On Saturday 3rd January 1948 Talisman was rostered for one round trip on the ferry link between Craigendoran on the north shore of the Clyde and Rothesay. On the return leg she left Rothesay at 3.50pm and around 5pm in the pitch dark lost all power on the approach to the little pier at Kilcreggan. Seconds later, and before there had been time to drop the anchor, she ran aground 400yds to the east of the pier on the rocky shore running out towards Portkil Point.
Talisman put out a distress call and the Marchioness of Lorne diverted from her Gourock/Holy Loch service to come to her assistance. Despite the fresh SW wind, ropes were put aboard but on a falling tide Talisman was stuck fast. Her eighty or so passenger were evacuated by motor launch and taken on to Craigendoran. There on the rocky shore Talisman remained overnight.
Kingswear Castle returned to service in 2023 after the first part of a major rebuild which is designed to set her up for the next 25 years running on the River Dart. The Paddle Steamer Kingswear Castle Trust is now fund raising for the second phase of the rebuild. You can read more about the rebuilds and how you can help if you can here.
John Megoran
This article was first published on 3rd January 2021.
