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 FLEET
HISTORIES
 Main
The Fleet
Lord
of the Isles
History
Around
the same time as the launch of ISLE OF MULL at Ferguson’s, it was announced
that the yard was to begin construction of a further vessel for Western Isles
service. The new vessel would be a replacement for two other units in the fleet,
namely COLUMBA of 1964 and CLAYMORE of 1978. The new ferry would combine the
timetables of both vessels and allow a cascade to take place within the fleet.
The plan was that the
new LORD OF THE ISLES would take a new, combined roster which would take in both
the Coll and Tiree and the long haul to the Outer Isles. This meant that she
would be on the move practically all the time. Also in the plan, the CLAYMORE
would move south to take over the Kennacraig - Islay service and in turn the
IONA would move north to Mallaig to take the hoist-loading service to Armadale
on Skye. The PIONEER would then become the fleet's spare unit, thus allowing the
old favourite; GLEN SANNOX to be withdrawn.
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It was March 1989 when the new ship was
named LORD OF THE ISLES and subsequently launched. Upon entering the waters of
the Clyde she was fitted out prior to running trials. In terms of appearance the
new ferry was broadly similar to ISLE OF MULL at the forward end, while her aft
end resembled that of the slightly older HEBRIDEAN ISLES as her duties in
service would require the use of a vehicle hoist. The car deck was capable of
holding up to 56 cars whilst the passenger accommodation above provided space
for a maximum certificate complement of 506. In addition to the need for a
vehicle hoist, LORD OF THE ISLES’ duties called for sailings at antisocial
hours, and as a concession to passengers she was equipped with cabins and
sleeping berths.
Handover
took place a short while later and the ships entered service in time for the
high summer season. With Oban as her home base, LORD OF THE ISLES entered
service on the Coll – Tiree and Barra – South Uist route, giving three
sailings a week on the former route and up to four return sailings a week on the
latter. This new roster meant the LORD OF THE ISLES was seldom off duty and
often sailed at all hours of the day.
With
a service speed of 16 knots, sailing times to the Outer Isles were considerably
reduced from those achieved by the previous vessel, CLAYMORE. Likewise the
journey time between Oban and the northern entrance of the Sound of Mull was
reduced to just over 100 minutes, another improvement on the previous vessel.
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LORD OF THE ISLES Launching From Ferguson's
LORD OF THE ISLES Arriving at Tiree
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For the next nine years the LORD OF THE
ISLES remained in charge of the two routes. Occasionally she would switch places
with her Oban consort ISLE OF MULL when passenger demand required the larger
vessel’s superior capacity on the Barra route and would consequently end up
taking the Oban – Craignure sailings while her Port Glasgow sister was away
north. Due to the nature of the Outer Isles service, this was sometimes subject
to disruption at the hands of the weather in the exposed Minch, and it was not
unknown for the ship to set off from Barra or South Uist and make straight for
the far side of Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck before making a dash for Ardnamurchan
Point and the shelter of the Sound of Mull. This was a far more
passenger-friendly route to take in the gale-driven swells of the Minch, rather
than the usual direct route south-east, past Oigh-sgeir and to the Sound of
Mull.
In addition to her regular duties,
LORD OF THE ISLES was also used as relief vessel on various routes such as the
Uig triangle and the Ardrossan – Brodick service while the regular vessels
were undergoing maintenance during the winter months. She was chosen for this
thanks to her general all-purpose specification and ability to berth and load
traffic at any of the major terminal locations in the network.
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LORD OF THE ISLES on Trials off Duart Castle...
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...and in the Sound of Kerrera
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In the late 1990s it was announced that
a further new vessel was to be built as a replacement for LORD OF THE ISLES at
Oban. It was then announced that she herself was to be transferred to Mallaig
where she would replace the veteran IONA. Due to her out-of-date design, the
latter required extensive and costly modifications to keep her in the fleet so
it was decided to replace her and put her up for sale. LORD OF THE ISLES was
scheduled for the transfer in early 1998, however she was required in Oban until
July of that year, until the new and much larger CLANSMAN was available. Upon
the replacement’s arrival, the smaller ship went north to Mallaig where she
replaced the temporary relief ship PIONEER on the seasonal Mallaig – Armadale
crossing.
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It
is now said that she was far too nice a ferry for a short sailing such as that
service. Nevertheless the people of Mallaig and regular users of the service
took her to their hearts and still regard LORD OF THE ISLES as the best ships to
serve the route to this day. With a crossing time of just under half an hour,
LORD OF THE ISLES could provide many return sailings each day. In addition to
this, another duty was brought in on a trial period. It was decided to try and
revive the old Outer Isles sailings from Mallaig, something which had previously
ceased under the reign of the IONA. Unfortunately these were not successful and
were ceased before long. Once again the isolation of Mallaig compared with Oban
proved to be the downfall of the route.
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LORD OF THE ISLES Tied up Overnight
at Oban
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The former Outer Isles ferry remained
at Mallaig for just a few seasons, and during the winter months she returned to
Oban and her original routes to assume a relief role while the CLANSMAN went off
covering for other large units. In 2003 however, with a new sheltered-water
vessel on order from an English shipyard, the LORD OF THE ISLES was transferred
and returned to full time service out of Oban, having left Mallaig in the
temporary care of PIONEER once more.
This move was with a view to
bringing about general improvements to all the routes based from Oban. She was
the third large ship to be permanently based there, alongside ISLE OF MULL and
CLANSMAN and provided various extra sailings to Mull, Colonsay, Islay, Coll,
Tiree, Barra and South Uist as well as introducing the popular Castles Cruise.
In previous summers the ISLE OF ARRAN had carried out these additional sailings,
but she was now secondary ship on the Islay service, alongside HEBRIDEAN ISLES.
The
situation is still the same today and LORD OF THE ISLES continues to provide
additional sailings to a wide range of routes. With
seven islands appearing regularly in her routine, she is easily the
most-travelled vessel in today's fleet, having also seen service on the Wemyss
Bay - Rothesay route over the May Day holiday weekend in 2004. She can also
claim to have carried out sailings on the Gourock - Dunoon route, although these
were only for the purposes of berthing trials.
 Text Thanks To Ships
of CalMac
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