A fond farewell to MV Hebridean Isles

The retirement of one of CalMac’s oldest and much-loved vessels has prompted passengers and crew to share their happy memories of her.

CalMac is bidding a fond farewell to MV Hebridean Isles on 21 November after almost 40 years of serving islanders across the west coast network.

The vessel has served island communities with distinction since her maiden voyage in December 1985. Affectionally known as the ‘Heb Isles’, she has primarily served Islay in recent years. A versatile boat, she has worked on around 17 routes during her time, including as a charter for Northlink to Orkney.

She was launched by the Duchess of Kent on 4 July 1985 from the Cochrane’s Shipyard in Selby, North Yorkshire. Famously launched into the water sideways, workers were seen dashing quickly from beneath the hull as she slid into the River Ouse.

The Heb Isles initially worked on the Stornoway to Ullapool route while its usual vessel, MV Suilven, was off service for annual maintenance. The next route was the Uig triangle for five years, working between Uig on Skye, Tarbert in Harris, and Lochmaddy in North Uist.

During her time on the triangle, crew set up and ran several “charity ceilidhs” to raise money for local causes, giving up their spare time to entertain locals with these much-renowned parties.

The car deck would be cleared, and bands would play as families danced while the boat sailed around the loch. It is estimated that the events raised several thousand pounds and allowed vital medical equipment to be bought so that islanders did not have to keep travelling to the mainland for treatment.

Her longest stint was serving Islay and Colonsay between 2001 and 2024, and she ends her days with CalMac covering the first route she worked on, Stornoway-Ullapool, while MV Loch Seaforth is in dry dock.

Her certification expires on 21 November. The current crew are taking up positions on other vessels.

Customer Chris Hayward said: “Our first visits to Arran as a family were in the late 1980’s and early 90’s. The MV Hebridean Isles was an integral part of the holiday - the excitement of waiting for the ferry at Ardrossan, the boarding, the lovely CalMac breakfast and the sad journey home.

“She always seemed to keep going when others were letting you down. It will be sad to see her go and forever remembered as part of our memorable Arran holidays.”

The Heb Isles is an integral part of former catering crew member Mairi Ann Macdonald’s past, as she met her husband, Neil, on board. She said: “It was also on MV Hebridean Isles where Neil proposed to me, asking for my hand in marriage, so we were got engaged on the route from Uig to Harris.

“We also travelled on her when going across to Harris to get married, and when our children came along, we would travel back and forth for holidays to Harris and Uist. And the girls absolutely loved this for many years.

“Two generations of my family worked on same boat and absolutely loved working on her. The precious memories will stay in our lives and hearts.

“My husband and I took a trip down memory lane recently, as we heard that Hebridean Isles was going to be coming out of service. Which brought a tear to our eyes. It was a very emotional trip, but I was delighted we got to do this for the very last time- a lot of reminiscing was done on the journey.”

Sarah Clark is from Port Ellen on Islay and worked as a stewardess on board from 2002 until 2005. She recalls: “We all spend a full two weeks together our shift and we all had each other’s backs, all 30ish of us on shift, like a big family. There were lots of shenanigans, from wee Alan and John (the “kids”) winding up Hughie Howe telling him the boat’s broken down and shift change is delayed was enough to heighten Hughie to pure rage, to poor Willie Nelson sweating buckets dragging his holdall onto the bus after a shift and realising only when getting home he was dragging the extra weight of an iron that Alan had sneaked in his bag.

“I remember being victim of Alan once, I had an awful night’s sleep, not sure how I managed not to notice sooner that there was a honeydew melon under my pillow, and I woke the next morning with a crooked neck!”

John Angus McDonald, who has worked on the Heb Isles for 24 years as a Senior Catering Rating said that it is the end of an era. He added: “She’s a well-built vessel and I have very fond memories of her. I’m very sorry to see her go, and the crew will be too.”