The Orcadian Features - Sad farewell

Sad farewell in Stromness as P&O link is severed
Final St Ola sailing brings tears along town’s piers
(From The Orcadian dated October 3, 2002)

Orkney bade an emotional farewell this week to the P&O ferry St Ola which has plied the Stromness-Scrabster route for the past ten years – and her three previous namesakes before that.

The vessel was piped out of Stromness harbour to the sound of Auld Lang Syne, played by Stromness Royal British Legion Pipe Band.

And they had a bit longer than they had bargained for to play, after a vehicle breakdown delayed the loading operation for the 34 cars and other commercial vehicles heading south.

There were 147 passengers on board for the St Ola’s farewell crossing.

Crowds line the piers of Stromness as the St Ola pulls up her stern door and makes ready to sail out of Stromness for the last time, ending P&O’s long link with the town.
(Picture: Megan Eggeling)

Among those who had decided to book passage on the special trip was Mr Donald MacDonald and his wife Moira from Haddington near Edinburgh.

Mr MacDonald, a retired police officer, had come up on holiday to visit relatives in Stromness.

His grandfather was Captain William Banks who was master of the St Ola until his death in 1953.

Mr MacDonald commented: “I was born and brought up in Stromness and used with seeing the St Ola coming and going every day. So there’s a degree of poignancy about the occasion and a fair bit of nostalgia because of the link with my grandfather who was master of the old Ola. And although I haven’t followed in his footsteps, my cousin, John Banks, has continued the seafaring tradition and is now harbourmaster in Stromness and coxswain of the Stromness lifeboat. We were booked to go back south on the first crossing from Stromness today, but when I knew that the 3 o’clock sailing would be the last trip by the present St Ola we chose to go on that.”

The ferry returned to her home port around 1.50pm on Monday. A few minutes later, she had backed into the temporary linkspan at the inner side of the North Pier in Stromness and the passengers disembarked.

The last foot passenger to come off the St Ola on her final trip into Stromness on Monday afternoon – Mrs Mina Flett from Finstown. (www.orkneyphotographic.co.uk)

The last person to come off the final St Ola crossing to Stromness was Mrs Sheena Johnston from Firth. Being in a wheelchair, she was helped off by a member of P&O crew.

She said: “It is quite a sad occasion because we travel on the boat a lot. It has been a really good service with P&O. I don’t know what the new ones will be like.”

The last foot passenger, Mrs Mina Flett from Finstown, commented: “It was the smoothest passage I’ve ever had on the Ola and the first time I’ve seen the Old Man of Hoy from the boat because I’m normally lying down by that time. So, the weather was beautiful for the last crossing. Although I’m not a good sailor, it is sad to see the Ola go. It is the last of the ‘Saints’ to sail the Pentland Firth.”

As hundreds of people lined all of Stromness’s piers to get a good view of the ferry’s final departure, the strength and warmth of the sunshine belied the fact that it was the last day of September in Orkney.

At 3.15pm the last vehicle drove down into the car deck of the St Ola. Appropriately enough, it was a silver sports car with the number plate BS 1 with the managing director of shipbrokers and stevedores John Jolly, Captain Bill Spence, at the wheel. He wanted to be the last car going onto the St Ola and the first car off the new NorthLink ferry Hjaltland on her first scheduled sailing from Aberdeen which got into Kirkwall at 12.40am on Wednesday morning.

Once the stern ramp was closed, the words of welcome to passengers by the St Ola’s master for her final crossing, Captain Willie Mackay, were clearly heard throughout the harbour over the ship’s public address system.

He told those aboard that the sea conditions on the Pentland Firth would be “really good” and he said a heartfelt thankyou from the two crews of the St Ola to the people of Stromness, Scrabster and Thurso for the way in which they had supported the ship over the years. He wished them all well for the future.

His farewell message drew cheers from the spectators lining the harbour, and as the onboard emergency announcement began, the pipe band struck up Auld Lang Syne.

As the ferry edged away from the linkspan, she gave three long blasts on her horn, which prompted frantic waving from those on the piers and on board the ship.

Then the St Ola slipped calmly out through the harbour towards the Point of Ness, with the Stromness lifeboat and the ferry Graemsay escorting her.

Many people may have felt a lump in their throats and fought back tears, but others were overcome by their emotions and openly wept, as they watched the ferry disappear from view for the final time out of Stromness.

Lone piper Arnie Flett plays the lament Floo’ers o’ the Forest as the St Ola passes the Point of Ness for the final time.
(www.orkneyphotographic.co.uk)

A lone piper, Mr Arnie Flett, played the lament Floo’ers o’ the Forest at the Point of Ness, to mark the end of an era of P&O’s connection with Stromness.

An elderly resident commented: “It is sad seeing her go, because there has always been an Ola here since I was born and I’m nearly 78. My father was a fireman for 20 years on the first St Ola – the steamship. It was sad to see her going but that’s just the way of things, isn’t it.”

Orkney MSP, Mr Jim Wallace, summed up the feelings of the day: “It is a very poignant moment. It is a time when we recognise the incredible service that the St Ola has provided over the years, in terms of reliability. It was only in very exceptional circumstances that the St Ola did not go across the Pentland Firth. It is a standard which the new operators must aim for.”

The chairman of the OIC’s transportation and infrastructure committee, Councillor Stephen Hagan, commented: “It is very sad to see the St Ola leave for the final time. It is a new beginning now. The weather has been wonderful and P&O have laid on a fantastic occasion to mark the event, with the pipe band and so on.”

Stromness Councillor John Brown said: “It is very sad. I have a lot of affection for that boat. I’ve travelled a lot on her and she’s probably been the best sea boat that has crossed the Pentland Firth. Obviously, we’re going to have the naming ceremony for the new NorthLink ferry Hamnavoe later this month, so that will give us a first look at the new boat. I think it’s going to be exciting times – rolling out the old and ringing in the new. I think that is the important aspect of it. Change has to come. We can’t keep the old boats. The sadness is not in the changing of the boat, but the changing of the companies.”

Commenting on the departure of P&O Scottish Ferries from the local ferry scene, Mr John Young, chairman of the Scrabster Harbour Trust, who was among the guests at the “Farewell to the Isles” reception in Stromness immediately prior to the St Ola’s final departure, said: “We’re reluctant to see P&O stop operating the Pentland Firth service. There has been a long historical link with the company and it has been a good relationship. People are always looking for improvements in the service, but they won’t appreciate what we’ve had until it’s gone. We’re very grateful to P&O.”

Asked to comment on the delay in getting the new terminal at Scrabster finished, so that the new ferry Hamnavoe could begin operating on the Pentland Firth route, Mr Young said: “All I can say is that we are maintaining pressure on the contractor to have the new pier completed as quickly as possible.”

The guest musicians who had been brought up to Orkney specially to entertain local dignitaries and P&O customers at the “Farewell to the Isles” event were Shetland fiddler, Aly Bain, and accordionist, Phil Cunningham. Monday’s farewell reception is thought to be the first large-scale social function organised by P&O for shippers to meet senior management of the company in the last ten years. They used to be held on alternate years in Orkney or Shetland.