This conversation has been had previously but personally I have never really understood why Waverley never, ever, seems to vary her sailing programme. She visits the different parts of the UK at exactly the same times of year. Consequently, while it is very pleasant to travel on her, you don't necessarily want to repeat the experience every year so there must be a law of diminishing returns on the customer base. It happens with lots of attractions. For example you might enjoy visiting Portmouth dockyard as there is lots to see, but having done so, unless you are some sort of enthusiast (like me), you probably won't want to go again for a few years.
Southern England is probably the most densly populated part of the UK and much of the population lives within easy reach of the coastal resorts. Yet Waverley only visits after the school summer holidays when the kids are back in school and when the weather is beginning to turn which frequently causes cancellations. If she wre to to visit during July/August there would be a potentially huge customer base to tap into which for years has been neglected. I may be missing something here but I would certainly like to know why the sailing programme is so rigid.
As far as the current appeal for money is concerned it appears to be just for routine annual maintenance which must have been anticipated but we are now into the New Year before the alarm has been raised. The 2022 sailing season finished months ago and surely the ongoing financial situation must have been appreciated then. Does anyone have an insight into all this?
Colin
