An anxious group of fourteen Bute curlers had their patience tested, on the morning of November 13, as they waited in the thickening fog for their ferry to sail.
After the previous day’s ferry cancellations due to poor visibility, the curling contingent held their breath as the mist lingered over the waters. However, they eventually set sail for Wemyss Bay.
The day’s competition was the annual Caldwell Trophy, a fixture that dates back to the 1980s when the trophy was presented to the Bute Curling Club by Robert and Barbara Caldwell.
Back then, the Club had the luxury of putting six rinks on the ice, with reserves eager to play.
Though those days are now a memory, the Club has seen a resurgence in membership, and this year’s Caldwell Cup featured four rinks – albeit with two of them fielding only three players each.
The morning’s action saw Mike Hislop skip one rink alongside Nicola Speirs and Colin McFarlane, facing off against a formidable team led by Bill Stein, with Colin Sharp, Peter Martin, and Liz McMillan.
Despite losing the first end by a narrow margin, Hislop and his rink quickly found their rhythm, using their experience to steadily dominate the game.
By the final end, they had won by a convincing 9-3 scoreline.
Meanwhile, in the other match of the morning, Rhona Fraser, making her debut as skip, teamed up with Duncan McAlister and Nancy Kinnear to take on Duncan Lyon, with Alex Robertson, Donald Kinnear, and Helen Martin.
The match started slowly with a blank first end as no player could quite read the ice.
However, Fraser’s rink gained a brief lead before Lyon’s team levelled the score in the fourth end.
Fraser’s rink fought back, taking a single shot in the fifth, but Lyon’s rink surged in the later ends, scoring two big ends to win by 11-3.
After a break, word from the CalMac website brought some unwelcome news: further ferry disruptions meant that the afternoon games would be shortened to five ends.
In the first of the afternoon match-ups, Hislop’s rink took an early four-shot lead in the first end.
Fraser’s rink fought back, winning the next four ends by a narrow 4-3 margin, but the damage from the opening end proved too much to overcome.
Hislop’s rink held on to win by a final score of 7-4.
On the other sheet, the Lyon rink, coming off their earlier win, maintained their momentum with a low-scoring but hard-fought victory, defeating Fraser’s team 5-2.
After a long, eventful day on the ice, things took a humorous turn on the ferry ride back to Rothesay.
It was realised that there had been some confusion about the number of ends played in the morning games.
Hislop and Stein’s match had only completed six ends, while Lyon and Fraser had played seven.
After some discussion – and with a go-between shuttling between the two teams – it was amicably agreed that Hislop’s rink would take home the Caldwell Trophy.
The one downside being that they were tasked with providing the refreshments, much to the good-natured groans of the victors.
Despite the minor mix-up, all agreed that it had been a thoroughly enjoyable and competitive day, with the club’s camaraderie shining through even amidst the fog and ferry disruptions.
The Caldwell Trophy has returned to Hislop and his rink, but more importantly, the Bute Curling Club’s spirit of competition and community remains as strong as ever.
