SATURDAY - NOVEMBER 05, 2005

Good evening,

You may be interested to hear of my recent day (ha) trip on the Seacat.

I  booked a day trip IOM to Liverpool last Saturday 5th November, out at 08:00 and back at 19:00. I checked the forecasts for the Saturday a few days before booking rechecked and then checked again the day before.

As I travel at least twice a week i am well used to reading the isobar charts etc and I was quite sure that although Saturday morning would be a bit bumpy the return would be calm and wave heights quite moderate. I was , therefore very surprised to be told on the Friday evening the return from Liverpool at 19:00 was to return at 1300 instead to "avoid the coming deteriorating weather". I scanned all the forecasts , checked the charts, all gave a ridge of high pressure crossing with winds down to force 4 and 5 at worse and it was indeed much calmer right through until Sunday pm.

On boarding SUPERSEACAT TWO on Saturday (I still had to go for business eventually returning on the 02:15 Heysham boat Sunday morning) I collared one of the men from the bridge who sheepishly admitted that the weather was not going to be bad as they had first thought! When I asked waving all the various charts from the day before in front of his nose and why could not the quite clearly wrong decision be reversed? I was informed that this would inconvenience the passengers as they had already been informed of the changed time!!

Worse was to follow , the Captain announced over the tannoy that the afternoon sailing had been cancelled due to expected "gale force conditions in the Irish Sea this afternoon and evening") this statement was clearly false as no such warnings were in place.

Thank you for your on going publicity regarding the stupid decision from the Steam Packet to try and run this light weight craft in the winter.

 

regards

GG

Kirk Michael

Isle of Man