Many passengers were left stranded on Arran last Sunday (August 1) when sailings between Lochranza and Claonaig were cancelled suddenly, however, a Dunoon man was quick to save the day.
Graham Farrar, assisted by first mate Roger the Sausage Dog just happened to be in the area on his RIB and was happy to step in and ferry the stranded passengers the 15-minute journey from Arran to Tarbert.
He told this newspaper: “My partner was at a hen do on Arran and I went over to collect her, I had to stop at Lochranza so my plan was to leave the RIB, get the ferry over and then drive to Brodick. When I got to the ferry I saw it was cancelled, I had the RIB so it wasn’t too much of an issue for me.
“Just as I was leaving a gentlemen came over and asked if there was any chance I could take him and his group over to Skipness.
“I said absolutely it wasn’t a problem, it gave me a chance to get a good run in the boat.”
As Graham arrived in Kintyre with his passengers, he found more passengers stranded at the other side, who he also offered to help. He ended up going back and forth for about two hours.
One of the stranded passengers, Agnes Harvey from Blairmore told this newspaper: “Graham set about loading his boat within his 12 people limit and made a further four runs back and forward for a couple of hours. He must have transported about 100 stranded people. What a hero and he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart.
“Graham really did go above and beyond in his generosity to get so many people back to where they needed to be. He transported adults, children, bikes and dogs – depending on the space and capacity. He was definitely a local hero to many.”
Graham continued: “I don’t think I’m a hero, I enjoyed doing it. I just thought if it was me, it wouldn’t be an ideal situation and I wasn’t pressed for time.
“The final family asked if I could help them get back to Arran, I told them I’ll do one better and take you to Brodick, they said I made their kids holiday which was nice- I would’ve been coming that way anyway and I enjoy being out on the boat.”
Despite remaining very modest about how much he helped people, Graham admitted he doesn’t have plans to start a sea-taxi service anytime soon but did enjoy the brownie points it earned him with the in-laws.
