Mallaig
At a Glance
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:
Mallaig
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.
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
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
Marinas and Mooring
Arisaig Marine
The Harbour
Arisaig
PH39 4NH
Mallaig Harbour Authority
Harbour Office
Mallaig
PH41 4QB
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).
Boatyards & Boatyard Services
Mallaig Boatyard Ltd
Harbour Slipways
Mallaig
PH41 4QS
Chandlers
What to Do
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.
History
Local Business
Uncategorised
Arisaig Marine
The Harbour
Arisaig
PH39 4NH
Mallaig Harbour Authority
Harbour Office
Mallaig
PH41 4QB
Mallaig Boatyard Ltd
Harbour Slipways
Mallaig
PH41 4QS
Tide Information for mallaig
Tidal Information