Sector

Cromarty is part of the Inverness Sector, run by a full time Sector manager, Hamish Young.

The sector’s Operational Area runs from:
Alness Point in the Cromarty Firth (21 658680) to Covesea Skerries, West of Lossiemouth (28 196719)

Inverness Sector, in the heart of the Highlands, covers most of the Moray Firth area, from Invergordon in The Cromarty Firth, to Cove Sea Skerries near Lossiemouth. Also within its are of responsibility are the deep and cold waters of Loch Ness.

The geographic and demographic aspects are very varied, from the fast expanding city of Inverness and busy deep water port of Invergordon, to rolling expanses of the Culbin sands and the grandeur and beauty of Loch Ness.

A rich tapestry of wildlife inhabits the shores, waters, cliffs and mountains. The Moray Firth is a site of special scientific interest and is home to over a hundred bottle nose dolphins. RSPB reserves of mud flats and intertidal sands support a wide variety of birds including wintering geese. Loch Ness, of course, has the most elusive and famous inhabitant of all!

Boleskin House near Foyers, on the shores of loch Ness was also once the home of the infamous Aleistair Crowley- dubbed “the wickedest man in the world” due to his interest and practice of the occult. Jimmy Page, of the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin more recently owned the same property.

Sailing and sea kayaking are popular summer activities, with the traditional Victorian resort town of Nairn offering a fine beach area.

It is said that a whole village is buried beneath the shifting Culbin sands, and certainly the sand bars can change dramatically during the course of a season.

Other places of interest are our base at the historic town of Cromarty – once home of the renowned geologist Hugh Miller – Fortrose and Rosemarkie where dolphins can be watched from the shore, and the attractive villages of Avoch ,Findhorn and Burghead.

Search & Rescue assets within the Sector include 7 coastguard rescue teams, two lifeboats, an RAF Nimrod base.
In April of this year (2008), the provision of search and rescue on Loch Ness was delegated to the RNLI, who now have an Atlantic 75 lifeboat based at Temple Pier, Drumnadrochit.
SAR Co-ordination is still maintained by the Coastguard Rescue Co-ordination centre at Aberdeen.

Sector Management & Teams

The Manager for this very active Sector is based in Inverness.
TEAM CRT/IRT Type of terrain

• Cromarty CRT Mixture of cliffs and rocky shores including the Cromarty Firth
• Inverness CRT Mixture of rocky shores and sandy beaches including the Beauly Firth
• Loch Ness IRT Covering north end of Loch Ness
• Fort Augustus IRT Covering south end of Loch Ness
• Nairn IRT Covering area between Inverness and Burghead
• Burghead CRT Mixture of rocky shores and sandy beaches