Stornoway Harbour was only the second marina we’ve stopped at since arriving in Scotland two months ago, and again we weren’t the only Nordhavn there. At James Watt Dock Marina near Glasgow, Nordhavn 55 Odyssey was moored behind us. At Stornoway, Nordhavn 68 Vesper was one pontoon away from us. We spent the afternoon of our arrival touring through town, the largest center in the Outer Hebrides, then had a great evening with Vesper owners Bob and Kathy Valleau.
Trip highlights from Sept 8th, 2017 in Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, Scotland follow. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps
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986 mb
Position: -6 22.86, 58 5.63
The barometer has fallen from 1015 to 986 mb in the past 24 hours. It’s unusual to see that kind of drop without any wind—we’re at the center of a low-pressure system so there’s not big difference in pressure immediately around to drive the wind. But we know they’re coming.
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BiFab
Position: -6 21.87, 58 11.08
Burntisland Fabrication (BiFab) manufactures equipment for the offshore energy industry and has recently expanded into renewable energy. Their Stornoway yard employs one hundred people in building offshore drilling piles and wave and tidal energy devices.
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Arnish Point Lighthouse
Position: -6 22.07, 58 11.63
The Arnish Point lighthouse at the entrance to Stornoway Harbour is the first pre-fabricated lighthouse in Scotland and has been an official light since 1852.
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WW II
Position: -6 22.07, 58 11.63
World War II fortifications at Arnish Point. During the war Stornoway was the site of a Royal Air Force base for anti-submarine planes and was also used as a refuelling base for aircraft ferried across the Atlantic.
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Buoy
Position: -6 22.28, 58 11.70
The size of the sea buoy at Arnish Point is a good indicator of how bad the weather can get here.
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Stornoway
Position: -6 23.20, 58 12.09
Looking to downtown Stornoway, with the CalMac ferry pier at center.
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Lews Castle
Position: -6 23.52, 58 12.54
Lews Castle was built between 1847 and 1857 as a country house for Sir James Matheson who bought the island of Lewis in 1844. The island’s name originally was spelt Lews.
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First Smell
Position: -6 23.41, 58 12.55
Spitfire on the bow getting his first smell of Stornoway as we approach the dock.
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Stornoway Harbour
Position: -6 23.38, 58 12.53
Moored at Cromwell Quay in Stornoway Harbour for a few days beside the RNLI lifeboat Tom Sanderson. We’re been in only two marinas in Scotland and both times we’ve not been the only Nordhavn there. At James Watt Dock Marina, Nordhavn 55 Odyssey was moored behind us. Here at Stornoway, Nordhavn 68 Vesper is one pontoon away from us.
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Fishboats
Position: -6 23.39, 58 12.53
Fishboats moored against the wall off downtown Stornoway.
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Net Repair
Position: -6 23.44, 58 12.52
Nets were spread out across the road for repair as we walked through town.
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Castle Gate
Position: -6 23.17, 58 13.01
Lews Castle gate about a ten-minute walk from the marina.
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Matheson Road
Position: -6 23.00, 58 12.76
Stornoway has a large number of beautiful historic homes on Matheson Road.
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Scotland Street
Position: -6 23.21, 58 12.68
Row-houses on Scotland Street.
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Harbour View
Position: -6 23.42, 58 12.50
We had an excellent lunch at the Harbour View Restaurant. Dirona is visible through the window to the left of the man sitting along the window at the center of the photo.
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Loch Seaforth
Position: -6 23.28, 58 12.46
The the CalMac ferry Loch Seaforth leaving the dock with big puffs of black smoke. The ferry went into service in 2014 and has a service speed of 19.2 knots.
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Edge of the World
Position: -6 22.99, 58 12.42
The Hebredian Brewing Company’s Edge of the World Ale House. Well have to stop there while we’re in Stornoway.
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Tesco
Position: -6 22.98, 58 12.42
Buying a few essentials at Tesco in Stornoway. Their mixed nuts are the first we’d had around the world that are competitive with Planter’s Nuts. Tesco’s might even be better.
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Coast Guard
Position: -6 22.48, 58 12.28
The Stornoway Coast Guard at Battery Point on the north shore of Stornoway Harbour. We’ve been hearing them on the radio throughout the Outer Hebrides.
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Inaclete Point
Position: -6 22.33, 58 12.23
Cannons at Inaclete Point, with a plaque commemorating the site as being the largest Royal Navy Reserve Training site in Great Britain from 1876 through 1919.
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Power Station
Position: -6 22.33, 58 12.23
Smoke stacks being serviced at the power station at Inaclete Point.
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Traps
Position: -6 22.63, 58 12.42
Hundreds of lobster traps ready for sale at Gael Force Marine. We stopped in and talked to the plant manager about some of the differences between UK and US traps.
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Boatshed
Position: -6 23.32, 58 12.62
We had an excellent evening with Bob and Kathy Valleau, first on board Vesper and later over dinner at the Boatshed Restaurant. Bob and Kathy had arrived into Stornoway directly from the Faroe Islands just a week earlier after making a North Atlantic crossing via Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland and Iceland. We very much enjoyed meeting them and hearing about their travels.
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976 mb
Position: -6 23.42, 58 12.56
The barometer is down to 976 mb and still no wind. But it’s coming.
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Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise.
On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at http://mvdirona.com/maps. |
10-21-2017
Hi James!
Secret Coast is a splendid read !
Do you plan to author another novel treasure ?
Writing a book is a lot of work and it comes all at once. It’s easier to do the small segments that make up the blog, the blog is more current, and you can do more interesting things with the blog like having a real time boat location display and show conditions under way. There are a lot of reasons whey we have ended up preferring the blog format over a book so I don’t see it likely that we would do another book at this point.
10.19.2017
Arnish Point Lighthouse
Position: -6 22.07, 58 11.63
The Arnish Point lighthouse at the entrance to Stornoway Harbour is the first pre-fabricated lighthouse in Scotland and has been an official light since 1852.
Can see the area entertaining wind turbines in the back ground !