MV Balmoral

Built in 1949, MV Balmoral is now a heritage pleasure steamer but was originally used as a car ferry operating between Southampton and the Isle of Wight.

Once owned by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, who also own the paddle steamer Waverley, Balmoral is now operated by White Funnel Ltd, mostley around the coast of Wales and the south of England.

Having come up to the Clyde for September Weekend and Millport Illuminations, I managed to get some  pictures as she dropped off some of her passengers before returning to Glasgow overnight.

The latest reports are that Saturday and Sunday's sailings have been cancelled due to high winds forecast.

P1 Powerboat racing

The Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea has arrived at Greenock.

A crowd of over 20 thousand spectators lined the Esplanade to watch the spectacle as powerboats and jetskis provided the day's entertainment and enjoy the warm sunshine. Many more watched from small craft anchored in the river.

Having other places to go, I only stayed for one P1 race but enjoyed the competition.

I hope this event becomes a part of the regular Powerboat calendar.

Disney Magic

All the Disney magic couldn't make Greenock warm and sunny for the cruise liner's first visit to the Clyde.

The Esplanade however, was packed to a capacity usually reserved for the Cunarders when she was due to depart.

As she left around 6pm there was a row of people along the full length of the Esplanade, with many children among them, waiting for the expected musical departure.

Slowly backing away from the berth she played the familiar opening notes of the Disney anthem "When You Wish Upon A Star" as she backs up to No 1 buoy to start canting.

The cold and dampness were forgotten for a short time as Disney Magic sailed away from the Clyde to a second and third blast of her musical horns.

MSC Splendida

Took a trip down to the Esplanade for the first of this year's big cruise liners.

MSC Splendida had arrived earlier this morning from Kirkwall on her trip round the British Isles.

She departed just after 7:30pm bound for Dublin on the next part of her journey.

Late Night Photographs

As a mark of respect for the victims of the attacks in Paris, buildings throughout Britain have been lit up in the colours of the French national flag.

Unsure of how long this would last, we took a near midnight trip, firstly to Clydebank and then to Glasgow.

The rain tried its hardest to spoil our photographs but our spirits were not dampened by the weather.

Clydebank's titan crane

SSE Hydro

After returning to Greenock we waited at the waterfront for the demolition of Hawick Court, the last of seven high flats in Greenock.

This was expected to take place around 2am, however we spent a further 2 hours eagerly waiting the warning siren to tell us that the blowdown was imminent.

All this time mother nature continued to pour down on us making our wait a rather unpleasant affair.

To avoid getting the camera gear soaked we sat in the car and shot hand held, resting the camera on the open window of the car.

Inverclyde Council Fireworks Display

My first visit to the Council's fireworks display in a few years and it didn't feel like a typical November night.

The weather felt decidedly warmer, drier and calmer than many past displays I have been to.

Using the recent James Bond film, Spectre, as a theme for the show, there were a large proportion of white fireworks in the display.

Overall, I was pleased with the event.

A tale of two boats

I have been slipping slightly with updating my blog recently. That doesn't mean that I have not been taking any photographs recently.

PS Waverley has recently started her summer season on the Clyde. I took some photos of her a couple of weeks ago passing Port Glasgow lighthouse. She is the world's last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer and is well loved wherever she goes.

A world apart from the varnished timbers of the paddle steamer is the luxury superyacht Eclipse. Delivered to Roman Abramovich in 2010, she is the worlds second largest private yacht.

She anchored off Greenock on Tuesday morning and remained there overnight before sailing to Rothesay Bay the next day.

I took these pictures from the Esplanade shortly before midnight.