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Blog 30th June 2026

Welcome to the ScotCampers tri-weekly blog. 

This period can be summarised by; hirers; clipper; holidays.

Hirers.

It was great to welcome Gaz and his wife for a long weekend hire in June.  A social media booking (at last!) and saw them exploring the North East and even pick up a tasting at Speyburn distillery – jealous!  Gaz decided to surprise his wife for her birthday and were pretty much, perfect hirers.  Come back!

Somewhere in the NE…..

July is a really busy one for me with all vans out at least three times.  Good for business but will keep me on my toes.  Lots of interesting hirers.  I’ll try and summarise where the miles will take the vans:  Hannah off to do NC500; Sam off to Outer Hebrides; Skye; Torridon; Black Isle; Foofs off to Morpeth; Oban.

On the last one, there’s a story…….

Clipper.

Ex boss of mine and all round good guy Donald is hiring from me in July.  He retired a couple of years before me and he’s been tricky to get a hold of recently….  Reason for that is he applied to do the Clipper Race.  Here’s the outline:

“The 2025–26 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is the current edition of the biennial amateur round-the-world sailing race. It began on 31 August 2025 and is expected to conclude in summer 2026 after approximately 40,000 nautical miles (47,000 miles / 74,000 km) over eight stages. 

Key facts:

  • Boats: Identical 70-foot Clipper 70 yachts.
  • Crew: Professional skipper and first mate lead crews made up largely of amateur sailors, many of whom started with no previous offshore sailing experience.
  • Duration: About 11 months.
  • Format: Sailors can complete the entire circumnavigation or join for individual race legs. 

Recent race status (late June 2026):

  • The fleet is racing the USA to Scotland stage, which started on 24 June 2026.

Notable stopovers in the 2025–26 race include:

  • Cape Town
  • Fremantle
  • Qingdao
  • Seattle
  • Oban
  • Portsmouth (race finish)”

So, Donald’s crewing a boat and as I type, somewhere in the Atlantic!  I’m delighted him and Hazel are hiring to meet the teams in Oban later in the month.  Should be a proper spectacle and will likely get to Oban myself too.

Donald looking as serious as he used to in 121s with me….

Here’s an example of some of the conditions he and the teams have faced over the last months;

A bit more exciting that Loch Morlich

Donald is a good example of network or word of mouth bookings.  He is one of five this year in terms of hirers who know me and are coming direct to me for a hire.  Pops a bit more pressure on me as I have high standards and hires need to go absolutely hitch free but all good.

Holidays.

The business is still young but it’s been a congested year.  It’s therefore good to get away for a break with the family.  I’ve never been to Turkey but I will likely be back.  Staying near the town of Fethiye, the locals could not be more welcoming and the food and boards all great.  I have a developed a habit for an Old Fashioned while watching the sunset and am working on the bar staff on having a go at making a Penicillin (availability of Islay single malt appears to be the challenge)!  

 Catching up on reading too- fiction is one of the early Allan Martin books (coincidentally wrote The Dead of Oban); factual is around the history of the borders of the world.  Enjoying the chill ahead of a hectic July.

There are worse views….

July is booked out and some August.  Get in touch around August or a very free looking September (arguably one of the best months to tour Scotland).

Until next time.  Not all those who wander, are lost……