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Clydesdale = 1969 - 1976

11K views 21 replies 14 participants last post by  para handy clyde 
#1 · (Edited)
Clydesdale was ordered by Hadleys from Scotts at Greenock (Yard 707) – launched 07-10-67 at a cost of £1,996,673 with £84,477 profit to the builder. Ownership was shared 32/64 for HSC, 22/64 Houlders and 10/64 Empire Transport. After trading for HSC she was in 1969 time-chartered to Seabridge and re-named CLYDE BRIDGE. With breakup of Seabridge she was allocated back to Houlders in 28-01-77 and re-named Dunster Grange.
 
#2 ·
I sailed on the Dunster Grange left the Tyne the day Maggie Got inWe had a wonderfull world cruise via. Canada,Togoland,Italy,Holland,Brasil,Argentina,Austrailia,Japan,back to Italy and Argentina paid off las palmos 13 months later I was not to keen going to Russia again.I was there with Stag line on the Zinnia 4 weeks in a Leningrad hotel whilst the grain cargo was fumigated
 
#3 · (Edited)
I joined the Clydesdale at Scotts yard in Greenock about 1 week before trials. I was Radio Officer and was actually with International Marine Radio Co. We sailed eventually from the Clyde for Capo Rojo (I think) in the Dominican Republic for Bauxite then to Port Lavaca Texas.
There was real comedy on the sea trials when the anchors were dropped as they both punctured the Bulbous bow which had been added to the design as an afterthought. The damage was repaired with armour plate and on we sailed all apparently well untill on the next trip in the Mississippi river the anchors needed to be dropped in an emergency and once again the bow was punctured despite the amour plate. On the maiden voyage we had to stop for reairs at Cobh as there was a small crack discovered in the crankcase. Fixed within a day if I remember correctly.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I was second R/O on that voyage, having joined in Ghent Belgium and remember all that shot blasting that went on.
Also the Ward Leonard Winches were supposedly fully serviced, but failed spectactularly when attempting to stop the ship on the lines in the first lock and almost demolished the lock gates instead.
Remember the "Ward Leonards" became the Leckie's nemesis on that trip.

As you say we then headed for St John New Brunswick and went through a force 12 which demolished a number of our aerials as well as bringing down the TV aerial.

also the sand blasting of the holds took at least twice as long as was planned for.All in all a very interesting trip.3 weeks at anchor in Liverpool Bay waiting to discharge.
Returning back to Liverpool, we'd not seen the Captain since Canada and it turned out he had contracted liver serosis and was taken off by Liverpool Pilots.

It seems long periods at anchor were the norm as we then spent a series of weeks at different anchorages in the River Plate in Argentina and at one point traveled up to Rosario where we managed to demolish another british vessel's (The George?) gangplank with our wash.
What I do remember is the 1978 World Cup was on in Argentina and watching the games from the Resario stadium on TV whilst getting the live crowd noise from the nearby stadium through the open port holes.

On a more sobering note this was when the Argentinian Junta were at their peak, and at the time I never appreciated the significance of seeing people being held at gun point against the walls as we returned each evening , I guess to join "the disappeared".

Overall I have so many happy memories of the weeks at anchor, the "Barry Lyndon" parties every night - Barry Lyndon being a multireeler film that somehow caught all our imagination and we'd have BL Reel 3 / 5 /1 etc parties to give ourselves something to do.

Also we renovated the Officers' Bar by torching out the bulkhead from the neighbouring cabin, moving the bar into it and then getting "The Office" to send loads of Optics and general bar accessories.
 
#8 ·
Brian, the mention of New Brunswick brings to mind an earlier visit to EC Canada whilst bearing the name Clyde Bridge, this time inbound with sugar from Durban destined for Montreal; she was so delayed on the voyage, that she eventually arrived very late in the season (1971) when ice had begun to form in the river; which was tough for a non ice-class ship. To add insult to injury, she was further delayed due to a St Lawrence River Pilot strike and when she eventually made it towards Montreal it was discovered she was going down by the head and taking on water. She put in to Quebec and severe bottom damage was discovered. Half the cargo was discharged in Quebec (and sent by rail to Montreal) and in lightened mode she was able to proceed to Montreal herself to discharge the balance – by this time it was mid winter (albeit a mild one by Canadian standards) but the local fire brigade were still called upon to pump ballast as the ship’s ballast lines were frozen...She eventually sailed for Baltimore where the bottom damage was repaired, but how the damage was sustained was never conclusively explained, although the whole episode served to keep the lawyers busy for years.
 
#9 ·
I do remember that removing the degausing gear was a fiasco as Hadleys hoped to sell the copper wire for scrap and the monies thus earned would go to defray the cost of its removal however they couldn't get any scrap merchant interested as the cost of recovery of the copper from inside the heavy rubber insulation was too high,also the sand blasting of the holds took at least twice as long as was planned for.All in all a very interesting trip.3 weeks at anchor in Liverpool Bay waiting to discharge.
 
#10 ·
I did one trip on the Clyde Bridge in 1969. Joined at Rottrdam then loaded ore in Narvik for Kobe, back via Norfolk with grain. The engines were fitted with a mechanism designed to stop them if a fault was detected. Unfortunately it decided that very heavy weather was a fault and we spent two days rolling and heaving in mid pacific when we ran into a hurricane outward bound, we caught the tail end on the return journey, it was even worse; being empty. Lived on boiled eggs cooked on a boiler attached to galley wall. And did she vibrate, had to put the fiddles up in port.
Ken
 
#12 ·
Was on Dunster Grange when she was renamed Gulf.......Something in the early 80's she was a right rust bucket then. I remember all the deck crew just sweeping the rust from the decks and painting her over. 82 or 83 was the year. New owner took her over when we paid off. She couldn't of lasted much longer. I was second cook, cook was a lad of 21 always on the dope. Remember head steward had a american car.
 
#14 ·
Clydebridge

Am being overly sentimental on the eve of my dad's birthday so my apologies. As a small toddler I sailed on teh Clydebridge -68-72 off and on and was on the ship when she had problems up the St Lawrence. My dad was Fred Ditty an engineer. Does anyone have any pics? I have some very vague memories including being at Expo 70 in Japan on the Clydebridge. Oh yeah - decorating Chris Olsen's cabin and my fish being frozen cos someone diverted the heating/airconditioning to their tank. Not forgetting Bruno the bear. This ship has given me a life long passin for all things nautical. I hope someone can swell my memories.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Clyde Bridge

Hello J, and welcome on the occasion of your first posting. I never sailed on Clyde Bridge, I am aware that she is a fund of stories and her trip to Montreal (carrying what was then the largest cargo of sugar ever shipped from Durban) to Montreal) was ‘eventful’.. She ran late and ended up arriving in the St Lawrence when it had already begun to freeze over. On her inward passage she showed signs of all not being well and she started to go down by the head, as she had passed over something in the channel (a large stone or maybe a submerged tree trunk) and suffered severe damage to her double bottom. The end result was that she stayed in Montreal through most of the winter of 1972 – so if you were there you would have been rather cold, as she was not really suited to such conditions. I am sorry to hear about your fish. Hopefully others who have sailed on her can add to your memories. In the meantime do enjoy the Site. (Thumb) Mark

ps. I see there is a picture of her on her maiden voyage here and later one of her here in the Mississippi River. There is the earliest one on all posted here when she was fitting out at Scott's yard at Greenock. As far as I know these are the only pictures of her on the Site.
 
#17 ·
Ah.... that is why I could not find them (EEK) - Without being 'picky' and I apologise in any event, she was actually two words... I certainly would agree with any unspoken comment from you that "it hardly looks like it" (Jester) and maybe her Owners were so ashamed to have had her grabbed into that dreadful Seabridge Pool, that they sought to distance themselves from it, and made it look like a single word...(Jester) - but to her and their eternal shame she was Clyde Bridge.
(Thumb)
Mark
 
#19 ·
Joined the Clydebridge in States 1975 as 4th Engr.Ship had huge list when we joined,the sparky had been left looking after the ballasting as deck officers had paid of and left before we got to ship.Sailed for Japan on arrival to Kobe,junior started port air compressor with discharge valve closed,blew the side of compressor air cooler straight out.Next port Bouganville Island for Copper concentrate,then to Red sea.Where we spent many days awaitng new piston water cooler lots of bungs later said cooler appeared on deck.Destination Hamburg,eventful voyage.K Ferns C/E, Sailed on ship under the Name of MV Dunster Grange,short voyage.Joined at Skaw inbound for Riga I think ,left outward bound for South America at Brunsbottle.
 
#21 ·
mv clydesdale

I sailed on the Clydesdale at the same time as Roger wincer who has posted.I too joined the ship at Greenock on her trials.The Chief steward , second cook and baker,and myself had just left the Hardwick grange of houlders which had been laid up due to a foot and mouth disease in Britain.We all joined the Clydesdale.
I remember the trip well.We lost most of our frozen meat midway to caber ojo as the fans did not distribute the air properly and the meat thawed out.The collision in the missisipi,The Bulbous Bow Fiasco.
I was catering boy.I paid of in Rotterdam when she went in for repairs.
What a maiden voyage that was.Not for the fainthearted.
 
#22 ·
MV Clydesdale

A memory of my time on the Clydesdales trip to Texas was a trip we took to the town of Point Comfort.We ended up in a Tavern full of cowboys(no Kidding)fully booted and spurred. there was a pool table where we lost a fortune but had a great time .On the way back to the ship we ran over a rattle snake.The driver said if it was skinned and pinned out it would make a good belt.It was covered in salt for about 6weeks
and I have never laughed so much when after this time the pins were removed and it shrivelled up to about an inch long.
As I recall,it was a good bunch of Officers and crew.
Funny how you always remember the good times and not the bad.
Plenty of those voyages over the years.
Thankfully the good ones outdid the bad.
 
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