The twin-screw motor vessel Win was built on the Thames by Messrs A. W. Robertson & Co. in 1905. She was just 65 feet long and 14 feet in the beam, 43 tons, and was powered by two 4-cylinder paraffin motors. In 1907, Messrs MacBrayne acquired the little craft and renamed her Comet. For the next ten years she was employed on Loch Leven and the Caledonian Canal.

In 1917, Comet was transferred to the Clyde and became the Lochgoil Mail Steamer sailing from Greenock and Gourock to Lochgoilhead. The route by road to Lochgoilhead was difficult and the direct sailing was viewed as an essential lifeline for the villagers, especially over the winter months.

Comet at Gourock (Robertson)

Glasgow Corporation received the Ardgoil Estate as a gift from Mr A. Cameron Corbett in 1906. During the summers, Lochgoilhead was a popular destination for steamers that allowed the good folk of Glasgow access to the surrounding mountains. In the early 1920s, the Iona was employed in the summer route to the Lochgoil piers and Arrochar. However, the stalwart Comet provided the mail service year-round.

Iona at Douglas Pier on Lochgoil in 1923 (Valentine)

Iona at Lochgoilhead in 1923 (Valentine)

In 1928, Comet was re-engined with two Gardiner 8-cylinder diesel engines that boosted her horse-power considerably. Although she was ungainly, she was a popular vessel, especially after her power-plant was changed.

Comet off Greenock on June 29, 1929

Comet at Lochgoilhead

Comet had one serious accident, in dense fog in 1936, when she collided with the Talisman.

“Collision—A collision between two well-known Clyde vessels, in which nine people were injured, and the grounding of another steamer at another part of the Firth were caused yesterday morning by one of the most dense fogs ever experienced in the Clyde in the month of August. The collision occurred at the mouth of Loch Long, the vessels involved being Messrs MacBrayne’s small motor ship Comet (34 tons) and the London and North Eastern Railway Company’s Diesel-engined paddle vessel Talisman (544 tons). At the time of the accident the Talisman was on the morning run from Craigendoran to Kilcreggan, Dunoon, and Rothesay and the Comet was on the way from Lochgoilhead to Gourock and Greenock.

“Visibility was restricted to a few yards, and the two vessels crashed together before one could see the other. The bows of the Comet struck the forward part of the starboard paddle wing of the Talisman with so great a force that the stem was buckled and smashed. A portion of the cabin was damaged, and the mast snapped and came down with a crash. The damage sustained by the Talisman was not so extensive as that to the smaller vessel.

“Passengers thrown down like ninepins.—The force of the impact threw all the passengers on the little Comet down like ninepins, many of them coming into violent contact with the deck or other structures of the vessel. Eight of the passengers were injured. Donald M‘Donald, the engineer of the Comet, who was attending t the engines at the time, was thrown off his feet and was cut on the face. The injured were:—

“Major Gerald Joliffe (56), 33 Hyde Park Gate, London—leg injuries.

“John Joliffe (13), his son—compound fracture of the leg and other injuries.

“Daphne Joliffe, his young daughter—shock.

“Helen Shearer, Battery Point, Lochgoilhead—concussion.

“Mrs Fish, Mayfield, Lochgoilhead—injuries to foot ad back of head.

“Mrs Kelly (56), Pierhead, Lochgoilhead—shock.

“Margaret Bennett (21), carrick Castle—injury to finger and shock.

“Helen Thursbay (34), 19 Battlefield Gardens, Langside, Glasgow—shoulder injury and shock.

“Donald M‘Donald, Greenock, engineer on the Comet—injuries to face.

“Ambulances meet vessels.—The Talisman stood by the Comet and then towed her into Gourock Pier. Ambulances were rushed to the pier to meet the two vessels. On their arrival some of the passengers were carried on stretchers from the Comet to the ambulances and conveyed to Greenock Royal Infirmary. A taxicab was also pressed into service. On inquiry later in the day at the infirmary it was learned that six of the injured were able to leave the institution after receiving treatment. Miss Shearer and engineer M‘Donald were detaied, and the boy Joliffe, who suffered the most serious injuries, was taken to Larkfield Hospital, Greenock, where his father has engaged a private ward for him.

“Passengers stories—“Loomed out of fog”—Major Joliffe tols a Glasgow Herald reporter that he was spending a holiday at Lochgoilhead. He joined the Comet to go to Gourock en route for Castle Forbes for some days’ shooting. His son and daughter were accompanying him as far as Gourock, and they intended to return to Lochgoilhead on the Comet later in the day. “So dense was the haze on the firth,” he continued, “that we could see nothing. Suddenly the Talisman loomed out of the fog, and before we could realize what was happening the two vessels crashed together. Part of the Comet’s woodwork fell about me, and along with all the other passengers I was thrown on the deck, sustaining injuries to my leg. My immediate concern was for the safety of my son, who was up at the bows of the Comet, and I found that he had suffered the worst effects of the impact. When I saw him he was bleeding very badly from a lacerated wound on the leg. He also had a compound fracture of the limb. A deck hand rushed forward to attend to the boy and a tourniquet was applied to stop the bleeding. The crew also rendered first-aid to the other injured.”

“Coolness on board—A tribute was paid by Major Joliffe to the conduct of the passengers in the alarming mishap. They behaved, he said, with commendable coolness although they were badly shaken and thrown off their feet, and it was quickly realized that there was no danger of the Comet sinking as she had not been holed. The Talisman did not appear to be much damaged, and she took the Comet in tow to Gourock Pier.

“ “I was on my way to Glasgow on business,” said Mrs Fish, a passenger on the Comet. “Shortly after the Comet set out for Gourock I took a seat near the stern. I was dozing when suddenly there was a terrific bump and I found myself lying in the scuppers with a coal-box on one of my legs. When I was thrown down I suffered a severe blow on the back of my head. The whole thing happened so quickly that I do not suppose anyone saw the Talisman until the two vessels collided.”

“Captain’s account—Captain John Graham, 16 Elderpark Street, Govan, the skipper of the Comet, said that the fog was as thick as he had ever known it in that part of the firth. Sirens were sounding, but they could not place the direction from which the sounds were coming. We were almost up against the Talisman,” he added,” before we could see her, and by that time nothing could be done to prevent a collision. All the passengers were on deck at the time, and they remained very calm despite the alarming nature of the mishap.”

“A passenger on board the Talisman said. “When the collision occurred I rushed to the rails, and saw the Comet almost underneath the paddles. The Comet then swung round and seemed to disappear. For the moment I thought she had sunk, but I was relieved and thankful when she again came into view. She seemed to have a bad list, and her bows were badly crumpled up. The crew of the Talisman soon had a tow rope out to the little vessel, which we took in tow to Gourock.”

“It is expect that the Comet will be out of commission for a fortnight while repairs are effected, and in the meantime the Greenock, Gourock, and Lochgoilhead service will be maintained by one of the motor launches of Mr A Dunlop Munro, Princes Pier, Greenock. When the Talisman came into Gourock the passengers were transferred to another steamer, which conveyed them to Dunoon and Rothesay, The Talisman giving up her run and returning to Craigendoran. Later she proceeded up the river to Messrs Inglis’s yard at Pointhouse.”—Glasgow Herald, August 28, 1936.

   

Two views of the bow-damage to Comet from contemporary newspapers

The damage to Talisman

Repaired, Comet continued the mail service to Lochgoilhead for a further ten years and was withdrawn on October 1, 1946.

Last call at Lochgoilhead

Messrs MacBrayne substituted a motor coach running from the railway at Arrochar and Tarbet station to Lochgoilhead and Carrick Castle. Complaints over the winter led to the introduction of the steamer Robina but the reprieve was short-lived and the mail boat was discontinued after a year.

Robina on Loch Goil

Robina July 1, 1947 approaching Lochgoilhead

Comet was sold in May, 1947, for service in England.

C.L.D. Duckworth and G. E. Langmuir, West Highland Steamers, Brown, Son & Ferguson, Glasgow, 1987.

I. Smart, R. Phillips, T. Phillips, Loch Goil (looking back), Lochgoil Publishing, Lochgoilhead, 2006.