The text message arrived with an ominous ping as I drove north through a rugged Scottish valley to catch the next day’s boat to the spectacular, remote island of South Uist.

Because of “technical issues,” my crossing was canceled, wrote the ferry company, and there would be no trip on this route for the next five days. Politely, but firmly, the company’s phone staff also insisted that my trip was a no go.

Until suddenly they changed course. A little later, a call came in offering a different crossing that would add three hours’ drive time to my journey. But at least it was sailing.

Getting to South Uist — 25 miles, or about 40 kilometers as the crow flies, off the coast of northwest Scotland — always required time and a little patience, but now it feels like travel roulette.

In theory, it can be reached on 10 ferry crossings a week, in three hours and 30 minutes. But so frequent is the disruption to the ferry from Mallaig, on the mainland, to Lochboisdale, on South Uist, that hoteliers fume about canceled bookings and islanders fret about missing travel connections or funerals on the mainland.