2007 - A
YEAR IN PICTURES |
 Main
2007 Recap |
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A LOOK
BACK AT THE LAST 12 MONTHS... |
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It's that time of year again when we take a look back at the last 12
months in the life of CalMac and the fleet. Once again it has been an
eventful year, both for the fleet and for the company, with new ships
arriving and the company participating in a somewhat farcical tendering
process. See below for a month by month look at the more major events of
2007. |
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January...remember this? |
Isle of Cumbrae stood in for Loch Alainn on the Largs -
Cumbrae Slip run while the larger ship went to Eriskay |
Caledonian Isles left the Clyde bound for Aberdeen while
Clansman stood in on the Ardrossan - Brodick run |
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Saturn returned to service on the route for which she was built;
Wemyss Bay - Rothesay |
Juno saw her last spell of duty for CalMac, partnering Saturn |
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Isle of Mull lost some life rafts from her starboard side in a
particularly windy spell at Mull |
Clansman saw service on the Clyde, covering for Caledonian
Isles |
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Isle of Arran saw service in Oban while relieving for both
Lord of the Isles and Isle of Mull |
Loch Ranza completed her annual overhaul on Bute and returned to
Gigha |
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February...remember
this? |
Isle of Cumbrae was assisted by Loch Linnhe on the
Lochaline - Fishnish crossing |
Raasay was back on the Tobermory Kilchoan service
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Isle of Lewis returned to service after her overhaul in
Birkenhead |
Loch Fyne went to Garvel for her annual overhaul
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Hebridean Isles spent two weeks covering for Hamnavoe in
Orkney |
Clansman went south for her annual overhaul on the Mersey |
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Loch Portain made her annual excursion away from the Sound of
Harris to Garvel for her overhaul. She called at Gourock to drop off
crew vehicles en route |
Hrossey made Northlink history by becoming the first company ship
to have hr annual overhaul at Birkenhead. She berthed on the dock
adjacent to Clansman |
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March...remember
this? |
Raasay was in service on the Oban - Lismore service while the
Eigg was undergoing her annual overhaul up at Corpach
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Coruisk made her first call at Craignure after leaving the Clyde.
She used the Mull terminal as an overnight berth while en route back to
Mallaig |
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Loch Portain spent a night in Tobermory while she made her way
back to the Sound of Harris |
Hrossey spent time in dry dock on the Mersey and part of her
oerhaul involved fitting new cabins |
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Lochnevis made her last few sailings to Armadale before her
winter duties ended |
Clansman was found on the Uig Triangle service while relieving
for Hebrides |
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Hebrides underwent a fuel conversion process while on her
overhaul. She was converted to burn heavy fuel oil as opposed to diesel.
The process took longer than planned and she was not ready to re-enter
service in time for the summer timetable |
With Hebrides out of service on the Clyde, Isle of Arran
was pressed into service running routes from Oban to cover for the
Clansman which was in turn relievng at Uig. Islay was left in the
care of Hebridean Isles
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April...remember
this? |
Hebrides emerged from JWD and after a call at Gourock, made for
Oban
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Hebrides underwent trials of her new fuel system on the longer
distance runs from Oban
See here for a pictorial feature
showing Hebrides on trials |
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Port Askaig pier was closed for the first 5 months of the year while the
new linkspan was installed |
All services to Islay were via Port Ellen and the rare spectacle of two
ferries was seen in the bay |
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Loch Shira was out and about undergoing trials prior to entering
service |
Argyle completed her delivery voyage from Poland to Gourock |
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Canna spent some time up at Corpach undergoing repairs
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Juno bade farewell to active service and moved to Rosneath for
lay-up |
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May...remember
this? |
Argyle was formally named, the champagne bottle broke on the 2nd
attempt... |
and then she entered regular service, displacing Saturn
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Clansman broke down in spectacular style, requiring time out of
service |
Loch Portain faced major tidal disruption in the Sound of Harris |
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Jupiter completed the 2006/7 annual overhaul programme
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Hjaltland undertook berthing trials at Stromness and Scrabster |
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Loch Shira undertook berthing and loading trials on her new
route... |
...and gave a public open evening prior to entering service
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June...remember
this? |
Loch Shira finally entered service between Largs and Cumbrae |
Saturn moved down to Arran to commence her summer role
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Argyle settled in well on her new route
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Loch Alainn became the largest vessel to use Ardmaleish slip |
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Loch Dunvegan was among the victims of a particularly rough spell |
The Saturday Uist run had a habit of running into Oban alongside the
Mull ferry |
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July...remember
this? |
Loch Alainn left the Clyde on her journey to Eriskay... |
...and entered service on the Barra - Eriskay run |
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Loch Bhrusda settled down into her new role... |
...and was soon found relieving at Cumbrae for Loch Shira |
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Loch Shira suffered her first mishap - a Voith unit failure
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Bow problems saw Hebridean Isles operating as a stern-loader |
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August...remember
this? |
Raasay enjoyed a week relieving on the Lismore run prior to her
overhaul |
Saturn returned to the Dunoon run for Cowal Games Weekend |
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Lord of the Isles and Clansman swapped rosters for a few
days |
Loch Bhrusda spent a week covering for Loch Tarbert
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Loch Riddon went to Iona while Loch Buie was off for
repairs |
Loch Bhrusda covered Loch Riddon at Cumbrae
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Raasay finished off her overhaul at Corpach... |
...and underwent trials in Loch Eil |
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September...remember
this? |
Canna left Rathlin to go off for her own overhaul, calling in at
Oban |
Saturn returned for a brief stint at Rothesay
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Lord of the Isles also suffered bow visor problems and was forced
to stern load wherever she went |
Hebridean Isles meanwhile had her bow ramp fixed and was able to
resume normal service |
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Saturn left the Clyde for the first time... |
...and undertook trials at Islay |
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Canna called in at Oban on the return journey to Rathlin |
CalMac announced the forthcoming winter's 2-ship service |
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October...remember
this? |
CalMac reached an agreement for Ardmaleish Boatyard to overhaul
the majority of the Loch Class vessels over the next 3 years |
Loch Linnhe was called in to assist the Loch Fyne with
Rally traffic on the Lochaline - Fishnish route
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Raasay carried out Small Isles sailings while Lochnevis
was on her annual overhaul |
Lord of the Isles arrived at Greenock for her overhaul, passing
Jupiter on the way |
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Saturn completed her overhaul and lay in JWD before moving to
Rosneath |
Loch Tarbert became the Portavadie ferry as the winter timetable
commenced |
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November...remember
this? |
Loch Alainn was the chosen relief ship for the Colintraive
service |
Isle of Cumbrae temporarily became the Kilchoan relief ferry |
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Loch Shira encountered two former Cumbrae ferries at Largs; Loch Linnhe awaiting overhaul and Isle of Cumbrae heading
for Mull |
Isle of Mull paid her 1st visit to the Clyde since her call at
Inchgreen
for bow visor repairs nearly three years ago. She arrived for overhaul
this time |
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Coruisk arrived from Mallaig and underwent her overhaul in JWD
wet dock |
Jupiter broke down, necessitating Saturn's assistance at
Dunoon |
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Loch Riddon ended up back on her original route on relief...
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...and two days later appeared at Fionnphort to relieve Loch Buie |
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December...remember
this? |
Isle of Mull commenced her first spell of Clyde relief work,
however she was subject to numerous disruptions involving cancelled
sailings and diversions to Gourock... |
...however, in the calmer spells, she was able to get into Ardrossan and
keep the route to Arran open
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With Isle of Mull away, Lord of the Isles took care at
Mull |
December storms delayed Loch Buie's return to Iona |
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