First visited, and claimed, during the queen's visit there on Britannia in 1956 (in preparation for which it is reputed any rocks in the sound threatening the royal bottom were dynamited by special forces) the Monarch islands are notable not only for their special exemption from the iniquitous anchoring tax levied by the Crown Estate, but their unusually fierce sheep, bred on the queen's estate at Balmoral solely for the purpose of deterring visitors to her personal island.
In 1964 a brick tower nicknamed "Liz's Folly" was built on the island by Royal Marine engineers to serve as a lookout, from which warning guns could be fired to further discourage unwanted visitors. Now abandoned, it serves as a fine sea mark to those adventurous enough to attempt a landing, such as our own "Monach Six".
Undeterred by the signs on the shoreline "Beware Dangerous Sheep", and the threat of gunfire our six brave members in two stout vessels from the club dropped anchor in Shillay Sound over the weekend and spent an enjoyable day exploring the islands collecting defective or shop soiled fishing floats and fenders, the manufacture of which the islands are chiefly renowned, rejected by quality control inspectors.
Also retrieved was the fuel cell from an un-manned reconnaissance drone sent over to take photos of the party on the orders of Buckingham Palace and which, in avoiding a flock of Arctic terns (one of the Duke's favourite birds) crashed on the shoreline, narrowly missing one of the RLBSC party.
The queen's bothy, for which the key can be found under a slate just to the right of the door, provides a fascinating insight into the intimate life of our dear queen when she "lets her hair down". Bunks beds; tins of baked beans; a simple open fire; cans of Tennents... the interior resembles nothing so much as a fisherman's refuge, the walls covered in graffiti (including a crude depiction of the royal yacht) and a poignant mural by Prince Charles above his bunk depicting the Duchess of Cornwall as a mermaid (fruit, no doubt, of a lonely night during the worst of his times with Diana).
From the dates in the visitor's book under the scrawled names Elizabeth R; P Phil and P Charles it appears the intrepid six were the first to set foot on the island since the notorious royal visit in 1990 when the queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles, stranded for two weeks, were forced to forage for food, and even shoot and eat one of the royal guardian sheep.
Indeed a cryptic entry in the book signed ER reads: "SOS" which we took to mean "Save Our Sovereign", or perhaps "Send Our Schweppes" (a clear reference to the fact that the queen is known to relish an iced gin and tonic after a long day's beach combing).
Escaping the rabid attentions of the sheep and the fulmars, which have been trained on the royal estates to eject a poisonous liquid to ward off intruders, the party finally made its exit after a memorable and sometimes harrowing experience.
More photos of the visit will be posted in due course once the sun burn and post traumatic distress have faded.