Inveraray Maritime Museum

The two vessels owned by the Maritime Museum at Inveraray were seen on a misty morning on Wednesday. The preserved diesel puffer VITAL SPARK, berthed astern of the Museum's main attraction ARCTIC PENGUIN, has remained at Inveraray since June last year. ARCTIC PENGUIN, a converted Irish Lightvessel originally named PENGUIN, was built in 1910 and is listed in the Register of National Historic Ships. She has an unusual hull construction with iron plating being attached to steel frames, and since leaving Irish waters in the mid-1960s has been resident on the Clyde. The 100-foot long ship lay in some of the Clyde lochs for a number of years, and in 1982 was converted into a schooner. In 1995, she found a new home at Inveraray when she embarked on her current career as a museum.