Tag: adventure

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CalMac, youngest ferries, best funding and most staff

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Scotsman today has – CalMac hit by ‘challenging’ year from increased severe weather and ageing fleet. The ‘ageing fleet‘ line is a well-worn suggestion that the SNP in government has not funded enough new ferry-building. It’s rubbish. The best comparisons are with Washington State Ferries and BC Ferries, on the North-West coast of North America. They each serve one big city as does CalMac – Seattle, Vancouver and Glasgow – and a large island archipelago of 30 to 50 destinations with 20 to 40 vessels. CalMac has the biggest fleet and largest set of destinations … Continue reading CalMac, youngest ferries, best funding and most staff

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A ferry service funded by all of us to run even at only 20% capacity, cannot stand a 7% reduction in service without risking its ‘lifeline’ status? Bollards!

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Professor John Robertson OBA, Island Cycling Correspondent of the Year In the Herald today: Residents of Cumbrae have reacted to plans by state-owned operator CalMac which they say will “further damage fragile island communities”. The Cumbrae Ferry Committee, which represents residents in Millport – the only town on Cumbrae – say CalMac’s proposal to introduce scheduled maintenance windows during normal working hours of the Cumbrae ferry — either six hours each week or a full 24-hour period each month – would reduce vital lifeline services that the island depends on. CalMac‘s Largs to Cumbrae (pop 1 500) and back service, 52 crossings, peak, and 33 off peak, … Continue reading A ferry service funded by all of us to run even at only 20% capacity, cannot stand a 7% reduction in service without risking its ‘lifeline’ status? Bollards!

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‘Devastating damage to vehicles’ aboard North Link’s Orkney ferry after ‘cargo shift’ in wind speeds that have never troubled CalMac

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie again for alerting us to this: Off Stromness, wind speeds this morning varied between 24.5 and 40.1 mph with gusts up to 42.4 mph1according to the Inverness Courier: ‘Devastating’ damage to vehicles aboard Scrabster ferry after ‘cargo shift’ – A “full review” is under way after vehicles were damaged while the ferry Hamnavoe was crossing the Pentland Firth [from Stromness] this morning. The ferry operator, Serco NorthLink Ferries, said there had been a “cargo shift” as the vessel was on its way from Stromness to Scrabster. No-one was injured. Managing director Stuart Garrett … Continue reading ‘Devastating damage to vehicles’ aboard North Link’s Orkney ferry after ‘cargo shift’ in wind speeds that have never troubled CalMac

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200 000 barrels of radioactive waste dumped in the Bay of Biscay approved by the UK on our behalf is not too far away to add to our burden of waste and disease

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Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA From WION on 29 August 2025 (Indian English language news channel) European nations dumped 200,000 barrels of radioactive waste in the ocean, and humans might soon pay the price – A team of scientists has found 3,355 barrels of radioactive waste at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery was made at a depth of 13,000 feet, and hundreds of miles offshore from France. This is only a tiny part of the actual number of barrels filled with nuclear waste scattered … Continue reading 200 000 barrels of radioactive waste dumped in the Bay of Biscay approved by the UK on our behalf is not too far away to add to our burden of waste and disease

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In NHS Wales A&E after decades of Labour-control, three times as many wait more than 12 hours, twice as many wait more than 8 hours and nearly one third more wait more than 4 hours yet it’s ‘dangerous’ here?

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Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details By stewartb Imagine the following was happening in Scotland? Imagine if the British Labour Party and its ally, the Daily Record could lay blame for the following on the Scottish Government! Source: StatsWales (https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Health-and-Social-Care/NHS-Hospital-Waiting-Times/emergency-department ) NHS Wales waiting times in major emergency departments during July 2025: Meeting the 4 hour standard = 54.1% Attendances spending over 8 hours in A&E = 24.3% Attendances spending over 12 hours in A&E = 14.9%. The Royal College of Emergency (RCEM) commented on these latest figures in a press release on August … Continue reading In NHS Wales A&E after decades of Labour-control, three times as many wait more than 12 hours, twice as many wait more than 8 hours and nearly one third more wait more than 4 hours yet it’s ‘dangerous’ here?

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For the West Coast of Scotland’s island routes, mono hull ferries are generally better suited due to their stability in rough seas, higher capacity for passengers and freight

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Professor John Robertson OBA Throughout much of 2024, the Herald worked with opposition politicians in a campaign aimed at undermining CalMac and, by association, the SNP’s competence in government. We, at TuS found several reports of the unsuitability of catamarans across the globe, even in milder conditions than off the West coast of Scotland and today we have used the X AI platform Grok to finally answer the question – Are mono hull or catamaran ferries better for the West Coast of Scotland island routes? The findings were unequivocal in favour of the mono-hulls: Choosing between mono hull and catamaran … Continue reading For the West Coast of Scotland’s island routes, mono hull ferries are generally better suited due to their stability in rough seas, higher capacity for passengers and freight

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One Canadian city with 50% more GDP than the whole of Scotland gets round to planning to replace 90 year-old ferry, more than twice the age of CalMac’s oldest large ferry

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Professor John Robertson OBA From NSAUGA ONTARIO LOCAL NEWS, two days ago, The above image and: Anyone who regularly travels to the Toronto Islands to enjoy a day at Centreville, the beach or the adorable (and hidden-ish) Franklin the Turtle Children’s Garden knows that the ferry (even if delayed) is part of the fun. Now, the city is working to replace its aging ferry fleet with sleek, new electric vessels.  Recently, the City of Toronto announced that construction has started at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal in the city’s downtown core. While the construction and ferry upgrades won’t happen overnight, … Continue reading One Canadian city with 50% more GDP than the whole of Scotland gets round to planning to replace 90 year-old ferry, more than twice the age of CalMac’s oldest large ferry

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The ferry new build and maintenance delays reported so feverishly by media are covered by other vessels and have not affected CalMac’s performance – 98% of sailings completed and 99% of those on time

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald and BBC Scotland continue to deceive with selective reporting of the availability of particular vessels with sensationalist headlines hiding the fact that ferry services are largely unaffected by these as CalMac’s large fleet provides reliable cover. That they are deliberately making up a picture of unreliability due to a few maintenance and new build delays and implying that these result in a loss of service is simply countered by data, in the public domain, which they choose to ignore. CalMac is obliged to publish ‘contractual reliability‘ data (sailings completed as a percentage of those … Continue reading The ferry new build and maintenance delays reported so feverishly by media are covered by other vessels and have not affected CalMac’s performance – 98% of sailings completed and 99% of those on time

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The last word on the damaging misrepresentation of Scotland’s ferries – cheaper, safer, more inclusive and more popular than any other public service

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This first appeared in the June edition of Scots Independent Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve written on ferry services, globally, more times than I can remember in vain attempt to get the Herald and other media to stop publishing downright lies about CalMac which inevitably must be seeping into the public consciousness and, I feel sure, damaging the confidence of travellers from all over the UK and beyond with negative economic consequences for the islands. I’ve tried to put CalMac’s relatively minor problems into a global context, revealing the very real crises in affluent societies from British Columbia, through Washington … Continue reading The last word on the damaging misrepresentation of Scotland’s ferries – cheaper, safer, more inclusive and more popular than any other public service

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Isle of Wight ferry users have been paying far more than Scots for 75 years now!

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Professor John Robertson OBA, Honest Ferry Correspondent From Isle of Wight County Press, yesterday: 75 years ago, in May 1950: The cost of ferry fares were a source of grievance. Mr. H. Frohock, of St. Alban’s guest house, Shanklin, sent a letter to the County Press asking why it cost £3 to cross the Solent, when it only cost 5s (25p) to cross the Firth of Forth. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/island-ferries-a-source-of-grievance-50-years-ago/ar-AA1FRdHy?ocid=BingNewsVerp 12 times more expensive! Things have actually improved relatively for the folk travelling to the Isle of Wight. It’s only 4 times more expensive these days. See: ‘Ferry cost stopped us booking a holiday to … Continue reading Isle of Wight ferry users have been paying far more than Scots for 75 years now!