LAKE   COMO

HISTORY of PUBLIC SAILINGS

General	During the 1990's PS Concordia was usually on standby at Tavernola Dock, near Como and was not advertised to operate any timetabled sailings The paddle steamer normally only made appearances on charter or the occasional relief sailings on busy days So far I have not been able to obtain any details --- please e-mail me if you have any further information
2009	Details will be posted at the end of the season (in the interim see 2009 Advance Information  Lake Como Summary and/or 2009 Timetable Index (for links to individual timetables)
2008	As a result of an extended winter overhaul, the paddle steamer did not enter publicservice until Monday 2nd June although there were a few private charters the week before
	The annual special public parade to the Fireworks at Isola Comacina was again advertised for Saturday 21st June
	Once again the paddle steamer was only advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on the nine Thursdays during July and August
	The last public sailing of the season was on Sunday 5th October anthough there were a few private charters over the next few weeks including one towards the end of November
2007	The season started on Sunday 1st April with the paddle steamer covering for mv Volta for three weekends (including Easter Monday) as the motor vessel was still undergoing winter maintenance
	The annual special public parade to the Fireworks at Isola Comacina was again advertised for Saturday 23rd June
	Once again the paddle steamer was only advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on the nine Thursdays during July and August
	ex-PS mv Milano broke down just before 1400 with a serious steering problem on Thursday 5th July and collided with a private taxi-boat - see Breakdowns Page for further details
	The last pre-planned public sailing of the season was on Sunday 30th September which included a rare additional call at San Giovanni pier (just south of Bellagio) on the outward sailing
	Owing to the shortage of large operational motor vessels the paddle steamer remained in service during the early-Autumn period to covering some private charter sailings and was also observed to cover the long-distance timetabled sailings to Gradedona on Tuesday 2nd October
2006	The season started on Sunday 2nd April with the paddle steamer covering for mv Manzoni for six weekends as the motor vessel was still out of the water undergoing maintenance
	The annual special public parade to the Fireworks at Isola Comacina on Saturday 24th June was cut short due to a thunderstorm - a successful second attempt was operated the following Saturday
	Once again the paddle steamer was only advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on the nine Thursdays during July and August
	The last sailing of the season was on Sunday 1st October
2005	An much earlier start to the season saw the paddle steamer in service during March on Easter Sunday,  followed by replacing a motor vessel most Sundays and Italian Holidays throughout the season except when she had a private charter
	As usual, the paddle steamer was joined by several motor vessels for the annual special public parade to the Fireworks at Isola Comacina on Saturday 25th June then the 'traditional' VIP Mass special the following morning
	Once again the paddle steamer was only advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on eight Thursdays during July and August
	The last sailing of the season was on Sunday 2nd October
2004	Following a major winter overhaul, which included a complete re-build of the rear upper-deck saloon, eventually just one spring period public sailing operated on Sunday 9th May (to release mv A Volta for a private charter) although the paddle steamer was busy operating numerous private charters
	The paddle steamer was as usual joined by several motor vessels for the annual special public parade to the Fireworks at Isola Comacina on Saturday 26th June then a VIP Mass special the following morning to the same location to remember the island conquest in mid-ages by the Como Free Town's soldiers
	Yet again the paddle steamer was only advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on Thursdays during July and August
	PS Patria was woken from her 'over a decade' slumber and visited Dervio dry-dock for a re-paint of the hull, but following the breakdown of plans to transfer her to the Provincia di Como resulted in her being re-floated and again lying idle at the dock
	Eventually the long-day full length sailings 10-47 were rostered to PS Concordia commencing on Sunday 4th July and this applied most Sundays until the end of the season on Sunday 3rd October as usual on a non-advertised basis
	PS Concordia specially operated sailings 20-45 on Saturday 2nd October to mark the retirement of her Chief Engineer Luigi Quarenghi
2003	A very early start to the season saw the paddle steamer operate the Winter sailings 20-45 on Sunday 16th March,  followed by replacing a motor vessel every Sunday and Italian Holiday during the Spring Timetable period
	The paddle steamer joined several motor vessels for a special public parade to the Fireworks at Isola Comacina on Saturday 28th June then a VIP Mass special the following morning to the same location to remember the island conquest in mid-ages by the Como Free Town's soldiers
	Once again the paddle steamer was only advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on Thursdays during July and August
	PS Concordia operated the long-day full length sailings 10-47 from Sunday 13th July to Sunday 5th October on most weekends, albeit on a non-advertised basis This completed sailings for eight consecutive months - surly a record in recent years
2002	Once again the paddle steamer was only advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on Thursdays during July and August - even then these sailings were operated by a motor vessel on the Italian National Holiday 15th August
	The paddle steamer joined several motor vessels for a special public parade to the Fireworks at Isola Comacina on Saturday 22nd June then a VIP Mass special the following morning to the same location to remember the island conquest in mid-ages by the Como Free Town's soldiers
	Surprising, PS Concordia operated the long-day full length sailings 10-47 on Sunday 7th July vice the smaller ex-paddle steamer mv Milano and this arrangement continued each Sunday throughout the season until Sunday 29th September albeit on a non-advertised basis
2001	Following an increase in the number of passengers travelling on the paddle steamer in 2000, PS Concordia was again advertised to operate sailings 20-45 on Thursdays during July and August
2000	For the first time for a decade, the paddle steamer was advertised to operate the mid-day timetabled sailings 20-45 from Como to Colico at the head of the lake on Thursdays during July and August
1992    to 1999	It appears the lake's only operational paddle steamer PS Concordia was not advertised to operate any timetabled sailings, being mainly utilised on private charter sailings
	The paddle steamer was also occasionally observed operating short relief public sailings at the southern end of the lake back to Como on some busy Sundays and local holidays
1992	Following the withdrawal of PS Patria at the end of the previous Summer, PS Concordia became the sole operational paddle steamer on the lake
1992	PS Patria made her final sailing before being laid-up at at Dervio dock (near Como) - now awaiting finance for a major re-build Do YOU have any details of the sailings operated by her ?
1980s	On Sundays throughout the summer PS Patria normally operated the full round trip from Como to Colloco sailings 8-39 departing at 0840

HELP ! If you are aware of any errors in the above or can add anything further, please e-mail me with the information

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9th March 2009   e-mail   (c)1999-2009 John B Bird

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