Captain Robin Hutchison (1933 – 2018)
Posted by Kay on October 1st, 2018
At the controls of MV Jupiter 1993 (Keith Goss, courtesy of Ships Monthly)
We are sad to report the death of Kay’s father, Captain Robin Hutchison.
Robin was one of the best known, most experienced and popular Clyde Captains.
He sailed on the river for over 40 years and was Captain of ships as varied as Waverley, Queen Mary II, Maid of Argyll, Jupiter, Caledonian Isles and Hebridean Princess.
An obituary of Robin was published recently in The Herald
Robin wrote Hurricane Hutch’s Top 10 Ships of the Clyde to celebrate his 80th birthday. The book is full of stories and photographs about his time on the Clyde and ‘deep sea’. Well regarded by Clyde aficionados it’s a mix of humour and seamanship, and a touch of nostalgia for a bygone era. The book has proven popular with a wide audience – it was reprinted in 2016 – and is still available through Waterstones, or here through this website.
Robin was of course also partly the inspiration behind our popular Captain Bobo picture book series for ages 4+. We like to think that underneath that wry smile he gave at the book launch he was proud to think that the series might help introduce a new generation to the glories of paddle steamers… and who knows perhaps also an inspiration to the next Captain Bobo!
