Putting a minibus ashore at North Ronaldsay
Part Two: A Long Day Out
Tuesday was a day of contrasts. Grey in the morning, then warm and sunny in the afternoon. Also, pure anticipation and excitement for me, but a long slow day for my less ferry-fanatical wife and children. I had said from the start that I would do anything they wanted all week, as long as I could have ‘my’ day on the Tuesday!
And so, on the first proper day of the holiday, I woke my very tolerant family up at 05:50 so we could get to Kirkwall in plenty of time for the 07:00 sailing to Westray. For those unfamiliar with the workings of Orkney Ferries, three ‘North Isles’ boats sail from Kirkwall and serve four islands at least twice a day; Westray, Eday, Sanday and Stronsay. In addition, Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay each receive two calls each week; however, they lack linkspans so are lift-on, lift-off services. Only the two ‘Earls’ have cranes, so it is always one of them that works these trips, leaving Varagen to concentrate on the other islands. Most days, the three vessels load up and leave Kirkwall for two or three round trips. They depart 20 minutes apart, and the morning rush sees vessels sail at 07:00, 07:20, and 07:40. The evening rotations depart at 16:00, 16:20 and 16:40. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays all three operate a middle trip, while on Thursdays and Fridays, just one vessel offers the middle sailing. Either way, it can be a bit hit-and-miss trying to work out which specific vessel will be operating any given sailing.
As we pulled into the very convenient free car park right next to Kirkwall Pier, I was pleased to see Earl Sigurd nudging into the linkspan to load up. Straight away, that’s one of my ‘missing’ vessels taken care of! We boarded as foot passengers and headed straight up to the lovely lounge on the upper deck, then promptly turned back around as no dogs are allowed. Neither lounge on the ‘Earls’ accepts dogs, but there is a small covered seating area on the starboard side of the vessel. The other lounge is below the vehicle deck – a feature that has now disappeared entirely from Scotland’s west coast ferries.
Earl Thorfinn moves towards the berth at Kirkwall
As we slowly moved astern from the linkspan, Earl Thorfinn moved in to load for Stronsay. Passing a cruise ship anchored in Kirkwall Bay, and another alongside at Hatston, Earl Sigurd steamed up the west side of Shapinsay, past Gairsay, Egilsay and Faray until we reached Rapness Pier on Westray, bang on time at 08:25. The crossing was busy with work vans and regulars, to whom it was just another sailing.
To me, the Orkney islands offer a different sailing experience to that found on the west coast. Not better, just different. The islands lie in such a way that on some routes the ferry has to weave and thread a route between them. Most of the west coast routes are now just point-to-point. Still stunning, but apart from those heading up the Sound of Mull, they are all generally in more open waters.
Going ashore at Westray we said our goodbyes to Earl Sigurd, but not for long. The Westray bus meets every ferry arrival. I had already texted the operator to book, anxious to make everything go to plan and worried that there might be no seats. As it turned out, it was the five of us, my dog and two young lads returning home — plenty of room! Within 20 minutes we were at Gill Pier at the other end of Westray. It would have been just ten minutes, but the bus took a detour to drop the boys off at their door!
Waiting on Gill Pier at Pierowall, I checked AIS to make sure our next ferry was running. The previous Tuesday the small passenger ferry between Westray and Papa Westray had been cancelled due to the wind, and conditions were not dissimilar today. Thankfully, Charles Ann II was ploughing through the swell towards us. She arrived on time at 08:50, and we boarded straight away for a 09:00 departure. We had used Westray as a stepping stone in order to reach Papa Westray.
Charles Ann II at Pierowall
The passenger cabin on Charles Ann II
Charles Ann II is a far cry from the previous ferry that I had used on the run, Golden Mariana, now working in Conwy in North Wales. The new vessel is a Blyth catamaran which only carries 12 passengers, but she is fast enough that she can easily slot in extra trips if busy. Her interior is extremely comfortable, but I alone opted to stand outside for the 15-minute crossing. The weather was brightening, and by the time we reached Papa Westray, blue skies were out, although the wind remained.
Rob and his family on Moclett Beach on Papa Westray: the dot on the horizon is the approaching Earl Sigurd on her second sailing from Kirkwall that day
It was only 09:15, but we were already on our second island and had travelled on two boats! For three hours we explored the island. Back in 2004 I camped there, and then taken the world’s shortest scheduled flight back to Westray (and on to Kirkwall), but this time with my young children and aged dog, we walked up to the Knap of Howar, ambled back along the shore and enjoyed time on the wonderful Moclett beach.
As we sat on the beach, a small grey blob in the distance grew ever closer and larger, gaining colour as it neared. Earl Sigurd was on her way, having returned from Westray to Kirkwall, and loaded up again with freight for Papa Westray and North Ronaldsay. We were lucky.
Most of the time, this sailing operates to North Ronaldsay first, and then to Papa Westray, which would have made the day trip impossible. Due to tides, I think, on this day she was calling at Papa Westray first. About ten minutes late, at 12:30, Earl Sigurd berthed stern in and port side to alongside Moclett Pier. Her crane was already primed to unload the vehicles and cargo.
Her crane ready to work cargo, Earl Sigurd berths at Papa Westray
I believe this sailing is unique amongst the British Isles, as it is the last ferry on which anyone can book a vehicle to be craned ashore at the other end. Yes, there are other islands where cars are loaded by crane – Graemsay, Foula, Fair Isle, and the Scillies – however these are strictly for islanders’ cars.
Had I wanted, I could have booked my vehicle onto Earl Sigurd to be craned ashore at Papa Westray. In all, two cars and a livestock trailer were lifted ashore, then a lawnmower, and finally plenty of smaller sealed cargo boxes containing supplies and goods for the island. A Transit van was amongst the loads lifted aboard. Down on the car deck, a crew member operated a forklift to move cargo into the craning area to be lifted ashore, and to shift it out of the way as soon as it had come aboard.
The Transit van being hoisted aboard Earl Sigurd
At 13:15, almost half an hour late, we slipped our ropes and set off for North Ronaldsay, except we headed west. For a minute I thought we may be headed around the top of Papa Westray for some reason, but it turned out the skipper just wanted a closer view of the elegant sailing ship Lady of Avenel lying off the pier. After taking a turn around the vessel, we turned due east and steamed off with Westray and Eday to our starboard side. North Ronaldsay was so far off it couldn’t be seen. Crossing the exposed area, the swell picked up, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Earl Sigurd was much quieter now, with just 9 passengers on board, 5 of whom were my family and I. It was quiet enough that the crew allowed my dog into the comfortable upper lounge!
Despite the lovely blue skies, the wind and swell had some effect on the ship. The crossing was scheduled for an hour and a quarter, but we didn’t reach North Ronaldsay until 15:05, an hour and 50 minutes after departing Papa Westray, but you’ll hear no complaints from me. My kids, however….
Traditional style access for passengers at Papa Westray
Earl Sigurd leaving Papa Westray
Once berthed, I used my dog as an excuse to go ashore so he could do what he needed to do, and took one of my sons with me to watch the activity from the pier. At Papa Westray a gangway had been used for passenger access, but at North Ronaldsay we just disembarked through a gate in the port side of the hull, accessed from the vehicle deck. We timed our exit with the boat’s rise and fall against the pier. North Ronaldsay’s pier is slightly more exposed than Papa Westray’s, and the craning operation here required some quick timing from the crane operator. Earl Sigurd was straining at her moorings, moving seven or eight feet up and down the pier at times. The operator made sure to lower his load during the rare lulls in the wind. Picking up the loads was trickier. On the pier, cargo was slung and hooked, with plenty of slack from the crane’s boom. As the vessel moved, the winchman made sure to quickly raise his load from the pier when he was directly above it to minimise swinging. At least one trailer lifted had livestock in it, and I am sure the cows were grateful for a steady hoist!
Carrying on an age-old tradition, Earl Sigurd works cargo by crane at North Ronaldsay on a service that runs once or twice a week from Kirkwall
The crew were extremely friendly, letting my other son safely into the restricted upper deck area as he was fascinated by the proceedings and took hundreds of photos. We sat at North Ronaldsay for an hour, but to me it felt like just minutes. We set off from the island with two fewer passengers for the long voyage back to Kirkwall. The timetable showed we were due in at 17:15, but with the weather and cargo operations taking slightly longer than planned, we were running about an hour and a quarter late.
Eday, and the adjacent Calf of Eday, seen from Earl Sigurd as she heads back to Kirkwall
The return to Kirkwall was via the Sound of Faray to the west of Eday
The return journey took us past the north coast of low-lying Sanday, where we saw Lady of Avenel again. Then the cliffs of Eday rose, and we steamed south along the west side of the island, down the Sound of Faray, through the gap between Faray and Eday, and then into the familiar waters we had sailed through in the morning. The early evening light was bright and golden, making for stunning views. We squeezed through the narrow Vasa Sound off Shapinsay’s west coast, using the five knot current to our advantage, and reached Kirkwall at 18:35.
The five knot tide used to advantage in the Vasa Sound close to the Shapinsay coast: the two cars at the stern were destined for a scrapyard
I had been wanting to do this trip since I last visited North Ronaldsay in 2004 and I was not disappointed. I could happily have stepped back aboard and done it all again, but thought better of it for the sanity of my ever-accepting family who had sat on Earl Sigurd for over six hours since she had arrived at Papa Westray.
Rob is a long-standing member of CRSC and as well as being an established author in his own right, has contributed articles to both ‘Clyde Steamers’, the annual magazine produced for members, and the CRSC website. If you would like to join CRSC, and receive copies of our much-prized west coast shipping Review and our annual magazine, as well as being able to access a growing library of ‘Members Only’ posts on the website, then please click here.