Sunday 18th October was Waverley’s final sailing of the 2026 season and what a great ending to 2026 – fantastic weather with stunning views of the Clyde Coast in autumn and capacity loadings.

Check out these images from Sunday which also includes a whole crew photograph. During the season a total of over 90 crew and Shop volunteers served on Waverley in 2026.

Waverley’s General Manager, Paul Semple, has issued the following statement:

“With the 2026 sailing season having just finished I would like to acknowledge all who have made it happen.

The final result for what has been achieved this year looks exceptionally positive with almost 160,000 passenger journeys recorded – the 2nd highest number in almost 30 years.

Waverley has performed exceptionally well with no cancellations due to a technical fault throughout the season. Full credit is due to the Chief Engineer and the full engineering team for such a fantastic record across the last 6 months.

The Master and Bridge officers equally deserve credit for making amendments to offer an alternative sailing when weather conditions didn’t allow what was originally timetabled.

The catering crew have kept crew and passengers well fed while the Souvenir Shop has achieved record sales thanks to the efforts of our volunteer shop keepers.

As the season comes to a close one member of crew is stepping back from his full-time position and that is Chief Purser Andrew Comrie. Andrew has now served on board Waverley for 6 seasons and in that time, he has offered exceptional service to passengers and made the position his own. He will be missed by passengers and crew alike, and we wish him well in his future career but hopefully he won’t become a stranger.

The office staff have also worked hard to handle the thousands of emails, phone calls and letters we receive. Credit is equally due to the other members of the small shore team who arrange catering supplies, source stock for the shop, produce all the marketing materials, arrange fuel, spare parts, and everything else that a seagoing ship could possibly need.

The operation of Waverley is an incredible team effort and also includes a number of dedicated volunteers with everyone pulling together to help make it all possible. To the whole Waverley team I extend my most sincere thanks for such an achievement in what has been a very rewarding season, particularly as we celebrated the 80th Anniversary since Waverley’s launch.

I would also like to thank each and every passenger who has purchased a ticket and sailed this season. It is your vital contribution that allows us to keep the wheels turning.

In just two days from now the crew will leave for a well earned rest and Waverley will be cold and quiet. Planning for the 2027 season has begun and in the coming days we will publish the dates and locations of overnight berths for the Oban and Inner Hebrides sailings. We will work to give the overall timetable outline by Christmas. The first public sailing of the 2027 season is set to be Friday 7th May.

Once again, my personal thanks to everyone that has made a contribution and played their part to keep such a wonderful ship sailing this year – passengers, regular supporters, those who donate, those who offer their time as a volunteer, the office staff and the entire ship’s crew. My sincere thanks to all.”