The Orcadian Features - Captain Willie Duncan

Captain Willie (Rothes) Duncan
(From The Orcadian dated September 26, 2002)

Captain Willie (Rothes) Duncan on the bridge
of the St Sunniva

The most recently retired P&O skipper living in Orkney is Captain Willie Duncan, or Rothes Duncan as he is more commonly known in Stromness.

He began working for P&O Scottish Ferries in June 1970 as a deckhand on board the St Ola. He got his mate’s ticket early in 1975 and his skipper’s ticket in 1978.

His first charge was as holiday relief on the St Ola in 1982. After that, he became master of the ro-ro vessels St Magnus and the St Clair. Captain Duncan became master of the St Sunniva when she was still called the Panther in 1987, until he retired in December 2000.

He commented on the increased amount of paperwork and checks which had to be done prior to every trip, as a result of the loss of the North Sea ferry Herald of Free Enterprise.

He said: “Safety check lists were followed before that, but they were made more comprehensive and compulsory, to show accountability.”

Captain Duncan recalled several memorable events which occurred during his 30 years service with P&O.

One was when he was First Officer on the St Magnus.

“We were about 20 miles south of Fair Isle, when a school of whales crossed in front of the ship. There were hundreds of them. It took a good ten minutes for them to go past. Ian Gibson, who used to work in the whaling industry, was on board that day and said they were small sperm whales. But watching so many whales at one time, was a once-in-a-lifetime sight,” said Captain Duncan.

He was also happy to have witnessed from the bridge of the St Sunniva the first visit to Aberdeen of the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race in the early 1990s.

“A humorous occasion, I remember, was when we were doing mini cruises with the St Sunniva and we were in Lerwick harbour on a Monday morning. I got a serious complaint from an elderly lady who could not sleep for such bright sunlight shining in her cabin window at 3.30am. There was not a lot I could do about that complaint.”

Captain Duncan also recalled a very sombre occasion for the St Sunniva when he was in charge.

“The ship was chartered to take relatives of victims of the Piper Alpha disaster to the site of the former platform to carry out a wreath-laying ceremony and service over the wreck on the first anniversary. It was a very poignant trip and one which I’ll never forget.”

He also remembered what he considered to be his most embarrassing experience as master of the St Sunniva.

“There was an engine fault while we were in Stromness harbour one Tuesday night. There was a safety measure which should have stopped the engines completely. But because it had been cross-wired, activating the switch put the propeller full astern and meant that we ended up stuck in mud at the North End. It was lucky that it happened in Stromness, rather than elsewhere, which could have been very serious. As it was, the sea was flat calm and we managed to pull ourselves off around 3 o’clock in the morning, having hit the mud about 10pm.”

Captain Duncan stressed that he felt part of a family while working for P&O Scottish Ferries.

“I always found a family atmosphere among the crews on board the ships. You also made a lot of friends in Aberdeen, Shetland, Scrabster and in Orkney. I missed seeing them all when I retired. We also took part in a lot of exercises with the coastguards and the fire services over the years. But I had been with the company for 30 years, so it was time to take a break.”

Captain Duncan finally expressed his concern at the disappearance of the Northern Saints’ names from the Orkney and Shetland passenger ferries.

“It is sad to see the names go. There was a tradition of using the Saints’ names for the ships long before P&O took over, and yet they continued that tradition. I think NorthLink should have done the same.”