Portmahomack
At a Glance
There are no contacts for this harbour.
Portmahomack lies 3.5 miles SW of Tarbat Ness on the Dornoch
Firth side of that peninsula. It consists of a single L shaped pier
which gives shelter from the NNW through E to SSW. There is seldom
room for visitors to berth inside so realistically there is only
the shelter given by the land from Easterlies to So'westerlies.
Boats visiting here generally anchor in the bay to the SW of the
pierhead.
The name derives loosely from the name of the church (St Colmacs)
when rendered in the Gaelic and there have been quite extensive
archaeological investigations here, some as recently as 2007, and
there is a visitor's centre in the old church displaying the
finds.
The harbour here was developed originally for the export of grain which is evidenced by the large grain store (similar to those at Burghead) which has now been converted into flats. The larger store was built in 1779 and the harbour itself was improved by Thomas Telford (he of Caledonian Canal fame) early in the nineteenth Century and is still as it was then.
The Highland Council installed a pontoon earlier in this century
but the harbour is largely self governing and there is no provision
for visiting boats on that pontoon. The harbour dries almost
completely at low water so is of no use to fin keelers. Despite
this, Portmahomack is a popular destination for yachtsmen based
around the Moray Firth most of who will drop in here at least once
a season if not more.
It is a small, attractive village and popular with tourists some of
who return here year after year; the local boat owners are
hospitable and would not obstruct you if you are forced by the
weather to raft inside.
Portmahomack
Approach
From the East and South be sure to give the NE side of Tarbat Ness a good half a mile offing......
.......to avoid the reef which extends out to the NE from the
Ness lighthouse; apart from the shallows to go aground on
there can be quite heavy overfalls at some states of wind and
tide.
Once round the Ness or approaching from the north stay a couple of
cables off shore until you can see NE into the harbour before
turning in towards it. You can then run in to anchor to the South
West of the pierhead but be careful of the uncharted Curach
rock.
That rock is marked on some GPS charts but the accuracy of this is
suspect and we, although seemingly anchored quite close to it could
find no evidence of it and the local professional creel boat owner
advised us we were well clear.
In the event that the wind changes direction during your stay here
you should be able to enter the harbour and raft on one of the
local boats against the wall as long as you can take the ground. We
found it necessary to rig an outside breast rope to a kedge anchor
to avoid the boat inside.
£ GMT
Waypoint
Charts
Rules & Regs
Hazards
Tides
Berthing
This has been dealt with above. When they get a new HM (which may be a while) the charges are in line with the rest of the Highland Council Harbours, about £23 per night but until there is an HM there's no-one to collect them
Facilities
Water may be obtained from the tap at the root of the pier. Some
publications say that fuel is available; afraid not, the garage
closed. We were not able to locate the showers mentioned in the
Reeds.
There are public toilets at the far end of the fore shore on the
Tain Road.
The shop and Post Office are co-located
What to Do
You will find one pub which is well frequented and may be the
attraction for local sailors; there is also a very good, if pricey,
restaurant (The Oystercatcher) and a small café just
back from the foreshore in the Carnegie Hall Community Centre which
has Wifi and 13 amp sockets beside their tables.
This has funny opening times and is not open on Wednesdays or
Thursdays. There is a regular bus service to Tain which has a
large Tescos, an interesting history and a museum.
The church (St Colmacs) on the inland side of Portmahomack has been
converted into a museum and is well worth a visit
History
Local Business
Uncategorised
Tide Information for portmahomack
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