Top CalMac Master heads 2017-18 CRSC line-up


Captain Lewis Mackenzie, one of CalMac’s most versatile and respected Masters, is to address CRSC during the forthcoming winter session of meetings at Jurys Inn, Glasgow.

Captain Lewis Mackenzie on the bridge of Loch Seaforth

Captain Mackenzie spearheads what promises to be a mouth-watering series of talks reflecting CRSC’s wide-ranging interests.

In 2015 Captain Mackenzie delivered the Stornoway ferry Loch Seaforth from her builders in Germany and is one of two CalMac Masters designated to introduce the new ‘dual fuel’ Uig triangle ferry now under construction at Ferguson Marine in Port Glasgow.

His CRSC talk, titled ‘A View from the Bridge’ (February 14), is expected to touch on the challenges of operating ‘dual fuel’ vessels, still a novelty in Scotland but increasingly familiar in parts of continental Europe. He is also likely to consider the performance of Loch Seaforth, the relationship between ferry operation and weather forecasting, and his varied experiences as a CalMac skipper.

Captain Mackenzie began his career as a deck officer cadet on deep-sea ships and joined CalMac in 1995 as Second Officer of Hebridean Isles. His first Captain’s job was as relief skipper of Lord of the Isles in 2004. He became a permanent Master in 2006 (LOTI), and has since commanded all the major CalMac units in the Western Isles, most recently Isle of Lewis. He is expected to bring the yet-to-be-named Uig ferry into service in the second half of 2018.

Other well-known speakers in the 2017-18 winter session include Colin Tucker on ‘MacBraynes in the 1960s’ (October 11) and Paul Semple, who has chosen ‘From Waverley to Schiller’ as the subject of his illustrated talk (March 14). The past and future of Maid of the Loch will be considered by Robert Cleary and John Beveridge — Robert having been closely associated with the Loch Lomond paddler in her CalMac years, and John being the driving force behind the ongoing campaign to return her to service (January 10).

Eric Schofield will give the second instalment of his ‘Passage to Arran’ talk, this time focusing on the CalMac era and the final years of Glen Sannox (November 8) — a follow-up to his acclaimed address to the Club earlier this year on Arran services in the CSP years, illustrated by a wonderful array of his own colour photographs.

The popular ‘Members Night’ returns, hosted by Roy Paterson (December 13). The AGM next April will be followed by a short illustrated talk in which John Newth will explain what is involved in compiling and producing the annual Review of Scottish shipping, one of CRSC’s most sought-after publications.

All meetings begin at 7.30pm and take place on the second Wednesday of the month, except the AGM, which is on the third Wednesday of April. Non-members are welcome, but to enjoy the full benefits of CRSC membership please click here.

DATES FOR THE DIARY

11 October 2017   Colin Tucker: ‘MacBraynes in the 1960s — A Decade of Change’

8 November 2017   Eric Schofield: ‘Passage to Arran in the CalMac Era’

13 December 2017   Members’ Night hosted by Roy Paterson

10 January 2018   Robert Cleary and John Beveridge: ‘P.S. Maid of the Loch — OAP’

14 February 2018   Captain Lewis Mackenzie: ‘A View from the Bridge’

14 March 2018   Paul Semple: ‘From Waverley to Schiller’

18 April 2018   AGM, followed by John Newth: ‘The Review — its compilation and production’

Please note: CRSC reserves the right to change the titles and order of the above-named talks.

Arran of yesteryear: one of Eric Schofield’s many fine Brodick photo-portraits shows the 1957 Glen Sannox in CalMac livery

Past — and future? Maid of the Loch at Tarbet in the late 1960s. Copyright CRSC Roy Hamilton Collection

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