Lochaline: Familiar Shores and a Boat Battle

Lochaline has become a bit of a favourite for us. It was one of the first places we reached after exiting the Caledonian Canal last year, and something about it just feels right — small, remote, peaceful, and tucked away from the world. But the marina has changed since our last visit. The sauna is now open, and alongside the usual showers and laundry they’ve added a gym and a bar that opens daily (weather permitting) from 3–9pm. There’s an undercover outdoor area, blankets, home‑grown produce you can help yourself to, and plenty of seating. It’s a great little spot.

A short walk past the still‑working sand mine takes you to the ferry port, where a small café serves evening meals on Fridays. Up the hill is the Lochaline Stores — well stocked and very handy — plus a community café (dog friendly, much to Pepper’s delight) and a restaurant we’ve yet to try. There’s even a social club where £1 gets you membership for the duration of your stay. Honestly, what more do you want?

For the first few days it was just us and one other boat anchored off the pontoons for the Sailing Cruising Scotland meet. By Friday a few more boats and even a couple of campervans had arrived. That evening we headed up to the bar to meet some of the others. One of the organisers had set up a WhatsApp group so we could track arrivals. Games were planned for the weekend — Tracey’s idea of a nightmare — but she was prepared to spectate from a safe distance.

Meanwhile, Nick was getting increasingly frustrated. Our electrical gremlins were multiplying. The radio had stopped working (thankfully we still had handhelds), the Raymarine screens had stopped talking to each other, and we kept tripping the shore power until it finally gave up altogether. We had the new battery pack as backup, but at one point it looked like we might have to head back to Ardrossan once the weekend was over.

After pulling the boat apart and exposing a tangle of wires that looked like a London Underground map drawn by a toddler, Nick managed to find an alternative power source for the DNS5. Once reconnected, the radio and Raymarine screens sprang back to life. We still don’t know what caused the outage, but for now we’re just grateful everything is working again.

Shore power was another matter. It wasn’t until Nick went to plug the battery pack into the column that he noticed a nick in our shoreline lead. After cutting out the damaged section and rewiring it, the power came back on. Hallelujah. Nick declared himself an electrical god; Tracey was simply relieved she could boil the kettle for her hot water bottles. Nights are still very chilly.

At last, we were ready for the weekend.

Games, Giggles, and a Very Unexpected Victory
Saturday arrived along with the remaining boats, and the festivities began almost immediately with dinghy tug‑o‑war. We retreated to the safety of Halcyon Sea, using the need for lunch as an excuse to avoid being roped in. But once fed, we wandered down to the pontoons to watch — only to find they were short of a women’s team. Before Tracey could escape, she was volunteered.

It was exhausting but hilarious. Tracey and Kirsten came second, fighting hard but slightly out of sync — very reminiscent of the FSMBC regatta.

Next up was blind‑man rowing. Again, Tracey was nominated. She climbed into a dinghy with John, who was promptly blindfolded. Tracey had to direct him around the course. They got off to a flying start, and despite John briefly going rogue (convinced Tracey was steering him wrong), she got him back on track and they crossed the finish line as victors.

The BBQ followed, complete with thanks, prize‑giving, and plenty of filming by YouTuber Donny Wilcox. A few drinks aboard Halcyon Sea rounded off the evening perfectly.

A Slow Sunday and New Friends
We decided to stay an extra day while many of the other boats began their journeys home or onward. Only a handful of us remained on Sunday, but it turned into a lovely afternoon. The sun came out, the wind dropped, and although still chilly, we made the most of the facilities and enjoyed chatting with the remaining crews.

It was such a great event. Some people already knew each other — as did we — but it was wonderful meeting new friends too. Hopefully we’ll see them out on the water again, or at another gathering later in the year.

Our plan now is to leave Lochaline on Monday and head to Tobermory to restock before finding a few anchorages to explore. The season is finally in full swing… and who knows what the next chapter will bring.Read more