Strong winds strand hundreds in Isles of Scilly

High winds forced the suspension of ferry services, stranding travellers in the Isles of Scilly.

Travel Insurance News - 05/05/2011

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More than 300 ferry passengers were forced to spend the night in the Isles of Scilly after strong winds led to the cancellation of ferry services. The head of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Company apologised after the ferry operator cancelled Monday afternoon’s crossing.

As a result, some 335 passengers were unable to get home. Some of the stranded passengers had to spend the night at emergency accommodation.

Some 500 people who had left on a crossing earlier on Monday ended up stuck aboard the ferry for three hours as high winds created treacherous sea conditions. That ferry had to wait close to St Michael’s Mount, not far from the destination port at Penzance in Cornwall.

The stranded travellers ended up departing Scilly on a ferry early in the afternoon for their trip to Penzance. Hundreds of visitors had headed to Scilly to join the World Pilot Gig Championships, an annual event that was held on the weekend.

The CEO of the Isles of Scilly Steamship company, Jeff Marston, offered his firm’s apologies for the delay. He added that it was impossible to control the weather or the tides.

He went on to say that his company had enough capacity to get all of the passengers off the island. He said some 230 people were to go home on the Scillonian and the remaining stranded travellers would be flown home.

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