Books or Guides on the W. Coast of Scotland?

[cpedw]

The Scottish Islands by Hamish Haswell-Smith is highly regarded by me and several other west coast sailors that I know. It's about (almost) all the islands round Scotland, but very few are not on the west coast so it's very relevant. It is written as a reference book, containing a lot of statistical data and other hard facts but the way it's done is very accessible and though it's not a sailing book, it contains some brief comments on anchorages.
I suspect you would find that a majority of local boats on the west of Scotland carry a copy.
The big snag is it doesn't mention the mainland at all - there's a lot of that too. Perhaps someone else will supply a suitable reference to cover that.
Enjoy,
Derek

[Silkie]

You've pretty much covered all the bases with Martin Lawrence, the CCC directions and an almanac.

Not comprehensive by any means but "The West: A Sailing Companion to the West Coast of Scotland" by Ronald Faux is a good read describing the anchorages he visited over a couple of seasons sailing between Gigha and Cape Wrath.

[Telo]

I have found the Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions Books , the The Yachtsman’s Pilot Series and of course Reeds Nautical Almanac.

Either of the two excellent pilots, Clyce CC/Martin Lawrence (or both if you're flush with money) plus the almanac are essential imho.

As cpedw said, the Haswell Smith book is not a pilot, but a great companion book, as is "The West" by Ronald (Ronnie) Faux and mentioned by Silkie - informative and very very funny, but sadly out of print now.

For free, you can pinch from Uncle Sam's larder - the US Navy's sailing directions for Scotland are downloadable at http://www.nga.mil/MSISiteContent/Stati ... 1setup.zip.

For basic info about the UK and VHF and coastguard stuff, see also the UK chapter at http://www.nga.mil/MSISiteContent/Stati ... 0setup.zip

Enjoy!

[Silkie]

And don't forget the Penguin Bolt Holes.