Those of you who live in Mallaig may have noticed that we have an issue with the Lighthouse at the moment. Sometimes it’s not lit at all, and sometimes it is flashing erratically. The Harbour Master and his Deputy have done a bit of investigation along with Colin King and we have established that the fault is with the cable running from the Outer Harbour to the lighthouse, so we are currently looking at whether we should repair this, or whether a better option is to install solar power to the light and hopefully future proof it. In the meantime, we are asking vessels to please take extra care on the approach to Mallaig. Thankfully most vessels using the Harbour are familiar with the approach, but we have issued warnings about the light not being reliable.
We’ve had a number of visiting fishing vessels throughout March, bringing a welcome boost to the month’s landings, and ensuring that the Outer Harbour has been busy. We had a nifty bit of berthing from the Ronja Challenger on 12th March, when she slipped in ahead of the Endeavour, who was landing.
The old Denholms Ice Plant has now been demolished, so the skyline has changed in the Outer Harbour. The work has been undertaken by David Morton (Larbert) Ltd., who have done a great job.
The solar panels have arrived for the feed store, and will hopefully be installed the second week of April. The Harbour Staff and Colin King have been undertaking some preparatory works, including getting the cables in place between the feed shed and the power shed. Meanwhile, the works to Jary’s Wharf have been delayed. These are tidal, so we are not sure when they will happen now! The area of the pier where they are due to take place is looking very clear and tidy, and Milligan Transport have been relocated to the end of the fish pier for the duration of the works.
The Marina re-opened on Monday 31st March for the season, and we are pleased to welcome back Gena McLean again. We’re also pleased to welcome Jacob Coleman-Hallsworth, who is working with us for the season. The first week open will be slightly chaotic as five new pontoon fingers are being installed on the boatyard side of the Marina. This will allow us to do a bit of rearranging of some of the vessels using the pontoon, and make more room for visiting yachts.
We hosted the first meeting to establish a Ferry User’s Group on 7th March, and the second one is due to take place on 3rd April. Initially this will focus on the Mallaig/Armadale run, and we have decided it should be known as the Sound of Sleat Ferry User’s Group. We recognise that some of the issues are wider than the Mallaig/Armadale route and so there will be some crossover with the Small Isles and Lochboisdale routes. This will be especially true for Tourism accommodation businesses locally, where disruption on any of the routes may result in cancelations.
On 20th March two of the Board and I attended the ‘West Highland Vision’ conference, which was organised by the West Highland Chamber of Commerce, in association with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and took place in the West Highland Cinema in Fort William. It was an interesting day, in particular listening to the potential opportunities arising from the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, and the SSE Transmission works to be undertaken. While these are important opportunities for the Highlands, the challenge will be to ensure that the West Coast also benefits from the works.
It’s the time of year where we advertise for new Board Members. We have two Board Members who have served their second term, and who could be reappointed by exception. However, we are advertising to see whether there are others who might be interested in being appointed to the Board, and who might bring different skills to the table. You can find the advert elsewhere in this website and in West Word.
Jacqueline McDonell
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