13 April 2024
The crew were fantastic in every respect – the skippers Chris and Lewis always happy to welcome guests to the wheelhouse and patiently explain charts and instruments; Lynsey’s knowledge and eagle-eyes ensured we didn’t miss anything either on shore or at sea, and her helpful consideration to us (as the oldest guests!) when climbing in or out of the RIB was very much appreciated! Jaya prepared the most delicious meals every day - and her fresh-baked cakes and biscuits were always appreciated at afternoon tea. Last but not least, Sophia – always with a beaming smile, making sure the guests wanted for nothing, turning her hand to whatever was required – and ensuring the dining table looked picture-perfect, her napkin folding was a work of art! For all these reasons, we are hoping to book again soon – but this time for 10 days, the 6 nights on board Emma Jane went by all too fast! Although ours was a rather late booking, it was a simple process, all our enquiries were answered promptly by Emma. We were informed well in advance of all arrangements for boarding and disembarking – and everything went according to plan. Pre boarding, the crew introduced themselves on the dock and swiftly transported our baggage to the boat. It was a pleasure to meet Emma as we boarded the boat, by which time all our baggage was already in our cabin. On disembarking, everything went like clockwork: by the time we’d all said our farewells, our baggage was on the dockside waiting for us to collect.
Gill Cawthrone
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: 11 June 2022St Kilda and the isles of the Outer Hebrides