Clyde Puffer MV Spartan

Today my brother and I had tasty lunch at the Irvine Arts Centre, located on the harbourside. 400 years ago Irvine's harbour was one of the most important ports in Scotland but all commerce has gone. However, its heritage is preserved in the Harbour Museum and its floating vessels moored at pontoons.

This blip is the prow of the puffer MV Spartan, built in 1942 and typical of the diesel-engined puffers found throughout much of the remote western isles of Scotland until the 1960s. Their flat bottoms allowed them to beach and unload their cargoes at low tide, essential to supply settlements without piers. Typical cargoes could include coal and furniture, with farm produce and gravel sometimes being brought back.

The 'Jolly Roger' flying is a bit of fun and these were never pirate ships, although trying to smuggle the odd cask of whisky past the exciseman was not unknown, I'm sure!