Bill
Most people returning to the mainland from St Kilda would pass through either the Sound of Harris or the Sound of Barra. If you haven’t got them I can scan you copies of the pilotage for both. The tides in the Sound of Harris in particular are quite confusing.

If passing through S of Harris then the best town to head for would be Lochmaddy which now has a few pontoon as well as the ferry port. I doubt it is a port of entry but will anyone be too bothered if you are arriving from the Azores?

If going through the Sound of Barra then either Castlebay on Barra or Lochboisdale on South Uist are significant ferryports that connect to OBAN and I am pretty sure OBAN is a port of entry. Both Castlebay and Lochboisdale now have pontoons.

For up to date anchoring and harbour guides download http://www.welcome-anchorages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Welcome-Anchorages-2018.pdf

Also http://www.scottishanchorages.co.uk is a good resource.


Simon

Thanks Dick! We had fun in 2013 when we arrived in Bantry Bay (Glengarriff) from the Azores. I understood we could check in at the local Garda station - so we went in... he dismissed me as being a Brit, and for Laurie he was rather perplexed and decided that filling in the visitor's book would suffice!! He then described which pub in town had the best Guinness!

This time we want to head straight to Scotland since we're leaving so late. The only CCC pilot for Scotland I don't have is the one for the Outer Hebrides (isn't it always the way!) so we're picking up a new copy in Stornoway - but IF we manage to stop at St. Kilda, getting to Stornoway in a single day looks difficult - hence the need for a decent spot to stop midway...

I've just downloaded (but not yet installed) the Antares charts - maybe they'll have sufficient info for finding an appropriate spot...

Where are you these days? Greenland? Newfoundland?

Bill Balme

Hi Bill,
One option is to stop on the west coast of Ireland. Dingle is not an official port of entry, but I know that the PO there, who is wonderful, has arrange for PoE officials to check in an American boat there on at least one occasion before.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Looks like the Outer Hebrides may be in our future in the not too distant future (September). We will be sailing from the Azores direct - so I'm planning to take advantage and at least plot the route to arrive in St. Kilda :-). However, Toodle-oo! is American flagged and Laurie is (as yet) American, so we need to check in. I'm not worried about being chased around St. Kilda by the coast guard, but is Stornoway the only port we can check in at?
It's 90+ miles (if we're able to sail direct) and there's only about 14 hours of daylight (maybe a couple extra) that time of year... I therefore think it prudent to plan for a stopover somewhere... Unfortunately, my CCC Outer Hebrides pilot is being delivered to Stornoway - so until we get there, I'm not sure the best route to take that will allow us to stop somewhere before reaching Stornoway. Anyone have any suggestions and guidance?

Bill Balme

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If you want to explore the West Coast of Scotland in detail Antares Charts could be a great aid. Antares Charts is a source of 'unofficial ' very large scale electronic charts and related pilotage information created by unqualified enthusiasts. Antares Charts cannot work on conventional cockpit chart plotters but run on PCs, Macs, IPad, IPhone, Android devices and certain handheld Garmin plotters. The charts are published with a warning ‘All information has been obtained by enthusiasts without formal training; It must be used with great care and entirely at your own risk. These factors are described on his web site under Making and Using the Charts. www.antarescharts.co.uk.

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