Clyde – Queen’s Harbour Master
I naively asked David Lightfoot OBE, The Queen's Harbour Master of The Clyde Dockyard Ports of Garelochhead and Loch Long (to give him his full title), if we were to meet in his office (photo 10) in the Faslane submarine base. When he told me his port was guarded by the largest waterborne police force in Europe, I felt a bit stupid asking!
Home to the the Royal Navy's submarine fleet, including the UK's nuclear deterrent (Trident missiles fired from Vanguard submarines) plus numerous other RN, RM and civilian assets, the naval base is huge - 8,000 people. The most visible parts of Faslane (photo 5) are at the northern end of Gare Loch - interestingly there is no Admiralty chart available for this area! However a much more sinister and very 007ish facility is "over the hill" in Loch Long. Within the largest floating port in Europe, the submarines are loaded up with missiles transported from bunkers in the hillside. Thankfully the area is VERY well guarded with permanent Police launch presence and a whole commando of Royal Marines watching from "somewhere"! Yachts are not discouraged from sailing past, however a polite call on Channel 16 reminds you that you are close to a prohibited area!
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So what is a "Queen's" Harbour Master? Before the mid 17thC, all ports were controlled by the crown. As authority was handed over to Harbour Commissioners or private companies, those harbours which had Royal Naval interests retained a HM directly responsible to the monarch. The powers of a Queen's (or King's) HM were formalised in 1865 with an act of parliament. As RN bases diminished, so did the number of QHMs. Today there are just 3 in the UK (Clyde, Plymouth & Portsmouth) plus 2 overseas (Gibralter and Falklands). They have a distinctive uniform, cap badge and "pilot" flag. David's port is the only one where a "dived' submarine can operate within the harbour limits, but he too has to deal with the unexpected - in his case a North Atlantic right whale which decided to reside UNDER the floating port, during its migration north. It had a happy ending and the whale eventually departed. Thank you David for an enlightening insight into your job.
Home to the the Royal Navy's submarine fleet, including the UK's nuclear deterrent (Trident missiles fired from Vanguard submarines) plus numerous other RN, RM and civilian assets, the naval base is huge - 8,000 people. The most visible parts of Faslane (photo 5) are at the northern end of Gare Loch - interestingly there is no Admiralty chart available for this area! However a much more sinister and very 007ish facility is "over the hill" in Loch Long. Within the largest floating port in Europe, the submarines are loaded up with missiles transported from bunkers in the hillside. Thankfully the area is VERY well guarded with permanent Police launch presence and a whole commando of Royal Marines watching from "somewhere"! Yachts are not discouraged from sailing past, however a polite call on Channel 16 reminds you that you are close to a prohibited area!
.
So what is a "Queen's" Harbour Master? Before the mid 17thC, all ports were controlled by the crown. As authority was handed over to Harbour Commissioners or private companies, those harbours which had Royal Naval interests retained a HM directly responsible to the monarch. The powers of a Queen's (or King's) HM were formalised in 1865 with an act of parliament. As RN bases diminished, so did the number of QHMs. Today there are just 3 in the UK (Clyde, Plymouth & Portsmouth) plus 2 overseas (Gibralter and Falklands). They have a distinctive uniform, cap badge and "pilot" flag. David's port is the only one where a "dived' submarine can operate within the harbour limits, but he too has to deal with the unexpected - in his case a North Atlantic right whale which decided to reside UNDER the floating port, during its migration north. It had a happy ending and the whale eventually departed. Thank you David for an enlightening insight into your job.