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Displaying items by tag: Stranded Passengers

Scottish police were called to deal with ferry passengers who refused to leave the Brodick terminal after they were left stranded on the Isle of Arran when the last sailing back to the mainland was cancelled (on Friday).

This came after the Arran ferry, MV Caledonian Isles, due to sail at 16.40 was diverted to assist a mayday distress call from a yacht that had lost its power around 4 pm.

Although the Caledonian Isles was stood down and returned to service, the 19.00 sailing was cancelled due to bad weather.

It was suspected that 40 passengers were left without accommodation, with some being forced to sleep in their vehicles during the bad weather.

For those on foot, they were told to seek alternative accommodation, even though the buses that could take them further out into the island had finished.

The island is currently at summer peak season and most accommodation was fully booked.

HeraldScotland.com has more. 

Published in Ferry

Passengers were stranded overnight on a ferry bound for Belfast from Liverpool due to some crew members coming down with Covid-19.

The port health authorities at Liverpool instructed that the Stena Edda (introduced earlier this year) must be held at Birkenhead, across the River Mersey from Liverpool, as a precaution.

There were 322 passengers and 53 crew on board.

Stena said that the six crew members who tested positive for coronavirus were “being cared for and are doing well, with only mild symptoms”.

Fifteen close contacts also were identified and were self-isolating.

“Stena Line is liaising closely with public health authorities on this matter who have advised us that we should disembark the vessel in Birkenhead,” Stena said in a statement.

“The welfare of our passengers and crew is paramount at this time. The passengers are being catered for and we will assist them with alternative travel arrangements,” the company added.

The Irish Times has more here.

Published in Ferry

Passengers taking a ferry have been stranded on the Isle of Arran, Scotland, after bad weather caused service disruption and cancellations.

Gusts of up to 60mph, reported STV News, have affected the safe delivery of CalMac sevices from Brodick to Ardrossan over the weekend.

The operator managed to clear “around half” of cars booked to leave Arran by using a service from Lochranza to Tarbert on Sunday.

However, disruption has continued and more cancellations have taken place on Monday.

Robert Morrison, director of operations at CalMac, said: “There has been severe weather related disruption since the New Year with gusts of up to 60mph impacting on our ability to deliver services to Arran and elsewhere.

More on the story here. 

Published in Ferry

The Irish National Sailing and Powerboat School is based on Dun Laoghaire's West Pier on Dublin Bay and in the heart of Ireland's marine leisure capital.

Whether you are looking at beginners start sailing course, a junior course or something more advanced in yacht racing, the INSS prides itself in being able to provide it as Ireland's largest sailing school.

Since its establishment in 1978, INSS says it has provided sailing and powerboat training to approximately 170,000 trainees. The school has a team of full-time instructors and they operate all year round. Lead by the father and son team of Alistair and Kenneth Rumball, the school has a great passion for the sport of sailing and boating and it enjoys nothing more than introducing it to beginners for the first time. 

Programmes include:

  • Shorebased Courses, including VHF, First Aid, Navigation
  • Powerboat Courses
  • Junior Sailing
  • Schools and College Sailing
  • Adult Dinghy and Yacht Training
  • Corporate Sailing & Events

History of the INSS

Set up by Alistair Rumball in 1978, the sailing school had very humble beginnings, with the original clubhouse situated on the first floor of what is now a charity shop on Dun Laoghaire's main street. Through the late 1970s and 1980s, the business began to establish a foothold, and Alistair's late brother Arthur set up the chandler Viking Marine during this period, which he ran until selling on to its present owners in 1999.

In 1991, the Irish National Sailing School relocated to its current premises at the foot of the West Pier. Throughout the 1990s the business continued to build on its reputation and became the training institution of choice for budding sailors. The 2000s saw the business break barriers - firstly by introducing more people to the water than any other organisation, and secondly pioneering low-cost course fees, thereby rubbishing the assertion that sailing is an expensive sport.