tlady Posted October 28, 2008 Report Share Posted October 28, 2008 I was on the boat last night coming north and if I'd known how rough it was going to be I'd have stayed in Aberdeen.. Flybe here I come .. At least that's only an hour of discomfort! And I may get to my destination without crippling myself !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 ^^ Depends if they try coming in/out on a flanny cross-wind. Sumburgh faels have had to be dug out of wingtips at Aberdeen in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medziotojas Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Does the term 'lifeline link' constitute a sailing every night? I seem to remember we got by with Tuesday and Thursday sailings in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 ^^ That was back in the dark ages of the early 70's though, when we were all living in peerie faelie hooses and only needed the boat to ship out da lambs and kye ta da marts. Noo dat we've turned all civilised a daily boat is barely enough, we wid need a brig so as we could shop in Aberdeen every day we wantit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 I too am suspicious about last night's cancellations. Was it more to get the boats back to their right schedules than about the weather?. A very dangerous move by Northlink if that was the case as they have a government contract to run a service every night and government contracts can be lost for failure to fulfil the demands of the contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaflech Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 ^^^^^^^I don't think they were being that conspiratorial, the forecast did say it was going to be storm force 10 then severe gale force 9, which would make a pretty uncomfortable crossing. They're pretty much damned if they do and damned if they don't, can you imagine if they did sail and somebody rumbled down the stairs and broke their neck, "Oh, they should never have sailed on a night like this, what was the skipper thinking......" Yes it is a 'life-line' service, but in this age of litigation and the threat and ease of being sued at every turn, corporate ass-covering I fear is a higher priority than getting fresh veg on the shelves of Tesco and the Co-op. As for not fulfilling their contract, anything weather-related, therefore safety related, is going to put them in a better light if anything, rather than some gung-ho outfit that would quite happily set off into the worst of weather, yee-haaing all the way to Lerwick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engineer21 Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 too be sure nowadays if your booking a holiday with connecting flights at aberdeen or glasgow i would go at least the day before to be sure your gonna make it! most ppl will get away with it but theres a long winter ahead! dosent matter how many crossings you have you need crossing which you know are gonna leave its no use a mabye!! and unless its the extreme like saturday nite then they should really be going, there were oil related boats sailing all day yesterday northlink is a far bigger boat with far better conditions onbord. the wold gone silly if your goning too sue someone for falling down stairs on a rough night, its not northlinks fault, u fell down the stairs, and could have done it at home!! i think people see the north boats as a nice cruise it mabye that in summer but its a service delivering freight, and shetlanders too and from home if you stop sailing on a force 8 how long is it till u stop on a force 7? of course iam not saying they should be sailing full speed into a hurricane but i think they need too sort it ut a bit last nite was a decent night for the ferry ok a bit of pitch for the vessle northbound but if its passenger comfort your worried about mabye they should sail without passengers on anything abouve a force 6?? at least freight and the fish etc would get away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaflech Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 there were oil related boats sailing all day yesterday northlink is a far bigger boat with far better conditions onbord. Thats a different kettle of fish, they have to be out, and they are manned only by professional seamen, whereas the ferry has fare-paying passengers on board. the wold gone silly if your goning too sue someone for falling down stairs on a rough night, its not northlinks fault, u fell down the stairs, and could have done it at home!! i think people see the north boats as a nice cruise it mabye that in summer but its a service delivering freight, and shetlanders too and from home You're quite right it wouldn't be Northlink's fault, but if you are on their vessel they have a duty of care toward its occupants and cargo, and if you come a cropper while onboard, however witless or stupid you may have been, the company has failed in that duty. Unfortunately we live in an age when where we have to have warnings on vended coffee cups that the contents may be hot, that bags of peanuts contain nuts, and thieves have to be warned that they are being monitored by CCTV footage, lest their human rights be violated. Yes the world is going mad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlady Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Dear God !!!! It was a night o sh..e ... nothing to do with anyone going to sue !! We live on an island .. and that means accepting that mother nature will sometimes win.. I know that's a bit hard to swallow for some but that's life!! The reason Northlink gave was " customer comfort" and if they'd done that on Mon night I wouldn't be suffering with a dodgy back just now !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filskadacat Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 and they are manned by professional seamen, Erm... while accepting the good sense of several parts of this argument, I wouldn't like to think that the Northlink crews were amateurs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Anyone notice how they fired a bunch of folk in Lerwick recently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seaflech Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 and they are manned by professional seamen, Erm... while accepting the good sense of several parts of this argument, I wouldn't like to think that the Northlink crews were amateurs... I think you've taken my post out of context, what I meant was the oil support boats only have professional seafarers on board, whereas the Northlink boats have professional seamen (the crew) AND fare-paying passengers on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Anyone notice how they fired a bunch of folk in Lerwick recently? I saw that in this link.http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/news_10_2008/Four%20jobs%20go%20at%20NorthLink%20office.htm I agree with Allan Wishart's comment that they don't seem to give much consideration to the islands they serve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjool Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 ^ You're not wrong there. It certainly makes their tender much less appealing to the isles. In whose interest is this decision? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooter Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 ^^^Northlink Ferries Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, whose sole shareholder is Scottish Ministers. David MacBrayne Limited was a dormant company, wholly owned by Scottish Ministers, which has been activated to become the parent company of the Northern Isles contract. David MacBrayne Limited now owns Northlink Ferries Limited and remains in the ownership of Scottish Ministers Guess that makes it in the interest of the Scottish government! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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