View across the Outer Harbour of Stornoway

Thursday 18 November 2010

Thursday 18 November

On the surface, quite a nice day. A bit of a breeze, no rain, decent amounts of brightness, if not overt sunshine. Why on earth, you might ask, have we not seen anything of the ferry since it left our shores yesterday morning at 7 am?

Well, there is this force 7 wind blowing out of the east, which will have churned up the waters of the Minch to such an extent that it is not safe for a ferry to sail. A few years ago, someone told me a story of a crossing in a force 9, which broke all the crockery in the pantry and smashed the wee bookshop. I have sailed the Minch in a force 7, which was accompanied by the sound of breaking crocks. And a fair amount of green smoke, wafting behind the ferry boat as it manfully tackled the swell. The image at the bottom of this post is from that day.

Tomorrow, we should see the good ole Isle of Lewis returning at around 7.45 am, and make a total of three return crossings during the day, to catch up with traffic. Other routes are similarly affected by the weather, although the alternative to Ullapool - Stornoway, the Uig - Tarbert crossing, is running as normal. More information on Hebrides News.