The last visit of the Puffer to Waternish

“Before the jetty was built at Stein in the late 1970s the puffer would beach on the sandy bit beside where the jetty is now. So depending on tides you could get your coal delivery in the middle of the night.

"The Eilean Easdeal was built at Hull in 1944 for the Royal Navy as VIC 72 - Victualing Inshore Craft (victuals meaning supplies). The puffers were designed to negotiate the Crinan Canal, so the maximum length could not exceed 67 feet. She had 4 of a crew and could carry 132 tons. She had been converted from steam in 1966, the year before the Admiralty sold her into private ownership. At conversion she was fitted with a Scania diesel engine.

"The last time I saw her she had been renamed Vital Spark in honour of the puffer serialised in ‘Para Handy.’ She was at Inveraray pier looking a bit sad and neglected. I believe she is still there.”

As told by Donald John Campbell, Waternish