11 June 2022
Unfortunately our trip coincided with the most prolonged strong winds for twenty five years, which made the crossing to St. Kilda impossible. Nevertheless our skipper, James, made the best use of both wind and sea conditions and managed to get us over to the Outer Hebrides when other operators had been unable to do so. Taking advantage of the islands themselves we sailed almost the entire length of the archipelago, from Harris to Mingulay, going ashore on Eriskay, Vatersay, Harris and Mingulay. James also attempted to get us over to the Shiants, but we had barely cleared Scalpay when it became obvious to everyone that the conditions made this too dangerous. Despite these setbacks we had an interesting and enjoyable trip and were very grateful to James for what he enabled us to experience. We have nothing but praise for the way in which we were looked after on board by the rest of the crew; Viv served up a series of excellent meals (I still dream about her pork!), Charlotte was constantly busy seeing to our every need, and Will kept us alert, both on board and ashore, to any wildlife that was around and provided a wealth of information on our walks. All four crew members were a delight to sail with and I am only sorry that we had such a short time to say goodbye to them.
David Leonard Davies
A wonderful trip. The scenery was breath taking. Superb wildlife sightings including close encounters with bottlenosed dolphins,sea eagles,common dolphins and otters. The onshore trips were excellent. We were not as strong walkers as the other guests, but Zoe arranged separate walks that suited us. On two of these she gave us a walkie talkie, and on Eigg Chris, the skipper, lead us on a lovely walk. The crew were very good at heping us to get on and off the tender. I thought I would find this difficult, but there was no problem at all. The anchorages were great, so peaceful.
D Berry: 17 September 2022The Small Isles and sea lochs: Wildlife havens