Article: published on 18 November 2024

One of Scotland's oldest lifeline ferries has been retired after nearly 40 years of service.

With two blasts of its horn, MV Hebridean Isles bade farewell as it left the quay at Stornoway for a final time on Sunday, bound for Glasgow before it goes to the breakers.

For islanders, whose lives are so interwoven with the sea, the ships of Britain's biggest ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne are more than just large lumps of steel and aluminium.

"Heb Isles" leaves behind a ship-shaped hole in the hearts of many former passengers and seafarers who have come to regard it as a trusty old friend.

The ship was given the name of the islands it was destined to serve on a sunny day in July 1985 at the long-gone Cochrane shipyard at Selby, North Yorkshire.

It was a first on two counts - the "lady sponsor" the Duchess of Kent was the first member of the Royal Family to name a CalMac vessel.

And it was the ferry operator's first vessel built outside of Scotland.

Two pipers were sent down to play the Skye Boat Song at the launch ceremony.

Margaret Thatcher was in No 10, Sister Sledge was Number One in the charts - and health and safety rules were somewhat more relaxed than today.

Shipyard workers hammered away the last supporting "shores" and wedges, then ducked and dashed for cover as the huge vessel slid above their heads in a spectacular sideways launch into the River Ouse.

The ship had cost £5.5m - and after a few months of fitting out, it made its maiden voyage off Scotland's west coast in December.

For 15 years it was deployed on the "Uig Triangle" - between Skye, North Uist and Harris - before moving to the Islay crossing, but it has served most of Scotland's sea routes in its time.

Aside from the scheduled sailings, the crew would voluntarily give up their time to put on special "booze cruises" to raise money for island charities.

The first, in 1992, saw a country and western band perform on the car deck, as thousands of pounds were raised to help purchase a breast cancer scanner for the Western Isles.

For islanders the ship offered new standards of comfort and modernity, its lights blazing brightly as it crossed the Little Minch.

When chief engineer Brian Fraser urged the crew to cut back on the illuminations, the ship's radio officer wrote him a cheeky reply - in rhyme.

"Come to the islands, see the sights

Lewis, Harris and the Heb Isles lights.

Bright she is as she can be

Everything’s on just come and see."

The ship still shines bright in the memories of former CalMac crew members who have been reminiscing about their time on board.

Sarah Clark, who worked as a stewardess on the ship from 2002-2005, recalled how the crew made good use of the car deck when the passengers were gone.

"We had a wee fitness session going on as well, and when we tied up at 20:00 there was a handful of us who would run up and down the car deck after work.

"I had my own passenger clicker (still have it), 64 lengths of the car deck added up to a 10k."

CalMac's longest serving captain Tony McQuade was chief officer on Heb Isles during a sailing from Islay when the last vehicle on board was a hearse.

They had not long set sail when they learned the wrong coffin had been loaded so they returned to port and it was swapped over - in full view of the bemused passengers.

"In the next day's paper, there was an article on how CalMac had loaded the wrong coffin onto the vessel - no mention of the undertaker," he recalled.

"As was common then, the captain received a sample of Islay's finest for his troubles."

Alex Morrison, who spent 10 years as Master of the ship from 1987, recalls getting hit by a Force 10 gale as the ship approached Skye.

Unable to berth, they headed to Harris for shelter - then returned to North Uist.

"That was 12 hours I had the poor souls out there and took them back to where I took them from," he remembered.

Senior catering rating John Angus McDonald also recalls some heavy seas when the ship took a group of passengers to Islay to celebrate Hogmanay.

The buffet laid out in the bar rolled off the table - and those who had eaten already were soon bringing it up again.

"Everybody was being sick, apart from one man who kept calmly coming up the bar and ordering large whiskies."

As he removed the bottles from the bar to stop them smashing, he asked the passenger why he was so calm.

"He replied he was on the Russian convoys during World War Two so was well-used to it. When we docked, he skipped off - while his wife had to be helped off."

Many others have spoken for their affection for the ship - but for Mairi Ann Macdonald, it holds a particularly special place in her heart.

She joined the ship as a junior catering rating at the age of 16 in the summer of 1989 - and a few weeks later caught the eye of a young man called Neil, from Inverness, who was travelling to spend a weekend on the islands with some friends.

When he headed home again on the Monday, they swapped phone numbers, written on a pair of pound notes because it was the only paper they had on them.

Soon they were dating - and the following year, sitting on the observation deck of Hebridean Isles on a glorious summer's morning, he asked her to marry him.

"I was gobsmacked - I said are you joking, are you taking the mick here? And he said 'no, I’m serious' – and that’s when he handed me the ring," she said.

The ship would later take them to their wedding on Harris.

The morning after the ceremony, as they waved off guests who were returning to the mainland, the crew saluted the newlyweds with a toot of the horn.

It turned out to be a productive union for the ferry operator - the couple went on to have four daughters, two of whom grew up to work for CalMac.

After training as a motor woman, the eldest daughter had her first deployment on Hebridean Isles.

"Two generations of my family worked on the same boat and absolutely loved working on her. Precious memories in our hearts and lives," said Mairi.

In September, when they heard Hebridean Isles was coming out of service, the couple made a final journey together on the old ship.

"It brought a tear to our eyes, it was a very emotional trip but I was delighted we have done this trip for the very last time.

"We did a lot of reminiscing on the journey."

For the ship itself, the final journey will be to a yet-to-be confirmed shipyard where it will be dismantled.

The decision was a tough one for CalMac as it struggles to maintain services with an ageing fleet while awaiting the delivery of new vessels.

But with its five-year survey due and certificates expiring, the cost and time required to keep the ship sailing was not considered feasible.

Many of the vessels in the CalMac fleet are now so old it is impossible to source spare parts and they have to be manufactured specially.

Any useful parts from Hebridean Isles will end up in a large CalMac warehouse in Gourock - an Aladdin's cave of ferry equipment that is used to keep the fleet going.

So while MV Hebridean Isles will soon be no more, bits of the ship could still be sailing across Scottish waters for many years to come.

For those who have lived, laughed and loved on its decks, the memories will live on far longer.