11 June 2022
Unfortunately our trip coincided with the most prolonged strong winds for twenty five years, which made the crossing to St. Kilda impossible. Nevertheless our skipper, James, made the best use of both wind and sea conditions and managed to get us over to the Outer Hebrides when other operators had been unable to do so. Taking advantage of the islands themselves we sailed almost the entire length of the archipelago, from Harris to Mingulay, going ashore on Eriskay, Vatersay, Harris and Mingulay. James also attempted to get us over to the Shiants, but we had barely cleared Scalpay when it became obvious to everyone that the conditions made this too dangerous. Despite these setbacks we had an interesting and enjoyable trip and were very grateful to James for what he enabled us to experience. We have nothing but praise for the way in which we were looked after on board by the rest of the crew; Viv served up a series of excellent meals (I still dream about her pork!), Charlotte was constantly busy seeing to our every need, and Will kept us alert, both on board and ashore, to any wildlife that was around and provided a wealth of information on our walks. All four crew members were a delight to sail with and I am only sorry that we had such a short time to say goodbye to them.
David Leonard Davies
We know nothing of Scotland. It’s time for us to see why people like this area of the world so much. We book a tour found on the internet. The dates are right. We travel to Oban and find the pre-trip information sent to us invaluable. We wait at the dock for the crew to meet us and take our soft-sided luggage to our cabin. The other guests are prompt and the crew is timely too. We marvel at the amazing cameras and the experiences of other passengers. Two have traveled with the ship multiple times. We are focused on where we are and the journey ahead of us. Our luggage is delivered to our ensuite cabin. There is plenty of space to store our gear and thoughtfully placed shelves for items, such as cameras and binoculars we might need without digging through our bags. The double bed has a portal window and well placed reading lamps. Our cabin and the public areas were impeccably cleaned each morning while we are off to shore with naturalist, Alexa. There is a library selection of literature and guide books to help identify what we saw on walks. I noticed a scrabble game, which we never found time to play. The chef, Mags, works in a tiny galley and turns out the most amazing meals. Giving people a choice between vegetarian and non vegetarian entrees, wine is included with the dinners. A breakfast buffet is laid out and there is always a hot breakfast available. There are 8 of us on this voyage. We all eat together and take excursions in the morning and afternoon. Craig is calm and also assists the chef and helps Chris, the Captain, anchor the boat when we stop for the night. Weather and sea conditions are the great unknown in the Hebrides. The deciding factor to where we will go. Chris lets us know the itinerary will be flexible. He picks amazing calm spots to anchor each night. He is very good at communicating why we are going or not going to an island and invites us up to see the bridge. We travel to amazing sites, such as the island Inch Kenneth and Ulva, and learn the history of eac
Greg and Bobbie Hobbs: 27 April 2019Idyllic Islands: Mull, Iona, Staffa & the Treshnish Isles