CARRICK

Having been in the 'care' of the Scottish Maritime Museum at Irvine since 1992, the hull of the former Glasgow RNVR clubhouse CARRICK has been sitting on the slip which was originally part of the Ayrshire Dockyard awaiting restoration. However, as her condition has substantially deteriorated with the passage of time, her future appears to be very bleak indeed. She was built as CITY OF ADELAIDE on the River Wear in 1864, and started life carrying passengers and cargo to Australia, returning with wool, wheat and copper. After a variety of other careers, she became the drill ship for the Clyde Division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, based in the Great Harbour. After the Second World War she moved to Glasgow, and was a well known sight for several years as she sat at Custom House Quay. As one of the two last remaining composite ships, the other being CUTTY SARK, she is historically significant, but was threatened in 2007 with demolition. Since then, moves have been made to try to secure a future for the 144-year old ship, with an attempt to remove her to Australia for preservation even under discussion. Regardless, it really does appear that time is running out fast for this historic vessel.