Although I love the idea of a life on the ocean waves, I’m certainly no Ellen MacArthur. As a girl who doesn’t know her boom from her bowsprit, I prefer to leave all that splicing the mainbrace and shinning up the rigging to hearty matelots whilst I look on with a long cool drink in my hand. So when offered an opportunity to sail in Scotland on board Halcyon, a 95ft classic Bermudan ketch manned by a crew which includes a gourmet chef, the experience promises to be both nautical and nice.
Now fully restored and fitted with state of the art equipment, the eighty year old Halcyon is truly in her prime.
A welcoming committee of dolphins turn playful somersaults beside Halcyon’s svelte copper-clad hull as I board this elegant vessel moored in Oban harbour. Captain Rob Hickman greets me with a glass of chilled champagne and introduces me to my fellow passengers and his crew, purser Annette, first mate Olly and resident chef Kerri, before showing me to my cosy cabin. Like the rest of Halcyon’s interior, it is traditional in style with acres of gleaming brass and golden varnished Burma teak and comes equipped with every modern luxury and convenience.
The original launching in 1929, in Southampton.
It’s easy to see why Halcyon has been described as the Orient Express of the Seas. Built in oak and teak for Sir Samuel Turner, a Lancashire industrialist, she was designed with luxury and comfort in mind. When she was launched in 1929 Halcyon was considered a thoroughbred; since then she has sailed the four corners of the world in various incarnations.
As minesweeper, private yacht, and naval training ship, Halcyon has always been sailed hard.
It was rumoured that, during the Second World War, she was the flagship of a flotilla of minesweepers in Greece before becoming the private yacht of Madame Renault. Between 1957 and 1988, Halcyon’s interior was altered dramatically when she became a training ship for Merchant navy cadets at Warsash. She came unscathed through the notorious 1979 Fastnet race which saw one of the worst storms ever to hit an ocean yacht race. She also raced in the Hamilton, Bermuda to Halifax, Nova Scotia leg of the 1984 Tall Ships race in which the Marques was tragically lost during a squall. From 1988 and 2004 she was used as a private yacht, cruising a number of areas including the Caribbean, Florida, the Canaries and the UK.
Not surprisingly, all these experiences had taken their toll and when Halcyon was discovered four years ago by her current owner, Andrew Armour, she was in dire need of love and attention.
These have since been lavished upon her and, now fully restored, renovated and fitted with state of the art equipment, she represents a perfect marriage between the golden age of sail and twenty-first-century living. She may be celebrating her eightieth birthday but this grand dame of the ocean is currently in her prime.
Outlining our itinerary, Rob suggests we cruise up the Sound of Mull to Tobermory. As Halcyon’s deck layout and fittings are almost as the original design with virtually no winches, all five sails must be hoisted and trimmed manually. Before weighing anchor, Olly takes us through the safety features and invites guests to lend a hand on deck should the fancy take them or simply enjoy the ravishing views. With only a whisper of wind to fill her sails, we motor gently through water-colour landscapes and an ethereal Scotch mist descends as we pass the forbidding outline of Duart Castle. Olly tells the chilling tale of Lachlan Maclean who, angry that his wife did not produce a son, left her to drown on nearby Lady Rock. Fortunately, she was rescued by a fisherman and taken to her brother who took revenge many years later and “dirked in bed” his rogue brother-in-law.
Gleaming brass and golden varnished Burma teak give guests a warm welcome.
Tobermory, established as a fishing port during the late eighteenth century, is the main village on the Isle of Mull. A painter’s paradise, the brightly coloured houses clustered around a busy harbour create a carnival atmosphere. After a tour of the Ledaig Whisky Distillery, we set sail for Loch Aline where we anchor for the night and enjoy yet another of Kerri’s first-class creations. How this talented chef manages to produce consistently exquisite cuisine – everything from Cullen Skink (a traditional haddock soup) to red onion Tarte Tatin and even home-baked chocolate biscuits – in the most compact of galleys is a topic for discussion over port served with locally sourced cheese.
The following morning we wake to Caribbean blue skies, shimmering sunshine and a fair wind. With all five sails glamorously hoisted we tack down the Sound of Mull attracting admiring glances from passing yachtsmen and hillside ramblers. Even a seal, surfacing from the placid water, seems to follow our stately passage with interest. Ghosting silently past the dramatic scenery, I draw crisp, clean air into my lungs and relish a serene sense of well being. The sun sharpens the tapestry of greens and cobalt blues comprising the surrounding landscape. It is perfect sailing weather and even I join in, heaving on lines and marvelling as the sails balloon satisfyingly above us.
Even with state of the art electronics, there is still room for a few classic pieces.
Mooring up for lunch in a secluded cove, the crew break out Halcyon’s water toys. Although the weather is glorious, this is still Scotland and the water is bone chillingly cold. Although some brave guests swim, snorkel and cling to a ringo drawn behind a speeding rigid inflatable dinghy, I choose to play “Swallows and Amazons” in Halcyon’s pretty clinker gaff rigged row boat. Rowing sedately to a deserted shore clothed in wild flowers, I watch a bustling family of ducklings and seals lounging on rocks whilst oystercatchers squabble overhead.
That evening as we head out towards the evening’s anchorage, Rob invites me to take the helm. Standing at Halcyon’s wheel and sensing her considerate response to my touch, I reflect on her long career and the pleasure she continues to bring to those privileged to sail with her. Few people know that halcyon was the name given by ancient Greeks to the iridescent kingfisher and that the phrase “Halcyon Days”, evoking periods of peace and calm, derives from a Greek legend. As I guide this perfectly named, legendary yacht into a fuchsia sunset, I realise I’ve fallen completely under her spell. I may be a fair-weather sailor, but believe me days don’t come much more Halcyon than this.
For more information about chartering in Scotland, visit our Scotland info page.
Tags: crewed charter yacht, Halcyon, Scotland, Sound of Mull, Tobermory