1972 - 1984 | Mendellsohn

NOTE: Some of this is identical to what is written on Wikipedia, as both were written by the author of this website, stardust5980 (aka celesteshipping5980). 

NOTE TWO: Huge thanks to Kenneth Kennedy and Kerry Kennedy for providing Kenneth's book 'ALL AT SEA' which provides almost all of the information on this page.

Mendellsohn

- The ship first had to be prepared for another long voyage. Alec and Etive came along as crew as always, and Peter, Kenneth's wife's nephew, also joined. With that, they would have a crew of five, which included his sons, Steven and Andrew, who were now old enough to help as crew. They had been instructed to remove the mainmast as the film crew wanted to install a fake funnel in its place. On Saturday, September 22nd, they left for Oban. They had plenty of time to get to their destination so planned to stop somewhere every night. Their first stop was at Kilchatten Bay on the island of Bute. They had dropped anchor by teatime and had the time to go ashore to stay in the local hotel.[1]

The following morning they were off early, heading towards Arran. Soon the Ailsa Craig came into view, then soon rounding the south end of Arran as they passed between it and the island of Pladda. Far to the west, the black mound of Davaar Island marked the entrance of Campbeltown Loch, their next stop. The weather was good and they arrived early, anchoring on the north side of the loch. They planned to round the Mull of Kintyre the morning after which required favourable tide, so they had to leave the anchorage by 4:30 am and went to bed earlier than usual to compensate. Fortunately, they woke up on time and slipped out of the loch, heading for the Mull. It was a flat calm and the sun was beginning to rise.[1]

Unfortunately, they had mixed up their tidal calculations and arrived at the lighthouse to find the current against them. The ship continued to plod forward but her speed was being slowed as the current pushed against her movement. Kenneth kept the ship close to shore to stay out of the strongest current but nothing was working, and they were soon being forced back the way they came. All they could do was wait for the tide to slacken. Eventually, they rounded the corner and were now making good progress towards an island called Gigha, their next stop. They pulled into a small bay in the afternoon for shelter, which was a tight fit for the ship, anchoring in about twelve feet of water. A gale had blown up in the night and was still there the next morning so they made the decision to remain in the bay for another day. Edith wanted to visit the semi-tropical gardens Gigha was famous for and had succeeded in getting all of the ship's company to go with her despite the persistent rain.[1]

They left at first light the morning after and headed north up the Sound of Jura and in a few hours were passing Loch Crinan and could see the entrance of the canal in the distance, something they could not use due to the size of De Wadden. They headed up the Sound of Luing, and the Corryveckan was visible off the ship's port side. It was a notorious whirlpool that was not to be approached with a low-powered vessel.[1]

Suddenly, black smoke issued from the funnel, and before anything could be done the engine stopped dead. Kenneth had noticed the engine was slowing, but it was too late to do anything about it. He ordered Alec and Steven to drop anchor, Edith to the wheel, and the rest of the crew down to the engine room. Once they had made it to the engine room it was clear what had happened. It had seized, confirming Kenneth's worries. The oil reservoir was empty. The pump which returned used oil from the sump had failed which caused the pistons to dry up, causing the rings to stick to the cylinder walls. Kenneth told Andrew and Peter to stick a crowbar into one of the holes in the flywheel to see if they could move the engine, but it was completely stuck. The rest of the crew came back down into the engine room and Kenneth ordered them to unscrew the plugs from all six cylinders before heading out on deck to look at the anchor. The anchor was dragging as the rock on the bottom was smooth. There was no immediate danger but the Corryveckan was getting closer.[1]

Kenneth returned to the engine room where all of the cylinder head plugs were out. Kenneth mixed some engine oil with some diesel and poured a cupful into each one. After giving some time for the mixture to meet the rings, he told the boys to have another go at the flywheel, but it still wouldn't budge. In desperation, he got a second crowbar so four could work at the flywheel, which gave an inch or two and as they heaved on the wheel it budged further and further, and it eventually turned as usual. Kenneth and Alec left Peter and Andrew to turn the flywheel as they put the plugs back in, and upon filling the oil box they were ready to restart. Andrew and Peter went to start the windlass engine to get the anchor ready to be raised but to not raise the anchor until they heard the main engine running. The engine started running normally upon the first attempt, only that now no oil was being returned from the sump to the reservoir. Alec would have to add new oil as required, but what mattered was that they were now pulling away from danger with the anchor clear of the bottom.[1]

The lighthouse at Fladda was now visible and they pushed onwards at top speed, wondering how long the oil supplies would last. After about an hour all of the oil was now in the engine, but they still had twelve miles left. Kenneth kept listening for it to slow down, worried that it would seize again. The funnel smoke was blacker than usual but it was smooth sailing otherwise because the sump being full meant that the big ends were dipping in the oil, remaining lubricated. They headed up the Sound of Kerrera, their next stop in sight. darkness was coming and by the time they reached Oban Bay visibility was low. A wind blew offshore and a row of yachts made it even more difficult to find an anchorage, but they eventually settled in a spot, dropping the anchor with two days to spare, time which would be spent repairing the oil pump.[1]

The oil pump was stripped in the morning and it was found that a link pin had fractured, which Kenneth replaced promptly as the boys recovered excess oil from the sump, meaning everything was operational again. On Saturday the BBC arrived and managed to provide them with a berth at the North Pier. Upon arriving at the pier work quickly started on the ship, her appearance being modified for filming, including the addition of the fake funnel, faux paddle wheels, and sponsons. Peter Woodward, alias Mendellsohn, arrived on Sunday along with the director and was pleased with the work.[1]

On Monday fourteen BBC film crew arrived with lots of equipment, and they were soon underway for Mull. Heading up the Sound of Mull they were making about 8 knots. The cameras were set up and the crew were dressed in period costumes. Lunch was served to the whole party, the conscripted galley staff stretched to their limit. Upon resuming filming, the director was sitting just aft of the forward hatch as the mainsail was out to starboard before the wind. It was frequently changing direction which gave a significant chance that a boom would swing and strike the director as the ship performed a downwind turn (Jibe). He told one of the boys to ask him to move. The sail then fluttered close to the mast, indicating the start of a jibe. Kenneth turned the ship to port and the sail refilled as Kenneth looked up the deck for movement. He couldn't remain on the current course as they were closing towards the shore, so he shouted politely out of the wheelhouse for the director to move, but his request wasn't acknowledged. As the sail made a more determined effort, he had to take drastic action. He shouted out of the window at the top of his lungs for the director to move out of the chair, which got his attention. Seconds after he had moved, the boom swung over. They had avoided a serious accident at the last second. Kenneth ordered all sails to be lowered and after that was done they continued to round the coast of Mull heading for the village of Bunessan where the BBC had booked a hotel.[1]

Darkness fell on the ship as they picked up the lighthouse at the entrance to Loch an Lathaich. They homed in on it and an hour later were anchored off the pier and ferried all of the passengers ashore. Kenneth and the rest of the crew also went ashore for a drink and a meal. At 9 am the next morning the film crew arrived anxious to reach Staffa. Despite the weather being windy and rainy, they set off and arrived at Staffa in around an hour. A small launch took the director on a round trip of the island, but the conditions were not favourable for filming so they returned to Bunessan. About halfway during the journey, the engine started to clank so it was shut down at once. The main oil pump had broken, as the lugs on the driving ring had sheered off. Repairs would take hours.  Kenneth went back on deck and had the sails raised to keep the ship moving, however they were not of much use as the wind was offshore and light. Kenneth called out for help on the recently installed radio. Oban coastguard answered the call and they summoned a small fishing boat to their aid. The small boat that ferried the director also heard the call and came to assist. To his relief, the ship was soon under tow and they made it back to anchorage at 5 pm. They were set to meet with the film crew again at 9 am the next day.[1]

They set out to repair the engine. Two brass lugs had sheared off an eccentric ring which drove all pumps on the engine. Kenneth made two replacement lugs using mild steel, which he would rivet in place. By 3 am the engine was ready and Kenneth started it up, letting it run for an hour to test the repairs. At 4 am they stopped the engine and went to bed. The weather was bad the next morning so the trip was postponed, giving them all the day off. Thursday wasn't much better but they sailed out, filming throughout the day. The director and film crew were not very happy about the weather and said that unless the weather improved on Friday they would have to call the filming off. Luckily, Friday was a cloudless day with no wind at all. The film crew was aboard early and they were at Staffa at 11 am, anchoring off Fingal's Cave. Actors and cameras were ferried ashore and filming began. Alec and Andrew had parts as extras as oarsmen who rowed Mendellsohn ashore. The rest of the crew were able to go ashore to view the magnificent cave. The perfect weather continued throughout the rest of the day, and they were soon back at Bunessan by 6 pm, with the filming contract completed. Edith and Steven took a BBC bus back home, leaving four of the crew to take the ship, with her dodgy engine, home.[1]

They had to remain at Bunessan for another two days and spent the time cleaning the ship and trying to improve the state of the engine. Come Tuesday the conditions were much better and they left, passing between Mull and Iona, heading into a light southerly breeze. They were soon clear and made for the north end of Colonsay, and rounded the island with relative ease, setting a course for the Sound of Islay. A strong swell was rising as they ran south towards the lighthouse at Islay, and after a couple of hours they reached the shelter of the sound but the tide against them was growing stronger as they neared the narrows at Port Askaig. Darkness would fall before they were able to clear the narrows, so they dropped anchor for the night. There was a wrecked trawler nearby so they rowed over to explore before nightfall.[1]

The morning after, as they were lifting the anchor, the shackle came loose just as it broke the surface which sent the anchor right back to the bottom. There was no hope of recovering it so they carried on through the narrows without it. The conditions became worse as they neared McArthur's Head, and they were heading right for a heavy swell from the south. The ship had fallen off to starboard and before Andrew, who was at the wheel, could recover she was broadside to the sea, and was almost immediately hit by three large waves in quick succession. She rolled to the gunwales, shipping water over the port side. A fire extinguisher fell from the wheelhouse wall and went off, spraying Andrew, Peter, and Kenneth with brown foam. Kenneth threw the canister over the side. She rolled another three times before their combined efforts brought her head back to the sea. Charts and papers were badly damaged. Alec then entered from the galley covered in water he had been using to boil some fish. The main boom had fallen off its cradle and was now over the side, half the sail with it. Kenneth took the wheel while the others recovered the sail and secured loose equipment.[1]

Once they rounded the head the sea improved, but far too rough to round the Mull. They stopped in Aros Bay for the night and cleaned up the galley and the wheelhouse. In the morning they tried to head south again but conditions were even worse than the previous day, so they headed for a small inlet on the Islay shore called Port Mor to shelter again. The inlet was tiny, giving the ship only a foot of water below it, and there was no room to let her swing to the anchor so they headed out in the small boat as quickly as possible to secure her stern to a rock. The inlet provided good shelter, so Kenneth thought it good to stay until the weather improved. Supplies were running low so he sent Andrew and Peter off to Port Ellen, which was about ten miles away. Alec and Kenneth managed to turn the ship around at full tide, using the winch and ropes tied to various rocks. Andrew and Peter soon returned with many supplies and invited two women to visit as they were curious about what they were doing. They started on a frantic clean of the ship and just as they finished the visitors arrived. The evening was pleasant, and they invited the crew to visit the hotel they worked at in the morning.[1]

The wind grew stronger overnight and they were woken up by a loud rumbling noise. The anchor chain had run itself out. Kenneth dashed out on deck and managed to stop the chain before the whole thing fell clear of the ship. About 400 feet of chain had run out, leaving them yards from the shore. The next morning they set off for the hotel. They sent Andrew in first to make sure the offer was genuine, and upon confirmation it was, the rest of them went inside and they were made very welcome and had a good breakfast. Upon returning to the ship they saw that the wind was still blowing from the south and there were massive seas outside the inlet, giving them no choice but to wait. They took the anchor chain back in and spent the rest of the day wandering the surrounding hills and beaches. At 7 am the next day they brought in the anchor and set course for Mull. The wind was fresh but had changed direction to northerly which was ideal. Progress was good, even with the constant anxiety of the engine breaking down again. They soon sailed around the Mull and were in Campbeltown Loch by early afternoon.[1]

On the final morning of the journey, they headed up Kilbrannan Sound, passing their old sand-lifting haunts in the Kyles of Bute at 1 pm. They continued forward past Rothesay and Toward, reaching Dunoon just after full tide, able to tie up at the coal pier instantly. Home again.[1]

References

1.  Kennedy, Kenneth M. (1985). All At Sea. Retrieved 2023-12-16.