A very exciting moment for us at the beginning of every season is when we can announce our Crews. It is not an understatement to say that our Crews are outstanding and it is a privilege for us to work alongside so many talented, well qualified people, who are passionate about what they do and care so much for the enjoyment of our guests.
Chris, Rob and James return to Skipper our vessels every year. They set the quality standard for exceptional life on board for our guests and crew. They know everything there is to know about managing our vessels at sea, all the best places to take our guests and where to find the wildlife.
Our Wildlife Guides are chosen because they are the best around for knowledge of the Hebrides and its wildlife. We fit our calendar around their availability to ensure all cruises have a highly qualified Guide. We are delighted to have Lynsey, Nigel, Alexa and Georgina back with us for 2019 and look forward to having Will and Cathy join the team.
Our Chefs do an amazing job providing gourmet meals for our guests, freshly prepared, from a ship’s galley. Caroline and Peter are back with us for the new season with Morag joining us for her first season. All our Chefs provide delicious, but healthy, meals full of flavour, using the amazing produce available on the west coast of Scotland
Our Bosuns ensure that every detail on board is perfect for our guests. At the same time they assist with the running of the vessel and trips ashore, and are a fount of local knowledge. We are delighted that Craig is back with us for 2019 and that Lynsey is happy to take a spell as Bosun on a few cruises too, with new crew members Pauline and Amy completing the team.
See Elizabeth G Crew here> See Emma Jane Crew here>
We set off on 28 June from Oban for our ten days exploration of the Hebrides with the hope that we’d visit St Kilda. We did, and so much more. The crew (Chris (skipper), Alexa (wildlife guide), Pete (cook), Emma (bosun), were fantastic from the off. They effortlessly transported our mountain of luggage to our comfortable cabins which Emma kept spotless through the cruise, as well as looking after us on the rough crossing to St Kilda through to Caribbean strength G&Ts. Chris was a really good skipper. He sailed the boat well and did his best to find a route that best managed his passengers’ seafaring abilities, and he also had a ceremony to give homage to the Blue Men of the Minch! Pete’s amazing menus incorporated our requests – I’ll always remember his mussels on the first night, his haggis Scotch eggs, my mother’s clootie dumpling and much more – and we appreciated how he involved the kids (9 to 11) in the kitchen. Alexa (with Chris) magic’d up an amazing array of wildlife with huge enthusiasm and great knowledge. We became blasé about the number of dolphins we saw – I can best quote Chris “the weather and the wildlife sightings are some of the best I’ve known in almost 20 years”. The weather was fantastic which enabled us to land and explore Tobermory, Canna, Sanday, Taransay, Hirta (St. Kilda), Mingulay, Vatersay, Rum, Lunga (Treshnish Isles) and Loch Buie, as well as sailing past Neist Point (Skye), Boreray (St. Kilda), Monachs, Hellisay in the Sound of Barra, Eigg, Staffa, Ulva and Iona. The weather was so good we were able to swim off Sanday, Taransay, Mingulay and Vatersay, as well as enjoy the hot tub. This was a trip of a lifetime for us all. We were able to see so many places which have been specks on the horizon for so long. The cruise was magical and extra special. It’s given us memories to last a lifetime!
George Mitchell: 28 June 2018Private Charter 10 Nights