Scapa and the Royal Navy
Scapa Flow which our distillery overlooks is one of the Worlds great natural
harbours. Indeed the Royal Viking Fleet of King Haokon was stationed here
in the 13th Century. When we first arrived in 1885 the fleet here was the
one dedicated to fishing although by all accounts the crews welcomed our arrival
after the long fishing trips in the Atlantic! However all this was soon to
change.
At the outbreak of the first world war the Royal Navy stationed its
‘Grand Fleet’ here. Not surprising the crews soon got to know us! Indeed with
out the help of the officers and men of the British Fleet you would not be
reading this! One night in 1919 a crew member on watch spotted a fire at the
distillery. He quickly raised the alarm. Soon boat loads of officers and
ratings alike had rowed across to the distillery. Forming a human chain down to
the sea they soon extinguished the fire. It is not stated how Scapa repaid the
cremen but we can imagine it involved a generous drop of our finest!
The Royal Navys’ presence was scaled down after 1920 but Scapa once again
became the base for the home Fleet between 1939 – 1945. Many of the crews were
billeted at our distillery over this period and we were happy to play our small
part in those troubled times. In those days Scapa was full of both Merchant ships assembling for the Atlantic convoys as well as their escorts. Sailors of many nationalities were stationed here during these times particularly our American cousins who were involved in the convoy escort duties.
Today we enjoy visits from Crews of the many recreational sailors who come to
enjoy our waters and sample our single malt and hope that you will come and
collect your ‘tot’ of our finest as a member of our crew.