Nobody in Inverclyde needs to be told of the steady downturn of the shipbuilding and ship repair industry, as we have witnessed close-up how, over the years, Inverclyde's waterfront has been transformed from a hive of industry to an area of housing and recreation.

One yard though is bucking the trend as vessels are queuing up for repair, re-fits and maintenance. Dales Marine has featured on a major documentary on shipping and has been much in the news recently as they have been working on the famous PS Waverley and a host of other interesting and high profile ships.

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One of the greatest spectacles to come to our shores outside of the Royal Fleet Review of 1965 and the massing of navy vessels in the Firth during WWII must surely have been the Tall Ships Race of 1999.

The event attracted a record number of stunning sailing ships to the Clyde and many in the community worked hard to give then the best possible welcome. Staff of Garvel Clyde Ltd were in exactly the right position to unfurl a 'Welcome to Greenock' banner as their yard was situated at the entrance to James Watt Dock, where many of the stunning ships would berth.

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The steel-hulled barque Glenlee, now an exhibit at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow, made an impressive site as she made her way to Garvel Dry Dock for repair work, cleaning and painting before she took up her permanent position in 2010.

Once dry docked, the only Clyde-built sailing ship still afloat in the UK gave onlookers an idea of what the Inverclyde waterfront might have looked like before the age of steam, her masts rising into the sky and visible for miles around.

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A great variety of vessels ply the waves of the Clyde off Inverclyde and one of the strangest to visit was the famous Renfrew Ferry, very different here from how she would have looked on her last day of sailing back in 1984. With structure added to her decks to accommodate a nightclub, she was towed into Garvel Dry Dock for refit in 2005.

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​Garvel Clyde was incorporated in 1987 and since then owners Dales Marine have ramped up industrial activity in the yard considerably.

Media visits to the facility are not uncommon as the work undertaken there offers a rich seam of interest to news agencies and film crews across the world.

Operations manager Billy Pollock has a wealth of experience in shipbuilding and his guidance inside the yard is invaluable. Billy is seen here on the quayside of James Watt Dock, where PS Waverley and Calmac ferry Caledonian Isles await his team's attention as they were readied for dry dock.

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This picture features a vessel that will be familiar to anyone who enjoys views of the Clyde and shows her as she was lowered into James Watt Dock after overhaul.

The operation attracted a large number of camera toting shipping enthusiasts as the lifting method used to return Argyll Flyer to the water fairly novel in Clyde shipbuilding.