Rothesay

[edowds]

Ettrick Bay on the Island.

The wreck is no longer there as it broke up at the New Year storms and it was cleared away.

[Otis]

,Yeah it was well photographed over the years

[Otis]

Standing Stones at Kingarth on the Isle of Bute,said to be over 3000 years old,or so im told

[Otis]

Calmac are doing away with these boats called streakers & bringing in two boats built in Poland ,they have been in service but as the council are upgrading the pier to accommodate them the old boats were brought back..

[Apollo]

MV Bute has been in service since 2005.

Her sister, MV Argyle, left her Gdansk birthplace on Wednesday and is due to sail via the English Channel before arriving on the Clyde on Monday, ahead of her naming at, or near, Rothesay pier next Friday, April 27.

The remaining streakers, MV Saturn and MV Jupiter, will continue in service on their present routes, such as Gourock/Dunoon, although MV Juno, presently serving on the Rothesay/Wemyss Bay route, is surviving on a temporarily extended passenger certificate, which is not due for renewal, as it would require an overhaul, so this service probably marks the end of her 33 year long career.

Not quite the end of and era, but it's getting closer and closer

[Otis]

Yeah a lot of the locals are not happy regarding this move but change is never welcomed by some..Took some long enough to accept that the world was not flat

[Dugald]

MV Bute has been in service since 2005.

Her sister, MV Argyle, left her Gdansk birthplace on Wednesday and is due to sail via the English Channel before arriving on the Clyde on Monday, ahead of her naming at, or near, Rothesay pier next Friday, April 27.

The remaining streakers, MV Saturn and MV Jupiter, will continue in service on their present routes, such as Gourock/Dunoon, although MV Juno, presently serving on the Rothesay/Wemyss Bay route, is surviving on a temporarily extended passenger certificate, which is not due for renewal, as it would require an overhaul, so this service probably marks the end of her 33 year long career.

Not quite the end of and era, but it's getting closer and closer

David MacBrayne must be turning in his grave at the thought of the Clyde buying boats from Poland! Geez, we'll be buying whisky from China very shortly.

[Otis]

We already buy building sand from Saudi

[brickwall]

We already buy building sand from Saudi

Aye, and coal from Australia.

BTW, any news on the possible illegal state subsidies the Polish yard recieved?

I was hoping we could stuff them by catching them out.

[Apollo]

As far as I know, the finding in 2005 regarding Ferguson's claims of illegal subsidies was not upheld an no evidence was put forward to substantiate the claim:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Gover ... sh/polish1

And, this finding was used with regard to later tenders being placed for other vessels:

http://www.sfpa.gov.uk/procurement.asp?ID=1

[Otis]

Naming ceremony for Bute’s second new ferry, MV Argyle, scheduled for month-end. Let's hope the delays with the Pier are sorted in time.. To be honest i prefer the old streakers,means you will have to get out your car when the MVs come back to work & mix with the peasants

[Otis]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6425603.stm

And Calmac was the only bidder. Is this for real?

[bluepeterno1]

These ferries cost £12,million each and they dont even have a coathook behind the door in the gents toilets,and the money spent on them should have stayed in scotland , they paid £3/4 million for two gangplanks one at wymes bay and one in rothesay and they now have to change them. its like climbing mount everest going up them ,if you joined the two together you could walk to the mainland,the whole pier has now to be altered to accomodate them ,god knows what the fares will end up like ,they are bad enough just now,in bad weather they cannot get into wemys bay ,the whole thing is a joke .
bluepeterno1 rothesay

[Apollo]

The naming ceremony is scheduled for today (Friday 4th May) at Rothesay.

I'm always most impressed by the bravery shown by those who will not be subject to any legal action arising from failure to comply with EU regulations, when they advise those that may, to take a stand against them.

The new ferries, MV Bute and MV Argyle cost £8.5 million and £9 million respectively.

We may like the Streakers, but when they reach the end of their working life and can't achieve Passenger Certification economically, then we get stuffed by the legislation and liability that have grown in the 30+ years since they were commissioned.

The gangways were good money after bad, the only good news I ever heard about them was that the original designer was "no longer with the company". Scant consolation for those left with the gangways though. They appear to be masterpieces of over-complexity, ready to break down at the least provocation.

Wemyss Bay has no natural breakwater or shelter from the weather of the firth, and gets hit with the full force with any adverse weather, and the Streakers often have/had to divert to Gourock, and past performance of MV Bute shows things will be no better with 'new' technology.

Despite all the moaning, the actual annual passenger/car fare increase by CalMac is generally in line with inflation, an average of around 3% per annum (this does include the more complex commercial vehicle rates).

[Otis]

I think what pisses most folk off who live on the Island is being held to ransom so to speak by Calmac over fares..

I work on the mainland & require my car to get to the ferry,then to Glasgow & back,doing this 5 days a week is heavy on the pocket.

Yeah my choice to live here but Calmac are modern day highway men & support for a bridge is growing rapidly,a position i do not support i hasten to add