Delivering for Scilly | Issue 14 | March 2024

Introducing

Creating

Delivering for Scilly

Welcome to the spring issue of Delivering for Scilly magazine, full of the latest Group news. It has been a busy, eventful and, at times, challenging year so far. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you, as always, for your continued commitment.

Welcome to Peter Broad, who joins the Group as Site Manager for our new vessel build. Read more on page 10.

Turn to page 12 to discover ORCA’s findings from the 2023 season on board Scillonian III.

Take a look at photos taken by Nick Walker on page 16 from the first sailing of 2024.

See how the introduction of online check-in will improve passenger journeys this year on page 18.

Passenger Relations Team

Our Passenger Relations Team has now recruited a full quota of 15 employees for the 2024 season – some returning, some new.

The team is ready to deal with all aspects of customer bookings, Scillonian check-in, customer services, park and ride and more.

Opening times to the public

St Mary’s Office

Monday to Saturday from 9am to 3pm.

Weighbridge Ticket Office

Open from Easter to September.

Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 11.45am and 1pm to 4.30pm.

Saturday from 7.30am to 8.45am.

Penzance Call Centre

Monday to Friday from 9am to 4.45pm.

From March 18th, there will be limited staff on Saturdays.

Andrew Walder appointed to our Board of Directors

Andrew, who lives on St Martin’s and runs his own business SC Dogs Distillery as part of the family farm, becomes the third island-based non-executive board member currently serving.

With 15 years’ experience in the Merchant Navy, and time spent on Scillonian III, Lyonesse Lady and Swift Lady, Andrew’s maritime knowledge of the area and the challenges it provides is extensive.

Like many islanders, life is multi faceted and Andrew also manages the farm and holiday accommodation on St Martin’s with his wife Hannah; operates a fishing boat with his father Steve and produces sea salt by solar evaporation.

He said: “As with many people here on the islands, making a living requires a number of hats

to be worn. The Isles of Scilly Steamship Group’s services facilitate the success of all of the businesses I operate, and having a dependable and coordinated passenger and freight service that has the proven ability to deliver for Scilly is crucial to the local economy.

“I feel I have a very good understanding of the maritime side of operations with in-depth insight into the inner workings of how the islands operate. I have a significant understanding of running businesses on the islands, knowledge which I’ll bring to the board in order to see the company move forward at this exciting time for Scilly.”

Andrew will also be chairing a new-look Steamship Advisory Board, which will consist of six members who will meet quarterly. These are new

positions and and we are now seeking expressions of interest.

By joining the board, community members will have the opportunity to input into decision-making processes as well as reflecting on the experiences of our customers.

Our Chairman Ian Howard said: “My colleagues and I warmly welcome Andrew to the Board and look forward to him contributing towards our mission to deliver for Scilly.

"This is a significant and exciting time in the Group’s history and Andrew’s wealth of experience both in the maritime world and as an islander will be of immense value to the Board."

Andrew’s appointment means we have a board of nine directors; two executive directors and seven nonexecutive directors

New vessels update

In January, we signed contracts to bring two new vessels into service.

Signing these contracts is a vital step for the project, allowing work to commence at Piriou’s shipyard and helping to ensure long-term security for the economy of the islands.

The past few weeks have been busy with ongoing work to develop the vessel designs, including meetings at Piriou Concarneau that included review of the electrical and hydraulic systems.

Both vessels will be built by Piriou in Vietnam, before being transported to Concarneau, Brittany for commissioning.

Scillonian III will continue to serve the route during the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

We have put in place measures to ensure that the project is delivered on time and on budget, including appointing site managers to oversee the build at Piriou’s shipyard in Vietnam.

Chief Executive Stuart Reid said: “I would like to thank both Piriou and Lombard NatWest for the productive and collaborative working relationship which has allowed us to reach this point. My sincere thanks also go to you, our

employees, as well as our customers, islanders, and the businesses we support for providing vital feedback on these plans, which have helped us to refine final designs.”

We are working from a position of financial strength and profitability. Our policy of retaining cash within the business and taking long-term strategic decisions in the best interests of the islands has allowed us to progress with our plans.

We are also hoping to move to a contractual position in relation to the build of our new interisland freight vessel in the coming months.

We remain absolutely committed to doing everything in our power to enable the Group to continue to serve the Isles of Scilly community proudly for another 100 years.

Please email the project team on vesselprojectteam@issg.co.uk with any questions you might have and keep up-to-date with the latest news at https://www.islesofscillytravel.co.uk/new-vessel-replacement-project/

Transparency

Community engagement

We are setting up a series of regular 1-2-1 surgeries on the islands with the senior management team. Islanders will be able to book a 15-minute slot to meet face-to-face. We plan to hold these in person in our offices based on St Mary's, but if the weather interferes with those plans, we’ll meet online instead. The plan at this stage is to host the first event in April.

We will be visiting all islands to provide an update on the progress we are making with our new vessels, with timelines, final general arrangement diagrams and a technical presentation on Scillonian IV project manager, Chris Lingham. Dates and times will shortly be advertised.

The best news I’ve heard all day. Well done. Given the experience of your team and attention to detail in the spec of the new vessel I’m convinced there will be no better way to travel to the Isles of Scilly via sea. Looking forward to the 2026 inaugural voyage and hope that Scillonian III has a fitting send-off also.

The team at Tregarthen’s were delighted by the recent announcement that the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group has signed contracts to build its two new ships, to be delivered for the 2026 season. Our guests have become very fond of Scillonian III over the years, but will be thrilled with the faster journey times, increased comfort and capacity of Scillonian IV. We wish the team every success in delivering this project and look forward to hearing the updates as the project develops.

Robert Dorrien-Smith, Chair of Tresco Island Ltd, said: “We were pleased to hear the news that the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group has signed the contract to acquire the much-needed new modern vessels to service the freight and passenger requirements of the islands.

“Tresco Island Ltd, as a business customer, welcomes this commitment to the islands, their infrastructure and logistics. Having the security of another generation opens up enormous possibilities for the islands again, delivering certainty for people living and working on the islands and visitors alike. We wish them every success with this new chapter.

Great news. I love sailing to the Isles of Scilly. So much to see on a good day.

A vessel built for the job and designed using decades of experience of the sea and tide conditions between the mainland and Scilly. She’ll take the ground in both Penzance and St Mary’s no problem, and deliver people and goods to their destination without breaking them on the journey. Well done.

I would just like to say a huge thank you to several of your staff that have been absolutely amazing – Jenny, Debbie and Robert. Firstly, to Robert, who handled my initial rant about having to transfer from Exeter to Land’s End twice in less than six months. He was very professional. I did apologise for my rant and thanks for sending me on to Jenny, who pointed me in the right direction towards Debbie. Having read so many negative posts recently, just wanted to say a huge thank you. Can I just take this chance to thank you for your great customer service this year. That’s in sales, freight, on the boat, the airports and at Island Carriers.

I would like to say thank you to the Gry crew for allowing me to travel home last night. I was one of the lucky five. The guys are a credit to the Company and their kindness was extremely appreciated.

Whilst queuing yesterday for the 4pm boat we witnessed one of your staff at the baggage point being criticised by an incredibly rude customer. I was impressed he kept his cool because the obnoxious man was clearly looking for a fight or some grovelling, Victorian servant type of response. Your staff member was polite and correct when telling the man his cargo wouldn’t be unloaded until 8am the next day.

Customer

Our customers are at the heart of everything share some of our recent comments with to all our employees for making these

I just wanted to pass on a huge thank you. For the last two weeks I have been trying to change a booking and all dealings and calls with the ferry bookings centre have been fantastic. I had made an original booking for six Army personnel to travel to and from St Mary’s but then managed to get authority from the MOD to book them and reclaim the money back. This was a huge mess around, but Debbie - on the five occasions I liaised with her - was understanding and flexible in dealing with our situation and utterly professional.

Thank you so much, we got sorted in the end and this was only down to the cracking customer service I received from Debbie and all the staff in the ferry booking office.

The majority of my sales are online and I find my email list my most engaged customers. The competition email opt-in seemed a good way to grow my list, and paired with an e-news slot it maximised the number of people who would find out about the competition. I am really happy with the results, with over 1,200 email sign ups. Not only was the campaign successful but it was really well organised and communicated by Jade.

We really appreciate the Travel Centre team’s kind assistance and flexibility during the course of the year, especially when we have to change our bookings. The Company is lucky to have you.

Feedback

everything we do and we’re delighted to with you here. A big thank you, as always, these comments so commonplace.

Thanks to all the team, at St Mary’s and on the boat, for their help today! My husband had a bad infection on his leg and they were all so helpful. They arranged for him to get on and off the boat first, which was a huge relief. We got straight to West Cornwall hospital. Thanks again for everyone’s help.

Just wanted to say a BIG thank you for squeezing Viva on the plane this morning, it all worked to plan. I am very grateful for your help and patience with me. Thank you.

Thank you for your kind donation of two return tickets on Scillonian III for Sherborne Castle Country Fair’s silent auction. The tickets were the icing on the cake for a prize that already included a night at Star Castle, two nights at Karma St Martin’s, various lunches, boat trips, Abbey Gardens and activities. It raised £2,600 for West Country children’s charities.

I’m just writing to say how wonderful, caring and supportive the staff were when I recently had to abandon my holiday on the Isles of Scilly due to my husband going off in air ambulance due to a collapse.

I had to travel back on the Scillonian with my dog and two heavy pieces of baggage. I really can’t say enough how supportive and helpful the staff were. I asked for assistance when I checked in on St Mary’s for when I got to Penzance and this information was relayed to the purser on the ship, which I was very impressed with. He arranged for me to swiftly leave Scillonian when it docked so I could catch a taxi to pick up our vehicle and get on my way to the Royal Cornwall Hospital. Staff on the quay found my luggage and it was all waiting for me when I returned in my vehicle. The staff on the quay were extremely helpful and couldn’t do enough for me. It really helped my stressful situation and helped me to remain clear headed. Please thank all the staff on the Scillonian and quay side. What a wonderful team you are!

We will hopefully return again soon and travel on Scillonian as we usually do to visit our favourite holiday destination. My husband has just come out of hospital and is doing well. It really helped him knowing that I was being supported.

I travelled from St Mary’s to Penzance, on my own with my two daughters (age 8 & 14). Unfortunately, it was a fairly rough crossing and myself and my youngest daughter felt very unwell. I just wanted to pass on my thanks and to let you know how grateful I was for the help of two of your staff members. They were both so kind and helpful. They moved us to a more comfortable area of the boat. Cleaned up after us, got us plenty of bags and blue roll when we ran out of tissues. They got us water and checked on us throughout the journey. I did thank them personally when I departed the boat but wanted to let the Steamship Company know what wonderful staff members you have. I am a resident of St Mary’s and my children have lived on the islands since birth. I wanted to give some positive feedback and once again pass on my thanks. It was very much appreciated.

Jonathan Stephens

New company appointments

In January Jonathan Stephens was appointed as our new Deputy Airport Manager at Land’s End.

Having joined the Company in December 2012 as a firefighter, Jono has grown and developed his aviation career throughout his time with us, having been promoted to Crew Manager and then in 2018 to Fire Services Manager.

To ease into the role Jono has followed a six-month development plan devised by the Airport Manager. This has included learning about all aspects of the airport, from Air Traffic Control to runways to the café to ensure a thorough knowledge of the

responsibilities of managing the airport.

Jono said: “I enjoy the diverse nature of the role; I can be in the office one minute and the next I’m driving the fire engine. Every day is different.”

He added: “I’ve really loved the new experiences this role is giving me, especially in terms of airport safety and meeting the different people working on the various projects that the airport takes part in.”

Jono’s promotion follows a range of personal development courses that he has taken part in over the years. From his operational fire courses that allowed him to become Fire

Service Manager to the many courses recently undertaken for this new role, the Group has provided plenty of opportunity for learning. With the support of the Group, he has been able gain the NEBOSH General Certificate and undertake courses in Level 3 Management, Project Management, First Aid, ADR (Driving Dangerous Goods) and Emergency Planning.

Speaking of these opportunities, Jono said: “I have been lucky enough to experience many areas of personal development in respect to courses and all of these opportunities have really allowed me to develop my abilities for these varied responsibilities.”

Cath Rapsey

After 14 years of working for the Group, Cath Rapsey was promoted to Operations Manager at Land’s End Airport in January.

Cath initially joined as a Seasonal Passenger Handling Assistant on St Mary’s in 2010, when after 18 years of working in the Department for Work and Pensions, she wished to return home to St Mary’s, where she grew up. This once seasonal role became permanent and in 2012, Cath moved back to the mainland to become a Passenger Handling Supervisor at Land's End Airport. In 2016, Cath was promoted to Deputy Operations Manager, and has enjoyed the changing role as time has gone on, keeping her work varied yet always being able to have strong links with the island community.

Now, in her Operations Manager position, her workload varies from overseeing the daily flight schedule, to monitoring the weather conditions and planning

for any disruption, to planning and loading the flight schedule into the booking system, among many other tasks.

Speaking of her role, she said: “I am proud to be a part of the Skybus team here at Land’s End and on the Isles of Scilly who work so hard to maintain the lifeline link to the islands.”

She added: “I love my job. I enjoy the days where the sun is out and shining, and all flights are operating on time, but equally I enjoy the challenges of dealing with disruption. And that view! How many people can say they have an office view like ours at Land's End Airport?”

After seven years as Deputy Operations Manager, Cath describes the move between responsibilities as having been smooth after switching roles with the former Operations Manager, Fraser Ramage, who is still around to offer his full support and guidance.

Amberley Hack

Amberley Hack has been appointed as a PR and Marketing Assistant.

Amberley, who joined the marketing team in November 2023, will help with content creation. Having lived in Penzance for 16 years, she is looking forward to helping build relations with businesses and people within the local community.

She said: “I’m excited to be a part of the Group and its vital work of delivering for Scilly. Highlighting and sharing with the community all the brilliant work that goes on at the Group, and celebrating the islands themselves, is both important and fantastic to be a part of.”

Amberley has previously worked for a sustainable marketing agency where she created content for carbon offsetting brands and women’s healthcare and joined the Group wanting to pair her love for travelling and exploring new places with writing.

Peter Broad

In March we welcomed Peter Broad as Site Manager for the new vessel build project.

Peter, a former Chief Engineer, Lloyds Register surveyor and engineering consultant, has a wealth of experience representing ship owners with the build of more than 120 new vessels.

Peter will join Chris Lingham as one of two on-site project managers, ensuring there is constant representation at the shipyard in Vietnam and that the build program remains on budget and on time for delivery.

He said: “I am excited to join the Group at this vital juncture in its history.

“Having managed the build of over 120 new vessels, I, as a Cornishman, understand the important role these lifeline vessels play in the lives of the Isles of Scilly community and I look forward to delivering them in 2026, securing the long-term

future of passenger travel and freight supplies to the islands.”

Peter brings with him more than 36 years of practical experience in the marine industry, having worked all over the world. He has lived and worked in South Korea for almost 20 years, project managing major new build projects in the three biggest shipyards in the world.

Currently president of the International Institute of Marine Surveying, Peter has authored several technical papers, books and training material, including the successful Shipbuilding Acquaint Course, which covers all aspects of modern shipbuilding and industry best practices.

Chief Executive Stuart Reid, said: “Peter’s decades of knowledge are a major asset to the project team. He shares our commitment to delivering this project for the Isles of Scilly, and we are delighted to welcome him to the Group.”

Simon

Crumley passes ATC Instructors course

In January Simon Crumley, Air Traffic Controller at Land’s End Airport, undertook a one-week On-the-Job Training Instructor (OTJI) course. As part of this program, he conducted training in order to be able to be an instructor, where he learnt teaching techniques, wrote reports, and monitored performance to be able to instruct in accordance with the Unit Training Plan.

When asked about the course, Simon said: “The three-dimensional layout was different to this one but a nice challenge. It was all in a live environment, and we had to simulate being on a simulator whilst in a simulator – it was challenging yet really good fun too.”

Sowing seeds with Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Land’s End Airport is proud to have been working with Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the National Trust since 2016.

As part of our continued commitment to the environment, the partnership started by planting orchids on the airfield to be pollinated by bees, allowing the rare plant to increase and thrive.

Throughout the years we have continued to work together to help provide important habitats for wildlife and create spots of natural beauty for the community.

Employees at the airport pride themselves on sustaining 98 acres of grassland, and during certain pollinating months this space has been used to harvest Devil’s-bit scabious seed. This is an excellent source of food for pollinators and is becoming increasingly rare.

Jasmin Odell, Area Ranger for the National Trust, said: “We use a brushseed harvester to gather the ripe seeds, which then get sieved to remove waste plant material and then spread out in the workshop to dry. Once the seeds have dried for several days they get bagged up and kept safe, ready to be sown in the autumn.

“Devil’s-bit scabious is the food plant of the Marsh Fritillary butterfly. These butterflies were once plentiful in Penwith but have not been seen there since 2010. The scabious seed will be sown by the National Trust and Cornwall Wildlife Trust around areas of Penwith and wider around the county to increase biodiversity and create more species rich grassland.

“A huge thanks to the staff at Land’s End airport for allowing us to access the airfield and utilise this amazing resource of local Cornish wildflower seed.”

Chris Pearson, Airport Manager, added: “The public response to the harvesting has been really positive, and we look forward to working on more projects together in the future.”

Everyone at Land’s End Airport is committed to protecting the local environment, and this is just one aspect of the measures that are being taken.

Wildlife spotting

on board Scillonian III

In 2023 alone, as many as 645 individual sea animals were observed by ORCA volunteers on the 13 surveys conducted between March and November. This incredible number has led to Scillonian being named the best ferry route for wildlife spotting for the second year in a row.

ORCA, a charity dedicated to studying and protecting sea life, took their volunteer surveyors onto these 13 Scillonian voyages to spot marine mammals. The most popular, with as many as 495 sightings, were common dolphins. On the 16th August alone over 100 of them were reported.

Lucy Babey, ORCA’s Head of Science and Conservation, said: “2023 has shown once again why the surveys we do in this part of the world are amongst the most diverse in all of the regions where we collect data on whales, dolphins and porpoises.”

2023 was also a brilliant year for birdwatchers. The RSPB went on a total of 25 sailings where they counted as many as 21,539 individual birds and 60 species.

The route between Penzance and St Mary’s was frequented by visits of shearwaters (Cory’s and Great), which are normally rarer to catch a sighting of.

Other rare birds that were seen on the crossing were Wilson’s storm-petrel, Sabine’s gull, grey phalarope, and a velvet scoter.

We look forward to seeing even more marine and birdlife in 2024.

Marine animals glimpsed in 2023:

 Minke whale

 Fin whale

 Bottlenose dolphin

 Common dolphin

 Risso’s dolphin

 Grey seal

 Harbour porpoise

 Blue-fin tuna

 Ocean sunfish

Photo: Joe Pender | Storm-petrel

Photo: Joe Pender | Great shearwater

Photo: ORCA | Common dolphin pod

Photo: Joe Pender | Cory shearwater

Photo: Paul Semmens | Ocean Sunfish

New season underway

Scillonian III set sail for the first time this season on Monday, March 18th, departing Penzance on schedule at 0955.

Our beloved passenger ferry carried more than two hundred passengers on her first sailing, as well as large quantities of freight, including a bull destined for a farm on St Mary’s.

During 2023, Scillonian III transported over 120,000 passengers to the islands.

This year, we are continuing to strengthen the ease of travel to and from the islands with the introduction of online check-in.

And our popular Locals’ Offer has been reintroduced for the new season, with a day trip costing £25 for residents of Cornwall.

This offer is part of our commitment to not only provide exceptional customer service, but to help make the islands more accessible for people to enjoy and explore. With cheaper fares, there is even more reason for locals to

finally see all that the islands have to offer.

The start of the new season follows Scillonian III’s busy maintenance period, where the crew has been working hard checking and surveying equipment, training new staff, and finishing all internal and external paintworks.

The crew has spent the final few weeks ensuring the ship was cleaned thoroughly and finished all internal and external paintwork.

All equipment was checked, attended to, and surveyed as part of the five-year survey that was conducted by Lloyd’s Register earlier in March.

This included stripping down machinery to view internal parts, and deep-cleaning and re-coating the tank, in addition to closely attending to other various pieces of equipment.

In February, we welcomed our 2024 seasonal stewards, a mixture of both new and returning employees, who will be maintaining all aspects of passenger services and

catering onboard Scillonian III.

Their induction was led by Tom Weise, Marine Superintendent, who went through our values, health and safety, and their roles as stewards.

Training encapsulated everything from drills to food hygiene and alcohol license awareness; to crowd control and sea-survival.

When asked about what they were most looking forward to, the new employees listed doing something different, meeting new people, and enjoying the experience of travelling to the islands as their top reasons for joining the team of stewards.

Scillonian III

first sailing in photos

Flights resume from Exeter and Newquay Airports

On March 11th we resumed services from Exeter Airport, marking the start of the new season and increased travel to the islands. Flights from Exeter are scheduled to operate Monday-Saturday until 15th October.

Following the Exeter route’s return, passengers will also be able to fly from Newquay Airport from April 1st until 14th October on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Mental health first aider

In support of our commitment to the mental health and wellbeing of our employees, Ken Thomas, Crew Manager at Land’s End Airport, has completed training as a mental health first aider.

He said: “It means a lot to me to be a mental health first aider as mental health issues are widespread throughout our

community. I’m grateful to the company for being able to do the course, and hopefully it will be a benefit to others.

“As I am new to the role nobody has approached me yet for help. Hopefully this is a good thing and shows colleagues are doing well, yet I hope people can always feel like they can come forward and ask for help when

they need it.”

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Ken for volunteering to provide mental health support to colleagues. It follows our commitment to train more people in the Group to support the wellbeing and development of people who work for us.

Online check-in

Scillonian III’s new online check-in went live in time for the first sailing of 2024.

For the first time, passengers were able to check in for their journey online 24 hours before their scheduled departure. Passengers arriving for their sailing were able to bypass the check-in queue and move straight to embarkation, where their boarding passes were scanned.

Stuart Reid said: “We are delighted our new online check-in will be live in time for the new season. This is great news for our passengers – it’s a straightforward process which

will make journeys quicker and easier.

“We’ve given every aspect of the customer journey a lot of thought. This change is designed to make travelling more convenient as part of our commitment to providing exceptional customer service.”

Passengers will receive a text message 24 hours before departure prompting them to check-in online using a laptop, computer or phone.

They will then be able to select the passengers they want to

check in and download boarding passes to their mobile devices.

When they get to the quay in Penzance or St Mary’s, passengers who have checked in online will drop off their luggage and proceed to Scillonian III to have their boarding passes scanned. Anyone travelling with hand luggage only will be able to head straight on board.

A full guide to the online check in process can be found at: www.islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/ plan-your-trip/online-check-in/

Year 9 pupils tour Scillonian III

In February we welcomed a group of Year 9 pupils on board Scillonian III for a tour of the ship while she underwent winter maintenance. We partnered with Cornwall Marine Academy, a network that focuses on improving the employability of young people, to give children from Cape Cornwall School the chance to learn about what goes on behind-the-scenes with Scillonian III captain, Victoria Bolitho.

Victoria gave the students a tour of all aspects of the ship, showcasing the different elements of working in the marine sector, the various jobs on board, and Scillonian’s various areas, from the engine room to the bridge.

Kristian Williams, who works for Cornwall Marine Academy and attended with the children, said: “The pupils really valued the conversations they had with the Captain and Second Engineer about what it is like to work in the marine sector, as well as learning more about the vessel itself. They particularly loved seeing all the tools and gadgets on the bridge!”

Cornwall Marine Academy works with schools to raise awareness of the wide range of career opportunities that exist within the marine sector. In January, we hosted a tour to two students at Penwith WAVE Academy.

Joe Davies, from CMA, said: “The team on-board was brilliant, down to earth, and answered all our questions during the tour of the ship. We enjoyed seeing all the jobs that are available to go into.”

Here are just a few of the lovely letters we have received from the pupils: