Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats (RIBs) have many advantages. They don’t mark a boat’s hull when alongside, they have sufficient buoyancy to stay afloat when completely full of water, and they are sold in large enough quantities that pricing is competitive. They have lots of downsides as well and the demise of most inflatables is slow…
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Barra Island
The airport on Barra Island is reported to be the only one worldwide with scheduled beach landings. We anchored in aptly-named Castle Bay off 15-century Kisimul Castle for a few days and did a bicycle tour of the island, including taking in a beach landing. Trip highlights from August 25th through 28th, 2017 on Barra…
Vatersay Island
Vatersay Island is known for its sweeping sand beaches, with a popular and roomy anchorage at Vatersay Bay. From our anchorage at Berneray Island, we took an indirect route north to Vatersay Bay to take in the seascape on the exposed sides of Berneray and Mingulay, among the most dramatic in the British Isles. Trip…
Berneray Island
For six months we had a goal to visit the lighthouse perched 630ft (192m) above the sea on Berneray Island, at the southernmost tip of the Outer Hebrides. Back in February, while we were in Daytona, Florida, we received our copy of the The Scottish Islands by Hamish Haswell-Smith. We immediately flipped to the Outer…
The Small Isles
The wreck of the Jack Abry II is a stark contrast to the spectacular Small Isles scenery and a sobering reminder that human error is one of the biggest risks we face when underway. According to the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report “the skipper, who had been alone on watch in the wheelhouse, fell…
Anchor Ensnarled
Yesterday morning, we started up the main engine just past daybreak for a planned run from Widewall Bay along the west coast of Hoy and the Mainland in the Orkney Islands. But the anchor was locked down solidly on the bottom. That’s happened before and we have our tricks. Dropping another 100 feet and pulling…
Loch Moidart
The ruins of 14-century Castle Tioram, the rapids at River Shiel and a tender tour around the Isle of Shona make the slightly tricky entrance to Loch Moidart worth taking on. Several scenic anchorage choices are inside, most with great views to the castle. We reached Loch Moidart after a 40-mile run from the Sound…
Staffa and Iona
The Isle of Staffa is composed of vertical, hexagonal basalt columns similar to those at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. The cliffs themselves are a sight, but an additional attraction is cathedral-like Fingal’s Cave. From an anchorage in the Sound of Iona, we ran the tender over to Staffa, then spent the afternoon exploring…
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull gave us our first taste of the dramatic Scottish coastal scenery we’d been hearing so much about. In just one morning we saw spectacular waterfalls, a striking sea arch and imposing cliffs. After exiting the Crinan Canal, we sped north in the high-current Sound of Jura and anchored at Loch Spelve…
The Crinan Canal
The Crinan Canal is a 9-mile, 15-lock passage between the Scottish villages of Ardrishaig and Crinan. The canal came online in 1801, largely serving commercial traffic and allowing them to avoid the longer run around Kintyre Peninsula and the exposed and current-swept Mull of Kintyre. Today the lock system is used by recreational boaters either…
