Arisaig
At a Glance
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<font color="#999999" size="3">Contacts
Arisaig Marine 01687 450224 VHF M</font>
<font color="#999999" size="3">This is becoming a very
popular staging point on a cruise around Ardnamurchan point and on
up towards the Sound of Sleat. It is well sheltered although
strong winds from SE to NW do penetrate but do not cause much of a
sea. (If you have one of the far out moorings it can be a long haul
back to the boat in a dinghy). The bay is serviced by Arisaig
Marine who service the moorings and have an amenities building and
café on the shore convenient for the single pontoon at
the head of the bay. It's a really pretty place and if you are
there for a day or so there is the added romance of the steam train
from Fort William to Mallaig sounding its plaintive whistle over
the Loch as it passes in the morning and back in the evening.
On your first visit you will possibly be quite surprised by the
number of boats here (see our photograph gallery). That is because
it is a convenient spot to leave a boat, having good connection by
rail to the South via Fort William as well as a goodish bus service
along the coast. From here you have the choice of heading up the
Sound of Sleat and the Inner Passage to the Minch, going up the
West side of Skye to the Outer Hebrides, pottering around the Small
Isles or wandering back down towards the South outside or inside
the Isle of Mull; the computations for a summer cruise are
virtually limitless.
The one thing you will find is that the staff at Arisaig marine is
fairly busy for the first couple of hours of the day as they run a
small ferry/trippers boat out to the Small Isles. If you want to
book a mooring for the night or enquire about leaving a boat there
etc it's best to wait until the ferry has left at 1100.
Apart from the ferry there are just a couple of boats working
creels so us yachties have the place pretty much to ourselves and
it is all very friendly. Arisaig Marine has a thriving business
providing services to the yachting fraternity and you will be able
to source most of your requirements from them as well as getting
help with any problems.
Arisaig was originally settled by monks but developed into a
thriving agricultural community before being decimated by the
Highland Clearances in the early nineteenth century when a thousand
souls were shipped from here to Canada where they called their new
home – yes, Arisaig.
Since then it has become a mainly dormitory town astride the
road/rail link between Fort William and Mallaig and nowadays many
of the houses are let as holiday accommodation during the summer.
It is thought that Charlie made his final departure for France
after Culloden from somewhere near here
For general notes on cruising in these waters we have compiled an
article which you can find on this site at:<xml>
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Arisaig
Approach
The entrance looks complicated but is well marked;
Some old hands do sail in and out but on a first visit you'd
best use the engine, indeed many seasoned mariners would not
consider transiting the passage under sail as the wind becomes very
fluky once you get to the first turn opposite the "Porters Lodge"
The immediate problem with this entrance is that there is no large
scale UKHO chart of the Loch; Antares have charted it and the CCC
pilot (Ardnamurchan to Cape Wrath) has a chartlet. AC 2207 does
mark the perches but very faintly and as far as we can see they are
not all there.
Whether coming from the North or South it you should identify the
entrance positively before starting your approach, a somewhat
obvious statement but here you do have to be extra careful because
there are quite a few off-lying islets creating "false" entrances.
To assist you the southerly headland has a large (15ft X 15ft)
white patch painted on it. Just make sure you can see that
"Porters Lodge" or "Cottage" and that it bears just north of east.
That can be difficult on a grey day as it must be about the only
building not painted white and doesn't stand out well.
The orange lead in marks shown by the CCC pilot can be very
difficult to find (if not impossible). Once you have picked up the
approach line as you get closer you will slowly be able to see the
first porthand perches so will be confident where to make the turn
to port towards the next mark which is a green SHM.
Be aware that the first port perch on all the present charts
(2017) was washed away during the winter and there are no plans to
replace it. The second port perch has been replaced.
After that it is fairly logical but do not scrape round the marks
as if you are racing, give them a couple of boat lengths offing.
You should also take care that the currents in the entrance are not
setting you off the ideal course to make good, and naturally it is
best to make the approach in the last hour of the flood (deepest
water, still a bit of rise to come if you run aground and slackish
currents).
None of the marks are lit at night so an approach after dark is not an option – even twilight would be difficult.
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
There are no alongside berths here
The pontoon at the head of the loch is for loading/unloading and
taking on water and, of course, for the ferry. Thus your options
are to pay for a mooring (2013 prices were £13 for a small boat and
£15 for a larger one) or find somewhere to anchor.
We have produced a chartlet of the mooring numbers to assist you
with finding your allocated mooring but there is plenty of room
outside those moorings to drop an anchor (be advised that if you
make use of the facilities at Arisaig Marine pontoon they will make
a charge of £4.00 if you are not using one of their moorings).
Update 2022 The buoys are now each marked with large letters showing their identity which makes the next few paragraphs historical (and hysterical if you were here earlier in the century!)
When you contact Arisaig Marine for a mooring they will tell you
where the mooring is and the description goes something like "The
moorings are laid out in North-South trots, your mooring is in the
third trot, fourth buoy in between the so-and-so and the so-
and-so. Simples!! No it's not - as you can see from our picture
gallery as you pass the last marks inbound you are presented with a
blanket of moored boats, all lying to the wind (which is unlikely
to be N/S) and with no obvious trot alignment. Coupled with that is
the fact the it is the small, yellow pick-up buoys which are
numbered, not the buoys themselves, and those moorings with boats
on them all have the pick up buoy up on their foredecks with number
concealed. You will also note from the mooring schematic that there
is not a regular number of buoys in each trot - so the northern
buoy in each trot doesn't start the same as the one, logically, in
the trot next to it.
If you are lucky it will all appear very obvious and you'll locate
your buoy with ease, if you are not then you'll at least be
reassured as to your sanity when you see other boats swanning up
and down trying identify their moorings as well. We were
particularly unlucky in that our buoy's pick up buoy was supported
by an unnumbered fender – and I still don't know if it
was the right one!
Most skippers use the pontoon for landing in their dinghies but
this is not the official place to do so. In a stay of four days I
saw one dinghy holed by sharp metal on the pontoon and another got
caught under the gantry on a rising tide and was sunk along with
its engine. The best place to land your dinghy is on the slip
round the corner from the pontoon but you'll have to drag it ashore
(which why people tie up at the pontoon)
If you don't want to make the trip all the way in to the Arisaig
anchorage there is a spot just off the Cottage/Porters Lodge
opposite the third PHM on the way in; best only used in Easterly to
South Easterly winds and you need to tiptoe in on the echo
sounder.
Another alternative to the main bay is the little bay in behind
Morroch Point but that is fairly crowded with moorings run by a
local moorings association and you should be careful when coming
ashore there as there is a fence dividing the cottages from the
shore line. The locals prefer that you keep to the shore side of
that fence. Again you'd need to approach cautiously on the echo
sounder and definitely use a tripping line.
Marinas and Mooring
Arisaig Marine
The Harbour
Arisaig
PH39 4NH
Facilities
There is water and a hose at the pontoon and you can tie up
there to replenish when the ferry is not alongside. Diesel can be
bunkered alongside the pier at HW otherwise you will have to
collect it in cans. Petrol is a major problem as the nearest petrol
is halfway to Mallaig and you can't carry cans on public transport.
You can get Calor Gas and Propane at the village shop and 907 Gaz
refills at the boatyard. Provisions are available at the Spar shop
in the village. Toilets, showers and a laundrette are available in
the Marine amenities block.
There are good road and rail connections with the south here but
you would need a taxi to transfer you gear to or from the railway
station if joining a boat here.
There is a reasonable internet connection in the bay using a dongle
and if you have BT open zone you can get a connection in the
café.
What to Do
There is a café at the marine amenities block along
with a souvenir shop which carries some very basic chandlery and
fishing tackle. You will find two hotels and a restaurant on the
seafront and further details of what to do at
North of Ardnamurchan text.docx
(scottishanchorages.co.uk)
We are not in total agreement with that site on the undesirability
of the spot having spent several days here awaiting a spare valve
repair kit for our dinghy and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Since that note we have stopped here three or four times as well as both Mallaig and Armadale; we would agree Mallaig is possibly the best of the three for crew change and a major re-victualing, but of the three we would opt for Arisaig as the best for a stop over.
History
Local Business
Sailmakers-Repair-and-Covers
Owen Sails
Tralee Bay
Benderloch
Benderloch
PA37 1QR
This West Coast company is renowned in North and West Scotland and is the go to place for all aspects of sail-care and rigging. They also make all the boat covers, biminis, dodgers etc associated with yachting.
Uncategorised
Owen Sails
Tralee Bay
Benderloch
Benderloch
PA37 1QR
This West Coast company is renowned in North and West Scotland and is the go to place for all aspects of sail-care and rigging. They also make all the boat covers, biminis, dodgers etc associated with yachting.
Arisaig Marine
The Harbour
Arisaig
PH39 4NH
Tide Information for arisaig
Tidal Information