7 Aug 20. When the Harbour Master greets you with a bottle of Malt Whisky , you know it is going to be a happy stay.
Ullapool is an ancient Viking settlement, an impressive town and Kevin Peach an extremely interesting HM. A full career as a marine scientist, he ended up as Chief Scientist for the Scottish Office and I have since met fishermen who have carried Kevin on their boat counting fish species. I could have chatted to him for hours, but one of the most interesting things he said was that global warming has had a much greater effect on reducing the Scottish fish stocks than over-fishing – the food that the fish eat (other fish!) is simply no longer available in Scottish waters as they get warmer, and the shoals move north.
Ullapool marks a change in the types of fishing boat in use – small prawn boats are replaced with large long distance “white fish” trawlers. These boats are serious consumers of diesel, using between 30 and 60,000 litres of fuel per 10 day trip! Kevin’s harbour sells 20 million litres of fuel per year – supplying the daily Stornoway ferry. It is very significant that they are looking at converting ferries to Electric or Hydrogen (as I found in Orkney).
Now, Ullapool’s “unique fact” is for my “hard core” followers only! When the commissioners needed to extend the huge concrete pier to take a new longer ferry, instead of building it in-situ, they manufactured it in the Clyde and towed it all the way north. By connecting it to the end of the old pier “overnight”, they prevented any delay to the busy ferry timetable – a first of its kind. As for Kevin’s more unusual jobs, he once managed to help adventurers Peter and Eileen Crichton transport their Land Rover on a raft across Loch Broom as part of their challenge of driving the Scottish foreshore….. it sounds rather like the HMSC!
Thank you Kevin for a fantastic stay in your harbour – I look forward to keeping in touch. @ullapool_scotland#ullapoolharbour.
Stornoway next.
I am circumnavigating #GB in a #Nauticat attempting to visit every #harbour with a #harbourmaster #fundraising to #support @Seafarers_UK and their work in the martime industry
