Quite a change from our usual routine as yesterday afternoon we headed off west to Castlebay on the Island of Barra. Rather than our usual forty minutes crossing to Mull it took us 5½ hours to reach the Outer Hebrides, a bit longer even than the normal timetable as we managed to find a gale on the way, so it was a rough old crossing. Unfortunately some of our passengers were a bit unwell and one or two of the regular crew, who are more used to the placid waters around Oban. Once in Castlebay it was a quick 15 minutes alongside and we were off back out again bouncing around the Minch.
We were taken off our usual run so that the Clansman, which has an open vehicle deck, could do the Coll and Tiree trips and carry the maximum amount of livestock to the sales yesterday. Having an enclosed vehicle deck we are restricted in the number of animals that we can carry on here as the ventilation is not adequate.
Interesting to see Castlebay, some of you may have seen it featured in the TV programme an Island Parish, apparently it has had quite an effect on the tourist trade this year.
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