Lochmaddy Marina unusable
- Thread starter cpedw
- Start date
jamie N
Well-known member
Crikey, but that's bad news. On the other side, at least it's at this end of the season and it appears that nobody has been injured.
My bet is that the dredger interfered with an anchor chain.
My bet is that the dredger interfered with an anchor chain.
Minchsailor
Well-known member
Lochmaddy 'marina' is hardly usable, even in the best of times.
Bristolfashion
Well-known member
The black pudding & scallops pizza in the nearby hotel is sensational!
ylop
Well-known member
For the whole marina to be closed entirely, accessible only with staff escort, and a pontoon to have ended up upside down it's quite an impressive bit of interference.
jlavery
Well-known member
Pictures, or more details, online?
sawduster
Member
dunedin
Well-known member
Please explain or withdraw that comment?
Been there many times, and generally been great. Clearly not a place to be in an Easterly gale, but weather restrictions apply to most visitor moorings / pontoons in Scotland. Otherwise a fantastic spot with great welcome.
The current local community group had put a lot of effort into improvements this year. A huge setback to the enthusiastic team.
scottatsea
Member
Great point, yet we remain stoic and generally a happy bunch as no-one was injured or worse. We appreciate the support.
scottatsea
Member
Mmmm, my boat spent 6 weeks there this year having sailed from Glasgow. For that reason alone you are factually incorrect. We also have a list of satisfied visiting customers and also commercial customers who use the 'marina' 24/7. May I warmly suggest you retract this statement as it has no basis in fact whatsoever.
dunedin
Well-known member
Was very sorry to hear your news, as I know you guys have made such major efforts to improve the facility this year. Hope you get the insurance (hopefully of the dredgers) payout as soon as possible?
Perhaps this is the opportunity to rebuild with a wavebreaker outer pontoon, as I think you had been mulling over?
jamie N
Well-known member
scottatsea, are you able to describe the timeline and what actually happened, or do you feel it best left unsaid until the dust has settled?
scottatsea
Member
Thank you for the support and very kind comments. A load of work has been done to rebuild to where we were and it's upsetting to see where we now are. That all said, we have had plenty of support from kind and well meaning people such as yourself which is really motivating the team to come back better. All options are being considered and if we can improve on what we had, we certainly wil do if we can, funding being the issue for a marina that has only just started its recovery, but its not over yet! I'll post updates on Facebook as we progress. All the best.
scottatsea
Member
I can tell you most of what I know and it's essentially that during planned dredging works (which were not instructed by or anything to do with the marina itself) and as someone correctly surmised, one of the main chains has been dragged with incredible damage to the overall pontoon. This occurred yesterday.
Quite why that was the case is a matter for debate by others and I'll leave that there. There is of course a desire and plan to come back, but we will have to see what we are left with. As upsetting as it is, our first concern was for the safety of two visiting yachts - they were fine although shaken and I'm truly sorry they experienced that, yet we all shall be forever grateful that no injuries or worse occurred.
Insurance assessor is coming tomorrow and the situaiton initially at least is moving quickly. We just have to secure what remains so there is no danger to shipping; also to support our local and commercial customers who operate from there each and every day and I have to thank them as they have been most understanding.
Bristolfashion
Well-known member
As well as the great pizza, I'll also add that we found this a great spot to wait out the weather - we rowed across to walk up a nearby pair of hills, took the bus across a causeway to another walk (with a great cafe) and inspected the rather lovely nearby Camera Obscura - plus a shop and pub, what's not like.
I hope you recover from this event.
I hope you recover from this event.
Blue_mischief
Active member
Rubbish. Sat out 40knots plus a few weeks ago, very sheltered. Friendly staff, much improved facilities of late including car hire, decent village shop. Pub a bit plasticky compared to what it used to be. Overall, a good place to stop by. I would agree calling a pontoon with a hammerhead a “marina” is a bit of a stretch, but this is the trend these days (cf Castlebay “marina”).
MM5AHO
Well-known member
I was there nearly 2 weeks back, and it gets better every time. The new amenities are an improvement, the new walkway and hardstanding area better, the Hotel has had a makeover in fabric and in food and is a great place to go for coffee, food or more. The reception at the marina and offered help to all is an encouragement to visit. And the berthing fee lower than Stornoway. Such isolated places cant be expected to be world class, but the welcome and help available from Lochmaddy makes the Outer Hebrides one of the UKs better sailing destinations.
Lets hope they overcome the current difficulty quickly, in time for the 2024 season.
Lets hope they overcome the current difficulty quickly, in time for the 2024 season.
AngusMcDoon
Well-known member
If you have time please post updates here as well as not everyone uses Facebook.
Last edited:
scottatsea
Member
Thank you very much.
scottatsea
Member
Good point I will. Thank you.
