The Flying Dutchman

After a last visit to our photographic exhibition, which ends this afternoon, I wandered along to the North Pier where I could see the masts of a sailing ship soaring about the buildings.

They turned out to belong to the rather unfortunately named 'Flying Dutchman', an Amsterdam registered schooner which had arrived in Oban earlier this afternoon. Built in 1903, this 120 tonne vessel was renovated in 2004 and can sleep 26 guests.

As I was looking at her I noticed another, smaller boat coming in under power, which proved to be the cutter 'Steady', another Dutch ship, registered in Hoorn but built in Gdansk, Poland under the name of 'Johanna Hendrika' and restored and renamed in 2005. I thought that renaming ships was supposed to bring bad luck! She can accommodate 8 guests and had just sailed from Tobermory. I'm not sure if they were together or not, but I imagine they must have been. You can just see her under the bowsprit of the 'Flying Dutchman'.