 TheMaid of Argyll, seen from anotherMaid atGourock pier | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name |
|
| Operator | Caledonian Steam Packet Company |
| Port of registry | Glasgow,United Kingdom |
| Route | Gourock –Holy Loch service |
| Builder |
|
| Cost | £145,000[1] |
| Yard number | 1491 |
| Launched |
|
| In service | 25 May 1953 |
| Out of service | 12 September 1973 |
| Identification | IMO number: 5217490[2] |
| Fate | Sold to Greece; destroyed by fire |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 508 GT |
| Length | 161.25 ft (49.15 m) |
| Beam | 28 ft (8.5 m) |
| Draft | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Installed power | 2 × oil2SCSA 6 cylinder 9 7/8" × 16 ½" |
| Propulsion | twin screws |
| Speed | 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Capacity | 627 passengers |
MVMaid of Argyll was a passenger ferry operated byCaledonian Steam Packet Company, initially based atCraigendoran. Rendered redundant by the car ferry revolution, she was sold to Greek owners in 1975. She caught fire in 1997 and was left to decay.
Maid of Argyll was the second of a quartet of passenger vessels ordered in 1951 to modernise the Clyde fleet. Built byA & J Inglis ofGlasgow, it was launched on 4 March 1953.[1][3]
She was the only ship of the quartet to survive unaltered into theCaledonian MacBrayne era with the new livery.[1] This only lasted one season and she made her last Clyde sailing on 12 September 1973. After a lay-up through the winter, she was sold to Cycladic Cruises ofPiraeus on 1 March 1974. AsCity of Piraeus, she sailed from Flisvos marina on day cruises to theSaronic Islands,Aegina,Poros andHydra. Her landing platform was extended to make a little upper deck and by 1978, it ran almost to the stern, serving as a sun deck. She was relievingCity of Hydra, the former MacBrayne'sClaymore. About 1989, she moved toCorfu, sailing for Aronis Coastal Cruises. AsCity of Corfu, she ran excursions to the island ofPaxos, and the port ofParga on the Greek mainland. In 1997,City of Corfu suffered a serious fire and did not sail again. In 2002, she was partially submerged and decomposing at her berth.[2]
Maid of Argyll had a forward observation lounge and an aft tearoom, both with large windows. A lower deck lounge was later converted to a bar. Open deck space available for passengers was limited. The bridge was forward on the promenade deck, with a landing platform above, for use at very low tides. She had two masts and a single funnel, above the central engines, with the galley aft.[1]
Maid of Argyll was initially based atCraigendoran, with runs toGourock,Dunoon,Innellan andRothesay. On Saturdays, she took theLochgoilhead/Arrochar leg of the "Three Lochs Tour", releasingPS Waverley to carry larger numbers of passengers to Dunoon and Rothesay.[1] In the late 1950s, the Maids lost their fixed routes and all operated across the Clyde network.
From February to May 1970,Maid of Argyll was theKyles of Bute/TarbertRoyal Mail ship. She acquired the locked mail-room partitions and parcel/luggage shelter first fitted on her sister,Maid of Skelmorlie on the same duty, which CSP had assumed from David MacBrayne Ltd the previous October.[1]