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Isle of Cumbrae - 30 Years and
Counting... |
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| It seems strangely appropriate that, when the new
Loch Shira was launched from Ferguson's of Port Glasgow on 8th
December 2006, the Isle of Cumbrae was back once again on the
route for which they were both built. Although being the dedicated ferry
for the Tarbert - Portavadie, Colintraive - Rhubodach and Lochaline -
Fishnish routes since 1986, Isle of Cumbrae has never really lost
the ties with the island she is named after. Even in recent years she
has been seen on numerous occasions, back on what some will always
regard as HER route. On the 30th anniversary of her launch we thought
we'd have a look back at her story since entering the Clyde from the
slipway at the Ailsa yard in Troon on 22nd December 1976... |
| To Cumbrae residents she was the bee’s knees when
she first arrived. Gone were the days of reversing onto the ferry or,
for the more nervous driver, having a crew member reverse your car onto
the ferry for you. The arrival of the appropriately named Isle of
Cumbrae in April 1977 heralded the first stage in a
continuous development of the service from Largs. The benefits of her
design were apparent from the outset; with an open car deck capable of
carrying up to 18 cars and with ramps both fore and aft, loading times
were reduced and capacity was trebled in comparison to the previous
ferries employed there. Now it has to be remembered that we are
talking about 30 years ago here. In those days 18 cars in one go was a
very busy sailing on this route. But, as has been seen countless times
over the years, the arrival of the new ferry only served to increase
usage of the route. Despite still being in service for less than a
decade, by 1985 she was seen as inadequate and of insufficient capacity
to continue operating ‘her’ route by herself. Even with the Keppel
running foot passengers directly between Largs and Millport, the Isle
of Cumbrae was struggling to handle the remaining vehicle traffic.
It came as little surprise when two new ships were ordered, one of which
was to partner her and offer an improved timetable.
For a period of a month or so, from early July 1986
Isle of Cumbrae was joined at Largs by the brand new Loch
Striven and the pressure was relieved as the two ships offered a far
higher frequency of sailings. At the same time, a sister ship to Loch
Striven, the Loch Linnhe had just entered service in the
Sound of Mull, replacing Canna on the Lochaline – Fishnish route.
However things did not stay that way and it was decided that Isle of
Cumbrae would be better placed at Lochaline and she switched places
with Loch Linnhe at the start of August, allowing the latter to
sail to Largs and work with her twin. Isle of Cumbrae was now in
charge of the secondary route to Mull and, in a repetition of her
arrival in 1977, she brought a permanent, dedicated drive-through
service and treble the vehicle capacity of her Island Class predecessor. |
Isle of Cumbrae seen leaving Largs soon after entering
service in 1977
Arriving in Largs in July 1986 |
|
Isle of Cumbrae and Loch Striven together at
Largs, July 1986 |
New ferry Loch Striven at Largs |
| She was well suited to her new role –
her twin Voith units proving especially useful in the narrow confines of
Loch Aline, where the slipway actually faces away from the ship as it
approaches from Mull! Not long after her arrival on this route, the ship
received a cosmetic overhaul which saw toilets being added as well as
her bridge getting painted red with the black top and lion logo; a close
resemblance to the so-called ‘baby Lochs’ of 1986 and 1987. With a
crossing time of little more than 15 minutes, Isle of Cumbrae was
able to offer nearly 20 return crossings a day, although she was given
Sundays off. During her 10 year spell at Lochaline, the winter months
also saw relief service on the busy Kyle of Lochalsh – Kyleakin service,
covering for first Lochalsh and Kyleakin and then from
1991 Loch Fyne and Loch Dunvegan for their annual
overhauls around Christmas. Due to her folded ramp design she required a
longer allowance for unloading and reloading. This was not major problem
though, and once the regular ferries were back in service, Isle of
Cumbrae would usually lie at Kyle of Lochalsh as a standby, or
return south. |
Isle of Cumbrae at Lochaline, 1995... |
|
...and having crossed to Fishnish
Loch Alainn arriving at Fishnish in 1997 |
As well as allowing an increase in
vehicle numbers using the route from 1986, the presence of the Isle
of Cumbrae also allowed commercial traffic to grow substantially.
With the route being cheaper than the busy main route from Oban to
Craignure, more commercial traffic opted to use the Lochaline – Fishnish
route in conjunction with the short Corran Ferry crossing. ‘Hopscotch’
and ‘Island Rover’ tickets, which allowed drivers the flexibility of
using a variety of different routes, meant that the Isle of Cumbrae
got steadily busier to the point where she was leaving traffic on a
regular basis. In such situations, as had been the case a decade
earlier, the solution is usually found in the shape of a new and larger
ferry. |
| 1996 was to be Isle of Cumbrae’s
last full season on Mull, for in July 1997 her replacement arrived on
the scene. Loch Alainn (named in Gaelic after the English version
was found to be unavailable) displaced the smaller ferry and brought
much-needed extra capacity to the route. Isle of Cumbrae
meanwhile was redeployed once more, this time back to the Clyde and not
a million miles away from where she started her career. |
| As part of a major vessel redeployment
involving Loch Striven moving to Raasay and the Loch Riddon
filling the gap at Largs, Isle of Cumbrae became the new Kyles of
Bute ferry, serving Colintraive on Cowal and Rhubodach on Bute. So short
was her new regular crossing, that one ramp had hardly been folded and
secured after departure before the other one was being lowered ready for
arrival! Still, she brought a useful 50% increase in capacity compared
to Loch Riddon.
History repeated itself in 1998 when the
very same ferry that displaced her from Lochaline, arrived in service in
the Kyles of Bute. Loch Alainn, originally intended as the
dedicated ferry for the Sound of Mull crossing, had broken down in
spectacular fashion just three weeks after starting and had required
dry-docking and several months out of action. It was February 1998
before the larger ferry was able to re-enter service and with her place
having been successfully filled at Lochaline by the Loch Fyne she
was reassigned to replace the Isle of Cumbrae for the second time
in under a year, this time at Bute. |
|
Adopting her new role at Bute ferry |
Another flurry of redeploying Loch Class
vessels took place and there was another gap to fill at Largs. Therefore
it fell to the 20 year old Isle of Cumbrae to return to the route
for which she was built. She was now partnering the Loch Riddon
after the Loch Linnhe had been reassigned to the Tarbert –
Portavadie run and the two Cumbrae ferries were able to continue the
practice of offering four sailings from each terminal each hour. There
were few who expected her to return to her namesake isle, but she was
again able to play a part in improving the service, as she was larger
than the ship she replaced – quite ironic when you consider she had just
replaced the very same vessel that displaced her some 22 years earlier! |
| Things did not last once again however,
for in the summer of 1998 the Isle of Cumbrae bade farewell to
Largs and returned to the Kyles of Bute to take over as the dedicated
vessel for the Colintraive – Rhubodach crossing. Loch Alainn had
been chosen to become the permanent partner for Loch Riddon.
During the late summer of 1998 and into 1999 there was extensive
construction work taking place at Colintraive. The dolphins that were
constructed adjacent to the slipway with walkways laid between them were
a sign of things to come for that route – things which did not include
the Isle of Cumbrae. |
|
Isle of Cumbrae leaving Portavadie in 2003... |
...and arriving at Tarbert, Loch Fyne |
| 1999 saw her displaced yet again. The
former Skye ferry Loch Dunvegan was sitting idle with nothing to
do. With all the other Lochs suitable occupied and running comfortably
on their routes the only suitable place left to put the 36 car vessel
into service was across the Kyles of Bute. As a result a new home was
required for the subject of this story and she was in turn moved round
to Tarbert on Loch Fyne where she released the Loch Linnhe for
further service in the Western Isles and took over permanent duty on the
Tarbert – Portavadie seasonal crossing. |
| It is on this service that the Isle
of Cumbrae has remained tethered to during the summer months ever
since, with one of the few exceptions being when she was required to
assist the Loch Tarbert with high volumes of traffic on the
Claonaig – Lochranza crossing while Caledonian Isles was
strike-bound She still gets out and about during the winter months after
having been relieved by her counterpart from Lochranza or Largs and in
recent winters she has been seen lying at Rothesay whilst spare but
between bouts of idleness she has also been the regular relief ship on
the Lochaline – Fishnish crossing and has returned to Largs on numerous
occasions either as a back-up or as overhaul relief ship. She has also
been pressed into service, unusually, on the Oban – Lismore and
Tobermory – Kilchoan crossings when there has been no other ship
available for one reason or another. At the start of December 2006 she
saw emergency service on the Gigha run. Due to major dredging work being
required at Tayinloan, she ran in tandem with Loch Ranza on a
special timetable from Kennacraig for one day before continuing on her
journey to Largs where she is currently (10th December)
operating as relief ship while the Loch Alainn is in dry dock. |
Lying at Rothesay, awaiting her next spell of
duty |
| Who would have thought it all those
years ago, that Isle of Cumbrae would still be going strong three
decades later? As Cumbrae prepares to welcome it new 21st
century ferry in the shape of Loch Shira we salute the service
provided by one of the island’s former servants. Here's a series of
pictures showing some of Isle of Cumbrae's more recent movements. |
Arriving at Colintraive, November 2004 |
Loading for Lismore on relief in 2006 |
Manoeuvring onto Tobermory slipway |
Lying at Craignure with Isle of Mull at the
linkspan |
Moving to Oban's North Pier |
Berthed with Isle of Arran at Tobermory |
Arriving at Fishnish in November 2006 while on
relief |
Arriving at Largs in December 2006 |
Sitting idle at Lochranza, November 2006 |
Passing Loch Sunart, February 2006 |
Leaving Lochaline, November 2006 |
Lying at Kennacraig while en route for Largs |
Arriving at Kennacraig with Loch Ranza diverted
from Gigha |
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