50 arrivals for the period
Whitefish was reasonably busy; 8,400 boxes were landed by five Scottish trawlers and six Anglo-Spanish liners and netters. The Scottish effort concentrated on the dwindling seasonal Rockall squid fishery but was bolstered by the reappearance of haddock on the grounds. The Anglo fleet have had a fantastic spring and early summer with plentiful catches of hake and ling. In order to conserve quota for later in the year some of the boats will now take their summer break and return home for a well-earned rest.
The shellfish sector has been very busy with a fleet of visiting East Coast twin riggers making steady landings of poor quality prawns. The offshore crabbers continue to land brown crab weekly and the local fleet of prawn creelers report very poor returns for their efforts.
Non-fishing was restricted to the fishfarm support vessel Nitrox in for crew, the civilian naval support vessel Smit Yare in for a layover and the luxury cruise liner Sea Cloud II in to drop off passengers. Due to unfavourable weather conditions, the cruise liner Columbus was forced to cancel her maiden call to Ullapool which was scheduled for last Friday – quite a disappointment for all, not least our local traders, musicians and activity providers, many of whom have put tremendous effort into cruise day participation. Nevertheless, the museum hosted morning and afternoon sessions of local history, film and a little music in the ferry terminals with walks around the village; keep an eye out for these sessions on cruise days – they’re free and would be perfect if you’re speaking with visitors about what to do.
Other News
A defibrillator training session took place on Thursday evening (22nd June). The harbour purchased a machine and external cabinet from the charity Lucky to be Here. The Defibrillator will be mounted on the wall outside the harbour Watchroom and will be available 24/7.
A new electric vehicle charger has been installed in the ferry carpark. It forms part of a Transport Scotland initiative to install electric vehicle charging points throughout Scotland’s harbours. In the event that the rapid charger fails UHT has installed a back-up trickle charge point on the wall of the office building.
Feis Rois are hosting a concert in the Ferry Terminal on Friday 21st July. This should be a great evening of music from BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award Finalists Charlie Grey & Joseph Peach and Battle of the Folk Bands 2017 Finalists Hecla. For more information, please see www.feisrois.org
The next cruise visit (weather permitting) to Ullapool is Fred Olsen’s Boudicca on Sunday 9th July.