Lochmaddy Marina Press Release:
On January 13th, 2023, Lochmaddy Marina was acquired from Comann Na Mara (Society of the Sea), the charitable organisation that opened the marina in 2014, based on the vision of the late Dr John A J MacLeod.
Lochmaddy Marina is now run by Lochmaddy Marina Ltd (LM), a private company who have ambitious long term plans for the marina along with the continued promotion of the town of Lochmaddy and the Isle of North Uist itself. LM shall continue to support Comann Na Mara (CnM) with some key initiatives, complimenting their existing skill set.
Whilst the last few years have not helped anyone, the marina has suffered extensively due to the retirement and loss of founding members, plus Covid and of course with sailing being banned during that period, 2022 was the first full season that the Marina has had since 2019.
However, 2022 was also problematic, in that the weather was unusually bad during the sailing season – additionally, there were also extensive and ongoing pier works that had been planned for some time. Therefore, despite the welcome return of many previous visitors and several new visitors, the overall volume of visiting yachts was somewhat lower than during the peak trading years of the marina, resulting in significantly reduced revenues and ongoing management difficulties.
CnM therefore took the strategic view to allow continued focus on their core, charitable activities, that they would divest the marina lease in order to achieve the following:
– Allow CnM to focus on core activities of the charity.
– Ensure revenues earned are directed solely towards those activities.
– Freeing up of CnM team members with already limited time, in order to generate funds to further the aims of the charity.
– Lochmaddy Marina Ltd (LM) are dedicated to running the marina; priorities are supporting marine activities, development of the marina itself over the medium to long term – and also promotion of the marina, along with the town of Lochmaddy itself.
– The ability to attract investment to the marina through a business plan that is targeted solely on the marina.
– Ensure the long term security of the marina so that the marina remains open for access by local people and visiting yachts alike.
About Lochmaddy Marina Ltd:
Lochmaddy Marina Ltd initially comprised of two directors; David Anderson and Scott Apsey.
David moved to the Isle of North Uist nearly three years ago and along with his wife Joanne have setup a new home and are immensely enjoying island life. David feels that working with the marina allows him to support the local economy and shall help ensure that (as he says) ‘the marina shall remain open, safe and more readily available for the local and travelling boating community to utilise, in what is definitely one of the nicest spots in the Western Isles’.
Scott and his wife Rachel have holidayed in the Outer Hebrides for several years and more recently were lucky enough to acquire a second home in North Uist. Their medium term plan is to move to the island once their youngest son has grown. Along with David, Scott and Rachel are keen motor sailors and immensely enjoy the local marine environment and all it has to offer the boating community, whilst also enjoying the natural beauty of North Uist and the warm welcome they have received.
As Scott said, ‘having acquired the lease for the marina, we need to focus on continuing incremental improvements to make Lochmaddy Marina an even more desirable cruising destination, ensuring that it truly remains the gateway to the Western Isles and beyond’.
A recent and exciting addition to the team has been well known local Ruairidh Nicholson who was appointed as a director of Lochmaddy Marina Ltd today, March 2nd 2023. Having both Ruairidh’s local knowledge and extensive knowledge of the sea, is an incredible asset for the marina and our plans moving forward. As Ruairidh stated, “having our collective and diverse expertise focused on the marina, which is a key facility for local people and visitors alike, can only be a good thing to ensure its ongoing availability for all. After the pier developments and the Covid years, we are looking forward to getting back to normal and also developing the marina further”.
About Lochmaddy Marina:
Lochmaddy Marina is located on the edge of the town of Lochmaddy within the Isle of North Uist, in the stunning and unique Western Isles. The marina was built through significant efforts by members of the local charity Comann na Mara (Society of the Sea), delivering on the vision of the late, much loved and former G.P. from Lochmaddy, Dr John A J MacLeod.