The Summer Isles Cruises have been established since 1960 when Ian Macleod first had the idea to take people on trips around the Summer Isles his first boat was the "Ribhinn Ogg" a Gaelic name meaning "The brown haired lass". The cruises proved to be a great success and so in 1968 another boat was needed and along came the "Lady Ann" a 35ft open launch of wooden construction.

During the coming years the prawn fishing industry began to take shape and to take advantage of this new industry and also cope with the ever growing popularity of the cruises Mr. Macleod decided the time was right to have a brand new boat built and so the first duel purpose "Hectoria" was launched from the Cockenzie shipbuilding yard in 1972.

Over the next 10 years the fishing/passenger combination worked very well, however the boat itself being of an all wooden construction was becoming increasingly hard to maintain and with the advent of the fibreglass hull gaining ever more popularity on the 15th of June 1983 the "Hectoria II" was launched at Inverkip marina on the banks of the river Clyde.

Unfortunately things were to take a turn for the worse and just three days before Christmas 1989 during one of the West coasts worst ever storms the "Hectoria II" broke her moorings and was dashed on the rocks. A replacement was required for the following summer and so arrived the "Island Lass"

The "island Lass" while a good vessel, was somewhat of a step in the wrong direction being a launch of wooden build she took some considerable maintenance so plans were made to have another fibreglass vessel built, and so the newest "Hectoria" was launched in July 1992 in Orkney.

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