42 million GBP "Superferry" doesn't have a bar!

[Mikilt]

From the Press and Journal. 26 Jan 2015

The Superferry that serves the Western Isles does not have a bar.

Ferry Operators Caledonian MacBrayne claim a "change in public tastes" as the reason for not having a bar.

[Sample m]

Booooooooo. I hope on our next trip we don't have to ride on the superferry

[mookien]

I don't know. You try driving one of those Superferries after a couple six packs of beer. It ain't easy. Look what happened to that guy in the Concordia!

[Catharps]

I don't know. You try driving one of those Superferries after a couple six packs of beer. It ain't easy. Look what happened to that guy in the Concordia!

Ah, the bars are for the passengers, not the crew (on watch)! As an American Merchant Sailor, all the ships I've worked on are dry. Some of my class at the academy shipped under the British flag and got to enjoy sailing on a wet ship. Hmm, maybe an insurance decision?

[mookien]

Ah, the bars are for the passengers, not the crew (on watch)! As an American Merchant Sailor, all the ships I've worked on are dry. Some of my class at the academy shipped under the British flag and got to enjoy sailing on a wet ship. Hmm, maybe an insurance decision?

Yeah. Tell that to Captain Joseph Hazelwood.

By the way, did you attend the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point?

[Catharps]

Yeah. Tell that to Captain Joseph Hazelwood.

By the way, did you attend the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point?

Yeah, Marine Casualty class was a lot of fun. Thanks to him our paperwork has never been the same! No I went to Maine Maritime Academy, class of Dec '08. (But I was 10 years before the mast.)

[cessna152towser]

Makes sense to me. Many of the passengers will be car drivers who will need to drive off the ferry at the destination. For other passengers, tastes have changed and drinking alcohol during the day is a less popular pastime here in Scotland than it was twenty years ago.

[Mike_Oettle]

Perhaps it is also a response to the fact that fewer people smoke these days. Back in the day, you couldn’t breathe in a bar for the cloud of tobacco fumes billowing about.
I don’t regret the passing of that style of liquor consumption, but many pubs have closed because of the no smoking laws.
And perhaps the non-drivers aboard prefer to take their alcohol in a more genteel environment.

[David Dubh]

The article states that alcoholic beverages are available on board in the cafeteria. So it's not a dry ship they just don't have a dedicated bar area. Doesn't matter to me if they have a bar or not,but if it is the accepted norm I can see why they would be upset/disappointed that it doesn't have one.
Cheers David

[mookien]

Yeah, Marine Casualty class was a lot of fun. Thanks to him our paperwork has never been the same! No I went to Maine Maritime Academy, class of Dec '08. (But I was 10 years before the mast.)

"... 10 years before the mast." Wow! That's pretty impressive. If you ever write a novel, I suggest a pen name of Josephine Conrad or Rachel Dana.

I mentioned Kings Point because my favorite uncle graduated in the class of 1956. Even though he later got a PhD in mathematics with a dissertation on nuclear reactor theory, he is still most proud of his P.E. license in Diesel Engineering. He drives a diesel Volvo and a Cummins pickup, ... but not at the same time, of course.

Just to get this post back on track, I have a good friend who years ago did oil exploration in west African while stationed off the coast on a British ship. Apparently, the ship had a liquor locker that was only opened by one of the ship's officers on Thursday nights. He asked for whiskey, but all they had was Glenfiddich 12 "whisky". He hated it, but learned to drink it mixed with strawberry soda. Now, that's grounds for mutiny.