​We heard from Scotland that the September timeframe for a heavy lift ship to pick up Falls of Clyde for transit to Scotland has been delayed. The company has a commercial job that precluded being able to come to Hawaii. There are ongoing discussions to find another window.
We have just moved some of the ship’s property that will go with the ship from the pier onto the deck. Heavy work but we managed it well.
 

​We continue to plan for the various activities we need to complete in preparation for turning ownership of Falls of Clyde over to the Scots for her return home to Scotland and restoration. We are awaiting a date certain for the heavy lift ship pickup in order to finalize our work.
September is the month that Foodland runs its “Give Aloha” program. Friends of Falls of Clyde  is one of the many nonprofit organizations to which shoppers at Foodland during the month of September can make a tax deductible donation while shopping at one of their stores. We encourage supporters of Falls of Clyde to shop at Foodland and include a donation to Friends of Falls of Clyde. Our organization number for a donation is 78512. Donations will go towards the costs of our preparation for the move to Scotland. 

​We continue to prepare for the eventual move of Falls of Clyde to Scotland. The Scots are working finding a place for the ship, gathering resources for her restoration, and hiring the services of a heavy lift ship to transport Falls of Clyde to Scotland. Friends of Falls of Clyde have secured tug services, ship agency services, and have a plan for removing ballast in anticipation of the move. We will also be preparing the ship for the move. We will be coordinating the communication between the parties to the project so that a final plan for the movement will be made to review by the Coast Guard and Harbors Division.
Robert Carter, an Australian marine artist and supporter, has donated three paintings that he has made of Falls of Clyde. These paintings are available to anyone who will make a donation of $300 or more. Here is a picture of the painting that we hope will be added to some art collections. It is ready for framing.

These past two week have been very positive for Friends of Falls of Clyde. First, we had a meeting with representatives of the Harbors Division, who discussed with us what they learned in dealing with projects requiring bringing large vessels in and out of the harbors. They advised us on what we will face in terms of providing information to the Coast Guard when bringing in the heavy lift ship to pick up Falls of Clyde to take her back to Scotland. As what we are calling the Scottish Plan comes to fruition, Harbors will take the ship out of impoundment when ownership is transferred to the Scots. Right now that time frame is September. Friends of Falls of Clyde is preparing the tug service and shipping agent service to be ready when the heavy lift ship arrives to pick up Falls of Clyde. We are thankful to the Harbors Division staff for their help.
We also had the opportunity to meet with Captain Jonathan Boulware, the Executive Director of the South Street Seaport Museum in New York City. He took a tour of Falls of Clyde and was very impressed by her condition after almost 139 years. He is a supporter of our plan to return the ship to Scotland. His organization is returning the ship Peking to Germany. He also reminded us that his ship Wavertree is the last remaining iron hull, three-masted ship, which is a partner to our historic four-masted, iron hull ship. A very important connection.
We also had two very positive TV spots. The first was on Hawaii News Now and included interviews with both David O’Neill of Old Gorbals Heritage in Scotland and Bruce McEwan of Friends of Falls of Clyde. The second was on KITV, where Bruce McEwan highlighted the importance of Falls of Clyde in the international maritime community even though she is not as respected for her historic importance here in Hawaii.

President Bruce McEwan had an excellent meeting with David O’Neill in Glasgow, Scotland and heard firsthand the progress that has been made and continues to come together. The work that has gone into this project is amazing and is bearing fruit. Hopefully the final pieces will come together shortly so that the Harbors Division will accept that Falls of Clyde will be returning to Scotland in 2017.
Locally, we continue to plan for the deballasting that will need to be done and to plan for the various activities we will need to conduct in order to prepare the ship for transport to Scotland. We continue to seek donations to help offset costs associated with the preparation and to gather funds that will support the Scots.

The Harbors Division has set up a liaison with David O’Neill, who is the lead in the Scottish project to return Falls of Clyde to Scotland. They have requested details of the plan that is being developed to return the ship to her place of origin. FFOC President Bruce McEwan will be meeting with David O’Neill in Glasgow in early June to discuss progress.

Members of FFOC’s board met with representatives of the Harbors Division, Coast Guard, and Clean Islands Council to discuss FFOC’s plan to remove 50,000 gallons of ballast water from the ship. Prior to moving the ship, the ballast water will need to be removed so we are experimenting with the system that has been set up to make sure removal will go smoothly.

FFOC has received some publicity with an article in the U.S. national magazine The Highlander, which is directed to people of Scottish heritage in the U.S. There are thousands of subscribers, so it is hoped we will generate some interest

Friends of Falls of Clyde started an Indiegogo campaign on April 15, which will run for 60 days. We ask everyone who is following us to make a donation and use your networks to get others to support this campaign. Our goal now is to raise funds to help prepare the Falls of Clyde to return to where she was built in Scotland. The message is clear from the State of Hawaii that there is no longer support from the DOT-Harbors Division. The most viable plan to save the ship is to get her back to Scotland. If we can show that we have the support on our side, it will bolster the Scots to make their side work. We have also directed the Harbors Division to have their liaison contact and work with David O’Neill in Scotland, since he has not yet been communicated with by anyone.
We are also working on a plan to offload some ballast water. Ultimately we will need to lighten the ship before she is moved so we want to test a process we have put in place.

There is now confirmation that the Governor did respond the Scottish Minister of Parliament Allison Thewliss. In the letter, which came from Mike McCartney, Governor Ige’s Chief of Staff, there is an acknowledgement of the Falls of Clyde’s long history in Hawaii, however, there is a belief that there are not enough resources to restore the ship in Hawaii. They indicate a willingness to open a discussion with the Old Gorbals Heritage Trust, headed by David O’Neill. The State wants details about the plan to return the ship to Scotland.  Through MP Thewliss’s office, the Department of Transportation will set up a communication with O’Neill. The Scots are accepting the letter as positive. According to McCartney, “the state’s interest is to remove the vessel, not to sink it. However, time is of the essence and removal must occur soon.” Our hope is that they will also be reasonable with the timing as there are many moving pieces that must come together before the ship can be moved.

We were able to conduct our monthly maintenance check of the vessel and also our quarterly pump test. We took the opportunity to move ballast water and get the ship back in trim. All is well.
What is a bit disturbing is that the Harbors Division has been approached by a couple of parties interested in buying the ship. They have not entered into any dialog with the parties, but we are checking with legal sources to determine our rights as owner under the circumstances.
We have been told that the Governor has responded to the Scottish Minister of Parliament and that the response is positive with regard to support for returning Falls of Clyde to Scotland. We will ask for a copy of the letter for our records.
At the suggestion of our Scottish partner, David O’Neill, we took a picture aboard the ship waving the Scottish national flag, the Saltire. The photo was put on both Twitter and Instagram.

The month a February was a relatively quiet one of wait and see. We are waiting to hear from our Scotland contact about responses to letters from his Minister of Scottish Parliament and also a director from Visit Scotland to Governor Ige. Both these officials have asked Governor Ige to support the effort to return Falls of Clyde to Scotland. Progress is being made in putting together the resources needed for restoration. As soon as all the pieces come together, raising funds for the transport of the ship to Scotland and then the restoration will begin.
On the downside, when we went to conduct our monthly maintenance work, we found that someone had been aboard and broke the cover to the tween deck hatch and dug up some flooring in the captain’s salon. We reported this to the Harbors Division and were told only people from Bishop Museum went aboard to check on the bitt they need to remove and return to the San Francisco Maritime Museum. Harbors Division said they will investigate what happened.
We asked that before anyone is allowed aboard that we be advised and have the option of accompanying them. Harbors Division then reciprocated by requiring us to give them five business days advance notice when we want to come aboard and someone from Harbors will be in attendance.  We did get an acknowledgment that Harbors Division leaders agree with Governor Ige’s Chief of Staff  Mike McCartney’s suggestion that Friends of Falls of Clyde and Harbors Division need to improve communication and collaborate. Hopefully that collaboration leads to Hrbors supporting the joint effort of Friends of Falls of Clyde and Old Gorbals Heritage to return Falls of Clyde to Scotland.