mrs Ishobel MacDonald
Built as a cargo steamer, the S.S. ‘Cygnet’ was launched from Inglis’ Yard on the Clyde in 1904. She received a boiler and the starboard engine salvaged from the MacBrayne steamship ‘Flowerdale’ which was lost off Lismore earlier that year.
Initially on the Glasgow-Inverary route, the ‘Cygnet’ was modified after World War I to accommodate passengers and transferred to the Oban-Coll-Tiree-Castlebay-Lochboisdale route. She was sold in 1930 and broken up the following year.
Alasdair Sinclair of Brock remembers the ‘Cygnet’ as a dreadful wee boat: ‘There was nowhere at all to sit…You just stood on deck ankle-deep in water and watched your luggage floating about.’
Black and white postcard of the ferry approaching Tiree pier.
The ferry `Cygnet` approaching Tiree in the 1920s. The SS `Cygnet` was launched in 1904, relieved the Outer Isles ferries until the end of WWI, then was based in Oban and conducted the Islands mail services until 1930 when she was sold. (Original postcard in Filing Cabinet 8 drawer 2)
Smack moored in Scarinish harbour with the hotel in the backgound. The smack would bring provisions for the Scarinish shop and was captained by Donald MacLean, who later owned the Mary Stewart.
Photograph of people watching a two-masted schooner at Scarinish harbour around 1965.
Black & white photograph of three people watching a two-masted schooner motor into Scarinish harbour around 1965. Standing in the foreground are (L-R): Dorothy Connor (nee Black), Elizabeth Johnston (`Fanny`), Alasdair Johnston (`Bunchie`).
Colour photograph of the `Saga` sailing in Longhope Bay in 1999.
The `Saga` sailing in Longhope Bay in 1999. The `Saga` is a Looe Redwing, 14 ft. long with a 26 ft. high mast and 147 sq. ft. sail, designed by Uffa Fox and built in 1949 by Billy Clouston. Pupils at Tiree High School were given sailing lessons in her by Donald MacKinnon of Sandaig and Bank Manager William Groat as part of the school outdoor activities.
