It lay rotting on a slipway at Irvine harbour for almost a quarter of a century.
But now the historic Carrick clipper ship, once so close to demolition, has been given a new lease of life as the ultimate wedding, tourist and concert venue Down Under.
Since its arrival in Australia in 2014, the oldest surviving clipper ship in the world has been given a dramatic half a million dollar make over.
The foresight to transform the once scrapyard bound vessel comes from a selfless volunteer run group Clipper Ship City of Adelaide Ltd (CSCOAL).
Director of the project, Peter Christopher explained: “Since the return of the ship to Adelaide we have undertaken extensive restoration while conducting tours daily within the ship.
“As a non-government organisation we are constantly fundraising. All labour is carried out by our volunteers, and we have no paid staff.”
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Peter travelled to Scotland multiple times 18 years ago to negotiate the clipper ship’s safe return to Oz.
He added: “I attended the Glasgow meeting convened by HRH in 2001, negotiated with Scottish Maritime Museum and visited Irvine and was there in September 2013 when the ship was moved from land onto the barge.
“Since the ship arrived in Adelaide in February 2014 our team of volunteers has cleaned and repaired the decks inside of the ship, mounted displays and started tours three times daily plus more by arrangement.”
Over the past five years the ship has been used to host swanky dinners, birthday parties, concerts and educational activities for kids.
Approximately 25,000 people visit the ship’s information centre every year and 5000 of those take part in paid tours.
Major work is being planned in the near future to renovate the masts once the team make the move onto a permanent land site, as the ship is currently on a barge.
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Director for the Scottish Maritime Museum David Mann is delighted the ship has a new lease of life.
And he insisted such a venture would not have been possible in Irvine.
He said: “It’s excellent that they have managed to develop the vessel and I hope they’ll continue to restore, renovate and look after what is now a very important part of their cultural heritage.
“We certainly struggled to raise financial support at the time she sat on the Irvine site.
“She didn’t belong to the museum and there was no permanent berth available for her in Irvine.
“Her Scottish heritage was limited to the time she spent at Greenock and Broomielaw.
“There was a great deal of support for her in Adelaide as that’s where she plied her trade.
“Many can now trace their ancestors to those who came from the UK to Adelaide so there are stronger connections there than here in Irvine.”
