Isle of Lewis, UK - There were torrential downpours of Biblical proportions and an unexpected mechanical failure but, in the end, what some claimed to be divine intervention proved no match for capitalism and convenience.
A ferry set sail from the Isle of Lewis to the Scottish mainland yesterday — the first time that the journey has been scheduled on the Sabbath.
The decision by Caledonian MacBrayne to launch the weekly service has been met with dismay by many of the deeply religious islanders, who see Sunday as sacred. A number came out to protest at what they perceive to be the end of a way of life.
As the MV Isle of Lewis ferry was loaded up with cars and passengers ahead of its 2.30pm departure, they gathered silently on the pier and raised advisory placards: “Remember the Sabbath — keep it holy.” Others handed out leaflets suggesting appropriate alternative activities for Sundays: “Come to church.”
The Rev Angus Smith, who lay down on the slipway in front of the first Sunday ferry to Skye in 1989, had warned earlier that the ferries would bring to Lewis crime, “things that terrify parents” and Sunday shopping.
It is not only the protesters that CalMac have had to deal with in recent days. On occasion it has seemed that a higher being has been at work attempting to prevent the sailing to Ullapool.
On Thursday heavy downpours drenched Stornoway. On Friday it emerged that there was a problem with the ferry’s exhaust. It was, claimed opponents, as if “the hand of God” was at work.
Undaunted, however, CalMac's engineers fixed the broken exhaust and the MV Isle of Lewis was able to take to the seas. “We’re pleased to get under way after the difficulties over the last couple of days,” the company said. “It’s all gone as planned.”
CalMac confirmed its decision to begin a regular Sunday service last week, claiming that by failing to do so it was breaching equality laws. The move was opposed by the Western Isles Council, with the Stornoway councillor Murdo Macleod saying that respecting the Sabbath was part of the cultural heritage and “there are people here who value this way of life”.
These people were not, it seemed, aboard the first sailing of the ferry where an impromptu ceilidh was taking place in the bar. Iain Turnbull, a retired brewer, took the six-hour round trip clad in a T-shirt emblazoned: “Let's drink on Sunday now that we can. Three cheers for CalMac”.
The 61-year-old said: “This island is dying on its feet unless it joins the 21st century. It needs tourism. Jesus preached on Sunday and I can’t see why we can’t mix the two.”
Celebrating with him was Amanda Darling. The 44-year-old advertising manager said she had seen her children only a few times in the years since they moved to the mainland because there has been no Sunday sailing.
“This day is a life-changing moment for me,” said Ms Darling, who was playing a penny whistle. “The doors are opening to the rest of the world.”
The ferry, which can take 114 cars and nearly 1,000 passengers, was around 80 per cent full with vehicles, despite being open for bookings only since Tuesday lunchtime. CalMac’s managing director, Phil Preston, said: “We already have Sunday bookings six weeks ahead. Time will tell how popular they will be — but we believe they will be.”
Uisdean Macleod, the spokesman for the Campaign for 7 Days Sailings, said that the majority of islanders supported the service. He had been determined for it to go ahead because his two-year-old son has cystic fibrosis and he will have to spend more time at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. “We have waited a long time for this day to come,” said Mr Macleod.
• The Isle of Lewis will have its first gay wedding today when the children’s TV presenter Andrew Robertson ties the knot with his long-term partner Craig Atkins in a ceremony already branded as a “sin” by the island’s Free Church of Scotland.
The couple will seal a civil partnership, the first in the isles since they were introduced in 2003.