My news friends in my old stomping ground on
Rhu Coigach on the northwest coast of Scotland are making progress with their build of the Ian Oughtred designed St. Ayles Skiff, intended for participation in the
Scottish Coastal Rowing Project. They've turned the boat, a big day, and she's looking lovely. This is a real community project (obvious in the photos). Coigach is small. When I was there in1976 it was about 200 people spread over an 11 mile peninsula, and everyone was in walking distance of the sea! It's grown slightly in the intervening years, but not a lot. This is a fairly isolated part of the NW coast of Scotland, and when I was a youngster and visiting in 1976 I had to hitch a ride on the mail truck from
Ullapool to
Achiltibue, along the mostly single track road just to get there, and it's definitely one of the most starkly beautiful landscapes in the world, riding between deep lochs and high mountains. I have been in touch with some old friends and new and it's simply heartwarming to see them cooperating on this new project. 'Buie Boats rule'! New friend Lesley Muir writes the
Coigach Lass weblog and is doing a great job, my untold thanks to you, Lesley. And hello to Iain Campbell, my mentor for cement, house building, the SNP and all things local Scot's culture. It was a wonderful time for me. Thanks Iain.
postscript: Lesley reports there's been a new bagpipe tune written for the Lass!
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