‘She’s been a brilliant ship’: Cornwall says goodbye to Scillonian III after 50 years

Linking UK mainland with Isles of Scilly, this is last season before boat is replaced with a newer model There was a mix of anticipation and trepidation in Penzance among the passengers waiting on to board Scillonian III. Some were looking forward to an adventurous voyage on the ferry to the Isles of Scilly, which lie 30 miles off the Cornish coast; others were not quite so keen, knowing that when there is an Atlantic swell, the Scillionian can toss and turn, a tendency that has earned it the unflattering name the “vomit comet”. This season is the final one for Scillonian III after almost 50 years linking the UK mainland with the archipelago. “She’s been a brilliant ship,” said Scillonian III superfan Sholto Blackwell, 43, who has regularly sailed on the boat since he was taken to Scilly on holidays as a small boy. “She’s been a constant in my life. She almost feels like part of the family.” So, presumably, he does not get sea-sick? “My dad was a merchant navy seaman and so we sort of had the sea in our blood, but actually I do suffer in bad weather. The Scillonian does pitch and roll a bit.” It does not put him off – the challenge of surviving the trip is par