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Mallaig
Courtesy Flag
Flag, Red EnsignWaypoint
57° 00.80N 005° 49.35WCharts
AC 2541 Mallaig Harbour & Loch Nevis (useful for the Inverie Bay anchorages): AC 2208 Mallaig to Canna Harbour; Imray C65 Crinan to Mallaig (with harbour plan for Mallaig); SC5616.3 Sound of Arisaig to MallaigRules & Regulations
When red lights are displayed on the signals mast on the Steamer Pier the harbour is closed to all vessels, with the exception of the CalMac ferries.Hazards
Eilean na h-Acairseid – just to the South West of the harbour and, unless you are being forced on to a lee shore, should not be in your way. Sgeir Dhearg lying just to the North of the Outer Harbour wall, topped by a WG Sector light Fl(2) and it’s associated reef marked by a SHM (buoy) topped with a Q.G light. The WRG sector light on the Steamer Pier leads inside this rock& reef.Tidal Data Times & Range
HW Mallaig is HW Oban + 17, MHWS 5.0m MHWN 3.6m MLWN 2.1m MLWS 0.8m (links)This site is designed for slower, roaming broadband connections, like you would get at sea, so it needs JavaScript enabled to expand the text.
General Description
Contacts
Harbour Office 01687 462154 VHF 09
Marina attendant 07824 331031
Johnston’s Chandlery (for diesel) 01687 462215
Mallaig was one of the foremost fishing harbours on the west coast in the heyday of the herring industry but, like everywhere else, that has decreased and now the boats that are left are mainly involved in fishing for langoustine etc. At the end of the nineteenth century it was also the railhead for the ferry to Skye (along with the other one at the Kyle of Lochalsh) and that ferry route still runs to this day along with a ferry service to the Small Isles.
Until recently all that was available here for cruising sailors were some visitors moorings or the possibility of an alongside berth on the fish pier and for creature comforts you had to use the public toilets and the Seamen’s Mission. That has all changed and is still changing; from 2012 there have been pontoons available in the inner harbour and the woeful lack of toilets etc was sorted by the 2014 season or quite soon after that. In July 2013 they increased the number of berths by adding two pontoons on the SW corner of the previous pontoons; they hope to berth the small local boats here and make room for more visiting boats.
There was a feeling in the yachting fraternity in previous years that the new Mallaig Marina was overpriced (in view of the lack of amenities) but, now the new building has been erected, that view will possibly change although they do remain one of the more expensive harbours on the coast (but see below)
Having said all that, Mallaig provides some of the best shelter on the coast for all weathers with the exception of strong Northerlies when the anchorages across in Inverie Bay on the Knoidart shore would provide much better shelter. It is the obvious overnight stopping point being a nice five to eight hour hop from Tobermory depending on your boat speed and the weather.
The marina website is at http://mallaig-yachting-marina.com/
For general notes on cruising in these waters we have compiled an article which you can find on this site at:
Approach
The only approach to Mallaig is through the channel between Sgeir Dhearg and the mainland.
The former West Channel between Sgeir Dhearg and the outer harbour wall is “closed to navigation” and probably has been since they built the Outer Breakwater.
There are 3FR vert lights on a mast at the harbour entrance.When these are lit it means that there is a ferry (or ferries) manoeuvring in the harbour and no other boats may enter or leave until they are unlit. Don't worry if you can't see them, they are so bright that you can't miss them so, if you can't see them, they are not lit.
The North Channel presents no problems, just give the shore a decent offing if coming up from the South. The only problem is the usual one – sighting the green SHM against the shore background and we can’t help you with that except point you to our photo gallery where you can see, it’s not that big!! Once inside the inner harbour there’s not a great deal of manoeuvring room so it’s a good idea to clear away for harbour with warps and fenders both sides before entering the channel.
Mallaig is well lit for night entry, the quays are floodlit and stand out for miles and the sector lights keep you well clear of any hazards.
Berthing, Mooring & Anchoring
They have maintained prices for another couple of years now....
.... so in 2021 a pontoon berth will still cost £2.70 per metre a night with an additional charge of £3.90 for shore power. There are no weekly rates; it’s seven times the daily rate. If you drop in to stock up from the Co-Op and top up your water tank, they charge £12 for up to four hours.
They do have some visitors’ moorings at £18 per night with weekly, and monthly concessions so if you are leaving your boat to nip back to the office for a week or so they would be a viable option. I wouldn’t anchor in here; there’s not much room and the clutter on the bottom is a nightmare.
The amenities building has now been open for several years . There was a year when they had to be locked overnight as they were being vandalised but this year (2019) they have reverted to allowing visiting crews coded access overnight.
The alternatives to visiting here are the many anchorages on both sides of the Sound of Sleat and up the Lochs on the Eastern side. There are notes on a few of these anchorages elsewhere on this site (Isle Ornsay and Armadale) but for the rest we can recommend the Clyde Cruising Club’ pilot book
Facilities
Water and shore power is available on the pontoons and diesel is available in cans from Johnsons (the chandler). The hopes for a yacht diesel supply near the pontoons was dashed (the marina wanted to use the Lifeboat pontoon but they objected)
For petrol and Gas/Gaz you will have to go to the garage.
The new amenities building is finished. There are showers (complimentary for visitors), toilets and laundrette facilities (coin op). The building will be accessible by a pathway from the pontoons. While Covid rules are still running the amenities block will be closed from 8pm to 8am with a booking system in force for showers. Eventually they hope to make the amenities block available 24/7 for visiting boats.
There is a full range of shops including a reasonably well stocked Co-Op (but for a full resupply there is a much bigger one at Kyle of Lochalsh).
Eating, Drinking & Entertainment
Mallaig has the normal assortment of pubs, hotels and restaurants. The one shop which is worth mentioning (even in these days of Kindles etc) is the book shop in the Sailors Mission which also does second hand books and is not averse to doing a deal on swaps.
Links
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Fuel is available by hose. I needed 170 ltrs, which Johnson’s reluctantly supplied from the facility in the outer dock. The situation is by no means ideal. You need to tie up in the northeast corner by the yellow pumps and use the right-hand ladder to use the number 2 pump (the other one is a high-pressure pump). It’s very awkward, but doable. My advice would be to bunker in Arisaig, but check availability first.
They have a red light system for arriving & sailing so contact Mallaig harbour for permission to enter or sail due to ferry traffic.
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