In praise of Highland Council

[Quandary]

Just back from our last cruise and want to place our appreciation of Highland Council on the record. If any of you live/vote in that area, it would be good if it was passed on to your local councillor. I would love to try to encourage a similar attitude in Argyll.
There are visitor pontoons in the fishing harbours at Kyle of Loch Alsh, Kyleakin, Gairloch, Lochinver and Kinlochbervie, plus moorings in other places; the charge is only £15.18 for two nights for 10 m. and you can buy a two week ticket for all of them at a cheaper rate.The harbour staff were great, whether printing off local charts or up to date weather info. or supplying yachtie quantities of red diesel. They are usually putting 50,000 litres into the French deep sea trawlers but will take time to top up with 40 litres in drums or your tiny tank. They will always try to make room for you, though the Gairloch pontoon in Flowerdale harbour in particular is a big centre for whale scaring with about five competing boats operating trips and rubbishing their competitors sighting records.( The 21st century whaling wars) Lochinver harbour has sea trout as well as the ubiquitous mackerel.
I would recommend any one to go that way whether going round to Orkney or just visiting this spectacular landscape, the Summer Isles have in particular have some fantastic anchorages.
Ullapool harbour,( operated by a local harbour trust) however was as yacht averse as ever, despite in early 2009 having loudly published their intention to put in visitors moorings welcome yachts and generally change their ways, a pity because it is an interesting town with some good pubs. However if you are that way there is a fine pontoon behind Isle Martin in Loch Kannaird (at the mouth of Loch Broom) which the Isle Martin Trust use for their warden's boat, it is deep and will take one, perhaps two, yachts; the trust have an honesty box for their yacht charge of £10 a night or you can give the money to the warden. Note that this is a wildlife reserve so while you are welcome ashore, please respect the bird life.
It is unusual for me to praise local government, in fact I think this may be a first.

 

[peach]

In defence of Ullapool

This evening it was brought to my attention that a subscriber had posted information regarding a poor welcome and experience when visiting Ullapool Harbour. As relative newcomers to the leisure and yachting business we are trying hard to remove the 'averse to yachts tag' and would appreciate direct information on the negatives and hopefully some positives from visiting sailors. This is the only way in which we can raise our game and offer a service that fits with visitor's expectations. In order to assist with this process the harbour will produce a simple questionnaire which will be handed to trot mooring customers in the hope that they will complete and return prior to departure. The trust has invested heavily in both new trot moorings and a dedicated leisure pontoon for taking onboard water, fuel and stores. The Harbour Trust has high hopes for Ullapool as a leisure destination, hopefully with the support of visiting customers we can make this a reality.
Kevin Peach
Ullapool Harbourmaster.

 

[AngusMcDoon]

This evening it was brought to my attention that a subscriber had posted information regarding a poor welcome and experience when visiting Ullapool Harbour. As relative newcomers to the leisure and yachting business we are trying hard to remove the 'averse to yachts tag' and would appreciate direct information on the negatives and hopefully some positives from visiting sailors. This is the only way in which we can raise our game and offer a service that fits with visitor's expectations. In order to assist with this process the harbour will produce a simple questionnaire which will be handed to trot mooring customers in the hope that they will complete and return prior to departure. The trust has invested heavily in both new trot moorings and a dedicated leisure pontoon for taking onboard water, fuel and stores. The Harbour Trust has high hopes for Ullapool as a leisure destination, hopefully with the support of visiting customers we can make this a reality.
Kevin Peach
Ullapool Harbourmaster.

When new yacht facilities are installed it takes a while for the pilot guides to catch up. In the mean time, a simple webpage somewhere can provide invaluable information and encourage visitors. It doesn't have to be anything flashy - a simple text page is all that is needed. You may already have one, in which case a link here would be appreciated.

The sort of information that would be useful would be along the lines of...

What mooring arrangements for visitors do you have, i.e. buoys, number of, maximum displacement/length boat that can use them, minumum depth of water.

How to find and identify the buoys, for example 3 cables south of the pier.

What weather conditions are they suitable for use in, and what not. Just a simple indication, like "open to the South". I realize for liability reasons you cannot be exact here.

Phone number and operating hours of the harbour master or the contact who manages them. VHF details if available.

Where to land a dinghy ashore.

Rough idea of price and how to make payment if no-one is available to receive it.

General overview of hazards on the approach, for example ferry movements.

Phone numbers of local doctor, taxi etc.

Brief guide as to what is available in the town - food, fuel, gas, marine spares

Apart from that, I can't think what else would be needed to make the place yacht-friendly. You have the advantage of an attractive town in a beautiful location.

 

[Sgeir]

Ullapool

We used the visitor moorings in Ullapool last year, and very welcome they were.

I don't recall the dedicated visitor pontoon, but that may be helpful. Is that new; near the sailing club? While we were able to take on fuel from the main pier, it was clear that the new red diesel regulations were placing an unnecessary bureaucratic burden on a service that designed to cater for fishing boats. So, good for Ullapool. We'll be back.

 

[westcoast sailor123]

highland harbours - not so nice

Just back from our last cruise and want to place our appreciation of Highland Council on the record. If any of you live/vote in that area, it would be good if it was passed on to your local councillor. I would love to try to encourage a similar attitude in Argyll.
There are visitor pontoons in the fishing harbours at Kyle of Loch Alsh, Kyleakin, Gairloch, Lochinver and Kinlochbervie, plus moorings in other places; the charge is only £15.18 for two nights for 10 m. and you can buy a two week ticket for all of them at a cheaper rate.The harbour staff were great, whether printing off local charts or up to date weather info. or supplying yachtie quantities of red diesel. They are usually putting 50,000 litres into the French deep sea trawlers but will take time to top up with 40 litres in drums or your tiny tank.

Yes, but have you heard the latest story doing the rounds? Highland harbours have suddenly decided to remove the much loved Kyle pontoons at the end of Sept. After 14 years of it being in-situ April up to early November. No more autumn cruising in kyle of lochalsh. For those of us who have been sailing these waters in the autumn months and pulling into Kyle to re-fuel, re-water , re- crew & shower in October, November - those days are over... facilities put in to incourage visiting yachts back in 1998 are now withdrawn and as far as I can determine there is no good reason for it.. this is a backward step for highland council and if the rumours are true about the kyle harbour master, the decision has been made to suit his own personal agenda.

 

[Quandary]

We were using that pontoon last July when the harbourmasters assistant came and asked us to move because of the forecast,( the notorious Snooks gales) we had already been considering it, he told us the pontoon would be untenable, we said we were thinking of going over to Kyleakin but he said it was full, (it usually is). However he said he was going over to collect dues and would come back. He came back after about an hour and said there was a space for us on a raft of two (one of the advantages of a smaller boat), by then the Kyle pontoon was bouncing and he helped us get off wiuthout damage, we were then stuck in Kyleakin for a week while two unseasonal gales went through, though we did make an attempt to get out mid week we came back because the size of the size of the seas in Sleat, our berth was gone (taken by a French Ovni 45, much to the discomfort of the two much smaller boats on the inside) but we found space beside a creel boat which was fine except for getting up at 4am to let him go out in a brief lull. All that week the Kyle pontoons were vacant but there were some poor souls rolling from gunwhale to gunwhale on the mooring buoys.
I suspect safety will be used as the excuse but most of the time they are fine and the nearby shower in Kyle is excellent, Kyleakin is not an adequate substitute, though I understand that Mallaig is now more usable?

 

[Twister_Ken]

Interesting that the Ullapool HM turned up in 2010 to make one post asking for feedback to improve service to yotties, then disappeared completely. Symptomatic?

So, how is Ullapool now for WAFIs?

 

[Blue_mischief]

Mallaig development

Mallaig - New pontoons reputedly going in for May 2011, dredging has started but has hit some difficulties, so I understand.

 

[snooks]

Thumbs up from us in favour of the Highlands Council, we bought a 14 day pass from them, and thanks to the lovely gales we used them for 10 nights at Gairloch and nights at Lochinver (the other two nights were at anchor at loch Nedd and Kylesku)

It's a great system. and we were never disappointed with the service we received

The harbour master at Loch Alsh was very friendly and sold us diesel in two lots of 30l, in the rain and wind with a smile, shore power would have been a bonus.

Gairloch was where we spent most of out time due to the weather and a blown head gasket, Jackson (the HM) was fantastic, no other word, friendly kind and generous, he also likes Tunnocks Tea Cakes! Showers are in the sailing club (and are expensive for what they are). but the pontoons have shore power which was a bonus we weren't expecting

Loch Inver, no shore power, showers are in the leisure centre there, a bit of a walk. it's mainly set up for the fishing industry, but the harbour master didn't mind accepting packages for us, and the RNLI were a great help there.

We skipped KLB for a window to round Cape Wrath (and our ticken had expired)

The next thing that highlands councils could work on is the shower and laundry facilities for each harbour. It's something that makes staying in a harbour that little bit better. It's a 2 mile walk to the camp site at Strath, though the monster scones at the The Mountain Coffee Co make it worth while

 

[Lady Campanula]

Thumbs up from us ......the monster scones at the The Mountain Coffee Co make it worth while

Now that's what I want to know after a hard day's night! Are you listening there, Reeds Nautical Almanac?

 

[Quandary]

Thumbs up from us in favour of the Highlands Council, we bought a 14 day pass from them, and thanks to the lovely gales we used them for 10 nights at Gairloch and nights at Lochinver (the other two nights were at anchor at loch Nedd and Kylesku)

It's a great system. and we were never disappointed with the service we received

The harbour master at Loch Alsh was very friendly and sold us diesel in two lots of 30l, in the rain and wind with a smile, shore power would have been a bonus.

Gairloch was where we spent most of out time due to the weather and a blown head gasket, Jackson (the HM) was fantastic, no other word, friendly kind and generous, he also likes Tunnocks Tea Cakes! Showers are in the sailing club (and are expensive for what they are). but the pontoons have shore power which was a bonus we weren't expecting

Loch Inver, no shore power, showers are in the leisure centre there, a bit of a walk. it's mainly set up for the fishing industry, but the harbour master didn't mind accepting packages for us, and the RNLI were a great help there.

We skipped KLB for a window to round Cape Wrath (and our ticken had expired)

The next thing that highlands councils could work on is the shower and laundry facilities for each harbour. It's something that makes staying in a harbour that little bit better. It's a 2 mile walk to the camp site at Strath, though the monster scones at the The Mountain Coffee Co make it worth while

I have experienced and agree with all of this, but I would not think of criticizing Highland Councils facilities, they are miles ahead of Argyll with a similar coastline but zero effort or interest. A lot of the good work In Highland was done by the late and fondly remembered harbourmaster In Kyle whose name regrettably I can no longer remember, though we do still recall his welcome.

 

[arawa]

Yes, but have you heard the latest story doing the rounds? Highland harbours have suddenly decided to remove the much loved Kyle pontoons at the end of Sept. After 14 years of it being in-situ April up to early November. No more autumn cruising in kyle of lochalsh. For those of us who have been sailing these waters in the autumn months and pulling into Kyle to re-fuel, re-water , re- crew & shower in October, November - those days are over... facilities put in to incourage visiting yachts back in 1998 are now withdrawn and as far as I can determine there is no good reason for it.. this is a backward step for highland council and if the rumours are true about the kyle harbour master, the decision has been made to suit his own personal agenda.

I have used the Kyle pontoon about a dozen times over the past few years and have always found the HM and his assistant to be very welcoming and helpful. The Gairloch HM has also been exceptionally helpful to me.

 

[arawa]

Yes, but have you heard the latest story doing the rounds? Highland harbours have suddenly decided to remove the much loved Kyle pontoons at the end of Sept. After 14 years of it being in-situ April up to early November. No more autumn cruising in kyle of lochalsh. For those of us who have been sailing these waters in the autumn months and pulling into Kyle to re-fuel, re-water , re- crew & shower in October, November - those days are over... facilities put in to incourage visiting yachts back in 1998 are now withdrawn and as far as I can determine there is no good reason for it.. this is a backward step for highland council and if the rumours are true about the kyle harbour master, the decision has been made to suit his own personal agenda.

I have used the Kyle pontoon about a dozen times over the past few years and have always found the HM and his assistant to be very welcoming and helpful. The Gairloch HM has also been exceptionally helpful to me.

 

[NormanS]

A lot of the good work In Highland was done by the late and fondly remembered harbourmaster In Kyle whose name regrettably I can no longer remember, though we do still recall his welcome.

I think the one you mean was Johnny Ach. I'm not sure what his real name was, but that was what he was known by. I think I'm right in saying that his then assistant (Robbo?) is now in charge.

 

[Quandary]

Quotes and Johnny Ach

I am not sure what is going on here but the quotation in Arawa's post attributed to me was actually posted by Westcoast123 who revived the thread.
Thanks for the name Norman, he was a great guy and is regarded as the promoter of the yachting pontoon idea there, I recall him striding down in his shorts as you approached to banter with us and take our lines. There is a memorial plaque at the top of the ramp at Kyleakin. We have never met the new harbourmaster but his assistant who drives the wee truck and collects the dues has been very helpful to us, nothing like as friendly in his manner as Johnny though.

 

[Mark-1]

I think the one you mean was Johnny Ach. I'm not sure what his real name was, but that was what he was known by. I think I'm right in saying that his then assistant (Robbo?) is now in charge.

Didn't the original guy die a couple of years back? A keen Shinty player?

 

[NormanS]

Didn't the original guy die a couple of years back? A keen Shinty player?

Yes, he was, and he did.
He once impressed me greatly, quite a long time ago, by calling me up on the radio, as I was passing Kyle, just to ask about the boat, and being complimentary about her. You don't forget things like that.

I think I was wrong previously about his then assistant. IIRC his name was Tommo.

Both were great ambassadors for Kyle, I haven't called in lately, but used to get fuel there at competitive prices.

 

[DaveS]

Interesting that the Ullapool HM turned up in 2010 to make one post asking for feedback to improve service to yotties, then disappeared completely. Symptomatic?

So, how is Ullapool now for WAFIs?

We spent 2 nights there last July. 2 trots of blue visitor buoys, 10 (?) in total. Access to the new pontoon to take on fuel or water was only available for about 2 hours mid afternoon when it was vacated by the Summer Isles tourist boat - in our case this was some 22 hours after we arrived. No fuel hose, diesel was sold in 25l barrels or own cans. Invoiced at 100% propulsion, no alternative. Dinghy landing at the sailing club slip (fun in a S'ly). The swimming pool was closed for repair, but the adjoining sports hall was open: good showers with no time limit. Good selection of pubs and restaurants.

 

[ulava]

So are you saying no Pontoons as 0f 2011, if so thats a shame as they are well used in the summer and i for one will miss them.Whats the problem with the HM, pm me if you dont want to post on site

 

[Quandary]

My understanding of the meaning of the update post by Westcoast 123 on Kyle was that the pontoons would be removed from September for the winter, restricting them in future to only summer use. He is still sailing up there in autumn so will be more affected than us summer softies. Having seen the way they were bouncing in unseasonal summer gale I can understand why the harbour authority might make this decision if that is what they have decided.
I hope they intend to replace them each summer.