Harbour business picked up slightly over the past fortnight with 25 arrivals for the period.
Whitefish totaled 5670 boxes from 3 Scottish trawlers and 10 Spanish liner/netters.The regular Scots Audacious, Adventurer and Marigold continue to land decent catches of monkfish from the shelf edge and Rockall and the Spaniards land weekly shots of hake, ling and monks from west of Orkney.
The shellfish fleet picked away with reasonable catches, the crabbers returned to sea last week having agreed a voluntary deal to reduce landings in an attempt to stabilise the market price.
The non fishing sector saw the MCA tug Anglian Prince in for stores and fuel.
There were no ferry disruptions for the period and the Isle of Lewis returned to the route after her annual refit.
The harbour is in the process of installing a landing pontoon on the inside face of the pier.With the tender process complete and a contractor chosen the pontoon will be constructed over the next 8 weeks and installed at the end of April.Repair work on the ferry pier damaged by the freight ferry Muirneag was suspended during January due to low temperatures making concrete work unviable.With a brief respite in the recent ice age the main concrete structure was broken out and replaced last week.This week a dive team will attend the site and make good some areas of concern in the sheet pile structure beneath the pier.Thankfully the ferry service has not been affected by these repairs with all contractors working around the ferry arrival and departure times.
The harbour has received the names and details of 16 potential sail trainees and is still on the lookout for more.In order to be chosen for a voyage certain admin details must be adhered to when selecting trainees.All applicants will be required to complete an application form which will include sections on why you want to be selected and what you hope to gain from the experience.All Tall Ships participating in the Cruise in Company leg from Greenock to Lerwick in July 2011 have a commitment to offer 50% of the available places to part funded 15-25 year olds.The remaining places will be available to all comers who will have to pay their way without any subsidy.Should any adults wish to take part in the voyage or for that matter any Tall Ship voyage and require further information please get in touch with the harbour office.
Aged 15-25 years by July 2011, interested in a life changing challenge crewing aboard a Tall Ship sailing the west coast of Scotland then contact the harbour office or check out the sail training website. www.sailtraininginternational.org
No sailing experience is required just an enthusiasm for fun and adventure, please contact the harbour if this type of adventure interests you.Cruise in Company brochures describing the 2011 event available at the harbour office.
Ullapool Harbour Trustees have recently purchased 2 acres of commercial land within the Morefield Industrial Estate to develop as a business park, see separates advert for more details.
