It starred Roddy McMillan as Peter "Para Handy" MacFarlane, captain of the puffer Vital Spark.
The series followed the Vital Spark's adventures around the coastal waters of west Scotland and the various schemes that Para Handy would get himself and his crew involved in.
Following this two series, of six and seven episodes respectively, were commissioned by BBC Scotland and transmitted in early 1966, and autumn 1967.
[1] In March 1973 an hour-long TV Special was made, in colour, featuring the same cast.
After the success of this, a further six episodes (essentially remakes of previous scripts but in a more contemporary setting) were commissioned, broadcast in autumn 1974.