Skye’s MV Seaflower ensuring vital lifeline to remote island continues
Skye couple Ewen Grant and Janice Cooney have had to stop their popular seafood cruises because of coronavirus but their second job remains vital – providing a lifeline to the neighbouring island of Rona.
Often described as one of the loneliest places in Britain, Rona only has four residents – current caretaker Bill Cowie and his wife Lorraine and another couple who were chosen out of scores of applicants to be inducted as the island's custodians and take over when Bill and Lorraine retire.
Ewen and Janice, who is also working as a nurse during the pandemic, usually run half- and full-day cruises for up to 12 people on their 40ft luxury catamaran Seaflower from Portree to Rona and neighbouring Raasay, serving freshly caught seafood on board.
In only its second year of operation in 2019, it was awarded 5 Star Visitor Attraction status by VisitScotland.
They also have the contract to deliver supplies to Rona, a one-hour boat trip from their base in Portree.
Raasay and Rona were once well-populated but during the 18th century Highland Clearances were denuded of inhabitants, many fleeing to a new life in the United States and Canada. At the end of the 19th century it had a devoutly Christian population of almost 200.
From the 16th century until late in the 18th century, Rona, now owned by a Danish family and home to hundreds of deer, was a notorious haven for pirates operating out of its concealed natural harbour.
'Seaflower is the only way to get essential supplies to an almost deserted but magical island,' said Ewen. 'We're determined to continue to make sure the resident quartet have all they need during the pandemic.'
Ewen grew up in Portree, where his father is a fisherman, so Ewen has extensive experience on the water from years of assisting with the family business.
He left school and worked as a plant operator for a number of years around Scotland. In 2013, he decided to travel and left Skye. It was on these travels that he crossed paths with Janice, a nurse from Ireland.
After travelling together, they moved to Australia and lived there for almost three years. But Ewen admitted it took leaving Skye to realise how stunning the island is and after their three years away, they made the decision to move back.
In 2016, Ewen and Janice returned to Ireland where they worked for a year, until the opportunity of buying MV Seaflower and starting their business arose. They moved to Portree in late 2017 to found SeaflowerSkye.
The couple are both trained to Yachtmaster Standard in line with MCA/RYA regulations and are commercially endorsed to carry a maximum of 12 passengers, up to 20 miles from a safe haven.