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.

This could be the best year in a long time for the future preservation of Falls of Clyde. While there is still a lull here in Hawaii, there is an active and growing plan coming together to return Falls of Clyde to her original home in Scotland.  David O’Neill of the Old Gorbals Heritage organization is garnering support and putting together the resources needed for restoration of our historic ship. It is naturally a slow process, but the environment for preservation of historic vessels in Scotland and throughout Europe is much stronger than we have here in Hawaii. The people with skills for a restoration are also readily available there. Friends of Falls of Clyde is providing as much information as needed to help their plan come together. Our role here will be to raise funds to prepare the ship for her long journey to Scotland.
Meanwhile, we have had no feedback so far after our lengthy meeting in December with Mike McCartney, the Governor’s chief aide. It has been posted on Facebook and in an article in the Hawaii Free Press that a Minister of the Scottish Parliament has written to Governor Ige requesting his support for the repatriation of Falls of Clyde to Scotland. Hopefully he is wise enough to see that this is a win-win situation that can help to change the negative image of the State’s lack of commitment to historic preservation.

. We looked forward on 12 December 2016 to celebrate the 138th birth date of the launching of Falls of Clyde. However, Harbors Division declined to give access because it was not for maintenance work. A small group gathered pierside, where we were allowed access, and President McEwan gave his words of appreciation for the ship followed by his annual whisky blessing.  
A meeting with Governor Ige was arranged by community activist and preservation champion, Michelle Matson. Just before the meeting date set for 28 December, we received notice that our appeal of the hearing Decision & Order from August, which was heard in November by DOT Director Fuchigami, did not overturn the original decision. Again, the technical argument of the State held sway over our argument that the basis for the Harbors Division’s impoundment was arbitrary and based upon a prejudiced position.
Our meeting on 28 December ended up not being with the Governor, as he had more pressing matters. However, were did meet with his Chief of Staff, Mike McCartney, for 1 ½ hours, which we felt was a positive sign. He made positive comments about both sides needing to improve communication and find ways to collaborate. Our focus was on the work being done in Scotland to put together a viable plan to bring Falls of Clyde home to where she was built as the best way to see that she is preserved and restored at this point in time. We have received reports of forward movement in Scotland and hopefully will have a firm commitment in early 2017. We made the point to Mr. McCartney that, even though DOT is sticking with their technical position, the Governor can decide that moving the ship to Scotland is a way to meet the needs of the Harbors Division, so giving Friends of Falls of Clyde back control so that we can work to prepare the ship for her trip home makes sense. McCartney said he will be meeting with Harbors Division and we will hear more after that. We do hope at some point we will be able to make our case directly to the Governor.
Now that a stressful 2016 has drawn to a close, Friends of Falls of Clyde wants to send a mahalo nui to all of our supporters who signed the petition and wrote to Harbors and the Governor. We wish you all a very Happy New Year/Hau`oli Makahiki Hou!

. The November 22 hearing was held at the Dept. of Transportation before the DOT Director. We argued that the State’s preservation law applied to the impoundment action taken by the Harbors Division and that their action was in violation of the law and made the impoundment illegal. We also contested several comments of alleged fact upon which the hearing officer based his decision. The Director took the testimonies under advisement and said he would make his decision, but gave no specific timeframe.
During the testimony we were able to reinforce the Scotland initiative to bring Falls of Clyde home to Scotland. We are hoping that this will be a common sense resolution that can get Harbors to retract the impoundment and give us a permit while we raise funds to help the Scots and prepare the ship for her long voyage home. We are also hoping to get a meeting with the Governor to make our case with him. It is hard to believe that the State would not support this effort, which meets the Harbor Division’s goal.