An amazing 8 day sailing adventure through the Scottish Islands. Explore the heritage and wild places of Scotland on a tallship. The channels between the Scottish islands offer excellent possibilities to spot Minke Whales (a small baleen whale), White-beaked Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises. Several other cetaceans, including Orcas (Killer Whales), are also native to these waters.

The Scottish islands remain a final frontier on the edge of what was once the known world. Their unique cultures and wild, unspoilt and often breathtaking scenery have long attracted travellers and nature enthusiasts. Scotland has more than 800 offshore islands that can be roughly divided into three groups: the Orkney Islands, the Shetland Islands and the Hebrides. This voyage visits many of these incredible islands.

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’ was built as a herring lugger early last century. The vessel was rebuilt as a three-mast passenger sailing schooner in The Netherlands in 1994 and sailed in Spitsbergen (1994 – 1996) and in Galápagos (1998 - 2001). The vessel underwent a complete rebuilding and refurbishment program in 2011. The communication and navigation equipment has been completely revamped according to the latest SOLAS regulations.

The Rembrandt van Rijn measures 56 meters in length (168 ft.), 7 meters in width and has a draft of 2, 5 meters. The maximum engine speed is 9 knots. She has an experienced crew of 10 on board including two tour guides. The ship can accommodate a maximum of 34 passengers in 17 twin cabins (1 Twin Shared cabin with porthole (shared shower and toilet), 6 Twin Private Inside cabins (with shower and toilet, no porthole), 10 Twin Private cabins (with shower and toilet and porthole). A spacious restaurant on board the vessel allows all passengers to have their meals at the same time. The vessel furthermore consists of a separate bar including a reading table. The ship is well suited for expedition cruising among small islands and offers good open deck viewing areas, even when under sail. The two inflatable rubber crafts (zodiacs) enable landing and wildlife viewing opportunities in otherwise inaccessible areas.

Deckplan
Click here to view deck plan for the Rembrandt Van Rijn

Countries visited

• Scotland & Scottish Isles

Places visited

• Aberdeen
• Oban

Transportation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Included In Price

* Voyage aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary.
* All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea.
* All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
* Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
* Transfers and baggage handling between airport and ship in Greenland harbours on the chartered group flights.
* All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
* AECO fees and governmental taxes.
* Comprehensive pre-departure material.

Meals Included

This tour includes 20 meals; 7 breakfasts 6 lunches 7 dinners

Not Included In Price

Any airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights; pre- and post land arrangements; transfers to / from the vessel outside Spitsbergen; passport and visa expenses; Government arrival and departure taxes; meals ashore; baggage, cancellation and personal insurance (which is mandatory); excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges; and the customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard (guidelines will be provided).

Note:It is agreed that if world fuel prices will reach or exceed US Dollar 90 per Barrel Brent 90 days prior to departure Oceanwide Expeditions reserves the right to levy a fuel surcharge of US Dollar 25 per passenger per night, to be paid by the contracting party of Oceanwide Expeditions.

Day 1: Embark in Aberdeen.

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Arrive in Aberdeen, famed as the granite city and many times a winner of the Britain in Bloom competition, and embark for our trip. The lighthouse on Girdle Ness, to the south as the North Sea is reached, was designed by the grandfather of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Accommodation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Meals Included

1 x Dinners

Day 2: Sail to Copinsey

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Copinsey is a lovely uninhabited nature reserve of the RSPB and rarely visited. More than 1,000 pairs of fulmars nest on Copinsay, which has nearly a mile of vertical cliffs up to 76 metres high. There is a vast seabird colony on the cliffs, with around 20,000 guillemots, 700 razorbills, 600 puffins and about 4,500 pairs of kittiwakes. Black guillemots and shags also nest here and there are great black-backed gull colonies.

Accommodation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 3: History and Nature in Fair Isle, Shetlands.

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At Fair Isle, in the Shetlands, we are welcomed by the 70 or so inhabitants (famed for their knitwear, examples of which we will see) and walk to the bird observatory. Later, on Mousa, one of the smaller Shetland Islands, we visit one of the best preserved brochs in Scotland. Brochs are circular stone towers probably built by the Picts. During a night excursion we watch thousands of Storm Petrels return to their burrows or crevices. By day we view Grey Seals, Black Guillemots, Red-throated Divers, Arctic Skuas and a wonderful spring flora.

Accommodation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 4: Land on North Rona to see the seabird colonies and the Grey Seal colonies.

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Out in the Atlantic to the north-west of Scotland lie the tiny islands of North Rona and Sula Sgeir. We shall land on North Rona to see the seabird colonies and the Grey Seals. The island was inhabited in the 18th century and some remains are still visible: Leach's Petrels can be heard calling from their nesting burrows in the ruined walls of a small church in the ‘village'. Sula Sgeir is the last island in Britain on which Gannets are harvested annually. There will be spectacular views of its cliffs as we sail around. In 2006 we saw a Black-browed Albatross at this island.

Accommodation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 5: Visit Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.

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We visit Lewis to see the prehistoric stone circle of Callanish, one of the finest in Britain with stones over 3m tall. There are several smaller stone circles and chambered cairns on the moorland near Callanish. Later there will be great opportunities to watch and photograph Guillemots, Razorbills and Puffins on the Flannan Islands, a group of small islands to the west of the Outer Hebrides.

Accommodation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 6: Visit the St Kilda group of islands

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To the west of North Uist lie the St Kilda group of islands, built of volcanic rock and with cliffs rising to over 400m, the highest in Britain and home to the largest seabird colony in the country. St Kilda has its own sub-species of birds and mice, and of sheep, the Soay, probably brought here by Stone Age man over 5,000 years ago. Until 1930 St. Kilda was inhabited, but then the last of the islanders left leaving a handful of windswept ruins, though there is also a military base which may be visited.

Accommodation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 7: Seabirds and Peregrine Falcons in the islands of the Inner Hebrides.

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The small islands of Mingulay, Berneray and Pabay, to the south of South Uist, are a nature reserve with important breeding populations of RazorBills, Guillemots, Black Guillemots, Puffins, Fulmars and Shags. There are also five species of gull, all the seabirds being attracted by the cliffs and caves which offer safe nesting sites. The islands also have significant historical sites, including the old village on Mingulay which the last islanders left in 1912. The islanders were fishermen and collected the seabirds and eggs for food. They also traded the feathers.

If the weather is poor we will sail to Canna, one of the 'Small Isles’ of the Inner Hebrides. It has a tiny agricultural and cattle-rearing population. From a walk along the cliff top we may see Golden Eagles, White-tailed Eagles and Peregrine Falcons. At the cliff edge the rare Loose-flowered Orchids grow.

Accommodation

S/V ‘Rembrandt Van Rijn’

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts
1 x Lunches
1 x Dinners

Day 8: We disembark at Oban.

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We disembark at Oban, a small and cosy harbour town in west Scotland. From there it is a good option to take the train to Glasgow, a marvellous journey through one of the most scenic parts of Scotland, to join our homeward flights.

The channels between the Scottish islands offer excellent possibilities to spot Minke Whales (a small baleen whale), White-beaked Dolphins and Harbour Porpoises. Several other cetaceans, including Orcas (Killer Whales), are also native to these waters.

Meals Included

1 x Breakfasts