Monthly Archives: January 2009

RNLI identifies Oban Lifeboat as the busiest in Scotland

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Oban Lifeboat Dennis HardleyToday is SOS Day, a national fund-raiser for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). To mark the day by underlining the service the lifeboats provide, the RNLI have released statistics on Scottish lifeboats and their crews.

In the past year the highest number rescued is credited to South Queensferry near Edinburgh. This lifeboat saved 75 people and was the busiest inshore crew.

Two of Argyll’s lifeboats were mentioned in the news release.

  • The Oban lifeboat was the busiest Scottish crew, making 55 launches.
  • The Islay lifeboat saved the lives of seven people when it was called to a stricken boat. The RNLI says that the crew were operating in conditions described as like: ‘a deep spin in a washing machine’.

Some curious – even surreal – incidents are noted in the RNLI information.

  • In July 2008, the crew of a yacht with an empty coffin strapped to the deck had to be rescued by Barra lifeboat crew on the Western Isles after losing their way on passage from America to Norway to deliver the coffin to a bar in Oslo.
  • Also in July,anxious members of the public spotted twenty pregnant cows in the Dornoch Firth, in Easter Ross, resulting in a series of 999 calls. Coastguard crews from Portmahomack and Dornoch rushed to the scene, along with the Dornoch Inshore Lifeboat. Local farmers however told the rescue crews that the cows were just cooling off in the sea because of the heatwave then scorching the country.

The photograph above, of the Oban lifeboat, the Mora Edith MacDonald, is by the copyright holder, Dennis Hardley.

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Tyndrum’s Real Food Cafe runner-up in national customer focus award

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The Real Food Cafe at Tyndrum in Argyll – known for its speciality in freah-caught fish with chips – has won second place in the Heinz PleazMe Customer Focus Award.

The cafe is well placed for travellers in the Highlands. It sits on the road west from Crianlarich at the gateway on the road to the walkers’ and climbers’ mecca of Rannoch Moor and Glencoe and at the junction with the road coming in from south Argyll through Inveraray and Dalmally.

Owner Sarah Howard, delighted at the recognition of the food, atmosphere and service the cafe, reports no sign of the credit crunch (no pun intended, we’re sure) in continuingly strong business.

Argyll’s west coast may be location for Local Hero remake

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Craobh HavenWhile film remakes beggar the imagination – literally – For Argyll would not look a gift horse in the mouth if ot was headed Argyll-way.

Location scouts from what is said to be a Hollywood production company have been sussing out the marina at Craobh Haven as a possible site for a remake of the successful Local Hero. Jim Berry, the manager of the marina, thinks that the idea must have come from those aboard a couple of big yachts from America that berthed at Craobh Haven last year.

He reports that the location scouts took endless measurments and photographs and have now returned to Hollywood to report back after what he describes as ‘a drop of true Scottish hospitality’.

Let’s hope they took good notes.

The photograph above of the marina at Craobh Haven in Argyll is by Richard Harvey and is reproduced here under the Creative Commons licence.

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Wreck of the Rondo gives up body

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A group from the dive boat Kyle Bhan have just found a body in the wreck of the Rondo in the Sound of Mull. It is thought to be that of forty year-old Neil Rodgers from Rotherham who went missing in a dive on the wreck in March 2008.

The body has been taken to Dunaros Hospital at Salen on the Isle of Mull and dental records are being called in to help in identification.

One of Argyll’s many wreck dives, the Rondo was a 2,360-ton steamship that broke her anchor in a storm in January 1935 and grounded on the rocks at the lighthouse in Dearg Sgeir in the Sound of Mull. Lying on the edge of a steep reef, she slipped down it, bow-first, after a couple of weeks.

She has since lain with her bow in 50 metres, her stern in 9 metres and her bridge on the other side of the lighthouse.

The entire interior of the wreck is accessible with the hull forming what divers describe as ‘a nice cave with the rocky slope’. The dive is known as a ‘must do’, featuring fascinating marine life all the way down and back up again and with the wreck’s hull covered in plumose anemones. All of this makes it a favourite wreck dive for the expert dive businesses in the area.

This video gives you some idea of the situation.

Jamie McGrigor MSP predicts public anger at loss of Government budget and Councillor Mulvaney tallies consequences for local government

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Commenting on yesterday’s vote in the Scottish Parliament where Labour, Lib Dem and Green MSPs combined to vote down the Scottish Government’s budget, Highlands & Islands Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor has said: ‘The public in the Highlands and Islands will rightly be very angry with and frustrated at those parties that voted against the Scottish budget.

‘At a time of economic recession, MSPs should have been able to act constructively – as the Scottish Conservatives did- and negotiate to allow the budget to be passed and therefore money passed to our public services timeously. (Editor: now here’s a word rarely seen and a fun addition to the vocabulary: means ‘in good time’)

‘This is an extremely serious situation and, as my leader Annabel Goldie said, Labour’s and the Lib Dems’ actions are grossly irresponsible and frankly pathetic- it is political posturing of the worst kind which could cost Scotland £1.8 billion and will only increase uncertainty during Labour’s recession.

‘As Communities Spokesman myself, I had backed strongly our policy to spend £60 million on the regeneration of town centres; that would have been very valuable to places like Oban, Campbeltown, Dunoon, Rothesay in  my native Argyll and scores of other towns across my region of the Highlands & Islands’.

Mr McGrigor’s comments are among many expressions of outrage sent to for Argyll from all corners.

His colleague in local government, Councilor Gary Mulvaney, Conservative Group Leader on Argyll & Bute council and parliamentary candidate said: ‘Labour and the Liberal Democrats have delivered a massive tax bombshell to local government finance.

‘By voting the budget down, they have saddled Scottish councils with a cut of £660m. This means a £359 increase on Band D Council Tax average for those in Argyll & Bute, leading to an annual Band D record high of £1537.

‘All this comes on top of the 60% increase in Council Tax that we had to cope with when the Lib Dem’s and Labour were running Scotland, and one year after progress was made when Scottish Conservatives voted for the Scottish Government’s Council Tax freeze’.

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Argyll’s MSP, Jim Mather, spells out the consequences of the Scottish Government’s lost budget

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Argyll & Bute MSP, Jim Mather, says that the defeat of the Scottish Government’s Budget at Holyrood last night (28th January) could have a serious and immediate  financial effect on communities, council tax payers and businesses.

He underlines the fact that this has come at a time when the Holyrood government is already facing difficult budgetary choices because of the current restrictions on funding from Westminster and the consequences of the deepening financial climate as the UK plunges into recession.

Mr Mather says: ‘Wednesday’s vote, unless it is retrieved quickly, will have very serious effects on the finances of local authorities, NHS Health Boards, the proposed abolition of small business rates and the planned increase of police on the beat.

‘It is quite unprecedented for political parties, which claim be concerned about the wellbeing of Scotland, to vote against the Scottish Budget.

‘When in opposition, the SNP always sought to negotiate budget improvements but consistently acted in a mature and responsible manner. The present opposition behaviour smacks of self interest, opportunism and irresponsibility.

‘The Budget vote means that the projected budget is set aside and we revert to last year’s guidelines. Specifically, this means;

  • £230 million of capital expenditure is, for the moment, lost.
  • Support for 5,000 jobs – particularly in the construction sector is lost.
  • Road improvements across Scotland are lost
  • £50 million investment in new health & dental facilities is lost
  • £70 million in early investment in affordable housing is lost

‘The same budget defeat will put an immediate halt to:

  • The Council Tax freeze and increased funding for local authorities.
  • £40 million increase in funding for free personal care
  • Investment in tackling hospital acquired infection – MRSA
  • Abolition of Small Business Rates for 120,000 threatened businesses
  • Funding to reduce Waiting Times and further cut prescription charges

‘If the Budget question is not quickly resolved, the challenge from Labour and the LibDems, may have to be faced down in an early Election contest. That is an option from which we will not shrink.’

UPDATE: Passengers still stranded for a second night onboard damaged Stena HSS Stranraer-Belfast ferry

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Stena VoyagerThe 7.50pm Stena HSS Voyager (pictured) sailing from Stranraer to Belfast last night was five miles out on its journey – around the entrance to Loch Ryan, when passengers heard a loud bang. Shortly after this the ship came to a halt.

A large tanker had broken free, hurtled through the stern doors of the ship and become entangled in the mechanism. It was found dangling vertically off the rear of the ship.

The captain made the decision to turn and head back to Stranraer, accompanied by the Stranraer Lifeboat and the Stranraer Coastguard rescue team which Clyde Coastguard, who were monitoring the situation, had put out to stand by the ship for safety reasons.

When the ship got back into Stranraer it was unable to berth at the linkspan because of the lorry hanging across the stern doors. This means that the 156 passengers and 33 crew on board remain stranded on the ship.

At the moment (2.00pm 29th January) a large crane is manoevering into position to lift the lorry off the ship. This should mean that it can go to its normal berth and passengers – said to be exhausted – can then be taken off. They will be transferred to a ferry run by a rival operator for the trip to Belfast and Stena is said to be discussing compensation.

The company say that the safety of the ship and of the passengers was never compromised and that the hole in the stern is 30 feet above the waterline. The tanker was carrying non-toxic ferrous sulphate powder. Police say that none of this had leaked but that, as a precaution, advice has been obtained from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) in case any leakage occurs during the removal of the tanker. There is no danger to the public.

The maritime agencies and Stena Line are to conduct a full investigation into the incident.

!8.15 UPDATE: The ship has not been able to move to the linkspan because the crane has not yet lifted the renegade tanker free of the ship. At the moment passengers are being taken off one by one in a Heath Robinson arrangements via a ‘Cherry Picker’s’ lifting platform. This is taking up to 10 mins per passenger. With a complement of 156 passengers, this operation is going to go on for a considerable time. While some passengers may well get on to a ferry for Belfast tonight, many will not be free to do so until tomorrow.

21.30 UPDATE: It now looks as if most of the passengers will have to spend another night on board the Stena Voyager. A second crane has arrived to try to lift the suspended lorry clear of the ship. Until this can be done the ferry cannot move to the linkspan and the passengers cannpt leave normally. The small ‘cherry picker’ crane is removing one passenger every ten minutes but this too is now more difficult as wind stength is increasing.

30th January UPDATE: All the passengers were finally off the ship by this morning.

The photograph above, of the Stena Voyager leaving Stranraer and travelling down Loch Ryan en route for Belfast, is reproduced here under the Creative Commons licence.

So who is ‘Big Alastair of the ponds’? Check out Faclan Nadair

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Barn OwlIn one of the most inventive and fun iniatives for some time, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) today (29th January) launched Faclan Nàdair (Words of Nature) at Tollcross Primary School in Edinburgh. This is a hugely attractive and imaginative new learning tool to help people identify and understand Gaelic names for trees, plants and animals. Continue reading →

HMS Daring homes in on Portsmouth

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HMS Daring, the new Clydebuilt Type 45 Destroyer – the Daring class, has now arrived at her home port of Portsmouth. The first of six and giving her name to the class, she will be progressively joined at Portsmouth by her five sister ships: Dauntless, Diamond, Dragon, Defender and Duncan.

Hundreds of spectators gathered to watch her come in to a 15 Gun salute.

Daring is a very fast, highly manoeverable fighting ship with an unparalleled air defence capability. Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the First Sea Lord, told the BBC: ‘Daring means a lot of things for Portsmouth, the Navy and the country.

‘There are people I know who question the cost and the capability and the need for the ships but this really is a world which has significant air and missile threats to deployed forces.

‘If we are to fulfil an expeditionary strategy and go where the government wants us around the world, we must go with the right air cover and this is exactly what Daring provides’.

The Daring is almost twice as big as the older ships it is replacing but carries a smaller crew – 190 sailors, compared with the 280 required on the older ships. She will spend the rest of 2009 undergoing an intensive programme of sea trials.

Read all about her arrival in the Royal Navy Ndewletter.