News
2008
Season's Begin
All the boats are
back in the water and we have already had our first courses and charters of
the year. I have taken every yacht out for a few days just to iron out any initial
teething problems.
It is great to report that our YachtMaster pass rate remains at 100% Local sailors
Debbie Williams and Lawrence Young spent a few days brushing up both their theoretical
and practical skills and they were like coiled springs waiting to demonstrate
their skills to the Examiner when disaster struck! NO WIND!!! The assessment
was cancelled on three occasions before the conditions were right and - success!!
Well Done, Guys - absolutely no pressure!!
As if that wasn't enough, a few days later whilst working on the pontoon we
received a request from the Police to investigate reports of a man the water
in Glencoe Bay. Our RIB was out at the time with three crew undertaking an Advanced
Powerboat assessment. The RIB was soon located and diverted into search routine.
A local sailor who had fallen out of his dinghy was rescued after spending almost
an hour in the water. Theoretical First Aid rapidly became a practical exercise
and hypothermia a reality. Paramedics and Coastguards were soon on the scene
and although the casualty recovered after an hour or so in the ambulance and
a good night's sleep, he had a lucky escape. The moral? Lifejackets are not
just for storing in the cockpit locker!!!
HAVE A GREAT SAILING SEASON
Take a Look!!
News just in - It's great when we get feedback from our customers and charterers. Last year, Alexander Sharpe, a 13 year-old from New York spent four weeks on our boats. He has just sent us this link to a website he designed by himself. We hope you might find it of interest.
Spring
is in the Air
Well, there is still snow on the hills but the days are getting longer!! We
have had some fantastic contrasts of weather recently - lovely clear days or
shrieking gales! I am really glad that the yachts are tucked up safely at MRC
at Barcaldine although they will be back in the water in March so I need to
get on with the antifouling! FANTOM has been having a real makeover this winter
with both hull and deck repaints. All the boats have had brand new batteries
- even FIGMENT - but electricity levels always need to be carefully monitored
- I have yet to see anyone give a yacht a push start!!
The Underwater Centre have kept us busy with Powerboat Level II courses for
all their students. They have booked almost every weekend from now until October
so I am looking for a Powerboat Instructor. Last weekend's course was held in
snow and strong winds which made the deck and pontoon just a tad slippy!
As can be expected at this time of year, enquiries and bookings come in every
day for both charter and RYA training courses. There is still space available
but check our availability page soon to book the dates that suit you best.
We are off to attempt St Kilda again in both May and September - these cruises
are always popular and crews can also complete a RYA certificate at the same
time.
HAPPY SAILING!!
2007
Autumn
Approaches
The nights are drawing in - we have our last RYA course mid-September and our
bareboat charters will all be over by the middle of October and we shall be
preparing for winter hibernation - almost!! However 2008 bookings are already
coming in!!
Our late summer cruise to the Outer Hebrides and St Kilda was incredibly well
supported with 18 sailors in all three yachts - in fact I could have filled
another boat if I had one available!! The weather forecasts during the cruise
were very ominous and we decided - after lots of heart searching - not to attempt
St Kilda but we had a great cruise getting as far North as Tarbet and visiting
several new locations including The Old Forge Inn on Loch Nevis. We are planning
similar cruises in May and September 2008 so, if you are interested, get in
touch soon.
It has been a pretty busy summer with the yachts almost continually out on charter
or RYA courses from April to September. However the Lochaber weather in July
and August was really unsettled so the small boat hourly hires were considerably
down on target. However more and more folk have been signing up for RYA Powerboat
Level II courses so Leon and the RIB have been kept pretty busy. The UK's premier
commercial diving centre - The Underwater Centre - based in Fort William are
sending all their commercial diving students on a RYA Level II Powerboat Course
so that will keep us busy during the winter months.
Space has been booked for the yachts in undercover storage at MRC at Barcaldine
so they will stored there from November and then the maintenance programme will
get underway. Maintenance is a high priority for the yachts but apart from routine
antifouling, engine servicing etc the only big jobs this year are a hull respray
and instrument update for FANTOM and a new heads and below deck varnish for
FREEDOM.
Lochaber Watersports is only as good as our staff. Thanks as ever to our Skippers
and Instructors - Dave Hanna, John Hill, Alisdair Bowden, Jeremy Taylor and
Laurence McBride who all did a great job. Also to Jonathan Cooper and Fraser
MacArthur who helped to run the Centre and looked after the small boat hires.
Special Thanks and Farewell to Leon Steyn who is shortly returning to South
Africa after nearly two years with Lochaber Watersports. Leon gained a RYA Powerboat
Instructor qualification during his time at Lochaber and played a major role
in the running of the Centre. Always smiling, cheerful and incredibly practical,
Leon will leave a gap that will be almost impossible to fill. God Speed and
Good Luck, Leon - we will miss you!!
A
Hectic Summer
Wow! it's been a busy season I have only now had time to write a few lines to
update all our friends - well, Nigel and Sean - who keep asking me "when
are you doing a news update?"
We had a bit of hassle getting the boats out of their winter storage because
some of them were stuck at the back of the storage shed but eventually everything
was sorted out and the boats were all safely back on the pontoon. FREEDOM has
been fitted with a new cooker, cushions and a headlining which is a huge improvement.
FANTOM now boasts a new heads and a flashy CD player and FIGMENT has had some
additional storage fitted in the fore and aft cabins.
Our Spring St Kilda cruise was really enjoyable although we didn't get to St
Kilda but still had a great cruise around the Outer Hebrides and Skye. We visited
some really remote anchorages and quite often found ourselves on the green bits
of the chart - well FIGMENT did!!!
We have been running numerous RYA courses and in addition to Dave Hannah as
our Chief Instructor, we were delighted to welcome John Hill, Alasdair Boden
and Laurence McNeill to our instructing team on various occasions.
When the boats weren't on RYA courses they were almost 100% utilised on bareboat
charters and it was good to meet old and new friends. Several family and sailing
groups chartered all three boats and some clients came to Lochaber Watersports
solely because they wanted to sail on one of our classic boats. We were privileged
to welcome a wonderful family from New York who took FREEDOM to the Islands
for three weeks followed by a week on the Caledonian Canal aboard FIGMENT. Their
comment in our guest book was "we have chartered all over the world and
this was the best!!"
FANTOM and FREEDOM were both chartered for the Powerbar Three Peaks Yacht Race.
FANTOM - crewed by a team from Cambridge University - came a very respectable
13th. FREEDOM spent 36 hours sheltering from a gale in the lee of Anglesey before
finally retiring off Jura - still it's the taking part that counts!!
We have all three boats and a total of 18 crew on our next St Kilda and Outer
Hebrides cruise on 1st September so hope we make St Kilda this time!!
Our RIB has been kept busy most weeks on Powerboat Courses for both leisure
and commercial clients and Leon Steyn our newly qualified Powerboat Instructor
has had plenty of practice in running courses!!
The Lochaber weather has been its usual changeable self with good bits and bad
bits!! Here's hoping for an Indian Summer!!!