LINKS AHOY - THE BEST OF SCOTLAND BY SEA

Last summer The Advisor discovered firsthand the joys of sailing from club to club onboard the M/S Clipper Adventurer. This is truly THE way to visit the legendary links of the British Isles. Not only is the whole experience first-class from the onboard service to the ground handling of your clubs, but, the interaction with 120 other avid golfers in a relaxed setting is that of a traveling house party with friends. And having to only unpack once for week’s worth of golf and social activities is a definite convenience!

Upon arrival at the airport (if air arrangements are made through PerryGolf) you are met and transferred to a convenient hotel to wait for additional passengers before transferring to the ship. We were leaving out of Greenock, Scotland just outside of Glasgow and spent the day based out of the Glasgow Marriott, within easy walking distance of the city center. The PerryGolf staff were there to answer any questions about embarking the ship, day sightseeing in Glasgow, and the scheduled itinerary. While you relax and enjoy the refreshments, take a nap or explore the city, your luggage and clubs are transferred to the ship and your cabin to await your arrival later that day.

You are transferred to the ship in the early afternoon where you may relax in your cabin or explore the M/S Clipper Adventurer. The M/S Clipper Adventurer is a handsomely appointed 122 passenger ship that was completely refurbished in 1998 by Scandinavian craftsman. She is 330 feet long, 53.5 feet wide with a draft of only 16 feet. The ship is outfitted with state-of-the-art satellite navigation and communication equipment as well as stabilizers which allow her to navigate in the most rugged environments. Onboard public areas and amenities include The Main Lounge and Bar, The Clipper Club Lounge, Library, Promenade Deck, Dining Room, ship’s store, beauty salon and exercise room. The Captain of the M/S Clipper Adventurer also maintains an “open bridge” policy, allowing passengers to quietly observe the ship’s navigation at any time – day or night.

Each day when you arrive at the course your clubs are arranged in advance by tee time, allowing quick access and ease of finding your bag. In order to accommodate this, your clubs are actually transported by land overnight to the next day’s destination. Therefore on arrival day you are given the opportunity to unpack any items your may have stored in your travel cover before the bags are off-loaded and sent on their way.

Arrival day is also housekeeping day and with safety the key concern a lifeboat drill is the first order of business, as well as an orientation of the ship and introduction of staff’s - both the M/S Clipper Adventurer’s and PerryGolf’s. One of the most important staff members that is always onboard is the ship’s doctor. The daily itinerary found in your cabin will not only detail the day’s activities for both golfers and non-golfers, but also the ship’s available services and other pertinent details. Posted on the bulletin boards just outside the Main Lounge are a complete passenger roster, maps of the voyage, details on the next days destination- both golf & non golf, tee times and pairings for the next day, transportation schedules and most important of all – the dinner menu!

Every evening Chef and his staff delivered a wonderful dining experience in a relaxed casual atmosphere. The Clipper is not like many cruise ships with enforced seating. Onboard the Clipper Adventurer you have the option each meal to sit with your group, new friends or to enjoy a romantic evening. Dress most evenings is resort casual, with jackets and cocktail attire suggested only for the Captain’s Welcome and Farewell dinners. The menu changes daily and features a soup, salad, choice of four entreés and desert.

Flexibility and service with a smile is the definitive trademark of dining onboard the Clipper. You are not only permitted, but truly encouraged, to mix and match your entreés. Want to sample the meat entreé but also try the pasta as a side – no problem. Want to double your order of Scampi and skip the salad - no worries. The other meals are just as tempting. Depending on your tee time, and how late you want to sleep in, you can enjoy an early continental breakfast in the Main Lounge or a traditional full breakfast in the dining room.

Each golfing day a lunch bar is set up in the Main Lounge where you can put together a deli sandwich of your choosing and supplement your bag lunch with fruit and desert. Forget to pack a candy bar or a bottle of water? No worries. The PerryGolf staff on-site at the course has complimentary candy bars, water and fruit on the first tee just in case. And for the non-golfers or those staying onboard lunch consists of a hot or cold platter or omelet, soup and desert.

Whether you walked 18 or strolled through a sightseeing tour, you’re usually hungry when your return to your floating hotel and each day Chef serves hot homemade cookies at 4:30 pm – the perfect welcome back onboard treat! He also provides trays of late night after dinner treats! After dinner there is entertainment in the Main Lounge, and many nights also in the Clipper Club, as your enjoy a nightcap.

With only 120 passengers onboard, most sharing a love of golf or a spouse that loves golf, it is easy to make new friends from across the United States and Europe. On our cruise there were golfers from New York to California and several from the British Isles, and all ages – from late 20’s to 70's– and handicaps – from scratch to 36. Unlike many golf cruises which are only 40 people on a cruise of several thousand passengers, the experience onboard the Clipper is immediate camaraderie. Each day the staff conducts optional competitions for £5 that are designed so that any golfer, regardless of handicap, can be victorious. Tee times are posted after dinner so you can plan on how many nightcaps you can have before retiring and have a chance to meet your foursome if you haven’t already. I found that by the second day I knew everyone on the cruise and felt as through we’d all known each other for years versus days.

Two of my favorite courses in Scotland are Machrihanish and Royal Dornoch.

They are as impressive as they are inaccessible on the same week’s driving itinerary. Machrihanish is located on the very tip of the Mull of Kintyre off the west coast and Royal Dornoch is located in the northeast Highlands. Onboard the Clipper it was effortless to visit not only these classic gems but also Prestwick, Cruden Bay, Carnoustie or the Old Course, and Kingsbarns in the same week. And to truly be able to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the Scottish coast and islands without having to watch the road while driving on the left side!

Our opening round was at Machrihanish a perfect choice as the first tee shot there has been described as the” best opening salvo” in golf, requiring you to hit over the Atlantic Ocean and beach unto the first fairway. Considered a hidden gem, Machrihanish weighs in at No. 65 on the current Top 100 list and probably would be higher if not for its remote location.

The next day found us waking up at Ayr for a day on one of the world’s most historic courses, Prestwick. This quirky gem is a true joy of links golf. It has blind shots and fantastic undulating greens to negotiate. The day we played was in glorious sunshine and a devilish 25-30 mph wind, which only added to the experience. Prestwick, originally a 12-hole course, played host to the first 10 Open Championships.

The tide was out when we finished our round so we got to experience a Zodiac ride back to the ship. The Clipper was designed as a expedition vessel and she travels much of the year in exotic places such as Antarctica where there are no docks to tie up to. The ship has several zodiacs that can go from mid-ships directly onto a beach, so tides and docks are not an issue when the Clipper wants to visit a destination.

I confess to being an avid golfer, even going 36-a-day many times, and approached the days at sea (without scheduled golf) onboard the Clipper with some hesitation on what I was going to do all day. I shouldn’t have worried. After pulling out of Ayr we first rounded the Ailsa Craig. I have stared out many times upon this granite rock from the fairways of Turnberry but never imagined I’d see it up close. The captain took the ship completely around this impressive landmark which for years provided the world’s finest curling stones and now serves as a bird sanctuary with tens of thousands of gannets nesting among the rocky ledges.

Later that evening I witnessed a sight from the Bridge that I will never forget as long as I live. At approximately midnight the ship passed through the Narrows between the Island of Islay and the Island of Jura. It is a very narrow passage that can be very rough when the tide changes as the water rushes through. it was a perfectly calm moonlit night when we glided though. As it is still a little light, even at midnight, that far north you could easily make out not only the land masses on either side, but the lighthouses and even the tidal eddies on the water’s surface that resembled black ice. It was silently eerie and truly one of the most memorably beautiful sights I have ever seen.

I’m an early riser, and as it is light very early on Scottish summer mornings, I positioned myself and my book up close to the Bridge slightly after dawn to watch the ship sail close past breathtaking Scottish scenery on our way north. The next major navigation point was the Bridge at the Island of Skye. Due to the ship’s navigation equipment that sticks up above the Bridge there is only a 5-foot clearance under the Bridge at dead low tide. That day low tide was at 10:00 am and, with Captain Alexander Golubev capably at the helm, we passed under the bridge safely at exactly 10:00 am! The day had dawned bright and clear, warm enough for the passengers from the British Isles to actually go sunbathing on the Promenade deck. Most of the Americans stayed in shorts as they enjoyed the sunshine and fun, delicious outdoor B-B-Q lunch. The afternoon was spent exploring Inverewe Gardens, a fantastic botanical experience that, due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, features many plants and flora not native to northern Scotland such as palm trees! After dinner it was calm and warm enough to enjoy watching the sunset as the ship rounded Cape Wrath, the northernmost tip of mainland Scotland, from the outer decks. A perfect ending to a glorious day, even without golf!

Long before Madonna put it on the map, our next stop, Dornoch, was known to golfers as the home of Donald Ross. It is easy to see why he became one of this country’s most beloved golf architects with Royal Dornoch as his inspiration. It has always been one of my favorite layouts as it climbs above the firth and comes back down again.

Continuing down the east coast, next up was Cruden Bay. This is a rollercoaster of a layout and as much fun to play. The first rain of the trip showed up on the back nine, but only lasted 4 holes, so as not to dampen the days spirits.

We awoke the next day berthed in Dundee as half the group headed across the Tay River to St. Andrews to play the Old Course and the other half ventured down the road to try their skill on Carnoustie. Both courses provided a challenge and a wealth of stories when the entire group met back for the farewell cocktail party and dinner. Because many of the transfers are very early on the very last day, the PerryGolf staff wisely schedules the gala Farewell Party a night early in order that everyone can get into the spirit without the worry of a dawn wake-up call.

Our last round was at Kingsbarns, a newcomer that has quickly jumped onto everyone’s “must play” list, and debuted at No. 13 on the Top 100 Courses in the British Isles. It was another fabulous day with the mercury topping 22 degrees (that’s 75 degrees Fahrenheit!). The ship sailed right past the course as our group was playing, turning in at the 15th green and sounding a salute as it continued around to the picturesque fishing village of Crail, where we took the Zodiacs out to her later that day.

We docked later that evening in Leith, just outside Edinburgh, within sight of another famous former vessel–the former Royal Yacht, The Britannia. After dinner some chose to explore the nightlife of this historic and cultural city. Early the next day everyone bid fond farewell to their new friends and floating home, eagerly awaiting the next voyage.