shipping news...

One morning we woke to find a large cruise vessel floating just outside of Tobermory harbor. We watched through binoculars as the passengers were being taken off the boat and brought ashore in small launches.

Was the boat disabled in some way, or in some kind of distress? Terrorist bomb threat? Legionnaires disease? Surely an exciting and newsworthy event!

No, it turned out this is just the standard procedure for all the luxury cruises that ply the Western Isles. The ship moves to its next destination overnight, while during the day its passengers are taken ashore and discharged to sample the local attractions.

Isle of Mull, Scotland, May 2010.

Graflex Century Graphic, 100mm f/3.5 Ektar, Neopan 400.