Scottish vessels are often well-represented at the awards with several others achieving Flagship status in recent years. The Swan earned it in 2023, while MV Glenachulish in 2022, Tall Ship Glenlee (2021) and SS Explore and Spartan (both 2020) have also been given the award.
HMS Unicorn in Dundee won the prestigious Martyn Heighton Award for Excellent in Maritime Conservation in 2022, with Tim Loftus of Johnson and Loftus Boatbuilders in Ullapool was runner-up in the same category last year.
The annual awards are a celebration of maritime heritage around the UK and encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with historic vessels through photography, volunteering, conservation, online activities and skills-based training.
The Flagship of the Year Awards celebrate the value of historic vessels to the wider public whether it is through online activities, museum engagement or special tours.
The Waverley is the last Clyde paddle steamer built and was also the last sea-going paddle steamer operational in the world.
It was originally built for the London and North Eastern Railway to replace war losses and was launched in October 1946.
Her main excursion routes was along the Clyde to the West Coast coastal resorts as well as into Loch Fyne and the Kyles of Bute.
It continues to cruise around the UK coast each summer and has been fully restored and painted in original LNER colours and was awarded Flagship status in recognition of its ambitious cruising programme around the UK which she visited 70 ports and piers.
The other Scottish vessel to earn a Flagship was Provident which got the Operational Flagship of the Year award.
Provident, based in Oban, is one of the last trawlers that was built for working under sail and fished for six years until sold and converted to yacht design.
In 2012, she participated in the Avenue of Sail at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and now operates classic sailing holidays around the Scottish islands.
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Provident earned the Flagship after she celebrated her centenary with a return cruise from Scotland to Brixham.
The Waveley also played a part in the Photographer of the Year award with Mark Dillen from Kent earning the runner up spot for his striking image of the paddle steamer.
He had to plan ahead using Tower Bridge as a guide to what time she would pass Canary Wharf and hoped the weather was okay to capture the image.
The Wick Society Boat Club won the Marsh Volunteer Award, which recognizes volunteers in the conservation or operation of historic vessels.
The Wick Society Boat Club stood out for judges with members ranging from 18 to 89 in the remote community.
The Wick Society was founded in 1971 to protect and promote the area’s history and has the Heritage Centre, Johnston Collection, oral history project Wick Voices and the 1890 Fifie Isabella Fortuna.
That was built by James Weir of Arbroath for fisherman John Smith and was launched in September 1890.
It was in the same family for 86 years but was retired from the sea in 1976 before Hobson Rankin, an enthusiastic restorer, bought the vessel and started a four year project to bring it back into top condition.
It has been in the hands of the Wick Society since 1997 and volunteers from the Boat Club have helped keep it in shape and regularly use it for port visits for festivals and other events.
