Back in November ’24, we were asked by a customer in Shetland, if we could transport his new Beneteau Swift Trawler 34 from Hamble to Lerwick in the Shetland Isles. We were also tasked with bringing his old boat back from Lerwick, on the same trip down, to her new owner in West Mersea, Essex.
The weather was lovely in Hamble when I loaded the SW34, but by the time I reached Aberdeen for the ferry to Lerwick, all hell had let loose…. The ferry I was catching on Tuesday afternoon was severely delayed by the storm, and I didn't t board the ship until the early hours of Wednesday morning. We still sailed despite the wind and waves, but it was decided they would have to stop off at Orkney on the way over to offload some trailers - including a fuel tanker - because now everyone was behind.
N.B. You know the sea crossing is going to be bad, when the ship's loading officer asks you to put twice as many ratchet straps on the load, than you would normally; phew!
The ferry finally arrived in Lerwick around 10hrs late at 6pm approx on the Wednesday evening. Despite this delay, I still really wanted to catch the same ferry straight back to Aberdeen, that night. Fortunately, my customer Joe, was a very resourceful and connected man; he had everyone ready for my arrival, including the crane driver down in the small boat Harbour. I made it down to the snow-covered boatyard around 7pm, where we set up for offloading the SW34 onto hard standing, and then re-loading his old boat, an Aquador 28 - bound for Essex.
The guys were great and had covered the working area in flood lights so we could see each other despite the darkness and the snow that still coming down. In these tricky conditions we had to take our time to ensure nobody slipped up or even slipped off the boat whilst we were rigging the slings etc. Everything went pretty much to plan with the great organisational skills of the customer plus his teenage son, who even after we had finished re-loading, personally directed me to the local fuel bunker station. What a help he was!
I made it back to the ferry terminal with an hour to spare, and fortunately the crossing back that night was nowhere near as bouncy; in fact, we even landed back in Aberdeen port, 2hrs earlier than was forecast! I delivered the Aquador 28 to her new owner down in Essex, late on Friday afternoon. So in the end everyone and everything was safe and happy, despite the numerous challenges we had faced.
I am really glad though that not every working week is like that one!
in Lerwick Harbour
