Day 8 - Isles of Scilly

The skies are blue this morning and temperatures in the 50s. Perfect day for my St. Mary's Island Garrison Walk, right? Well, maybe not.

As you can see in the photo above, there is no port or dock, so a visit to the Isles of Scilly requires tendering, and repeated attempts by the local tender boat to tie up to Le Soléal did not go well.

Local tender boats make several attempts to tie up to Le Soléal

Guests watched from Deck 3 aft as the tender boat would surge 3 to 4 feet with the swells, and the Captain made the wise decision that it was just too dangerous. So, all excursions were cancelled. It appeared that most of the guests, while disappointed, were understanding of the situation and reassured that Tauck would never compromise on safety.

I decided this would be a good opportunity to visit the bridge. Le Soléal has an open-bridge policy and guests are invited to stop in and have a look around.

Bridge officers still use paper charts in addition to computerized charts

The Captain heads the ship towards Guernsey from the bridge

During my visit to the bridge, Jill, one of the Tauck Tour Directors, was using the bridge PA system to broadcast information about the Isles of Scilly to the entire ship.

Jill informs guests from the bridge

As Jill gives her talk over the PA system, guests were invited to enjoy Bloody Marys in the two ship's lounges! Tauck Directors (and Ship's Liaison) did an excellent job of mitigating the circumstances of a missed port call.

This afternoon, Bridget Ashton gave a lecture on "These Amazing Isles" in the ship's theater. At 4:30, Tauck Tour Directors gathered everyone in the theater for the dreaded Disembarkation Talk. You know, the talk that signifies it's almost time to go home!

Tauck Tour Director, Stacie Knight, explains what will happen after we disembark Le Soléal in Portsmouth

In spite of a missed opportunity to visit Isles of Scilly, it was still a relaxing day aboard Le Soléal.

Tomorrow, Le Soléal will be in Guernsey.