April 2005

SOC CREW OUTINGS - April 2005; Day 3

I woke, freezing cold, just a few hours after I went to sleep. My cold was now full-blown and much worse than yesterday. As a result, breakfast was a very light affair and I returned to my room for a bit more sleep. I eventually summoned the energy and motivation to pack the car and set off about 9.30 this morning. I had been staying in a village called Balallan in Lewis, so I was already part of the way to Tarbert.

The road on the first part of the drive down to Tarbert is a fast section of double track carriageway, but this does not last. There is a stretch of single track road that is currently being made double. As a result there are major roadworks on my journey down to Harris. Nevertheless I still reached Tarbert ferry terminal in under an hour. I did stop up in the Harris hills on the way for my now regular dose of Lemsip Max (which I spent the whole of today surviving on with water and Wine Gums!)

The weather was absolutely fantastic this morning. The sun was out and the sky was clear and photographic conditions were perfect - unlike yesterday. Hebrides was on her way over from Uig and I made myself known to the shore staff as I was not actually going to Uig. I was told that because I was going to Lochmaddy via Uig, I would be loaded first and parked out of the way.

The Hebrides actually arrived a quarter of an hour early. She wasn't heavily loaded and only discharged about 30 cars and a handful of wagons. I was indeed sent on down the linkspan first and had to advise the car deck officer that I was going to Lochmaddy. He instructed me to drive down the starboard side car deck before turning at the far and and coming back up the port side to face the bow. This I did and I left the car on the car deck as I went upstairs into the empty passenger accommodation. Meanwhile the rest of the traffic was loaded, to fact the stern ramp.

I took the opportunity of having the passenger spaces to myself to get pictures of the ship's interior for the website (these will be added at a later date to Hebrides' profile).

We departed Harris a few minutes early - presumably all traffic was accounted for and there was no need to hang around... The crossing to Uig was largely uneventful as we skirted round the west side of Scalpay and out into the Minch. I did try and get some sleep, but some extremely noisy and badly behaved brats scotched that idea. No matter which lounge a retreated to, they had the infuriating habit of running through and making as much noise as they were capable of. The 'owners' of these brats showed not the slightest interest in the behaviour of their precious kids - something which attracted many unfavourable comments from other passengers.

Uig came into view off the port bow and the rest of the passengers were called down for disembarkation. I on the other hand went out on deck into the warm sunshine to watch the docking taking place.

After everyone else's cars were offloaded, a couple of crew members then proceeded to lift the ramp bridging plates to gain access to the hinges. The next five minutes were spent greasing and oiling the ramp hinges prior to the next load of cars were boarded.

There were quite a lot of passengers taking this afternoon's sailing over to North Uist. The last vehicles to come along the long pier and down the linkspan were two juggernauts - and I hoped I'd be off the ferry ahead of them on North Uist!

After we left Uig I made my way to the cafeteria where I ate what must be the most tasteless meal I've ever eaten on a ferry. It was a stark contrast to the meal I had on the Isle of Lewis last night and after failing to clear the plate I retreated to the reclining lounge where I finally managed to grab some sleep. This was relatively short lived as my phone went off and I was talking for the next half hour.

Right on time we sailed out of the Minch and into the sheltered waters of Lochmaddy. As the visor was raised we were called back down to the car deck in readiness for going ashore. The mooring ropes were tightened and the bow ramp was lowered. Unfortunately the other side of the car deck was let out first, and as a result when I left the ferry I became embroiled in a very long queue of traffic heading south across North Uist - just what I wanted! There were a couple of good overtaking straights on the island, however such was the level of traffic heading away from Lochmaddy, it was impossible to make any better progress.

As I crossed onto Benbecula via one of the many causeways, a lot of the other traffic turned off (including the car in front with the annoying child who kept staring at me) and I was able to make better progress as I went across to South Uist. The sky was clouding over this evening as I made my way down the west side of South Uist. It was still bright although the sky was a decidedly grey colour.

I took the right turn just short of Lochboisdale and headed off down to the causeway across to Eriskay. I was held for about ten minutes by local contractors who were messing about with a large blue plastic pipe lying across the road - I couldn't actually see any work going on but then again it was almost 5.00pm... When the road as eventually clear, the seven cars that had been kept waiting were finally allowed to proceed, and I ventured across the causeway from South Uist to the tiny island of Eriskay.

As I reached the highest point on the Eriskay road, I got a clear view down over the Sound of Barra and Eriskay harbour below me. The last time I had been here was back in November and the sight I saw as I looked down was one of destruction and damage. The breakwater was in ruins and the emergency ferry berth was no longer securely embedded, as its foundations were lying at an angle. I could only assume that this damage was the result of the hurricane force winds and storm surge that this area experienced back in January.

I continued down to the ferry terminal and became the second car in the queue. I could see the Loch Bhrusda in the distance, making slow progress from Barra. She was rocking back and forth quite a lot but this was not due to the wind - rather her lack of draught.

As she approached Eriskay harbour the Loch Bhrusda's engine tone subsided as the water jets were taken off full forward settings. As her skipper brought her round into the bay, the difficulties associated with steering a water-jet vessel became obvious, as the ferry swung round and overshot, requiring correctional measures to bring her square on to the slipway in front of me.

The Loch Bhrusda made a cautious approach to the slipway and proceeded to unload two cars and a mini motorbike (I'm still not sure what that was all about). The next sailing wasn't for another hour so the rope was put across the ramp access and the crew congregated on the bridge for a brew.

I spent much of the next hour downloading today's pictures onto the laptop and wiping my camera memory card. The tide was going out and twice in the hour before the departure time, the engines were revved up and the ferry was moved a couple of feet down the slipway to prevent the risk of grounding.

Loading took place five minutes before departure, and by this time there were around 10 cars waiting to sail. The last time I did this crossing it was with the Loch Riddon. Had she been here today then the 1855 sailing would be almost fully loaded.

The departure time came along and the ramp was slowly raised. At first the Loch Bhrusda was brought away from the slipway very slowly and the sharp turn was made around the end of the damaged breakwater, then all of a sudden the engines were opened right up and the water jets began to spew out lots of white, foaming water from the vessel's stern.

The crossing this evening was extremely lively. There was a bit of a swell in the Sound of Barra but nothing too bad. The wind was getting up quite a bit and the ferry started rolling and kicking up spray. I was getting very cold as we drew near to Ardmhor so I sat in the car with the heater on. Light conditions were getting poor by this time so there was not much point in getting any photos on the crossing.

We arrived at Ardmhor slipway on the island of Barra and the ramp was lowered onto the slipway. I drove off the ferry and onto the southernmost Outer Hebridean island of my trip. Whilst all the rest of the traffic carried on toward Castlebay and elsewhere on the island, I pulled in and got some photos of the ferry being moored up for the night.

Whilst returning to the car I collared member of the crew to ask about the lack of mobile phone signal I was encountering while trying (unsuccessfully) to send a message home.

I now had the job of finding tonight's accommodation - all I knew was that it was just on the far side of Castlebay, on a road to a place called Nask. It was nearly 8.00pm when I left Ardmhor and by the time I found the B&B the clock was showing almost 9.00pm. Not that I got lost or anything like that of course....

SOC CREW OUTINGS - April 2005; Day 4

It's official - I don't do early mornings! Whose great idea was it to get the early ferry to Oban? (Oh yeah, that'll be mine then...) It was not pleasant getting up in time to be at Castlebay pier for 6:30 this morning. I hit the snooze button on the alarm twice, and consequently nearly slept in thanks to something I have christened the '5 minutes more' feeling—where you lie back in the knowledge that 5 minutes more won't do any harm... Next thing you know, it is 45 minutes later and you are running late!

Fortunately, on this occasion, I did get myself out of bed before the 5-minute effect took hold. I left the B&B and drove the mile or so down to Castlebay. As I drew near, I could see the ferry at the pier, having arrived last night. It was either going to be Lord of the Isles, back in service following her days off recently, or the Isle of Arran still on relief duties. Although it was dark, I could easily make out the profile of the Isle of Arran lying at the pier, with her stern ramp next to the linkspan.

I went round the one-way system and pulled up in the vehicle queuing lanes. I had done it again and was the first person there. As it turned out, check-in didn't take place until 6:50 am when I was asked to fill in another registration card and present my rover tickets. Following this, the ferry's ramp was lowered and I was permitted to board. Instead of being directed to one side of the car deck, I was sent straight down the centre-line of the ship to park right at the bow door.

I headed upstairs to the passenger decks and outside into the open air. (It is actually impossible to get from the car deck to the cafeteria and lounge without going outside—such is the age of her design).

Castlebay was awoken by the noise of the Isle of Arran's engines coming to life. This was followed by the obligatory safety announcement as the ropes were released and we were off. As we turned away from the pier, the stern of the vessel bounced off the fenders a few times while we spun to face the channel leading out towards the Minch and South Uist.

While the ferry cleared Barra, I went for breakfast in the cafeteria. The ship was rolling a fair bit as we passed into the Minch and at this point the cafeteria was still very quiet. Apart from the crew, there were only 4 other people, including me, in there.

After breakfast (far tastier than the food I had on the Hebrides yesterday), I went back out on deck. The cloud cover from earlier had cleared and the skies were becoming far brighter. As we progressed towards South Uist, I could see the little Loch Bhrusda making her way across from Barra to Eriskay on her first run of the day. Although she was on the horizon in the distance, I could get a couple of clear pictures using the top setting on the camera. It was not long, though, before the smaller ferry was out of sight as she completed her sailing and met the first shower of the day.

As we approached the mouth of Lochboisdale, the cloud closed in once again and we were treated to a fine example of Hebridean summer—yes, it started raining. We're not talking heavy and persistent rain; this was that really fine drizzle that soaks you without you even realising!

The rain lasted only a few minutes while I was out on the foredeck in front of the bridge. As the rain cleared, a fishing vessel emerged from behind the pier and began to make her way out towards the open sea. Unfortunately, this was just as we began the turn to berth stern-in at the terminal, and as the small boat showed no signs of taking avoiding action, they found themselves on the receiving end of a blast from the Isle of Arran's horn.

We spun round just off the end of the pier and the skipper backed us in with inch-perfect precision to the linkspan. There weren't that many people waiting to board and the ramp was only down for about 60 seconds while we took on a handful of cars and three small vans. On the other hand, there were far more foot passengers coming aboard and as a result of everyone having to board via the single narrow gangway, we left Lochboisdale a few minutes late as we made our way out into the Minch for the five-and-a-half-hour crossing to Oban.

I spent the majority of the next five hours or so standing outside in the fresh air in a bid to clear my head and shake off this damn cold.

The previous time I had made the long haul from the Outer Isles to Oban the sky was relatively clear—unlike today when I could see the individual showers ahead of us and closing in from the south-west. I spent a lot of the time out on the port deck on deck 3, below the promenade deck where it was nice and dry. An hour and a half or so out from Lochboisdale, we passed the isle of Canna on our left and the lonely island of Oigh-sgeir off the starboard side, which marked the point for our turn south-east towards Ardnamurchan.

As the Small Isles came in and out of visible range to the left, we pressed on down towards our next turning point off Ardnamurchan. The sun came out again as we passed the northern end of Coll to the right and Muck to the left. From that point, I was able to clearly make out Ardnamurchan lighthouse and its powerful red foghorn standing on the headland at the most westerly point of the British mainland. Coll and Tiree soon disappeared behind Mull as we entered the Sound of Mull and made for Tobermory.

As we entered the Sound of Mull, the sun put in another appearance. Kilchoan village was easily visible in the distance on the left, and the Rubh na Gall lighthouse stood proudly on the Mull side on the right. There was no sign of the Tobermory - Kilchoan ferry in the sound as the Isle of Arran approached. As we got to Tobermory, the Island Class ferry Raasay could be seen moored at the buoy in the middle of the bay. She was used over the winter as the Tobermory - Kilchoan ferry but since the regular ferry Loch Linnhe arrived back, she has been lying in the bay awaiting her next turn of duty.

A little further on and I could see further into the bay. Loch Linnhe was at her berth at the main pier, being prepared for her next sailing. By the time we reached the southern end of Calve Island, the Linnhe had moved round to the slipway and was loading for Kilchoan.

I lost sight of Tobermory completely as we continued down towards Salen and the dogleg turn where we swung round to the left and carried on in the direction of Craignure. On the horizon ahead of us, the Loch Fyne emerged from Lochaline and proceeded to cross the Sound of Mull towards Fishnish. Frustratingly, we were some distance away and even with full zoom I was unable to get any photos. What was even more annoying was that had we been on the regular ship, Lord of the Isles, we would have been right opposite Fishnish at that time and in the perfect place to catch close-up pictures.

As the Isle of Arran made her way down the Sound of Mull I had been in contact with Graham, our resident expert photographer. He was on Mull today and found out he would be at Duart Castle as we were due to pass.

As we approached Fishnish the Loch Fyne was already most of the way back over to Lochaline. For the remainder of the sailing I was located out on the foredeck. That is the one advantage of the Isle of Arran—she was built back in the days when open deck space was more of a priority, and is one of only five vessels in the fleet to have such a deck in front of the bridge. As we passed Craignure, the view ahead became much more interesting, with the spectacular Duart Castle looming on the right, Lismore lighthouse a little further on to the left, and the Clansman making her way out from Oban.

As we passed Duart Castle, we also passed Clansman to our port side. It appears that Graham had spotted me through his lens and snapped me at work! The Clansman was making her way out to Castlebay, on the second run of the day. With the Clansman behind us, the Isle of Mull was now fast approaching ahead of us on the 14:00 sailing to Craignure.

The last ten minutes of the long haul crossing saw us approach the narrow channel between Kerrera and the mainland. As we came round into the bay I could see the little Eigg at the slipway, loading for Lismore while the spare ferry Bruernish could be seen at the small ferry berth next to the south pier.

The engines were cut as we crossed the bay, and as we pulled up to the ferry berth I got some pictures of the Lord of the Isles which was sitting out of service at the fuel berth. She had been out of service for 4 days but was now showing signs of life with her radars spinning and a light grey haze coming from her funnels. The visor bolts were released and the hydraulics pushed the bow door up. Due to the age of the bow ramp design, the linkspan had to be brought up about two feet after the ramp was down as far as it would go.

Upon leaving the ferry terminal I turned right and proceeded along the road down to the Kerrera ferry. To the north I could see the Isle of Arran lurking in Oban Bay. I assumed she would be making her way towards Colonsay and Port Askaig, but she disappeared back towards the pier. The only conclusion was that the Lord of the Isles had indeed come back into service.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Lord of the Isles appeared and made down in my direction. As the ferry passed by and went off down to Colonsay and Islay I made my way back into Oban. Isle of Arran was now at the fuel berth on the railway pier, and Isle of Mull was crossing the bay returning from Craignure once more.

From the esplanade on the northern side of the bay, I could see all the movements. After the Isle of Mull left, I headed into town for food. While I was away, the Isle of Arran moved back to the linkspan. I got there just as she had completed loading crew cars and was closing her bow ramp. At 5:30 pm, as the ropes were let go, the Isle of Arran set sail for the Clyde once more.

I made it back to the Kerrera ferry car park in time for the Isle of Arran making a slow run past. Her pace quickened as she carried on down the Sound of Kerrera and I eventually lost sight of her. I was able to get some very good pictures, and now that she was gone I could return to tonight's accommodation.

All in all today was a long day but most enjoyable. Tonight, as I write this, I am tired but looking forward to tomorrow's trip to Tiree...