Engineering – Matthew McKinnon's Blog

Cruising on the Last Paddle Steamer: A Day to Remember

This month we had an amazing day out aboard the last of the world’s ocean going paddle steamers. We sailed from Largs on the Firth of Clyde to Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, then on from there through the narrow strait known as ‘The Kyles of Bute”, to the beautiful village of Tighnabruaich before sailing on to Tarbert on the Mull of Kintyre. At each of these stops we dropped off passengers and picked up new ones. At Tarbert most passengers disembarked, but we stayed aboard with others to continue cruising down to Skipness Castle. This was a good decision as all afternoon we sat on board enjoying some beautiful views of the Kintyre coast and the Isle of Arran, before returning to pick up and drop off passengers at all our earlier ports of call. It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze, and there was a cafe and restaurant on board, open all day. We departed Largs at 11.30am and returned at 7pm. The last time I was aboard the Waverley was in the ‘eighties’ when with others we organised a charitable sail on behalf of Tearfund. So this trip was well overdue. Here are some photos:

Tighnabruaich is more than halfway to Tarbert, so it was time for a snack lunch on board as we set sail again and headed for Tarbert on Loch Fyne, passing around the southwest end of the Isle of Bute.

On the return journey we had a chance to investigate the ship and to read up on its history. So if you fancy a look in the engine room and at the paddles, here’s you chance. Sorry the pics are not so great of the engine and paddle. 😦

The sun was going down when at 7pm we arrived back in Largs at the end of a lovely day. We were very pleased and thankful that the day had worked out so well. So ‘hats off” to Waverley and their hard working team!

I confess however I was a bit reluctant to book on this cruise as I was thinking, it’s a very old ship, will it be noisy? will it vibrate? will it be ‘steady as you go’? But fears were completely unfounded, it was great!. It’s been interesting too, looking at a list of all the famous ships built on the Clyde that have sailed in my lifetime. Three out of only four shown below were built on the Clyde in my lifetime. The three ‘Queens’ with all their opulance and grandeur are no longer sailing our oceans, but the ‘Queen Mary’ is a hotel at Long Beach, California, and ‘Queen Elizabeth II’ does a similar job at Mina Rashid, in Dubai. The ‘Queen Elizabeth’ however, came to a sad end after catching fire and capsizing in Hong Kong harbour 1972. They all leave us with some fascinating memories.

I have a smile of amusement and irony as I look at the above photos and wonder if the Captain of the Waverley feels the same at times, as he plies his small beloved paddle steamship up and down the Clyde, and around the British Isles, whilst the famous ships of the past have come and gone. I’m not sure how many times the Waverley has been in dry dock, but it’s great to behold the steam engine still pounding away after almost 80 years, and seeing the ship’s well kept appearance!

I’ve also been reflecting, that during the same period from the late 1930’s to present, we have seen such amazing changes in every department of life, changes our parents could never have imagined. The fall of nations and empires, the collapse of engineering and shipbuilding on the Clyde …….. , and the rise of new technologies, in transport, computers, warfare ……. , in medicines, healthcare and surgery, and of course living standards ……. , these lists could go on and on and on.

Yea, there have been some great developments, but it occurs to me that it’s even more wonderful to think of the design and function of my own heart, which over a similar period will have pumped approximaely 3,300,000,000 (3.3 billion) times, and has its own self maintenance system built in, and all designed and formed by an amazing God. In Psalm 139 it says:

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!

In such a changing world it is easy to feel confused, left behind, as if you are losing it in the midst of so much change, and sometimes I wonder, perhaps like you, how to keep sharp and up to date. On the other hand perhaps we just feel overwhelmed by the constant bombardment of our daily news programmes. It’s important to stop and reflect on the Word of God, the Bible whose truth never changes but “liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23) and to know the one of whom it speaks, Jesus the Saviour of all who come to Him in repentance and faith, for “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”Hebrews 13:8 Jesus, the true anchor for our souls!

David says, You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Ps. 32:7

At our Church at present we are doing a new series looking at the book of Proverbs, which is hugely interesting, and enlightening, just go to ‘You Tube’ and type in ‘greenview church glasgow’ and you can pick up the first of these talks.

Until next time DV, may God bless you wherever you are. Your comments are always welcome. Please consider subscribing!

Matthew

Special Anniversaries for two outstanding 0rganizations

What first comes to mind when you think of Africa? As children we probably thought LIONS, and we were told of all kinds of wild animals and exotic creatures that lived there, but especially the lion that we called ”the King of the Jungle’! Never did I ever dream that one day I would live and work there, and see for myself some of these amazing wonders of God’s creation. Here’s a wee selection

But the main reason for my wife and I being in Africa was not to see the wildlife, but to work with Tearfund, a large UK Christian Relief and Development agency, working in city slums and also in remote areas, not only in Africa but around the world.

Working with Tearfund out of Nairobi in Kenya introduced us to many other organisations, and many different people groups, and today I would like to introduce you to one special organisation and one Trust working with a special peoples’ group, if you are not already acquainted with them.

Mission Aviation Fellowship – 80 Years of impact in Africa. MAF is not a new organisation, but still ‘new’ to many who have yet to hear of this charity flying to the world’s remotest communities! I had heard reports about MAF through our Church, but in Africa I got to experience their work at first hand. Not only did we personally fly with them, but my wife was often at the airport with messages, parcels and equipment that needed to be transported to colleagues working in some very remote places, or picking up or dropping off Tearfund passengers. If you are unfamiliar with their work I suggest you check out their website: maf-uk.org. You can also subscribe to their quarterly free magazine, which is always a great read. Here is a selection of some old photos illustrating the variety of their work.

**MAF hanger – Wilson Airport – Nairobi, Kenya**

‘Scottie” a Cessna Caravan – funded by Scottish Supporters – Commissioning at Prestwick Airport 2003

The Rendille – 40 Years transforming lives through literacy and Faith . Back in the early 1980’s the Rendille Language had not yet been put down on paper. The Rendille were nomadic people moving around the desert/wilderness of Northern Kenya with their camels, cattle and goats. Their ‘igloo’ type houses could readily be dismantled and bundled on to their camels as they searched for fresh vegetation and water. But not only an amazing people but an amazing couple. Nick and Lynn Swanepoel arrived from South Africa to live among the people, to decipher their language and to write it down. Then came the literacy classes, and the rest is history as they say! As Tearfund’s Manager for East African affairs it was a privilege to visit this programme over a number of years. Here are some pictures of these early days.

All the above photos were taken a long time ago, but what is happening among the Rendille today? Well the advancement over the last 40 years can only be described as phenomenal, so we give God thanks for all that has been achieved.. The vision of early pioneers to bring literacy to the Rendille, and to translate the Scriptures into their mother tongue has resulted in a well educated people up to secondary school standard, and many now with a `College certificate or a University Degree. Here are a few more highlights:-

The work of the Africal Inland Church has been greatly blessed with countless changed lives, new vision and new life in abundance within the community.
The New Testament in the Rendille language has been printed and distributed with great rejoicing, and work is well under way on other books of the Bible.
The establishment of the Tirrim Trust – www.tirrim.org has brought 5 new schools to the area, providing excellent facilities and a high standard of education as mentioned above. Today there are camps and special weekends for the young people and a bus to transport them around.
New literacy classes still provide reading and writing skills to many adults, new classes are still opening up in isolated areas.
Well drilling and the building of new water tanks continues as necessary

Too many things to tell here, check out the website above for yourself, and be inspired! Here are some recent photographs.

Who would have thought that two young airmen heading off to Africa in an old Wooden Miles Gemini plane in 1945 could lead 80 years on, to the amazing organisation that Mission Aviation Fellowship is today? Now flying 115 light aircraft in 31 different countries of the world, and flying in and out of 1,500 airstrips?

Or who would have dreamed that a young couple heading off to the wilds of northern Kenya to live amongst a nomadic tribe they did not know, whose lanuage they had yet to learn, write down and teach others to read and write, would lead to the amazing transformation amongst the Rendile people which we see today?

Both these stories have one thread in common – both the airmen and Bible translators recognised a need that they themselves could not meet, but they brought that need to God in prayer, and then moved forward in faith trusting the words of Jesus who said ‘Go …. and I will be with you always’ How amazing to see God’s guiding hand in both these stories, and now we stand back in awe and say ‘How great is our God’. Praise God also for the many men and women who have followed in their footsteps as they too have heard the voice of God speak into their hearts.

So what about you and me? Do we have a calling or an issue that we recognise we cannot solve in our own? We’ve tried this and that but nothing seems to work out. Bringing it to Jesus to seek His guidance and help is a well proved and tested approach, which I personally try to live by, – see Proverbs 3:5,6. If not yet a Christian we need to consider our sin problem which separates us from a loving God. The Bible speaks clearly about the impossibility of us solving this for ourselves, but then tells of God’s love in sending Jesus to be our Saviour and friend. Jesus took our sin to the cross, and suffered and died in our place. Now He invites us to come to Him, confess our sin, and invite Him into our lives to be our Lord and Saviour. Still time to come! Yesterday I was reading in the Bible Matthew 9:18-26 another two great stories with a remarkable ending. It tells of people who came to Jesus asking for help, and finishes with eye watering results! Do have a read!

Best wishes from Scotland, thanks for subscribing. Always glad to hear from you.

Matthew

Do you remember when Glasgow and the river Clyde were a major hub for Shipbuilding and Engineering ?

We had arranged for an Autumn weekend visit to our family at Skelmorlie on the Clyde, only to dicover that it was set to co-incide with ‘Storm Babet’ as forecast by the weather experts! We left Glasgow in strong winds, and with a smirr of rain on the windscreen, and a wild cloudy sky. And so we headed for the coast!

Our plan was to visit in the morning the Scottish Maritime Museum at Irvine, a museum we had passed countless times, always with the thought ‘we must visit there sometime’! Despite a massive improvment in the weather, we stuck to our plan, and I’m glad we did. Although a ‘Maritime’ museum, it also covers machines and equipment used generally in the engineering sector, and this brought back many memories of my own career in engineering from the 1950’s to the 1980’s! Let me share some photos with you, first of a couple of vessels which were outside in the yard, an old steam puffer with an exhibition in its hold, and an ancient yacht powered by a steam engine.

The ‘Spartan’ Puffer built 1942 by J Hay and Sons, Kirkintillloch

Inside the spacious museum there is a plethora of information on many other types of vessels from small wooden row boats and yachts, to lifeboats, cargo vessels and navy ships. Here are some of the photos and information that I gleaned.

Along with the advancements in shipbuilding and other industries, came the advancement in general engineering. Soon there were machine tools for ‘everything’ or so it seemed. The museum houses many such machines which are a wonder to behold! Here are just some of them.

Our time unfortunately was limited, but we did manage a look at the variety of anchors on display before heading to the ‘Puffer Tea Room’ for a coffee and snack.

Far too much to share on this blog, but I would recommend a visit if you are in the area, and especially if you have an interest in shipbuilding / engineering and its history, and what made Scottish engineers and their ships and machinery famous throughout the world.

For me personally the visit brought back many memories of the Engineering Companies I’ve worked for, and the vast range of projects in which I have been involved at home and abroad. My engineering days were busy and fulfilling and accounted for more than fifty percent of my fifty years of working life.

Entrance fee for over 60’s was £7.00 and they also had snack facilities in the main museum, with the very nice Puffer Restaurant nearby. You are also just 1/2 mile from the beach where there is a free car park and toilets.

We missed the worst of the storm and in fact had two amazing sunsets during the weekend.

So since this blog has had a maritime flavour set against the background of ‘Storm Babet’, I thought I’d finish by asking a question raised by this old hymn, sung a cappella, which I really like.

It’s good to be safely anchored for life and death in Jesus, there are certainly many storms around these days!

Every blessing Matthew

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