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Mallaig

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Courtesy Flag

Flag, Red Ensign

Waypoint

57° 00.80N 005° 49.35W

Charts

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 Mallaig

Rules & 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:

http://www.visitmyharbour.com/cruising-west-coast-scotland/

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

Your Ratings & Comments

12 comments
UPDATE AUGUST 2022
Written by Don Thomson 3 | 11th Aug 2022
Reviewed in August 2022. Prices have gone up otherwise no change
UPDATE SUMMER 2021
Written by Don Thomson 3 | 8th Jul 2021
I reviewed these notes in July 2021. The amenities block is closed from 8pm to 8am until Covid rules are relaxed after which they intend to make them 24/7. Prices have been maintained for this summer.
Update Spring 2019
Written by Don Thomson 3 | 29th May 2019
These notes were reviewed in May 2019. THE AMENITIES BLOCK IS ONCE AGAIN ACCESSIBLE 24/7. Prices have been kept the same. New charts uploaded.
Amenities no longer 24/7
Written by dashhouse | 26th Jun 2018
I visited in June 2018 and can confirm that the staff are very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, the amenities block is no longer 24/7. Because there had been trouble with vagrants sleeping in there overnight, the block is now closed at eight in the evening until eight in the morning.

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.
6th & 14th July visits
Written by Eclipse II | 31st Jul 2017
Facilities open 24/7 by code. Immaculately clean and a credit to the 2 very helpful staff who man this and the office. I had an outboard problem and they arranged an engineer to meet us on arrival and take it for repairs. It was back within 2 hrs and did not cost an arm & a leg! Well stocked Co-op and other shops and good chandlery.
They have a red light system for arriving & sailing so contact Mallaig harbour for permission to enter or sail due to ferry traffic.
Thanks Silver wind
Written by Don Thomson | 7th Jul 2017
I am in here at the moment and can confirm the availability of the amenities block. I've edited the notes and added the information about the 3 FR lights prohibiting movement in the harbour.
Facilities open 24/7
Written by Silverwind | 3rd Jul 2017
Facilities (which are excellent) open 24/7 as of June-2017. Access by code. There was some previous issue with people jamming the door open. All is good now.
UPDATE APRIL 2017
Written by Don Thomson | 12th Apr 2017
I reviewed these notes in April 2017. They have held their prices for yet another year and the good news is that there is now fuel (diesel only). The bad news is that the amenities block is closed at 2000 and doesn't reopen until 0800 in the morning.
Nice Little Marina
Written by Skipper38 | 17th Aug 2016
The marina showers and laundry facilities are now fully operational (2016), the WiFi much improved and a fuel pump, installed on an outside Marina berth, was about to go live during a visit in June. A Co-op is available for extended hours provisioning and a number of reasonably priced restaurants provide for those wanting to eat ashore. Mallaig is now a great base for cruising the Hebrides.
2 of 2 people found this helpful
Mallaig Showers
Written by Captain Guy | 28th Jun 2016
I was there last August - still no showers etc. Reliably informed that they are now available.

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