Ships in the Murk

One of the features of the design of our house is that one can sit in the living room watching television and at the same time keep an eye on the Sound, and it's not infrequent that what's going on out there is far more interesting than what's happening on the screen.

Yesterday evening the weather was mucky until the sun found a way of peeping under the clouds, creating a double rainbow and illuminating the fisheries research ship Scotia with the Hebridean Sky coming up astern.

MRV Scotia is operated by Marine Science Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, her main role being to monitor, measure and observe the marine environment in the North Sea and NE Atlantic. She spent some time hove-to off Ormsaigbeg before setting off back down the Sound.

The weather hasn't improved today, which is frustrating as the Sound has been busy with ships. This is a West Country trading ketch Irene, launched in 1907 in Bridgwater, Somerset. She was designed to be beached along riverbanks so loads could be easily transferred to carts but she now, after a very varied career, serves the tourist trade. There's more about her here.

The cruise ship Black Watch came up the Sound during the early afternoon, but was only briefly visible through the murk. Passing her is Serco Denholm's Smit Yare, described as an aircrew training ship though she has been involved in the salvage of crashed aircraft.

Black Watch obviously had time to kill following her visit to Fort William - this is taken from the Marine Traffic website. Black Watch  frequently calls at Tobermory but today she was bound for Portree.