The most important journey

One of our customers recently travelled to Tiree to visit her mother-in-law when she received a call from family in Islay to say her father had become seriously ill.

She needed to get home quickly.

But worsening weather that weekend caused widespread disruption, with both flights and ferry services affected over several days.

After a difficult and emotional few days, she was eventually able to travel from Tiree to Oban with the support of colleagues across the network during one of the most challenging periods of recent disruption.

During the crossing, the vessel was delayed. A Steward on board MV Isle of Mull contacted the Master of MV Finlaggan to explain the urgency of the situation. The port team at Kennacraig were also contacted and kept informed, while she was updated throughout her journey.

After travelling by road from Oban to Kennacraig, she arrived late - around 50 minutes behind schedule - where pier staff were waiting to help her board the vessel to Islay to see her dad.

Writing to us to tell us about her experience, she said:

“I arrived in Islay Hospital at 9pm. My dad woke up and knew I was there, and together with my four siblings, we spent the whole night with him until he passed away at 7am the next morning.

“If it wasn't for the efforts of the wonderful CalMac staff I encountered during my three-day nightmare of locked booking systems, bad weather, technical problems, then I don't think I would have got home in time. I will forever be grateful for what they all did for me.

“I want to especially thank Lindsay and Carrie in Tiree and Davy the Steward for all they did for me - I will forever be grateful.”