Out of Hours Ferry

Shapinsay Development Trust fund a timetabled, foot-passenger only, service from Shapinsay to the Corn Slip (opposite Helgis Bar) at Kirkwall pier, daily, in certain tides and weather conditions, the boat will berth behind the Lifeboat Station at the Shapinsay slip. This service is subsidised through funds from Whirly, the island turbine.

Fares

Fares for the scheduled sailings are;
Adults – £8 / Age 12-Adult – £2 / Unders 12s –  FREE

**Bookings to meet the Northlink Ferry will incur an extra charge – see below for details**

View the bookings calendar here.

You can make a booking online by completing the form below.

Please make bookings between 9am and 5pm – Monday to Friday. Any messages sent out-with these hours will be processed as soon as the office reopens. You can get in touch using the following contact methods or use the booking form below.

Email: shapinsaybookings@gmail.com
Phone, voice mail or text: 07901 575162

SDT staff wil be happy to assist with any queries  –  01856 711733 between 10am and 2pm Monday to Friday.

Terms

Please note:

• All sailings are ‘weather permitting’ and at the Master’s absolute discretion
• Payment is taken in cash, although card payment is now an option on board. Failure to pay may mean refusal for further bookings.
• Sailings are now 7.10pm and 9.40pm from Shapinsay Sunday to Thursday (Summer timetable will vary slightly) returning at 7.30pm and 10pm respectively.
• Friday and Saturday late sailings will now leave Shapinsay at 10.40pm, returning at 11pm, if there is enough demand (4+ people per trip), this could be made later on occasion at a charge of £12.50 per person after 11pm and needs to be booked in advance.
• Requests can be made for a change of up to 15 minutes in any sailing, but only on one leg of the journey, if someone has already booked to leave 15 minutes early, it’s at the masters discretion whether he will then wait 30 minutes for the return sailing.
• Northlink sailings will now be made a separate journey and will be charged at £50 per booking. If the ferry happens to be in on time at the weekends, the normal run can be used and passengers will be charged as normal. This is to avoid earlier evening passengers long waiting times.
• Passengers must contact Harvey once on board the Northlink ferry, to inform him that onward travel is still required – this is to avoid him waiting in Kirkwall for people who aren’t on board the Ferry.
• Emergencies will be accommodated where possible; please contact the co-ordinator.
• Sailings will only operate when there are prior bookings indicated on the Keep and Share Calendar. To check current bookings please use the online calendar here or contact the coordinator.
• All bookings must be cancelled in advance if not needed, with as much notice as possible. Passengers wishing to cancel before 5pm should contact the transport coordinator (07901 575162). After 5pm the main point of contact is the Master (07884 470600). In this case a text message must also to be sent to the transport co-ordinator.

• If a booking is not cancelled in advance (i.e. “no-shows’) passengers will incur a charge of £8. After 2 no-shows in a period of one year, a charge of £100 will be incurred for any further no-shows.
• If there is demand for organised groups to have regular times changed, requests should be made to the coordinator. Any decisions will be made by the board with consultation with Harvey
• If space is available (and at the absolute discretion of the Master) you may join any crossing if that sailing has been previously booked to run, a call to the Master to ensure timings is advised. A ‘first come, first served’ policy applies with priority given to booked passengers. Please do not assume that an outward, or return service will run at the published time as the sailing will only run if previously booked by other passengers, there may have been a late cancellation or if all booked passengers are ready, the sailing may leave early.