I was aboard for three days out of the five in her Western Isles programme : Four Lochs & Corryvreckan Whirlpool on Sunday, Tobermory & Tiree on Monday, and Oban back to Ayr – with Port Ellen and Campbeltown pit-stops – on Tuesday, with glorious weather the whole time (and on several more days subsequently, in St Andrews). We encountered one nice cruise ship (Saga Ruby), one okay-ish one (Astor) which was anchored right in Oban Bay, and one dreadful thing (Aida Cara).
Here's Waverley departing Tiree for her Monday afternoon cruise along Gunna Sound:
Other paddlers in Tiree, where the sharks were basking and the roads were melting:
Returning from Gunna Sound to collect those of us who had been ashore:
Back underway:
Departing Tobermory:
Saga Ruby passing Tobermory:
Oban sunset on 1st June:
Rob, you have no excuse not to be travelling with us regularly. She is now doing her shortened Bristol Channel season, but will be back on the Clyde from 26 June until 31 August, before going to the Thames and South coast. She's back at home for trips on 16-19 October inclusive for the season finale - not just the QM2 day on the Monday - and no, QM2 will not get anything like QE2's turnout last October or on any of her previous visits home - after all, it's not QM2's home and nobody feels the same way about her. She's modern, foreign and ugly
!
I'm sure you can manage something during all that time.
Helen
BTW, I've been an officeholder with the PSPS since 1981, when I founded the North of England & North Wales branch - though, of course, it was a major trauma having to relinquish my membership of the Scottish branch ... I hold a lifetime 'commodore' ticket, still have a reasonable lebvel of involvement and know most of the key players. I shall be up again in July - see you then?
