CalMac professionals

Sir,

May I through your pages thank the crew of the MV Catriona for saving our weekend break to Arran.

While enroute to Ardrossan on Thursday last we received a text informing us that our booked ferry had been cancelled and we were rebooked on a later ferry. By the time we had arrived at Ardrossan we received another text informing us that all ferries were cancelled for the day. For the first time in over 50 years of visiting Arran it looked like it wasn’t to be.

The CalMac website offered us a ray of hope in the form of a diverted service from Tarbert to Lochranza at 5.25pm. We set off on a road trip negotiating, amongst other things, the diversions on the A83.

We were lucky enough to bag a place on the MV Catriona for what was the most lively journey to Lochranza. That little ferry pitched and turned and waves broke over the vessel for an hour and a half but that did not faze the crew one little bit. Their professionalism was evident for all to see and they were cheery to boot. Thank you and well done.

This, of course, begs the question that if a little vessel like Catriona can make it why can’t Caledonian Isles? Of course we know it’s not the boat but the harbour.

Ardrossan seems impossible to enter in anything other than a breeze. Why, oh why, have CalMac persisted with Ardrossan and I presume the planned improvements will do little to improve service reliability. Such is progress! Yours,

Mike Smith, North Shields.