May 2013
19 posts
Stags on Jura
The team had a men’s pre-wedding party on the weekend. The boats headed down to Jura for an overnight trip. On Saturday they stopped at the Tigh-an-Truish pub for lunch and after that they cruised to Craighouse as the weather was pushing them South. The weather could not have been more different on Sunday. The sea was mirror flat the whole way back to Oban and patches of poor visibility.
Oban wins Mull 7s
Congratulations to the mens and womens oban 7s team as they won their tournaments. It has been an incredible year for the club and look forward to the Oban 7s this coming weekend. After the win on Mull we transferred the Oban men back to mainland.
Jura Charter
This week Struan had a group down to the Jura Distillery in the Village of Craighouse. The group have been sailing from Sweeden to the West Coast of Scotland. Due to them not having enough time to visit Jura they chartered Coastal Connection. The journey left Kerrera Marina and headed South and into the Corryverckan to see the whirlpools on the Ebb tide. They continued down the East side of Jura...
Weather
The recent weather has been chopping and changing. All of the light winds and dry spells seem to be at night. Hopefully the weather will dry up and the winds will drop….
Sun, Eagles, Puffins and Heat
What a change in the weather today. Cameron had a private charter from Kingairloch Estate. On his trip they spotted 4 sea eagles! The guests were delighted and saw 2 of them fighting in the air. Seals, razorbills and guillemots were also seen during a run past Gylen Castle. They stopped at the Pier House for lunch before the short hop to Kingairloch. Meanwhile Struan had a full wildlife trip where...
Private Charter from Tobermory
Last week Schiehallion had her first full day charter. The trip departed from Tobermory and headed round to Staffa to have a look at Fingals Cave then up to Lunga to see the Puffins. After walking with the Puffins the group headed to Coll for a cup of Tea and lunch. The last part of the trip headed back to Tobermory where the guests disembarked. The team were lucky enough to have five Bottle Nose...
Open Day
Coastal Connection had a commercial client open day last week. All three vessels where tide up to the Oban Bay Community pontoon near the sailing club. Throughout the day people arrived to look at Schiehallion and see the variety of vessels they have. The pontoon was ideal for the day.
Mull Music Festival
Over the weekend both boats were running to Mull for the Music Festival. The weather was a mixed bag this year. Cameron had a private charter for the day to Tobermory and Struan had a group of Locals soaking up the atmosphere at the festival. It was a great weekend with the rain not making too long an appearance.
Eriska to Duart
Cameron had a couple of guests from The Isle of Eriska Hotel to take to Duart Castle. It was part of the popular James Bond deal Eriska are offering at the moment. The weather was suitable for spotting lots of wildlife from seals to razorbills. The guests enjoyed their walk around the castle and the views from the top.
April 2013
21 posts
Mull Transfers
The team have had a few transfers to the South end of Mull over the weekend. On Saturday night Cameron ran the Mull 7s team back to the island as they had been playing in the Crieff 7s which they narrowly lost out on winning the Shield comp. Between the huge squalls the team transferred some guests who attended the Mull Music Festival on Sunday evening back to Oban. Then on Monday the drop in the...
Oban Lorne RFC are Bowl Champions
Coastal Connection are proud sponsors of the local rugby team. On Saturday the team travel to the National rugby stadium -Murrayfield. It was a very close and hard fought match but the men in green came through with a well deserved win. Congratulations to all the players, coaching staff and the huge number of supporters that made the trip.
Break in the Weather
On Monday Struan was out to Colonsay to pick up passengers needing to get off the Island. Due to the weather the ferry could not berth at Colonsay over the weekend. Luckily the wind was forecast to drop on Monday afternoon, so Struan managed to get out to Colonsay by 1230 and was back in Oban by 1415. On the way two Norwegian Navy vessels past cruising at 42 knots!! They have a top speed of 60...
Dolphins at Staffa
Cameron had a private charter with some returning guests. They cruised out to Iona and enjoyed 3 hours ashore for lunch and a walk around the Abbey. From Iona they headed for Staffa. As they arrived at Fingal’s Cave they were met by 7 bottle-nose dolphins. They put on an amazing display in front of Staffa. As they cruised off to Tobermory they spotted the first puffins and a gannet of the...
Mishnish changing colour
Over Easter the team have been to Tobermory a few times. There has been some colours changing in the bay. The Mishnish has changed from black to yellow and the bakery has changed from pink to light blue. Tobermory still looking great with the multi colours.
Private Charter to Kingairloch
On Thursday Struan was chartered by a family to go to the Boathouse Restaurant at Kingairloch Estate. The weather was perfect with glourius sunshine all day. After lunch they headed down Loch Linnhe past Glensanda Quarry and into Inninmore Bay to see the Seals. The family were lucky enough to see two adult Sea Eagles soaring above the boat. They returned to Oban will a quick look at Lismore...
Fishy Charter
On Wednesday night Coastal Connection had different sort of charter. It was to deliver two boxes of fresh fish to the Island of Colonsay. The fish had missed the ferry and was meant to be ready for dinner at 1900 on Colonsay. The team delivered the boxes just ten minutes after the ferry departed the Island. The conditions were near perfect with a stunning sunset for the return trip home. We were...
Around Mull
Cameron had a German family for a full day private charter around Mull. The weather couldn’t have been better for the charter. They cruised out via the Ross of Mull to Iona where they had a good look at the Abbey and some lunch. The next stop was at Staffa for a look at Fingal’s Cave. From there they powered around the top and into Tobermory where they were met by an Otter playing on...
Oban RFC at Murrayfield
Oban rugy team have won their semi final last weekend and will be playing at Murrayfield. Ther kick off is at 1200 on the 20th of April. There will be buses heading over for the game. For more information contact the Oban Lorne RFC on facebook.
Proud to be sponsors.
Sperm Whale in Oban Bay
For the past 2 days there has been a sperm whale in Oban bay! It has been an incredible sight and has been drawing the crowds. Hopefully the whale will make it’s way out of the bay soon so it can feed.
March 2013
8 posts
French Exchange
Both boats were in action this week with the Oban High School. The yearly French exchange students wanted to get out on the water and see the scenery and wildlife. The weather provided times of sunshine and a dusting of snow all in the same trip. The seals and sea birds are building in numbers. The students managed to spot a red deer very close and another was not far away.
Bonawe Fire
The team where out to Lismore Lighthouse this morning and they notice the fire was still burning at Bonawe. As you can see in the photos there is a vast amount of smoke, ash was also seen landing in Oban bay. The weather was ideal for the transfer to the Light.
Wild Easterly Winds
The weather has taken a turn for the worse. The very strong Easterly was driving down Loch Feochan. The locals have never seen the strength of an East wind like on Friday. One boat is on the mooring and holding on tight and the other is ashore. Hopefully these winds will drop and charter work can get going again.
Engines Arrive
The engines have arrived for Schiehallion. The Yanmar 6LY each produce 380HP giving her a total of 760HP. We look forward to seeing how they perform and completion is due before Easter.
February 2013
7 posts
Rapid Response
The team had to respond to a quick transfer to Mull. It required to move two technicians to Craignure to sort out a small issue on the Island. It was a stunning night with flat calm seas and the moon was so bright you could see outline of the islands.
