THE HISTORY

Ken Grant, Andy Thoms and Aunt Oonagh at the renaming of the Glen Tarsan

We had a wonderful celebration in May 2007 when the company launched the second vessel in the fleet, The Glen Tarsan, at Holy Loch, Dunoon. The renaming ceremony was undertaken by the 94-year-old aunt of Andy Thoms, Oonagh Smith, who comes from a family with a strong seafaring pedigree.

The picture shows the Majestic Line owners, Ken Grant and Andy Thoms with Aunt Oonagh on board the Glen Tarsan. The Glen Tarsan is now sailing our new routes to the islands of Mull, Islay and Jura with rave reviews from our guests. The Glen Tarsan, originally called The Martha David, was built in Killybeggs , Co.Donegal, in 1976. Before she was converted, the skipper and crew of the vessel were retained for the production of the film "True North".

Our first vessel, The Glen Massan is now in her third season sailing out of Holy Loch to Arran, taking in sheltered sea lochs and the Kyles of Bute. Originally the "Ocean Gain", she was built in Baltimore, Co. Cork in 1975. She was renamed in 2005 by Mrs Sheila Thoms, mother of Andy and sister to Oonagh.

Both vessels were built by the Irish Government to assist the fishing industry, are constructed from iroko on oak and are 85ft in length. The size of the vessels allowed them to be converted to top quaility spacious and comfortable cruising accommodation, while providing access to idyllic coastlines and inlets denied to larger ships.

The name ‘The Majestic Line' is inspired by the famous 1960's "Para Handy" TV sitcom, from the stories by Neil Munro, which were located in the Clyde.


Having walked out of his job as the "Vital Spark" ships engineer, McPhail claimed to have signed on a ship of ‘The Majestic Line' (which even had a gold funnel) sailing to Rome, to hide the fact he could not find another position. (The Glen Massan and The Glen Tarsan have gold painted funnels).