Press Releases - back to Press                                                                                   19 July 2005

HRH The Princess Royal visits Skye and West Coast Lighthouses

Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal will join the Northern Lighthouse Board’s vessel MV PHAROS at the Kyle of Lochalsh 27 July 2005.

In her role as Patron of the Board The Princess Royal will visit a minor lighthouse on Skye and Stoer Head major lighthouse on the West Coast of the Scottish mainland.

Her Royal Highness will depart MV PHAROS around 1100 on Friday 29 July 2005.

Notes to the Editor

· Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal became Patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1993.

· Joining the Her Royal Highness on board MV PHAROS will be:-
Captain George Sutherland, Commissioner of Northern Lighthouses (Vice-Chairman)
Captain Kenneth MacLeod, Commissioner of Northern Lighthouses
Dr Andrew Cubie, Commissioner of Northern Lighthouses
James Taylor, Chief Executive, Northern Lighthouse Board
Guy Platten, Director of Marine Operations, Northern Lighthouse Board

· During the visit Her Royal Highness will carry out an engagement at Staffin on Skye with Columba 1400.

· MV PHAROS was built in 1993. She carries out all types of work, from buoy maintenance and cargo-carrying in support of capital projects to the delivery of stores and supplies to the Board’s lighthouses. Her gross tonnage is 1986 and overall length 79.58m.

· Under a joint partnership with the National Trust for Scotland Stoer Head Lighthouse is now available for rent as a holiday house.

· Stoer Head lighthouse
Light Established: 1870
Engineer: David and Thomas Stevenson
Position: Latitude 58° 14.4' N
Longitude 05° 24.0' W
Character of Light: Flashing White every 15 secs
Elevation (above sea level) 59 metres
Range: 24 nautical miles
Structure: White tower 14 metres in height

Very little has been written about the history of Stoer Head Lighthouse. It wasn’t until 1853 that regular Wreck Returns were kept and figures for 1859-66 showed that an average of 24 vessels a year were stranded on sands and rocks around the Scottish coast. Alan and Thomas Stevenson had now taken over as engineers for the Northern Lighthouse Board and they prepared a list of 45 possible sites thought to be desirable to complete a system of lights for the coasts of Scotland. But it was not until 1870 that the light marking the headland of the Point of Stoer was finally built. Although the lighthouse is relatively short (only 14 metres high) its elevation above sea level is 54 metres

· The Northern Lighthouse Board operates under statute - the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 - and is the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man.

· The Board currently operates: 210 Lighthouses, 153 Buoys, 45 Beacons, 4 Differential Global Positioning System Stations, 24 Radar Beacons and Loran-C on trial.

· The Northern Lighthouse Board is funded entirely from the General Lighthouse Fund, sourced by "Light Dues", a levy paid by shipping. The Board receives no direct funding from the Exchequer or taxpayer.

· The other General Lighthouse Authorities are the Commissioners of Irish Lights (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and Trinity House Lighthouse Service (England, Wales, the Channel Islands and Gibraltar).

· The Northern Lighthouse Board is certificated to ISO9001:2000 standard for the provision of navigational aid services to seafarers and other organisations around the coast of Scotland and Isle of Man. Certification covers the design and maintenance of navigational aids and systems, logistical support and associated technical services including consultancy. The Board is also certified to The International Safety Management Code, (ISM Code) in respect of our ships and marine management systems and OHSAS 18001.

For further information, please contact:

Northern Lighthouse Board
Lorna Hunter, Information Officer
Tel 0131 473 3100
Fax 0131 220 2093
Email: enquiries@nlb.org.uk
www.nlb.org.uk