21st August – 11th September (15 arrivals)

Harbour News

Whitefish totalled 1300 boxes from 3 Scottish and 1 Anglo Spanish liner. The Scottish boats are mainly working waters round the Northern Isles and landing east with only a few stragglers still fishing for squid at Rockall. The Anglo fleet are slowly returning from their summer break and again the fishery seems to be in northern waters with the vessels landing into Scrabster. The Scottish vessels that historically used Ullapool as a seasonal base are becoming scarcer with the Viking Monarch and Norlantean changing from fishing to renewable energy, the Marigold engine smash up and the Audacious lost at sea. Worrying times ahead for a harbour with a proud history of supporting the Scottish whitefish fleet.

The shellfish sector has worked away with the offshore crabbers fishing well and the local inshore fleet taking their chances between the squalls.

The non fishing sector saw the return of the bulk carrier Borhoui with 850 tonnes of salt for the local roads dept. The recent poor weather blew in a couple of bonus arrivals with the cruise ships Princess Daphne and Marco Polo both diverted from Stornoway. Given the short notice both ships had little time to organise excursions and as such a combined 1000 passengers and 540 crew enjoyed the delights of the village, in the sunshine. Many thanks once again to Chrissy and the Visit Scotland team for manning the marquee and greeting the visitors as they came ashore, plus Donna and staff for plying them with whisky and shortbread. By all accounts the visits were a great success with positive feedback coming in from both ships on the warmth of welcome and beautiful scenery.

The Wylde Swan is scheduled to return to Ullapool on the 25th September for a 5 day voyage round Skye and a 3 day voyage in the Minch. To have a tall ship of the Wylde Swans stature and reputation operating from Ullapool is fantastic and I would urge anyone interested to grab these once in a lifetime opportunities.

For more details check out the harbour website or contact Wylde Swan at kathi@wyldeswan.eu

Finally I would like to congratulate Ullapool High School staff for organising and hosting the Albert Roux dining experience, what an unbelievable opportunity for pupils to rub shoulders with the best. The food, service and atmosphere was fantastic which once again demonstrates the diversity of experiences on offer to local children as they progress through the education system. Ullapool High School consistently punches above its weight from exam results, sporting achievements, young engineers, music, the list is endless, well done to you all for your continued dedication, much appreciated.