In the third instalment of his voyage from the south coast to Scotland and back, Barry Pickthall reflects on the benefits of sailing the western isles of Scotland
Two months spent cruising around the Western Isles this past Summer has left us begging the question: Where else in the world can you enjoy unspoilt scenery, abundant wildlife, sparkling clear waters, sun bleached beaches and deserted anchorages with little semblance of commercialism? Nowhere! The Caribbean is too touristy. Likewise, much of the Pacific. The Galapagos Islands are both expensive and restrictive, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and New Zealand’s Bay of Islands, perhaps, but too far away, and anywhere in the Mediterranean is going to be too hot.
Scotland’s west coast has so much going for it. For a start, these waters are within sailing distance from the south of England without the 90-day restrictions and other bureaucracy imposed on us by recent political upheaval. And if you pick the right time of year – May to mid-June, and sometimes early September – you have the best of the weather too. Up here you will come across only few other yachts all day, and the scenery is spectacular, but the best part is the abundance of wildlife. The Western Isles are Britain’s best kept secret. Perhaps it is because of the lack of active sailing in these waters compared to the south that dolphins and porpoise come playing around your bows on an almost daily basis. Birds are in abundance: Fulmars, Gannets, Guillemots, Kittiwakes, Petrels, Puffins and Razorbills and, if you are lucky, the odd Golden Eagle or two soaring overhead. To watch their antics in flight, on and under the water, is enough to get even the most involuntary twitcher reaching for the guidebook.
And as for costs – they are so low they will bring tears to the eyes of the most fervent south coaster: £10-£25 a night for a visitors berth in a marina, and, wait for it... £40 a year in some places for a deep water swinging mooring. Yes, you must lay and maintain your own ground tackle, but that is still £1,460 less than Sea Jay’s mooring in Chichester Harbour!
Have I sold you on the idea? Certainly to some. We met up with so many south coasters who have decided to keep their yachts up here for a second season, for the fact is, even after two months sailing in these waters, we have barely scratched the surface.
Previous articles in Sailing Today have covered preparations and the practicalities of
