Caledonian MacBrayne

[Slyngel]

I was over on Arran last week visiting someone. I had to be back within the day. I spent the whole time worrying about the return journey on the last ferry of the day and wondering if I might get stranded if it was cancelled at the last minute. I couldn't relax and enjoy my visit. Got me thinking about the logistics of living on an island, even one as close to the central belt as Arran, and the nightmare which is Calmac and its difficulties. There seems no end in sight, especially for Arran but also other islands.

Welcome to my world! I don't live there but my very elderly widowed housebound mother does. It's a constant nagging worry when I'm travelling there or travelling home.

It's awful for Arran but also the Outer Hebrides. There's a fund to help businesses but there doesn't seem to be anything for individuals- not that it's about money, anyway, but people just seem to be expected to put up with it

I live on South Uist. Our ferry is constantly being cancelled to cover for other routes, or due to faults like leaks. The passenger numbers are restricted to 45. Deliveries are painfully slow, its impossible to plan ahead and any journey which needs to be reliable or punctual needs an expensive plane ticket.
It's a nightmare, and it isn't going to get better any time soon.

I read postings by a former ships master.

He points out that ships have a life of about 25 years and many Cal Mac ships are far beyond that .

It would be possible to draw up a building programme for replacement ships going on to eternity but sadly its not been done. You are having to deal with the consequences sadly.

Another wonderful mess our overlords the SNP have got us into.

I know someone who retired to Arran but moved back to the mainland due to problems visiting family / them visiting due to the ferries.

I would be so anxious all the time for visits/health appointments esp in the outer Hebrides it changes daily. It's expensive being an islander. If anyone in charge had to deal with that it would get sorted quickly... Islanders are built differently to deal with it but it's so uncertain and so unfair (esp for expecting mothers to plan a birth) everything is so £££ for them. Cal Mac staff are lovely but they must be sick fed up of it.

I also have family in South Uist. It is becoming increasingly difficult to manage visiting them, them visiting us on the mainland, never mind medical appointments, running small businesses, trying to do basic home DIY, any hobbies relying on material deliveries, etc etc.

I don’t know what the answer is, but Scotgov are failing the island communities with the status quo.

I have family on Mull and the uncertainty of the ferries makes a 12 hour journey from South West England very fraught.

It's almost as if our political masters want to de-populate the islands and peninsulas. A 21st century clearance.

I used to sometimes listen to Radio Scotland's phone in on their morning show when I was working from home. On one of the mornings an elderly resident of Arran called in to tell of her experience of getting her husband to a hospital appointment.
His appointment was in the morning but they couldn't get a ferry early enough to get there on time so they were having to travel the day before and stay overnight on the mainland. The first ferry they could get booked on to get home was 3 days after the appointment unless they had a tour of Argyll and crossed back to Arran from Claonaig to Lochranza. This was a man in his 80s who had a brain tumour.

Some of the ferries have been going since I was a kid. If you watch the calmac documentary on bbiplayer one of the engineers points out if you wouldn't expect a reliable service from a 40 year old car, butthese are lifeline services. Earlier I got stuck with two young children and a dog in oban. The staff were fantastic at pier and got me on the fully booked ferry the next day, but for a reliable service you need reliable boats.

The Isle of Arran (launched 1984?) is being brought in to cover the Ardrossan to Brodick route next week until further notice (ie the mythical return of the Caley Isles which has been promised now 3 times?) but apparently also to cover the Islay route some days next week. What a mess! MV Alfred (on loan from Pentland Ferries, what happens if they want her back?) to be off the Troon/Brodick route from 6th to 21st July for maintenance (during the busiest holiday month?). Meanwhile the new Glen Sannox cannot fit into the pier at Ardrossan, the main port for Arran. Who is in charge of this?

I don't know the geography well but the South Uist route seems to be the first to lose its boat when there is a crisis (ie most of the time). Is it something to do with the existence of a route to North Uist (Lochmaddy?) and therefore the assumption that those on South Uist can use that route? I'm sure it's not a straightforward as that and those on South Uist are very fed up.

Its an absolute shit show. I feel so sorry for those who live on the islands. I don't live there, but used to regularly holiday there, and I haven't been since before covid as I can't face the ferry disruptions.

The thing is it was entirely predictable. They know the ages of their ferries, they know they will not last forever, but they just magically thought it would all work out without having to put any planning (or order any boats!) in place. The farce that is the 2 electric boats has really not helped. I feel bad for Ferguson shipyard, as although I'm sure there has been problems there too, the whole thing was never thought through properly with poor, and constantly changing, specifications.

I do blame the SNP. I originally thought they were doing a good job when they go in power in the 2000s. However its become very obvious that they are making a complete mess of things, the ferries, all infrastructure, schools, social care. I used to be so proud to be scottish, its all embarrassing now.