What a journey......

[jj]

Just wondering if any SE`ers have experienced the same as we did yesterday....

Was up in Orkney this week doing a hotel, and ferried there and back in the van. The route gets in to Scrabster (beside Thurso). Anyway, was meant to be back on 11am boat but it was cancelled due to weather, but they ran the 530 crossing, which was fine until we got to about 1/2 way. Captain came on giving it the "please be seated erm.... it might get a bit bumpy".

We were on deck 6 and the waves were up at our window! The swell was, according to the capt, 30-50ft, this massive ferry was getting chucked about like a raft. Sideways tilting felt like about 30-40 degrees maybe not that much but there were people falling out of seats/plates etc crashing about.

Got back down to the car deck and there were cars leaning against each other, one 4x4 was up on a volvos bumper, and the van had moved 4feet and was resting on another car and inches from this big harley davidson - every car had shifted about.

It was awesome fun watching the waves coming in, until you realised this was a ferry with 200 cars on board.....

I can now see why containers fall off the side of cargo ships etc!

[The_Rossatron]

holy smoke batman. That sounds a bit crazy - seems there is no safe way to travel these days

[Andy G]

I was on a hovercraft in a gale force 7.

People vomiting everywhere! Nice!

[Tom]

I've had something similar but without the cars. On a boat trip in SE Asia. Trip goes out to sea. We're in an old flat bottomed russian canal barge. maybe 150 of us (mostly locals, maybe 10 westerners) climb aboard, and they crank the doors shut . Basically a big long tube with iron floors. Out to sea, gets rough. Keeps getting rougher, and then people start being sick. No sick bags, 1 loo, which after about 10mins had vomit coming out from under the door. People being sick from their seats, boat tipping side to side certainly up to 45/50 degs. Vomit flowing about on the floors, people slipping in it. V hot and humid. No ventilation as doors bolted shut to stop boat from sinking should it roll over. I sat with my feet against the seat in front of me, head in a book, trying not to think about any saliva in my mouth. Lasted like that for about 45 mins. Then got a bit further in shore and the rocking eased. Trip was 2 1/2 hours total and pretty hairy. Managed not to vom, although I don't know how .

[jj]

Tom that sounds, erm, interesting .

It was that rough for about 40mins, and it was fine, but there was about 30 seconds where it genuinely felt like it was going to tip over - you know that feeling of "right, it was fun, but this is a but much..."

The looks on peoples faces though, there were lots of tourists on board and they were bricking it.

I asked the guy in the hold what happens with the damage (as some cars were more than resting on others, definate damage done in places) and he was like "its tough luck, hope they have insurance!"

[Tom]

Yeah i know what you mean. kind of " there's rough,and then there's this sh*t, and now it's getting a bit tiresome. i don't really want to drown.... ".

[thinfourth]

We were on deck 6 and the waves were up at our window! The swell was, according to the capt, 30-50ft, this massive ferry was getting chucked about like a raft. Sideways tilting felt like about 30-40 degrees maybe not that much but there were people falling out of seats/plates etc crashing about.

Massive i don't think so

small i would say

this is massive


looking at about 300metres long over 250.000tons and accommodation about 20 metres high. `when you encounter weather like this head on you can watch the whole ship bending with the waves but if you get the waves beam on then the ship can be rolling to about 30degrees.

I have been through a cyclone (Japanese hurricane ) in an LNG ship and we were seeing waves of maybe 25 meters

[deano15482]

Fcuk that

seconded...i hate boats!!

[Rich H]

A hit, a palpable hit! Looks like it's been torpedoed FFS! You do that for a living? You are a loon

[MacK]

JJ which hotel were you 'doing'?

I'm of to Orkney for a week in September, don't mind rough seas but that sounds hairy

[jj]

MacK,

Its in Kirkwall and is called The Albert Hotel.

It is open as of today, and is way ahead of every other hotel in the place - real boutique feel to the rooms, more like a house. They have spent a fortune on the whole rebuild.

I dont know what the rates will be but I guess it wont be the cheapest on the island, but it is certainly the best hotel.

DO NOT stay at the West End hotel whatever you do!

[RDH]

MacK,

Its in Kirkwall and is called The Albert Hotel.

It is open as of today, and is way ahead of every other hotel in the place - real boutique feel to the rooms, more like a house. They have spent a fortune on the whole rebuild.

I dont know what the rates will be but I guess it wont be the cheapest on the island, but it is certainly the best hotel.

DO NOT stay at the West End hotel whatever you do!

Have stayed in The Albert Hotel a couple of times - it needed the refurb!

[jj]

I know - it was a mess! They have reduced the size of the hotel from 12 rooms to 8, I have some changing rooms stylee before and after snaps I`ll put up if MacK wants to see what it looks like before booking

[MacK]

DO NOT stay at the West End hotel whatever you do!

Too late!

I stayed there last year for a couple of nights. Not exactly the best hotel in the world, but better than some of the hotels in the North Islands

Last time I was up I stayed at the Orkney Hotel.

[mac]

I know - it was a mess! I mean, the wallpaper, the carpet - it just clashed sooo much. And the fittings - just don't get me started on those fitting - awful, just awful. Oh, I've came over all of a tizzy just thinking about it.

Mac