Commonwealth Games celebration

A boat owned by a Benbecula man will be part of a 250-strong flotilla sailing from Greenock to Glasgow in celebration of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Port Glasgow-based businessman Fergus Monk, originally from Ard-an-Eoin, Creagorry, will leave Greenock's James Watt Dock on July 26 and travel 17-nautical-miles arriving at Pacific Quay on the Clyde as the Commonwealth Games gets underway.

The event, one of the biggest gatherings of vessels on the Clyde in recent years, is being organised by the Royal Yachting Association Scotland (RYA Scotland) and supported by Inverclyde Council.

Fergus Monk said: “I am delighted that my boat, ‘Annie,” has been chosen to take part in the flotilla. She is one of the few wood-built boats in the marina and will definitely stand out amongst the other vessels taking part in the event.

“Sailing has been in my blood since I was a boy growing up on Benbecula. I remember with fondness fishing with my late father, Donald John Monk in his boat, ‘The Highland Mary.’

“The Commonwealth Games will be a brilliant occasion with the the eyes of the world on Glasgow. I’m very pleased to have been chosen to be part of the celebrations.”

Island man to set sail in Commonwealth Games celebration 6/5/14