Paddle Steamers

A visitor to Arransia transported from our world would not be all that surprised to see an elegant paddle steamer called the Countess of Stackpole operating excursions from the piers of Marchwood, Bucklow and Byrness and occasionally venturing as far south as the Tri-Cities and St Cuthbert. She immediately brings to mind the preserved Scottish paddler Waverley, but the Countess is half as big again and, while obviously in a generally Edwardian style, with two tall, raked funnels, almost seems too good to be true. And, of course, she is, as a look at the brass builder’s plate below the bridge will show:

She is the largest paddle steamer still operational in the world, and also the fastest, with a maximum speed on trials of just over 20 knots. The sight of her making a fast getaway from Sandscale Pier is certainly something to remember.

Although paddle steamers are less efficient than their screw counterparts, they offer far greater manoeuvrability, which is very important for passenger ships making brief calls at a variety of quays and piers. The mail packet service between Arransia and Mayenne was operated by paddle steamers until the 1900s, and they remained popular for excursion sailings in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly in the North of the country, but also in the South. There are plenty of pictures of Fleetby Pier with several paddlers in attendance. Obviously from Fleetby, the main attraction was the cliff scenery of Broxa Head, but they would often do the “circuit of the island” around Verne involving opening the lift bridge. Needless to say it can be somewhat galling for motorists broiling in a queue to see an excursion steamer go through the bridge with its rails lined by waving holidaymakers. This of course is something you can still experience in 2009.

Their shallow draught and lack of encumbrance at the stern makes paddlers ideal minelayers, and every single one of those in operation in the North of the country in 1942 was lost during the war in this service. Shipping operations were wound down earlier in the South, and this ensured the preservation of the Queen of the Barrow, which had entered service in 1938. This ship eschewed the traditional profile in favour of a curvy Art Deco style, which made her very distinctive and modern-looking. She also had some particularly lavish interior decoration. Laid up at Ormsby from 1945 to 1949, she resumed her career after the war, proving extremely popular in the 1950s and very often loaded to capacity. The 1960s saw the volume of holiday trade drop off, and she ended up being often used on party cruises out of Chelsea, at which some Arransians looked down their noses, but which paid the bills. In the 1980s there was a renewed appreciation of her “heritage” qualities which led to increased loadings, although she would generally be laid up between the end of October and Easter.

She was always impeccably maintained, but in the mid-1990s she began to suffer a series of mechanical breakdowns, not entirely surprising for a ship over 50 years old. For a while it seemed that the days of the Marchwood paddle steamers were coming to a close, but given that the Queen continued to comfortably cover her routine operating expenses, a consortium of businessmen and local authorities got together to fund a replacement, which became the Countess of Stackpole – the title, once you thought about it, of Patrick Scullion’s widow Mary (1903-2001). She was too frail to be able to launch the ship, but was able to have a brief sail on her in 1999. The Queen made her farewell cruise in September 1998 and is now permanently moored at Ormsby as a combination of floating bar and museum ship.

While the Countess superficially adopts the style of the 1900s, she has every modern navigational and safety aid and indeed (on the quiet) has diesel-powered bow thrusters to increase her manoeuvrability. Nevertheless, her main machinery is a pair of oil-fired horizontal triple expansion engines which can be seen through a glass viewing panel. The old cliché of “running like a sewing machine” obviously comes to mind. Most of the public areas are decorated in a retro style, but the large lower-deck lounge at the rear is much more contemporary reflecting the needs of the “party trade”. Many Brunswickians still adhere to the idea that “the Arransians know how to have a good time” and probably the single most lucrative source of revenue is operating privately-booked cruises from Chelsea outside territorial waters. Indeed, in the late 2000s it has become very popular to hold wedding receptions on the Countess and the available dates are currently booked two years in advance.

Apart from this, she operates a regular programme of excursions from the main tourist centres along the South-Eastern coast from Southerby to Portrouth. She has sailed to St Cuthbert and on one occasion to La Hogue in Mayenne. She does not, however, have any overnight sleeping accommodation. In 2001 she was used as the inspection vessel for the official party at the Naval Review at Beadnell to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Ugglesby Head. She typically flies the flag of Marchwood – a bear on a green background – under the Arransian ensign. Ormsby is her port of registration.

She has rapidly come to be seen as a treasured part of the Marchwood scene, and indeed a photo of her sailing up the blue waters of the Barrow estuary with the green wooded hills in the background is regarded as an archetypal vision of the county. Needless to say, she is solidly built and lovingly maintained, and confidently expected to have a service life of at least 50 years. She operates some cruises over the Christmas and New Year period, but apart from this is usually laid up at Lawrenny during the winter months. The operating company obviously play up to the desired image, so her master has a full set of nautical whiskers and is accompanied by a big ginger-and-white ship’s cat. To the relief of many Brunswickians, no off-season whalers are employed in the crew.

In the early 1950s, two new paddle steamers were built for service in the North of Arransia, to partially replace those lost in the war. These were explicitly designated as naval auxiliaries and attracted a considerable government subsidy. Named Maid of Broxa and Freya, they are considerably smaller than the Countess and have the typical rather austere appearance of Arransian ships of the immediate postwar period, although many perceive a kind of stylish minimalism, which is very evident in the classic liner Queen of the West which dates from that era. Although they are not sister ships, and were built by different yards, each only has a single funnel and they are good for a maximum speed of about 17 knots. They were, like the Queen of the Barrow, extremely popular during the 1950s, and in 1957 a third vessel was seriously contemplated although not in the end ordered.

From the 1970s onwards their operational programme became much more restricted than the Queen of the Barrow, typically only sailing during school holiday times, which has helped ensure their longevity. In the late 2000s it was clear they were becoming seriously long in the tooth, and a consortium was put together to build a single replacement, the Dunskey Castle, which is being built at Furniss Brothers and is expected to enter service in May 2010. This will have many similarities to the Countess but will be about 30 feet shorter and have a maximum speed of only 18 knots. (In fact, the Countess would be too big to call at some of the smaller piers in the North) Ironically, this will have more of a 1930s rather than 1900s style, and will only have one funnel. Potentially there is still the business for two ships – although there is no party trade from Brunswick – and the Freya, which is the stronger of the two veterans, is likely to be kept in service for another couple of years while the demand is assessed. The Freya may then pass to a preservation society rather than becoming a static exhibit.

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