The "Sound of Islay"

at St Johns, Newfoundland in 2009

"SOUND OF ISLAY"
THE IRISH FERRY - NOW and THEN
Western Ferries Ltd. was formed in July 1967 with the intention of providing more frequent and
cheaper services in The West of Scotland than those offered by MacBrayne's, the Scottish
state-owned operator . The exercise was to be achieved with simple, unsophisticated ships
and terminals, combined with low crewing, on the lines of tried and tested ferry operations in
Norway.

1
The "Sound of Islay", a 280 gross ton, 135 net registered ton, passenger and car ferry, was
built by Ferguson Shipbuilders of Port Glasgow, as Yard No 452 and was launched on Tuesday,
February 27, 1968.
Of 142 feet 5 inches in length, a beam of 31 feet 3 inches and a draft of 5 feet 2 inches, she
was given twin TA8 4SA, 8 370 mm x 500 mm (6½" x 7¼") cylinder, reverse-geared, Bergius
Kelvin diesel engines, each of 380 bhp at 1200 rpm, giving her a speed of 10.75 knots and
was fitted with twin rudders, controlled by hydraulic steering-gear and a bow thrust unit, to
assist in manoeuvring.

Two small saloons were provided for passengers, a Class III certificate allowing for 93
passengers and a Class IIA certificate allowing for 80 passengers in summer and 35
passengers in winter her open flush car deck aft accommodating up to 20 cars or 6 lorries and
a few cars as space allowed.

Entering service on April 7, 1968, she was placed on a new twice-daily service between a
newly-built Kennacraig terminal in West Loch Tarbert and Port Askaig on Islay, a daily call in
both directions also being made at a new link-span at the north end of Gigha, that linkspan
washed away in a storm in January 1972 and not replaced.

In 1968 too, proposals were made by Western Ferries to provide a larger vessel and to
establish an "overland" route to Islay, via Jura, with a subsidy from public funds but, this was
rejected by Secretary of State for Scotland William Ross, he opposed to fragmenting the
service and considered that the proposals of MacBrayne and Argyll County Council for
improving the approach roads to Port Askaig on Islay and between Feolin and Craighouse on
Jura, would result in a much better service than the islands had had up to that time, Western
Ferries then annoucing in August 1968 that they would continue to operate without subsidy
and that plans for a second ship, the Norwegian-built "Sound of Jura", were at an advanced
stage.

In September 1969, the "Sound of Jura" on the horizon, Western Ferries then announced that,
if planning permission could be obtained, they were considering using the "Sound of Islay" on
a new ferry route on The Clyde, between Hunter's Quay, where they already owned the pier
and McInroy's Point, on the western outskirts of Gourock, that service eventually opend on
Sunday June 3, 1973 by the "Sound of Shuna", one of a pair of 1960's built Swedish double-
ended car ferries especially acquired for the new Clyde service.

The "Sound of Islay" and the "Queen Mary (II)" at Campbeltown on June 1, 1973,
Kintyre Show Day

With the arrival of the "Sound of Jura", the Glasgow-registered "Sound of Islay" became
essentially 'spare', necessary only to relieve the new Norwegian ship for winter overhauls and,
with expectations of increasing tourism and commercial trafffic between Scotland and Ireland,
the "Sound of Islay" was re-registered at Campbeltown in 1970, where all later Western

2
Ferries' ships have followed suit and, in May 1970, the "Sound of Islay" began operating a
twice daily service to Red Bay, near Cushendall, in County Antrim.

A fairly regular, freight only service, was continued throughout the winter of 1970 - 1971, the
"Sound of Islay" only having a limited passenger certificate, sufficient for a full complement of
lorry drivers, for the crossing, the ship necessarily used to relieve the "Sound of Jura" for
overhaul on the Islay run.

In 1971, as in the following two years, the published timetable Irish ferry crossing began at
the end of the second fortnight in June and ran until the end of the second fortnight in
September - A daily double crossing was made from Fridays to Mondays and a single daily
crossing scheduled on other weekdays, a daily double crossing being given throughout June
and July.

In November 1971, Western Ferries announced that the "Sound of Islay" would be available
for charter throughout the
rest of that winter and early in 1972 she made several trips from Ardrossan to Campbeltown
with heavy construction machinery.

The "Sound of Islay" lying alongside Berth 1A at Rothesay

Then, in April 1972, a loading slip was cut out for her at Rothesay, inside the western end of
the pier, at what was then referred to as 'Berth 1A', the "Sound of Islay" going to Faslane and
towing the link-span, that had been intended for Colonsay, to be fitted at Rothesay, Western
Ferries having secured a contract to bring granite chips from Furnace quarry, on Lochfyneside
to Rothesay for a new housing development and the new linkspan enabling her to unload at
any state of the tide.

During the months of October to December of 1972, she chartered to MacBrayne's to cover
their Portree and Small Isles services while their own ships were being overhauled.

3
 The "Sound of Islay" at Red Bay's simple but adequate terminal

The "Sound of Islay" then resumed the Campbeltown - Red Bay services in June 1973 but,
thanks in part to the unrest in Ireland, this would be her last season on the Irish crossing and,
her scheduled sailings finishing that September, she again became 'spare' ship and was made
available for charter work.

After a trip to Orkney in July 1974, she returned to The Clyde at the end of the month and, on
July 30th, she began a thrice-daily direct run between Western Ferries' McInroy's Point
terminal and the then building Ardyne oil platform construction yard, opposite Rothesay, the
"Sound of Islay" fully laden with six 'liquid' cement road tankers on every trip, the drivers of
these tankers, always travelling in convoy along the A8/M8, locally well-appreciated for their
courtesy in avoiding traffic queues building up behind them at all times.

4
Given the various 'machinations' about the West Loch Tarbert to Islay ferry services, these
reported in some detail elsewhere in 'the archives', Western Ferries sold the "Sound of Jura" to
The Mexican Government to open up a car ferry route between Puerto Morelos, on the Yucatán
Peninsula and the island of Cozumel, in September 1976, the "Sound of Islay" then returning
to the Kennacraig - Port Askaig route until Western Ferries finally withdrew completely from
the Islay service on September 30, 1981.

The "Sound of Islay" was then sold to The Government of Newfoundland & Labrador's
Department of Works, Services and Transportation in St John's, Newfoundland for £275,000
and is still in service at the time of writing in 2009, a 65-page long, as might be expected
from any government department, set of tender documents for her annual, 2009/2010 winter
overhaul being sent out in August 2009 and an interesting 123-page long (1.65 mb PDF
format) report, published in March 2006, highlighting the strategy for replacing the now
rapidly ageing Newfoundland ferry fleet can be downloaded from the Newfoundland and
Labrador Government's website at http://www.tw.gov.nl.ca/publications/bmt_report.pdf

The "Sound of Islay", still with her original name and painted in Newfoundland
Goverment colours

5
 Published by the Department of Transportation and Works

The "Sound of Islay" storming along off Newfoundland's west coast in the spring of
2009
Newfoundland's Ferry Service
Routes Where The "Sound of Islay" Has Been Noted Working Are
Highlighted in Yellow
http://www.tw.gov.nl.ca/FerryServices/schedules.stm
Select Point on Map or from Listed Locations

6
 Bell Island - Portugal
A
Cove
St. Brendan's - Burnside
B
Bonavista Bay
Fogo Island - Change
C
Island - Farewell
Long Island - Pilley's
D
Island
Little Bay Islands - Shoal
E Arm
Notre Dame Bay
Charlottetown - Norman
F Bay - Williams Harbour -
Port Hope Simpson
Goose Bay - Rigolet -
G Cartwright - Black Tickle -
Ports North to Nain
Goose Bay - Cartwright -
H
Lewisporte
Blanc Sablon - St. Barbe
I
(Labrador Straits Area)
LaPoile - Grand Bruit -
J
Rose Blanche
Ramea - Grey River -
K
Burgeo
Francois - Grey River -
L
Burgeo
Gaultois - McCallum -
M
Hermitage
Rencontre East - Bay
N
L'Argent - Pool's Cove
South East Bight - Petit
O
Forte

Explore Newfoundland and Its Ferry Routes by Clicking on The Link Below or Pasting
it into your Browser
http://www.google.com/maps?q=47.571667,+-52.704333+(SIO%20+%20Number+322579)

The Government of Newfoundland has long being wanting to build new ships to replace
Western Ferries' "Sound of Islay" and others on their ferry services and, though some thought
her too slow in service when she opened up the Campbeltown to Red Bay ferry service in
1969, she is understood to have been fairly recently re-engined and, if circumstances
permitted, it would make 'more than a little sense' to return the "Sound of Islay to her original
roots and routes !

A full 100 years after there were proposals to 'bridge' The North Channel with a railway tunnel
and exploit the Kintyre peninsula as a 'route centre', enabling passengers (and cargoes) to
move easily to and from Ireland without demanding transit via 'over-trafficked' Central and
West of Scotland routes, office-bound planners and but occasional venturers into these parts
from Scottish Government and other related agencies, almost 'studiously' avoid all mention or
consideration of the historical evidence which marks out 'the shortest crossing' between
7
Ireland and Scotland as that most likely to viable, even to this day, in terms of traffic revenue,
prevailing weather conditions, operating costs and start-up, establishment, costs.

Within the last few years, even before the re-establishment of The Scottish Parliament, in
1999, there have been debates
about the 'financial viability' of a ferry service between Kintyre and Ireland, the politicians on
both sides of The North Channel, swayed by office-bound and non-seafaring officials,
persuaded to 'go for the long haul' and promote and support the idea of running a ferry service
between Ballycastle and Campbeltown, with, if the office-bound officials and their appointed
consultants can get way with it, 'a route extension' to the Ayrshire port of Troon.

Though that consultants' report has been 'under lock and key' since it was completed in May
2008, more than a year ago, the document here written in September 2009, there is no
single mention of the work anywhere on the consultants' own website, where all their
employments (and many case studies) are proudly listed, since the beginning of 2004 !

Whatever the reasons for such secrecy, it can be revealed that The Scottish Goverment's
consultants are indeed experienced in marine matters for, as they were completing their
study on 'The Irish Ferry', they were, paraphrasing one of the consultants' own press releases,
'commissioned, along with partners, to carry out the work on behalf of Glasgow City Council,
which represents a group of local authorities in the West of Scotland, to assess the viability of
developing a waterbus commuter service on the River Clyde.

'The findings of the study, expected to have been delivered by the end of March 2008, were
to explore how the River Clyde could be used for public transport services, similar to other
networks deployed in London, Sydney and New York and would see the development of a
commuter service linking Glasgow and The Clyde Estuary as well as providing additional
tourist networks to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Loch Long, Loch Goil and
Rothesay.

'Reviewing 'best practice from across The World', the consultants were to assess the likely
demand for such a service, as well as opportunities to integrate with existing transport
services and were to also provide recommendations for feasible service patterns, vessel
specifications and assess the economic viability of the services.

'The conclusions were to focus on the potential to enhance the use of The River Clyde, to
open up public transport linkages between locations which are currently poor or non-existent,
to boost cross-river public transport movements by the introduction of waterbus services and
to examine the opportunities for interchange with other modes of transport to ensure waterbus
services integrate with existing transport networks'.

Like 'The Irish Ferry' report, this 'waterbus service' report, which could have been written by
anyone with a knowledge of the old Clyde 'Clutha' ferries, which provided a well-used
'waterbus service' between Glasgow's Victoria Bridge and Whiteinch in the years between
1884 and 1903, has also escaped the clutches of 'the public domain' !

Just what the similarities of, for a start, weather, between The Clyde, Sydney and New York
may be, are probably as much of a mystery to the meteorologists as they are to those of us
mortals who actually live and work in west of Scotland and the idea of any competent sea-
going officer ever attempting to take a 'waterbus' west of The Cloch Lighthouse in any
southerly sea, or even trying to head eastwards, up-river, in even a moderate easterly wind,
'beggars belief' and 'best practice from across The World', as the consultants phrase it, just
does not and cannot apply in these waters.

8
In these matters, history tells us that, in the 1960’s, The Caledonian Steam Packet Company
questioned motorists disembarking from the Dunoon car-ferry at Gourock about their
intentions and found that the majority of those returning south to England turned not to
Glasgow and then then A74 but south down the Ayrshire Coast to Dumfries and Galloway and
The Lake District for their final nights of their holidays.

The traditional pattern of tourist movements around Scotland finds that traffic moves anti-
clockwise i.e. from 'The South', northwards to Edinburgh and then to Inverness and south
again to Fort William and Oban. The tourist travellers then heading homewards as their funds
run out, the final funds being kept for a final night's 'fling' in the 'border' and Lake District
areas and the essential 'first-thing' and 'next-morning breakfast' grocery supplies needed
when they got home !

Despite the prevalence of cash dispensing machines and credit cards, nothing has altered the
tourists' attitudes over the years.

When the Fairlie-based car ferry "Cowal (II)" began a daily service Fairlie Millport (Keppel Pier)
and Brodick to Tarbert in 1970, the service essentially 'unadvertised' being designed to provide
a relief for the sometimes over-loaded Ardrossan - Brodick car ferry "Glen Sannox (III)",
motorists loading their cars at Tarbert confirmed the earlier findings and, much to STG’s
surprise and thanks largely to the editor of the weekly "Autocar" magazine, quite a
considerable traffic built up for
the Tarbert section !

The proposals to reinstate the car-ferry service from Campbeltown should take account of
these findings and, instead of simply focusing on the provision of an Irish service, should seek
to establish links with both Ireland and the Loch Ryan area drawing traffic through Kintyre
which would otherwise be lost to the already well patronised Stranraer - Larne ferry services.

Additionally, the proposed new services would open up a through continental link to the Cork -
Roscoff vehicle ferry. Refrigerated lorry traffic from Spain hauled fruit across the English
Channel, the empty lorries came north to the various West Highland landing ports for shellfish
before returning home again, not infrequently through Poole, in the south of England and the
homeward route through Kintyre had the potential for shortening driving hours and delivery
times.

The Kintyre - 'Loch Ryan' link would again pull homeward bound southern tourists through Mid
Argyll and Kintyre and, through reciprocal ticketing arrangements with the Stranraer - Larne
and other Irish Sea ferry operators, a completely new
set of mini-break, weekend and mini-circular tourist breaks, operating in all directions, would
be created.

There has been no recent history of commercial trading between Kintyre and the Ayrshire
ports to suggest the viability of any Kintyre - Ayr - Troon or Ardrossan freight service.

Robin Taylor's "Red Baroness" and "Red Duchess" and other ships already carry out the only
natural cargo that Kintyre produces, trees and not one of these ships ever arrives laden in
Campbeltown and not one of these shipowners or their agents has ever been asked to bring in
the raw steel etc. for the wind turbine towers and assemblies manufactured at Machrihanish.

The export of these 'non-stackable' tower products requires expert handling, in case of
damage to their outer skins and requiring secure stowage on their outward journeys, the truth
of the matter being that these tower products need special care in transit and, as any insurer
would likely advise, they should not be carried 'cheek to jowl' with 'ordinary' car ferry traffic.

9
Despite the appeal of any short Kintyre - Ayrshire ferry to some, not least the most recently
engaged Scottish Government consultants, the actual (up to 3 hour) crossing times, the
additional time needed for booking in, boarding and disembarkation would nullify the seeming
advantage of such a route.

There could be no real time improvement in moving freight by this route, one easily affected
by weather conditions, no support could be expected from road hauliers on either side of The
Clyde, not so much because of the expense of the passage but too by the problems of re-
booking, in the case of services cancelled by weather conditions, but rather by the fairly
obvious challenge of trying to recover already, pre-paid, charges from the ferry operator(s),
that of deep concern to road hauliers working on ever decreasing margins and potentially
doing severe damage to their tight cash flows !

Too it should be remembered that the only commercial traffic, 'in now long past recent time',
was a 'near-regular' lorry going eastwards from Campbeltown, which ran to the fish processing
plant in Annan and, before that, some few seasonal runs of lime from the now long defunct
Kintyre Farmers to the area around Kircudbright, it better served with lime from Northern
Ireland.

Hyslop 'The Butcher', from Tarbert, made very occasional and irregular trips to the old market
in Lanark, three lorries from Tweed Valley Transport, in convoy, made two trips a year to
Kintyre and Hendry of Galston's cattle float and trailer used to make weekly trips to Kintyre's
farms, that reduced as often or not nowadays to but a single trip each month.

From the foregoing summary of commercial traffic movements, it is difficult to understand just
how any 'Ayrshire ferry'
service could be made viable, Troon too far north in any case to catch, or even appeal to,
'tourist' traffic, which traditionally moves in the pattern identified above. In any case, 'one-
ship' ferry operations are notoriously known to 'founder' !

A 'one ship' operation running between Ballycastle, Campbeltown and Troon would not only be
at the mercy of the weather, the sea conditions on the long reach between Ballycastle and the
east of the Kintyre peninsula uncomfortable at the best of times for passengers and oft
upsetting in even moderate westerlies and easterlies and crossings from the shelter of
Campbeltown Loch to the Ayrshire coast and gaining access to any of the Ayrshire ports,
Ardrossan, Irvine, Troon, Ayr and Girvan not for the feint-hearted traveller in sometimes even
moderate southerly winds, but, with only one ship in ownership and nothing similar, least in
'high season', to provide a replacement, delays and breakdowns would inevitably jeopardise
the success of such an ill-devised and 'extended' venture.

However, there are already and ample enough berthing facilities for stern and side-loading
ferries at both Cairnryan and Stranraer, the former being favoured, right at the entrance to
Loch Ryan and, unlike the Ayrshire ports, there is good shelter from the winds in Loch Ryan.

So, no 'Irish Railway Tunnel', no 'Ayrshire ferry crossing', no 'waterbus' and no 'fuel-guzzling'
high-speed catamarans or hovercraft !

10
The answer perhaps lies in 'Going Back to The Future', for The Government of Newfoundland
has long being wanting to build new ships to replace Western Ferries' "Sound of Islay" and
others on their ferry services and, though some thought her too slow in service when she
opened up the Campbeltown to Red Bay ferry service in 1969, she is understood to have been
fairly recently re-engined.

Though on the Irish side, rather than Red Bay, the natural destination for any ferry service
from Kintyre should be Larne, with good berthing facilities and, importantly, good route
communications to the whole of Ireland by bus and by train, ideal for ‘non-landing day trip’
excursions from Ireland to Kintyre, the original Red Bay slipway, built by Western Ferries, is
still in place AND, if it not still fitted below her stern vehicle ramp, it would be easy enough to
manufacture the 'T-Bar' frame which would allow her to berth on today's Campbeltown ferry
berth linkspan.

Just as before, the "Sound of Islay" could be returned to her old timetable on a revived
Campbeltown - Red Bay service, a daily double run in 'high season'; a daily double run over
weekends, Fridays to Mondays inclusively and a single daily run, Tuesdays to Thursdays in the
'shoulders' of each season and a single daily run in winter, a pattern of sailings which
Campbeltown's John Leesmoffat who, along with Clachan's Bob McLundie, captained both the
"Sound of Islay" and the "Claymore" on previous Irish ferry operations from Campbeltown,
both having an intimate knowledge of these services' traffic patterns AND the prevailing local
weather conditions throughout the year, which is more than 'the consultants' have ever asked
or known about !

Such a service would require NO SUBSIDY on the basis of previous traffic returns, the service
would be 'fuel-and-labour-economic' to operate and, given the ship still in current certification,
albeit Canadian and having originally only cost the Newfoundland Government some £275,000
in September 1981, it is suggested that the re-purchase of the ship and the total cost
reinstatement of the Red Bay car ferry service might cost even less than the £1 million annual
'subsidy' currently being offered by the Scottish Government. The only problems, suggests
retired Captain John Leesmoffat, being that "One might need to telephone Greenock to bring
in a Customs' Officer and one would need to get someone to put 'chalk-board' notices outside
the information centre on Campbeltown Quay and on the roadside at Red Bay" !

The fates of both the "Sound of Islay" and Campbeltown's 'Irish Ferry' service lie in the hands
of unknown and nameless officials and politicians on different sides of The Atlantic, most of
these 'still at school' in the 'good old days' commented on here, the frightening thing is that
they now would 'studiously avoid the courses of history' and make decisions based on the 'oft-
flawed' reports of so-called 'consultants' equally un-versed in either 'history' or coastal
shipping matters - When the "Sound of Islay" was built, the country was still recoiling from Dr
Beeching's 'hatchet-work' on Britain's railways, Beeching's report the work of an accountant -
Today the 'Islay' continues to sail and many railways are being re-opened !

11