ABOUT
Harris Development Limited, a company limited by guarantee and incorporated in 1994, owns and operates Isle of Harris Marina which it is hoped will bring significant economic benefit to the area through the development of marine tourism. The company is community focused and is a non profit organisation.
The two sets of pontoons are in East Loch Tarbert, one at Tarbert adjacent to the distillery and the other at Scalpay’s North Harbour parallel to the fisheries pier.
This new marina opened in 2018 and completes a chain of pontoon facilities including Stornoway, Lochmaddy, Lochboisdale and Castlebay, consolidating and enhancing the reputation of the Outer Hebrides as a premium sailing and cruising destination
While important revenue streams come from visiting yachts, cruisers and cruise ships the pontoons also offer exciting opportunities for local marine entrepreneurs to develop a range of tourism-related businesses such as sea-angling and wildlife tours.
Safe access to the water makes East Loch Tarbert a haven for recreational boaters and a centre for the provision of marine skills training and education. There are few locations on the west coast better equipped to meet the training needs of the recreational boat user and the sea-going professional – twin sites with quite different characteristics within a few miles of each other, with access to open water and a variety of sheltered sea lochs.
Our pontoons provide a combined total of up to 50 berths for local and visiting vessels. An important advantage of having two pontoon facilities in East Loch Tarbert is that it ensures reliable, available berthing in virtually all weathers regardless of wind direction and it offers a choice of visitor experience as the characteristics of the two sites are quite different.
Construction of the pontoons was by Gael Force Marine, overseen by consulting engineers Wallace Stone and financed by the Scottish Government Regeneration Fund, the Coastal Communities Fund, LEADER, CnES and HIE.
