Sailing
The seas to the west of Wester Ross offer some of the most spectacular and challenging sailing waters around Britain.
Charleston offers safe anchorage and chandlery supplies but remember that this is still very much a working harbour and so consideration needs to be given to fishermen and other commercial users when entering the harbour and tying up. There is a resident harbour master who can be contacted to check on moorings etc. Badachro and Shieldaig offer sheltered bays in which to tie up, and Badachro is particularly popular having the Badachro Inn offering good ales and fine food to the weary sailor. Moorings can be scarce in the busier months so best to check ahead on VHF for availability. The more sheltered areas are ideal for dinghy sailing and the rougher stretches of the Minch give the experienced sailor plenty of excitement.
Loch Gairloch is noted for its wildlife, which can be seen from passing yachts. Seals are common, porpoises regularly sighted in the summer months and occasional whale sightings are recorded, including reports of basking sharks seen both in the open water and from Rua Reidh lighthouse.
Loch Ewe is a deep water loch which was used by the convoys during World War II and remains of buildings erected for troops during that time are littered all along the edges of the loch. There is an old slipway at Inverasdale alongside a brand new one, built with money raised by GALE (Loch Ewe Action Forum as it was known then) and available for launching and for coming ashore. There is a smaller slipway at Coast but launching from anywhere on the shores of Loch Ewe is dependent upon calm weather as such a large body of water can be very rough on occasions and not for the faint hearted.
Aultbea also has a pier which is situated a short distance from the local shop and post office.
Further south Lochcarron has several anchorage areas with Slumbay being the most appealing, and is a good starting point for cruising up through the Minch and across to the Western Isles and back across to Ullapool which again has good safe anchorage and several interesting pubs ashore to revive even the most tired sailor.
Also to the south, Applecross boasts a new pier and with its excellent pub, the Applecross Inn, and panoramic views is a popular destination.
Tide tables can be obtained from Gairloch Chandlery and Chemistore in Charleston.
The Met Office also publish regular updates of both offshore and inshore shipping forecasts. Hebrides is the relevant offshore area and Mull of Kintyre to Cape Wrath the inshore area.