Elizabeth G was looking her very best with a total makeover inside and out for her first cruise of the season. Our four crew, Skipper Rob, Chef Steve, Wildlife Guide Vivi and Bosun Sarah were ready to welcome our first guests of the season on board yesterday on a 6-night cruise to Magical Mull. Our next Magical Mull Wildlife Cruise is September 26th 2015.
The onboard menu is already getting rave reviews with bubbly and Granny Mary’s amazingly light scones on arrival and fresh langoustines for the first dinner on board, anchored in Tobermory Bay; a taste of magic indeed!
Today (Sunday), lunch was Wild Mushroom and Blueberry Risotti with Apple Salad while anchored in beautiful Loch Drumbuie, famed for its sunsets. A walk ashore will help build up the appetite again for dinner with locally caught cod in Harrisa crumb for the main course.
We have been asked for the recipe for Mary’s scones – so here it is! Granny Mary’s Scone Recipe Mary is 87, Rob’s mum-in-law, Emma’s Granny and very much head of the family.
Mary is a massive fan of Elizabeth G and she and Rob had a great overnight stay on the boat last summer. She loves making the scones each week for the new guests.
The number of wildlife sightings are already stacking up with bottlenose dolphins, great northern divers, arctic terns, Manx shearwaters, lots of shags and red deer on the list so far.
Dear Emma - I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our holiday. Our hope was that we would visit some of the more remote and inaccessible islands of the Outer Hebrides, and you certainly achieved that. We visited 11 islands in our 10 day trip and of the 2 where we had been before we saw parts not previously explored so were delighted. The crew were professional and attentive. Chris, Craig and Nigel have lots of trips under their belts. Our chef Lulu was a superb cook and a delight. Her enthusiasm was magnetic. Nigel was very happy to share some helpful photography tips and lessons for those of us who wanted to use the opportunity to expand our photography skills. Composition and use of the camera functions were explained and were eagerly applied and the resultant photos perhaps a little better than might otherwise have been achieved by the keen pupils, but still a long way short of Nigel's inspiring images. We came to see more islands, we achieved that in spades. We also had great fun, walked and hiked miles, saw some amazing sights and landscapes. Watched wildlife in action, learned to recognise the wildlife we saw, developed a healthy respect for the sea, had a sense of awe at the remoteness and resourcefulness of the far flung communities. Altogether we came away with a refreshing outlook on life and warm memories shared with 12 fellow shipmates that is hard to believe 10 days previously had never met each other. Wishing you every success for what is left of this season and next and the forthcoming awards on 22nd November.
Stuart & Gillian Sandilands: 1 September 2018Far-flung islands: Mingulay to the Shiants