Saturday 7th August

This year our pencil plan was to go around the Mull of Kintyre initially to Ballycastle, Islay and Gigha, and then see how things went. Well this plan didn’t last long as the wind was from the North West and would have meant wind against tide in F5/6….not recommended!!

My sister Trisha had also phoned to say that Timothy Spall was apparently moving his barge “Princess Matilda” up the west coast as part of his television series Somewhere at Sea. I only caught one episode when it was last on the TV and thought it was brilliant entertainment and he came across as a genuine warm human being.

We set off for Ardrishaig at the eastern end of the Crinan Canal, but on the way up Loch Fyne we realised that we had forgotten to pick up parmesan cheese without which, one of my favourite risotto dishes would have indeed been sadly lacking an important ingredient. As we had just rounded Ardlamont Point this wasn’t a problem as we could just nip into Tarbert and get some out of the local Co-Op, and also top the fuel tanks up with diesel. Upon arrival I checked in with the Tarbert harbour master who said that the first half hours berthing was free, but as it was a weekend there was no diesel available. Guess all the local boat owners must take time off their work mid week to top up their fuel tanks!!

Anyhow the solution was simple enough, we just went over the other side of the loch to Portavadie, where berthing is free all day with charges only applying to overnight stays. We duly filled up with diesel, and headed up to Ardrishaig and the canal. When we arrived it was low tide, but there was enough water to allow us to berth on the waiting pontoon and wait till the boats coming out had completed their locking out process. When we duly went through the sea lock the inner basin was chock ablock with boats with hardly enough room to manouvre the boat to create space for those exiting………turns out it was the end of West Highland Week.

Note to self: Check the dates of West Highland Week in the future!

Whilst I was holding position mid basin and checking with other skippers as to who was doing what, we had all understood what everyone was going to do at the next locking into the sea lock. When they opened the road bridge into the sea lock everything was going fine until a guy in a big Nauticat decided to cast off his shore lines and head into the same piece of water as me – and I didn’t have much room at all- what a buffoon. The guys trying to get into the lock kept asking me what he was doing, but I had as much chance of telling them the answer, than I had of choosing six correct numbers in the national lottery.

I finally managed to keep clear enough to let the other yachts into the sea lock and berthed alongside the wall – with matey boy in the Nauticat getting in everyone’s way. He then tied alongide the wall next to the sea lock (again restricting the entrance to the sea lock for those going in) while he was being a pest we helped others who were due out next to raft alongside us……..chaos was the only word for all this and the lock keepers were losing patience as this had apparently being going on for two full days. Finally the lock keepers worked on beyond their normal hours and managed to clear the majority out of the basin……..and guess what, Mr Nauticat was not even going out – he was going to stay in the basin for another day!!

We also found out that Princess Matilda had indeed been through a few days beforehand….can you imagine the potential for carnage if she had been trying to manouvre in the basin at the same time as all of this was happening?

Next morning the guys from British Waterways worked hard at clearing the backlog and by the time our rope handler (referred to by BW staff as pilots) arrived the basin had been emptied of the backlog and peace was restored.

Sunday 8th August

Our rope handler was a joy to work with all the way through to Lock 13 where we departed company, but not before I had a note of his phone number. We have been through the canal a few times with some rope handlers opening the sluice gates far too quickly with all the potential damage that can cause. In this case everthing was just as it should be perfect weather and an easy transit. When we arrived at the top of Lock 14 I spoke with the British Waterways guys who said that the Crinan basin was busy and that rafting was the only option in the basin which was filling with more and more boats all the time. We decided to berth at the small jetty above Lock 14 for the night, (you can see Sun Dog tucked in at the right hand side of the photo) and when we walked down to the basin it was clear that we had made a good decision.

We got talking to a nice couple who live in Australia (originally from England) who were going out for 5 days on the old but lovely VIC 32 and there was a chance we would bump into them again as their itinerery included Craighouse in Jura where we were heading.

Monday 9th August

Next morning I was down at the Crinan office to catch the BW guys early and they agreed to get us down and out into the sea first so that we could catch some of the remaining tide – what a result. So it was down Lock 14 into the Sea Lock and set a course for Craighouse.

The visibility was extremly poor, almost like fog, and the sea was pretty lumpy, so it was not exactly a relaxing trip but we did have our new radar working away and providing additional means of checking what was out there. As we approached Jura the wind eased off and the weather began to clear so we managed to get a good shot of The Paps of Jura.

The wind then increased (quite suddenly) and by this time we were in wind against tide situation and would be for another hour or so – when we reached the cardinal marker off Lowlandsman Bay I decided to go in the shallow route between the small isles and Jura, and this proved to be an “interesting” diversion – not one I would take again in these conditions – even though Jura was breaking the worst of the NW wind it was still 20-24kts true in tight shallow waters. We managed to secured a visitors mooring, and then went ashore to get showered and get some laundry done at the Jura Hotel. Now if there was a competition for the most basic and rudimentary of showers then they would have first prize. This might improve given the hotel has recently changed hands and I do hope so because I do like the whole atmosphere of Jura and these showers (sic) would not leave a positive lasting impression on overseas visitors. We also went to book a table at The Antlers Restaurant just up from the pier, but we were informed that the restaurant is closed on Mondays. This was a disappointment as we had heard good things about this restaurant.

Tuesday 10th August

Next morning we decided to take the Jura Ferry (a fast enclosed rib) over to Tayvallich at the top of Loch Sween as it was somehwere we had thought of sailing into with Sun Dog but as it’s at the top of a Loch with strong tides around the MacCormaig Isles at the entrance to the Loch we thought it might be best to check it out the quick way. The only snag in the plan was that whilst the ferry would pick us up from Sun Dog in the morning, the only return time was on the 1700 ferry back to Jura – but we decided to go ahead anyway.

Tayvallich is one of the places that we have never visited before either by land or sea, and as such we were looking forward to the trip across on the ferry. On the way over the sea was lumpy but the rib was flying across the waves and with it’s power the currents were no real problem either. Once past the MacCormaig Isles and into Loch Sween everything was calm and to our surprise the sun broke out making the scenery even more special. On arriving at Tayvallich it was bathed in glorious sunshine but when we berthed we saw the sad sight of a sunken local fishing boat.

Apparently another fishing boat had brought her in and a diver was meant to be arriving that day with a team to get the boat raised and pumped out. From what we heard they had hit an underwater rock whilst out raising their creels for lobsters – real shame – but at least no one was hurt in the incident.

We really fell in love with the place and walked all around including a walk over to the other side at Carsaig Bay which looks out onto the sound of Jura, and then back to the village to check on the progress on the raising of the fishing boat, which had undergone a repair on the upturned hull in the morning. I am happy to say that by late afternoon she was raised and dragged into shallower water by a sister fishing boat where the pumps could start empyting the hull.

We also met up again with the Australian couple as VIC 32 was having a stopover, and they were enthusing about their trip and the quality of food and service. This is what I love to hear from visitors to our shores. They also said that the VIC was now heading off for Craighouse in Jura so hopefully we could meet up later that evening.

We were so taken with the Tayvallich area that we decided to sail Sun Dog up here after we had visted the Island of Gigha, which was planned for the next day. So it was back onto the packed ferry and back over to Jura where we were dropped off like film stars back onto the boat….excellent day. The wind however was picking up to around F6/7 and we watched the VIC 32 arrive and go alongside the old pier, but no-one got on or off due to the wind and rain, and we hoped the weather would ease a bit so that they could get out and explore at least a bit of Jura.

Wednesday 11th August

We were up early to take advantage of both the NW wind F6 and the outgoing tide over to the Isle of Gigha, the trip over was really fast but closing the coast of Gigha the water shallows rapidly therefore the waves then stand up more. Well I had myself all lined up lovely with the wind and waves just nicely on the quarter so that I could cut into the lee of Gigha without having to go broadside onto the (by this time) largish waves. I should not have tempted the Gods by these thoughts as a fishing boat that had been heading away from us at around 90 degrees decided to come back on a reciprocal course. This was going to be right across my bows and unfortunately I had no room to go behind him due to the close proximity of the small island at the north end of Gigha. Which meant I had to turn to port for a bit to keep clear of him before getting back on course – this was the uncomfortable 15 minute part of the trip running with waves more on the beam. However once round and into the lee of Gigha everything was fine and we sailed down to Ardminish Bay fully expecting to anchor as we thought there would be a lot of boats waiting for the weather to change before heading north. Looking through the binoculars there were more masts in view than visitors moorings listed. However the Gods must have felt a bit guilty as when we were on our run in we spotted a free visitors mooring and picked this up, settled the boat and put the kettle on for a well earned cuppa.

We then jumped into the dinghy and headed ashore for a shower and a general look around at the bay that we last saw when we were here on the motorbike some years ago and promised ourselves we would come back via boat – so we were quite excited. This excitment soon dropped as the showers at The Boathouse could have ran the ones in Jura for the ill fated first prize on the most rudimentary of showers – again a real shame that visitors have to cope with these kind of facilities. As far as we were concerned we kind of laughed them off, but they did take a bit of an edge off our pleasure. We then had a meal in The Boathouse and have to say that this was rather better than expected.

Thursday 12th August

We decided to hire bikes and visit Achamore Gardens which were very pretty with some stunning blooms, which not being green fingered we didn’t know what they were – but this did not detract from our enjoyment or pleasure.

The windlife was in abundance and Sara risked life and limb to get her hands on some kind of bird!

After spending a lovely time in the gardens we cycled to the Ferry Pier at the southern end of the island.

We then cycled back up towards Ardminish, when the intrepid Sara decided to head off down a small path towards a beach which was simply lovely.

Across the other side was the pier Boathouse etc so with the tide going out we decided to cycle across – wrong move as Sara fell off and hurt her already damaged knee 🙁 Cycles were duly returned to the shop and we headed back to the boathouse for a coffee and a rethink.

We decided that as the tide was turning we could carry it to Loch Sween and go up to Tayvallich so it was back to the dinghy at the end of the small pier.

This would mean a wind against tide situation but the forecast infered the winds would be easing – or perhaps that’s how I decided to interpret the forecast. Either way we headed north and in truth at certain times were were taking a bit of a bashing, and at times we would get a series of two or three waves that were at least 50% bigger than the average height. One in particular caused us to take green water over the bow which was thrown over the wheelhouse and into the cockpit – there was so much water I could have been in a submarine, but full credit to Sun Dog she took care of us all the way up to Loch Sween where we arrived at the right state of tide to enter Loch Sween and calm waters. Once again the heat from the sun intensified as we headed up the loch towards Tayvallich passing the only rock in the loch which sits around the middle, and is clearly spotted despite no marker.

The rest of the journey was a joy and once again we were rewarded by both visitors moorings being free – lovely jubbly.

Friday 13th August

We awoke to beautiful sunshine and decided that we would make up a picnic and go around to the Fairy Isles and do a bit of exploring on the dinghy, so it was that we set off with spare fuel etc to the Fairy Isles which are just around the corner from Tayvallich and are as pretty as a picture. We had seals basking on the rocks, Gannett diving for fish and birds of prey soaring above. A lady had told us confidentially where the Osprey nest was located but despite a lot of searching we couldn’t spot the nest. However we did see the head of something swimming in the loch, that didn’t look like either an Otter or a Seal – and jokingly we said it looked more like a Beaver. You can imagine our surprise a few days later when we learned that Beavers had indeed been re-introduced into this area – so eat your heart out Davie Crocket!

We went ashore at a spot where there was a clearing and a picnic table on top of a rise,

and once we reached the rise we could see a sandy beach around the corner, so I nipped back down to the rocks and moved the dinghy around to this secluded spot where families were enjoying their kids playing away on a small but lovely sandy beach that they had named “Starfish Beach”. The balance of the time was spent simply enjoying this lovely area and it reminded me so much of Northern Brittany with so much family based boating activity.

Saturday 14th August

Today we had decided to leave Tayvallich and head for Ardfern at the head of Loch Craignish. Naturally this would mean having to get the tides right at the MacCormaig Isles at the exit of Loch Sween, and I calculated we would be there around slack water – well I got that a bit wrong as we arrived after the tide had turned, and we swept through the gap at 9.6kts SOG. I was at this point very wary of the sea to my port side as on all the charts it clearly states the tides in this part can be strong and dangerous, but all worked out OK and we headed north in around a F5/6. The sun was kind again today as we basked in warm sunshine all the way up to Ardfern Marina. When we arrived the office was closing and we couldn’t see any space on the visitors pontoons, so the office staff were quite happy for us to go alongside on the inner side of the new floating breakwater and they would sort out a berth for us in the morning. We went ashore for a meal at the local hotel and whislt the views from the restaurant were lovely, the food was alright but overall not somewhere we would rush back to again.

We had been keeping an eye on the barometer and it had been falling steadily and Mare’s Tails were in the sky indicating bad weather coming, but the strange thing was the forecast was for things to improve – not something we really agreed with! We were now in a dilema because everyday north would count as two days (as we would have to return) so we had a long discussion and decided that it would make sense to simply head back to the Canal and spend the balance of the holiday going back through the canal and taking a long lazy time meandering back.

Sunday 15th August

We headed off early in the morning back to Crinan and got back through the sea lock and lock 14 and berthed again on the same place. We had phoned the same rope handler and he had agreed to meet us at lock 13 at midday on Monday. This suited us fine as we were not in any rush, and we spent a lovely day wondering around and watching boats coming and going. One boat that caught our attention was a converted fishing boat that was in excellent condition and was clearly a live aboard – a real beauty, but for some reason I never took a photograph of her.

Monday 16th August

We cast off and meandered along to Bellanoch bridge where we went alongside and used the spotlessly clean shower facilities provided by British Waterways and then headed along and tied up at Lock 13 at around 1100. The converted fishing boat arrived along behind us and I helped them tie up to wait on the lock clearing. We had a good chat about the conditions over the past week and unpromted by me the skipper said they took a bit of pounding coming down past Eigg and he said he experienced spells of higher than average waves. This was the same as we experienced coming up from Gigha but we were both in differrent parts of the sea……………..mmmmmm. As we were waiting on our rope handler we helped them off the pontoon and into the Lock 13 just as our man arrived.

We went through all the rest of locks in company with “Sunart” and exited though the sea lock and headed for Otter Spit in company and we rafted together for the night. Sara and I went ashore for a meal at the Otter Ferry Hotel, which is made easy by the dinghy pontoon provided – and the food was also very good.

The bad weather we thought was coming did not arrive until much later in the day, but in the morning when we were running (under engine) down Loch Fyne the weather was calm with our wake radiating across the loch.

The balance of the holiday was spent meandering back and visiting Tarbert, Portavadie, Tighnabruich, Port Bannatyne with the forecast and barometer now becoming more alinged with falling pressure, stong wind warning etc. Our final run back to Largs was carried out in F6 and climbing southerly winds.

It’s fair to say that the weather was most peculiar during our holiday with the weather forecasters constantly refering to a “complex low” – and they were not wrong. This can be summed up because on one day they were forecasting North backing North Westerly – possibly backing to South or South Easterly. Go on, work a passage plan out to that forecast !!

Despite the weather we had a really relaxing time and whilst our mileage wasn’t high at 200NM, the pace suited our plan and mindset for this trip. It was also good to have all the new kit working as it should, and the new bracket just fitted for the outboard worked a treat, and again Chris of DDZ had pulled out all the stops and done an excellent job.

Finally, and I hate having to admit this, but the other thing I learned on this trip is that I now fully realise that manually lifting the anchor needs to be a thing of the past, and that I definitely need to invest in an electric windlass, or a cardiac arrest might just be lurking around the corner 😉

Wish I had taken the photograph below, but the truth is that I pinched this photo from a relations Facebook page…..hope you don’t mind Gerry?

The Waverley is (as most people know) one of my favourite ships and to see her totally dwarfed by Cunards Queen Victoria in the Clyde – makes this quite a unique and exceptional photograph – and therefore worth sharing.

This weekend I had the pleasure of my nephew Liam coming onto the boat for the weekend…………he decided to bring his dad Gordon along so that they could do some fishing 😉

Unfortunately, his mum (my wee sister) Tricia get’s a bit squiffy on boats and therefore decided to stay at home.

We set off on the Friday night and managed to slip the lines out of the marina by around 1845, with a view to picking up a mooring in Rothesay Bay or anchoring in Kames Bay for the night so that fishing could commence in earnest.

When we arrived in Rothesay Bay we discovered that all the visitors moorings had been taken (I keep forgetting that we are in the holiday season) therefore we decided instead to go round the corner into Port Bannatyne marina for the evening. We got into the marina, put the rods together, and Liam and his dad headed off around to the breakwater to fish,………..they eventually came back to the boat, but sadly they were empty handed.

We then decided to fish off the pontoon nearest the exit/entrance to the marina, where the skill of the angler came to the fore with Liam catching fish – while his dad struggled. This ended up being a late night before the rods were finally rested.

Next morning after everyone was all showered and fed, we headed over to the local shop for the important task of replenishing the stocks of Chunky KitKats, Tunnocks Caramel Wafers etc, as on the trip over the previous night these had somehow seemed to evaporate from the ships stores. On the way back Gordon couldn’t believe his eyes because one of the old boats neglected and lying on a trailer at the side of the road, was one that he had owned a long number of years ago. When he owned her she was called “Tallulah” and he was able to identify her from the parts he had fabricated and fitted to her himself………………now what’s the chances of that happening on a wet weekend fishing trip?

Here are the anglers all set for a busy day…

We left the marina and headed out into Kames Bay where we slowly drifted across the bay catching quite a number of fish en route, until the time when we arrived at the entrance to the East Kyle. At this point we decided to rest the rods and instead we would do a bit of sailing up to Colintraive in the hope of seeing our friends Roger and Hilary who were up here this weekend; and I was hoping they would still be on their mooring.

Liam took the helm while I adjusted the sails, and I have to say that he did a fantastic job steering the boat, especially as it was busy with there being a fair number of boats moving up and down the narrows confines of the Kyle…..good job Liam.

When we arrived at Colintraive I was delighted to see that Roger and Hilary were indeed still on their mooring, and over we went to say hello. Hilary informed us that they had not managed to catch any fish, but said if we provided the fish from our catch, that she would make lunch……deal!

We duly rafted alongside Doucier and went below out of the rain to enjoy a lovely lunch. It was good to see that Hilary is recovering well and getting back to her usual cheery happy self. We had a good “catch up” with Roger and Hilary and then came time to slip our lines and head off for some more fishing. However just as we were heading off, Liam said he liked being here, and with that being the case, we simply stopped there for the night. Off went the engine and out came the rods…..

Gordon tried to catch fish……

Whilst Liam did catch fish………

That night we were all a bit tired and went to bed at a sensible time. The next morning while Liam was fishing away in wet and misty conditions, we had the joy of seeing The Waverley coming down through the Burnt Islands. I simply love this old paddle steamer, and as it turns out Gordon had worked on her while employed at Ailsa Shipyard.

In the morning, with Liam at the helm, we went through the narrows at Burnt Islands (From the photo in the link you can see the buoys between the islands) and headed over to the delightful anchorage in Caladh (pronounced Kala)

( Michael Caine moment: Caladh was used during WW2 for landing craft training….not a lot of people know that!)

It was also used for X Craft – the midget submarines……..not a lot of people know that either!

From there we went over to show Liam the Maids of Bute which have been well known local point of interest for a long time, and indeed occasionaly feature in the wonderful “Para Handy” stories by Neil Munro.

From the boat they actually look better than in the close up shot.

They have, over the years, been painted as different subjects, and it must be said, that as there are no roads round to the maids, it is a fair hike (carrying all the tins of paint etc) for those who decide to re paint/re style them – so full credit to all for keeping a bit of local colour going for 100 years.

From there we went around Buttock Point passing Wreck Bay and then back down the Kyles and headed over towards Largs.

Some of crew were having a well earned rest while “off watch” from their sailing responsibilities, and also no doubt tired after catching all those fish.

The nearer we were getting to Big Cumbrae the sea seemed to be alive with a huge number of small white sails – this was due to the World Laser Championships being held at Largs.

Not wanting to get too close we had to pick a sensible route around them, and once passed and around the northern end of Big Cumbrae we headed into the lee of the island for a final hour of angling – but sadly no more fish were caught – so it was time for home.

It was really good weekend with Liam being an excellent crew member, and really good company…………….PS. So was his dad 🙂

This weekend it was time for a “Jolly Girls” weekend as opposed to the recent “Jolly Boys” weekend so the crew this time was Sara, Eilidh and little ol’ me. Everyone managed to get finished work mid afternoon on Friday and get through to the boat and away by around 1830.

One of Eilidh’s favourite places is Loch Ranza in Arran so that was where we headed out through The Tan between the “Cumbraes“. On the way over to Loch Ranza we noticed what looked like one of the container ships that had been “parked up” at Loch Striven was heading south – could this be a small indication that there has been an increase in consumer demand?

When we arrived at Loch Ranza I was astonished to find all, and I mean all, the visitors moorings had been taken! I mistakenly thought that with us getting away smartly on the Friday night that we would have been OK for a mooring. Anyhow as light was fading I didn’t think there would be an issue in picking up a “members only buoy” which seemed pretty substantial. For the life of me I cannot remember the letters of the club marked on the buoy but I am due them a suitable donation. I could have asked to raft up to someone using a visitors buoy, but Loch Ranza can get a bit uncomfortable so this was not a good idea. In truth I could have anchored but I suppose I was being a tad lazy in going for the easiest option.

There is now a pontoon for short stop overs, but in reality it’s mainly for tying up ones dinghy to get ashore and you can see this in the shot below to the left of the ferry.

With the sky having been so clear, the setting sun was simply stunning.

In the morning we awoke to a beautiful sunny morning with a weather forecast of NE backing NW F4/5 occasional F6……perfect!!

As I was looking around the boats bobbing on moorings I saw a relation of mine with the same name on his boat “Backdraft 2″….you would never know he had spent his working life in the Fire Service would you? Anyhow when Gerry was leaving he called over to say hello which was a lovely start to such a gorgeous day. He was sailing solo along with three other boats doing the same and were heading off to Campbeltown, while we at the time hadn’t even finished breakfast!!

Certain other creatures have found a way of obtaining breakfast before human beings. All you need to do is look cute and hold your head at a jaunty angle…………..

When we were finally fed and watered, we decided that we would hoist full canvas and head over the the West Kyle. Initially the wind was so slight that we were tickling our way over at 2/3kts – you can see in the shot below just how relaxed the crew were at this point 😉

The winds duly picked up as forecast to around 15kts, and Sun Dog was loving it (so were we) she was sailing about 40/45 degrees to the wind under full canvas – words cannot express how happy I was. As the wind climbed into the high teens, I left up the full main and took in a reef on the genny, and when it was getting towards and over 20kts she was still balanced with full main and a second reef in he headsail. Perhaps she would have been OK with just one reef in the genny but the wind was steadily climbing and we were approaching the headland so this seemed fairly practical and comfortable. So in essence, we had clear blue skies, good winds from the north in the F5/6 range…….simply hard to beat.

After entering the Kyle we decided to stop for a late lunch about halfway up the Kyle and picked up a mooring courtesy of the Kames Hotel. The sun, it has to be said was baking hot, and while we were having lunch we were treated to a bit of a cabaret. A certain member of the crew was watching some Royal Marines take to their ribs from their mother ship and head for the shore……..and I think it’s fair to say that this “certain member of the crew” was taking a wee bit more than a passing interest…………weren’t you Eilidh?

From there we headed up towards Burnt Isles where we found the anchorage in Wreck Bay absolutely chock a block – something must have been happening this weekend that I don’t know about, because there simply wasn’t room for another boat! Normally there are a few boats anchored at Wreck Bay but I have never seen this many.

We went over to the other side of the Kyle and spent the Saturday night quite comfortably as the wind had died down to almost zero. An early night seemed in order as everyone was yawning away by the time we had finished our evening meal.

Next morning we set off early, and with the wind still from the North it was up with the canvas, and we a lovely sail down towards Rothesay Bay. We looked up Loch Striven to to where the five container ships had been parked, and it looks like there are now only three parked up in the Loch.

We also checked out the new marina at Port Bannatyne and then sailed around for a bit before heading off to Millport on big Cumbrae. The sail down was superb and I think Sun Dog must have been close to hull speed because we were doing steady 6kts + all the way down with Sara achieving 6.2kts in 13kts of apparent wind – fantastic.

We stopped for a long lazy sunny lunch at Millport, and from there it was over to Largs to clean the boat etc and then head for home late afternoon, after what had been a fantastic sailing weekend.

Our overall track for the weekend can be seen below.

This weekend the crew consisted of two of my grandsons, Reyce and Prentice, along with their other Grandad Louis – making it a real jolly boys outing.

Louis had not been out on a boat with sails before, and Reyce and Prentice had to keep him right when it came to us slipping the lines and heading out for a weekend on the Clyde.

We had a super time albeit I have to admit that I cocked up a bit with the food supplies i.e I was a bit light on the “snacks” perhaps a bit light on the “meals” and also a bit light on the “juice” department – so in truth if this was a school report it might have read “could do better” . Lesson learned ,and never to be repeated, or the boys will no doubt have me keelhauled! 🙁

Louis quickly adapted to being on the boat and I’m afraid he had a bit of a baptism of fire in that he had to pick up moorings at different places with and without pick up buoys, and get the lines underneath everything and onto the cleats – a task he did well. He also sailed the boat (with me controlling the sheets) and had us gybing away down the Kyles of Bute.

A sign of the terrible economic situation lies up Loch Striven; where the Maersk Line have five large (container?) ships all rafted/anchored together half way up the Loch, and it’s fair to say that they have been lying here for sometime. Perhaps we just need to keep an eye on them as some kind of economic indicator, in that when they move away from here it would indicate that demand for container traffic has increased due to a more vibrant economy. We have passed by the bottom of this Loch numerous times, but this time we decided to travel up and have a good close look at them, which we did with Reyce controlling the situation admirably from the helm.

While Reyce was slowly taking us around these boats, Prentice was trawling away to try and catch our supper.

Strange to think that there are similar ships parked up at various deepwater locations across the UK – hopefully it won’t be too long before they are all busy on the high seas again!

The weather during the weekend was sunny and warm (ish), and we all had a good time together. While playing cards we were taught a new game by the boys, and had a really good laugh. However I will refrain from naming the person who ended up being “Scabby Queen” more times than any other…………………….OK you twisted my arm it was …………Reyce 🙂

You could twist my arm further and I would be forced into telling you how many fish the boys caught between them over the weekend, but that might well be a step too far!

On the way back into the marina late afternoon on Sunday, it was fairly obvious that the wind was going to be blowing us off our pontoon, and I have to say that Louis and Prentice did an excellent job of getting off the boat smartly and getting her tied up quickly alongside the pontoon; all the more impresssive really as Louis had never done this before.

Another bonus over the weekend was that the autopilot seems to be behaving itself since it was recently checked out and reset. Fingers crossed that this has finally cured what has been an irritating problem.

With all the work on Sun Dog pretty much finished we have been really keen to get her out of the marina, and to familiarise ourselves with the new equipment and changes we have made to her since last year.

The work carried out by Chris (of DDZ Marine) was to his usual high standard with no snagging work required. This attention to detail and customer satisfaction should be the norm in the marine industry, but sadly it’s NOT!! Chris is an employee (not director/shareholder) of DDZ, but should he ever set out on his own, he could be pretty confident of receiving the order for any business I could put his way.

By the time we got through to the boat on the Friday night and got everything sorted out, we were running a bit late but decided to set off that night, so Sara took us out of the marina, with our options being to nip into Rothesay (where there has been considerable investment) and on this link you can see the lifting bridge to access the inner harbour – the alternative being to carry on till we reached Colintraive; and we opted for the latter. This is one of our favourite spots, and as we arrived after the ferry had stopped for the night, we had a night of total peace and tranquility in a really beautiful spot.

Next day the forecast was for the wind to go round to the North/North East Force 5/6, but when we set off the sun was shining as we explored down the coastline of the West Kyle, and then we turned the corner at Ardlamont Point, which separates the Kyles of Bute from Loch Fyne, and had a really good sail, (with Sara still on the helm, willing the wind God’s to give us more than the 15-22 kts we were enjoying), down to our planned overnight stop at Portavadie Marina. The development of this marina continues, with the investment being substantial, and it’s fair to say that the marina was the busiest I have ever seen. We took the opportunity to refuel, booked a table for a meal (a “must do” at weekends) and took a berth for the night.

Note: The longest pontoons with the widest turning areas are to be found nearest the entrance/exit. The further in you go the shorter the pontoons.

We enjoyed our night, and had the unexpectant pleasure of bumping into our friend Roger who was up in Scotland for the week sailing with his friend Paul, whilst his better half Hilary, is over in the USA.

The weather forecast was still the same the next morning, but as we exited the marina we were in glorious sunshine, with flat calm conditions, and pretty clear blue skies. Not being a “sailing purist” I simply put up the mainsail, stuck her into gear and motorsailed back down Loch Fyne. Roger on the other hand, who came out at the back of us, hoisted all his sails and must have intended waiting on the breeze to fill in!!

As we were gently meandering back down Loch Fyne, and really enjoying being out on the water, we came across the largest pod (?) of porpoise we have ever seen, and assume they were Harbour Porpoise – I can only image there must have been a sizeable school of fish that they were all hunting – a simply wonderful sight – the sea alive with the tantalising glimpses of their back and fins.

We decided not to go back through the Kyles but instead headed for Millport on the Isle of Cumbrae (big Cumbrae) and pick up a mooring. There are some good photographs on the header within the above link which show the anchorage. I have to say that the wind never filled in at all during the day and we enjoyed a lovely (almost) summers day…….and for all we know Roger is still out there on board Doucier patiently waiting on the wind filling in 😉

From Millport it was back into the marina, where we carried out some further work, re-marking off the chain at 10 metre intervals, giving the boat a good old wash down, and then left for home feeling better after our first trip of the year, and absolutely delighted that everything worked as we had hoped.

For the last couple of years I have kept Sun Dog up at Loch Creran and during the summer it is has been fantastic to be able to get out past Ardnamurchan Point and up North. However the drive up there in the winter to carry out work etc was falling into the “getting too hard” category. Therefore I decided to move her back down to the Clyde and base her at Largs for the winter thus making access for maintenance etc a bit easier. Let’s face it, it’s easy enough to move back up there in a couple of days in the spring.

My brother David agreed to help me move her back down, and his sons Kris and Richard helped greatly by volunteering to pick me up at Largs Marina (where I was leaving my car) and drive David and I up to Loch Creran……….very much appreciated guys, especially as I believe your drive back was somewhat challenging!!

Anyhow David and I loaded up Sun Dog and decided to move down to Oban while there was still light and picked up a spare mooring at The Oban Bay Moorings next to the sailing club. The next morning we had a bit of time to kill before setting off to reach Fladda Lighthouse at slack water, so we went ashore for a good old fry up breakfast at McT’s (I assume formerly McTavishes Kitchen?) on the promenade – not healthy food I know, but very tasty non the less.

Back on board we started heading south down towards Fladda with David enjoying himself on the helm.

We motored down in calm conditions, with excellent visibilty, and had a good view of the Garvellach Islands an interesting group of islands yet to be explored properly by us.

From there it was over to Fladda and down the sound of Luing (Ling) where we had a decision to make.

We either headed straight down and through Dorus Mor and then over to Crinan, or we headed over to the north end of Jura to Kinuachdrachd where our mum was raised. This meant cutting across the eastern side of Corryvreckan on spring tides, but as visiting this area was important to both of us and the tide was running in an easterly direction we decided to head over to Kinuachdrachd. There are no roads into Kinuachdrachd and the only way in is by special arrangement with the land owner in his own Landrover or arrive by boat. A few years back Sara and I tried to reach here by motorbike (from where the tarmac road ends) but after a few miles we realised that despite out best attempt we couldn’t make it two up on a road bike. That said it would have been relatively straightforward solo on an “off road bike” – even two up it would have been OK but we couldn’t risk a puncture……….can you imagine the call to the RAC/AA!!………could you just repeat exactly where you are sir?????

Plan “A” was to anchor and go ashore, but there is an obstruction listed on the charts where we would have wanted to drop the hook; so we then considered plan “B”, which was for David to go ashore in the dinghy and me staying on Sun Dog. However the effects of the tide was increasing noticeably so we resolved to move to plan “C” ; which was to head inshore as far a possible with David taking video shots and photographs with yours truly on the helm.

It was really neat to have been so close to this place which was so special to our Mum, & nice to do so with another member of the family – it would have been even better if all the immediate family and Dad could all have been there at the same time, but there again I suppose they were, only not physically.

From here we could have headed straight across to Crinan, but David fancied heading through Dorus Mor, so we headed back up with David back on the helm to satisfy his desire to go thro’ the islands, and we kept Reisa an Struith to port and Garbh Reisa to starboard to head for the western entrance through Dorus Mor. The effects of the tide were naturally getting much stronger with eddies and upwellings (for me these are always amazing sights) and at one point one of these “grabbed us” and turned us almost ninety degrees to our course! David was calm as ever and I can say that I never heard any expletives being uttered :-)……..perhaps because my hearing let me down at that point!

Once we had enough northing in our course we turned to starboard and into Dorus Mor where we popped out the other side doing in excess of 9 knots and headed over to pick up a mooring for the night at Crinan. I did however notice a rather sizeable smile of David’s face as the boat was gathering speed………which in turn made me smile.

For those that don’t know the Crinan Canal was originally built to save the fishing fleet, then later Puffers, having to go all the way down south and rounding the Mull of Kintyre to get their hauls to market. Today it is still used by some fishing boats but the majority of traffic is pleasure vessels.

Next morning we were straight into the sea lock at 0845 and were informed that we were the only boat going through this morning so we could if we wanted make a fast transit of the canal.

The foam at the stern of Sun Dog followed us in from the Sea Lock and I have no idea how this was caused – unless of course David had been heavy handed with the Fairy Liquid!!

David hadn’t been through any canal locks before and yet he did really well in handling the lines at this lock, and as turns out all the others along the canal – he never so much as dropped a line in the water once.

Whilst it would have been possible for us to get through the canal in one day, we decided that we would park up at the pontoons at Cairnbaan and have a shower etc at the British Waterways facilities, before having a meal ashore at the Cairnbaan Hotel and an early night to catch up on some zzzzz’s.

Next morning we were up early had breakfast and away at 0830, as it had been agreed with the British Waterways staff that this would be the time we would depart and they would therefore have someone ready to open the Oakfield Bridge further down the canal at 0900. As we approached the road bridge it began to open, and the run through the rest of the locks was straightforward enough, (apart from a little rain), right through to the sea lock at Ardrishaig where we sorted out the paper work with the ever helpful British Waterways Staff.

When we exited into Loch Fyne we were hoping for a good sail but as ever “Murphy’s Law” intervened and we had the wind straight on the nose, but we hoisted the mainsail and motorsailed down the Loch until we turned at Ardlamont Point and into the Kyles of Bute where we did manage to have a good sail for an hour or so with the wind on the quarter, until we reached the top of the Kyle where once again the wind was on the nose.

From there David motored us through the Burnt Isles at Colintraive and on down the other Kyle, across Rothesay Bay, round the north end of Big Cumbrae, and into Largs Marina at around 1800. It had been a reasonably long day for both of us and I was very much relieved and happy that my car was parked at Largs Marina as the thought of having to drive back up to Oban area and back down again (5/6 hrs return trip) was somewhat less than appealing (sic) – again my sincere thanks and appreciation goes out to Richard and Kris for driving us up to the boat so that I could leave my car at Largs. Thanks lads.

Naturally my thanks and appreciation also goes out to my brother David for taking the time out to help me get the boat back down and into the Clyde before the weather window closed. Many thanks David – that’s another one I am due you.

With the school holidays and available weekends running out we managed to arrange a weekend away with two of my Grandsons, Prentice and Reyce. Prentice starts High School after the holidays with Reyce going into his final year at Primary School.

This weekend the boys could choose what they wanted to do and their unanimous decision was to head for the boat and do some fishing, so we headed off to the boat on Friday with enough time before dark to get down to Oban Bay where we would have a few options should the weather prove as miserable as the forecast.

Friday night the weather was OK and the boys were out with their rods and enjoying themselves with Reyce landing the first of many.

During Friday night the rain came down heavily and it was still raining albeit lighter on the Saturday, but the boys dedication to their sport never waivered one iota………on they fished.

As they were getting wet we decided that when the rain eased we would go into Oban town and get them waterproof trousers and welly boots, which we did and also had the most amazing Fish & Chips out of the George Street chippie………….Sara and I were in agreement that these were the best ever – highly recommended for ofishionados.

Reyce getting soaked before going ashore but he cared not a jot 🙂

Then it was back to Sun Dog and on with the important business of the weekend;

They fished from the bow;

They also fished from the stern leaving no inch of the sea around us safe for the fish – with Prentice continuing their success.

…and so it went on till dark o’clock on Saturday evening.

Next morning we awoke to a whole different day, warm clear (ish) skies – a perfect day for ………fishing!!

With another spell of fishing the tally continued to rise with Prentice catching the final fish in Oban Bay, which seemed fair as Reyce caught the first one.

Then it was sadly a case of “lines in lads” as we had to start making tracks back home………..from the dinghy I asked the question how was the weekend lads?

It also has to said that although the boys caught loads of fish, they were man enough to release them all, apart that is from the ones that were caught on Sunday which we enjoyed for lunch.

Smashing weekend with a smashing couple of lads – thanks guys.

Our plan this year was (weather permitting) to head out past Ardnamurchan point and hopefully get to Plockton, then further north, possibly across to the Shiant Isles to see the Puffins/over to the Western Isles. Some time, though not this year, we would love to get a suitable weather window to visit St Kilda.

For my non Scotland based friends I have included some links within this blog to places that might be of of interest, so that when you finally come up here you may have an idea or three as to where you would like to go, and what you would like to see and do. These links might also just be of general interest, and hopefully they will provide a wee bit of general information/overview on these particular areas to those who cannot make it in person.

18/19th July

We headed up to the boat with a car full of the usual boatie type stuff along with the main food provisions for the holiday, however with it being holiday time the main road up towards Oban was very busy with cars towing caravans. Some (not all) of these drivers fail to have the simplest understanding of basic courtesy, they insist on continuing to drive along slowly, even though there is a queue of dozens of vehicles building up behind them, who, due to the narrow bending roads cannot safely overtake. Simply by pulling into a layby and letting the long queue they have created pass them could endear themselves a bit more to everyone stuck in the queue for mile after mile……..almost of on a full blown rant there but the sheer ignorance is at times mind blowing!!

When we finally arrived at Loch Creran we had the get the dinghy launched and do all the runs back and forward out to the mooring. I also has a bit of a fresh water leak that had to be found and fixed, so by the time we had everything sorted out it was quite late. So much so that the next day we decided to simply enjoy a day on the mooring and do some reading/general unwinding.

20th/21st July

Heading out of Loch Creran there is a narrow (ish) channel where the tide runs at some 4kts+ at spring tides and the combination of this plus a shallow ledge, can, especially in a wind against tide situation be provide a somewhat lively exit/entrance. In our case today it was the “liveliest” I had ever seen it and I was quite happy when we exited the worst of the chop.

As ever when on hols the wind always seems to be coming from the direction we wish to travel, and today was no exception so we motor sailed down to the gap at Lady Rock and Eilean Musdile at the south end of Lismore which leads into the sound of Mull. (good photo in the link) As planned when we reached this part the tide was at slack water as this can also get really lumpy and on the way through the gap we passed a ship being loaded by helicopter from Eilean Musdile so we stayed well clear.

As we changed direction from SW to NW we had a good strong breeze building and thus a good sail up the sound of Mull, with the winds gusting off the hills and squalls hitting 30kts +. Sara was on the inside helm and I was outside controlling the sheets etc and we worked well as a team considering this was out first real outing this year.

When we reached Tobermory, another location where the Crown Estate has invested monies and provided the town with a small marina with the associated shower and laundry blocks which I have to say were very clean and tidy. There are also mooring buoys for visitors and whilst no magazine including the excellent publication Welcome Anchorages in Scotland (available free from Chandleries etc), actually states how these can be identified. Therefore if ever you are sailing into Tobermory, the visitors mooring buoys and painted blue with a white top and they have galvanised chain with a yellow pick up buoy.

When we arrived we couldn’t believe how busy it was and as there were no moorings free we called the number listed and enquired about a berth in the marina, and were told that if we could find one just take it as they were so busy and non of the available berths would be owned by locals!!

Well as luck would have it we found one close inshore which was a bit hidden from out in the bay, so in we went and tied up.

Turns out the reason Tobermory was so busy with boats was due to the Classic Malts event and also the annual muster (?) of Clyde Cruising Club. We chatted to the couple tied alongside us who were heading back home from their hols and they had limited their sailing area due to the weather forecasts, and in their opinion somewhat strange weather conditions.

As the forecast was again for F7 winds we didn’t really fancy rounding Arnamurchan Point in these kind of conditions so we decide to stay a further day in Tobermory and go and stretch our legs on the coastal walk to Aros Park.

The weather forecast proved to be a bit of an ongoing conundrum because the day actually turned out to be a calm and lovely warm summers day, and the walk itself was lovely with some beautiful spots along the way as can be seen in the shots below.

22nd July

The forecast was for F4/5 from the south which would be fine for us, so out we headed with another few yachts who were also heading north and into seas that can only be described as flat calm, thereby rounding Arnamurcham Point the most westerly point of the UK mainland, (yes strange as it may first seem even further west than Cornwall) was a lovely relaxing experience.

However as Ardnamurchan Point is difficult to reach by road and a long way for some by sea, I thought the following photo of the lighthouse on the point might be of interest.

As there was no real breeze we simply hoisted the main and fired up the engine and had a lovely time heading past the Islands of Muck and Eigg with Rum towering above them in the background. The Cuillins of Skye were also clearly seen albeit they were a bit of a distance away from us with only a banner cloud on the highest peak. Our plan was to head for Loch Nevis pick up a mooring at the Old Forge and have an evening meal ashore. The Old Forge is recognised as the remotest pub in mainland Britain and cannot be accessed by road, only by sea or a hell of a long walk!!

The moorings laid by the hotel were very busy and since my last trip in here there is also a new pier to the left of the Old Forge as you look at it from the sea. However we eventually found a spare one and went ashore in the dinghy only to be told as they were so busy that we could either get a table now – or one at 2130 – now seemed good – so we had an incredibly tasty seafood platter then back to Sun Dog to stretch out. It never ceases to amaze me that somewhere so remote can be so busy, but there again the food is so good and seafood so fresh, with helpful friendly staff, that perhaps I shouldn’t be!

23rd July

Our plan today was to head for Plockton, but we had to get our timing right at Kyle Rhea the narrow stretch of water between the mainland and the Isle of Skye where the tide runs at around 8kts at springs, and we were pretty much on spring tides so timing was vital to avoid having to wait for the next tide.

We had enough time that we could either get showered up at the facilities at the Old Forge or, en route to Kyle Rhea we could pick up a mooring and go ashore to use the facilities at the Hotel Eilean Iarman at Isle Ornsay on Skye a hotel we had so many good things about but hadn’t stayed in or visited before. It’s tucked away in a sheltered sea loch so that was the chosen option so it was goodbye to Inverie.

On the approach to Isle Ornsay you can begin to see the rooftops of the hotel hidden behind the headland as you approach up the Sound of Sleat. You can’t really miss this bay as there is a lighthouse on the Sound Of Sleat side providing an illuminating location marker.

We went ashore in the dinghy landing it on the beach at the old pier, and the Hotel happily provided a room for us to have full use of baths/showers etc -really lovely hotel and one that we must visit again. The charge for using the facilities including the use of their towels was a total of only £13, which in my opinion wasn’t too bad considering they had to clean out the bathroom again for the next guests.

As it was spring tides, by the time we got back to the dinghy it was quite a way from the waters edge and we had to lift it down to the water – however the water was so shallow for so long that I couldn’t float the dinghy with us in it (inflatable keel) and had to walk it out for a fair distance, and I’m sure that if anyone was looking at us from the shore they would have thought I was either walking on water, or taking the dinghy for an afternoon walk!

Anyhow back on board Sun Dog we were pretty much bang on time to depart and reach Kyle Rhea at slack water, so off we went feeling refreshed and invigorated, and when we reached the entrance to Kyle Rhea we were looking for the overfalls which give a clear indication on how the water is moving, and verifying our time calculation. There was also a Swedish yacht circling around waiting to go through and it was obvious that they were waiting on us to go through first. I knew we were good to go, albeit when it comes to narrow passages with fast moving tidal streams there is always a little bit of a nagging voice in your head saying “I hope I’ve worked this out right” ….so of we went through the narrowish channel with the Swedish yacht following in my wake (little did he know it was my first time) and as I said previoulsly we were bang on time so it was a straightforward passage. There would have been no real drama if I had the calculations wrong, as we would simply have turned back and anchored to wait on the next tide.

This link shows a good photo of the car ferry across the Kyle, but it does make it look somewhat wider than it appeared as it is looking south down the Sound of Seat. When we exited Kyle Rhea and could see the Skye bridge in the distance and I had one of those little frissons of excitment because of where we were with Sun Dog………

Decision time again, question was do we stop at one of the facilities on either side of the Kyle of Lochalsh or do we head around the headland for Plockton? Our decision was to keep going as the conditions were favourable and we were only a couple of hours away with plently of daylight hours left.

We arrived in Plockton after more rock dodging and then in past the lighthouse.

We picked up a mooring buoy provided by the townsfolk of Plockton for visitors and these are paid for at any of the shops/hotels by way of an honesty system. These moorings can be easily identified as they are painted yellow and have a black “V” painted on them.

There are two pontoons available for use by dinghies, but you need to be mindful that these are in constant use by commecial boats and should not be obstruced. The one furthests into the bay dries out at low water whilst the one on your starboard side as you enter the loch has sufficient water that you can leave the dingy knowing it will still be floating when you get back.

We have been in Plockton loads of time on the motorbike, but it was extremely satisfying arriving by sea and by doing so this offered a hugely different perspective from arriving by road.

24th July

When we went ashore we managed to find a laundry and got all the clothes all washed and dried whilst we enjoyed a fantastic seafood meal at the Plockton Inn, and then reprovisioned from the local shop where I felt a bit let down as they had no Ginger Nuts biscuits left in stock 🙁

Once back on board however there was however a bit of a “excitment” as we heard on CH16 a yacht advising the coast guard that their engine wouldn’t work and that they planned to sail into Plockton. The coast guard asked their position and was told they were approaching Plockton Rocks, next thing we heard was that the inshore lifeboat from Kyle of Lochalsh was on it’s way to assist them onto a visitors mooring if one was available or indeed to help them manouvre into a suitable anchorage. There was no real drama in this, but prior to the announcment that the inshore lifeboat was on it’s way, at least 5 yachts must have passed this yacht before they entered the bay at Plockton. I can only imagine that they didn’t have their radios on or they would surely have heard the announcment from the boat and could have gone alongside to offer assistance or indeed a tow and thus avoid the lifeboat being given a shout…..There again perhaps they did and the skipper declined!

25th July

The forecast was not looking so good for us heading further north and indeed was not looking good for a few days with F7/F8 from the south/south west being predicted. We decided that we would start heading back down south as we could get back through Kyle Rhea again this morning at around 1000 and this would leave most of the day to consider our options.

We could have gone into Isle Ornsay as this would offer good shelter from the S/SW, or indeed go back into Loch Nevis. Going into Arisaig was sadly not an option as we couldn’t get there at the right stage of the tide, we would have needed to wait until around 2100. Another option was to go over to Rum as we wanted to visit Kinloch Castle, – a fascinating place, but the down side to this was that we would have had fair old bash south and had to contend with Ardnamurchan point in a forecast F7/8 if the weather forecast proved to be accurate – not a particularly appealing option.

Using the old adage, “if in doubt bottle out” we decided to head straight back down to Tobermory which would offer us good shelter, and we would also be safely back round Arnamurchan Point. This meant we could explore Loch Sunart even if the weather was poor and thus not lose any days because of poor weather. This was a pretty long day and as we were approaching Ardnamurcham point the wind was increasing and the clouds getting darker and darker on the horizon. This time round in Tobermory there were a few free spaces in the marina so we simply went in and parked up. We then went for a shower, cooked some food and had a good old nights sleep. The winds did pick up for a time during the night but again nothing to cause any real concern

26th July

This morning we decided to go over to Loch Sunart (past more unmarked jaggy rocks) and either anchor in one of the lochs offering shelter from the south or nip into Salen and then go ashore for a meal in the local Salen Hotel which is meant to be good but we have no personal experience.

The sail through Loch Sunart was delightful (without doubt this loch has a bit of an atmosphere all of it’s own) as most of the anchorages were busy we went into Salen and picked up a visitors mooring, which was a bit of a palaver as there was no pick up buoy, it was low (spring) tide and space was tight – furthermore the wind was increasing at a fair old pace. However Sara managed to get a line on from the bow round to the side decks where she lay down and threaded the mooring line through the buoy and then secured it again at the bow. I then nipped out in the dinghy and put on a heavier nylon line as the wind was blowing harder right on the nose. With the two lines secured the owner of the mooring came out in his wee dinghy to see if we needed anything and to aoplogise that he was on his break when we came in, as normally he comes out and gives visitors a hand to get a line onto the buoys. Nice chap really friendly and helpul. As the wind was rising all the time we decided not to go ashore and walk to the hotel in the driving rain, and instead spent a rocking and rolling night on the mooring, so no visit to the Salen Hotel this time around.

27th July

We left Salen in the morning to head back once again to Tobermory – (by this time it was becoming Toberbory) – but the forecast was for a full F8 from the SW and this necessitated shelter and another overnight this time on a visitors buoy.

28th July

We decided to leave Tobermory and head back down the Sound of Mull and it was a wee bit breezy on the way down with 35kts across the decks at times, but the new mainsail duly reefed down worked a treat and we made good progress down to Loch Aline where we popped in to have a look and considered stopping overnight. However the best shelter is in the SE corner and this is now occupied with moorings (not visitors ones) and makes anchoring a bit of a concern that one might get caught up in the ground mooring chains etc. The other anchorages already had boats at anchor so we decided to leave and head for Dunstaffnage Marina.

As we approached the gap between Eilean Musdile and Lady Rock we could see a wall of white water reaching right across to the Mull coastline. I don’t have sufficient local knowledge to know if there was possibly a gap in this close inshore, but decided to punch through under engine, well in truth it wasn’t a case of punching through as the tide was taking us through whether we wanted to or not………..but it’s amazing just how steep these wind against tide waves reach. We could see quite clearly that the main lumpiness would clear within a few hundered yards, which it did do and we then had a rolly old ride with the sea on the beam (ish) all the way over to Dunstaffnage.

Now I have to say that Dunstaffnage Marina have never really (in my honest opinion) excelled at good customer service, indeed years back when I enquired about taking an annual berth you would have thought I been asking to eat one of their children. This wasn’t me overeacting at the time because Sara feels the exact same, which is a pity really because the staff at the Wide Mouth Frog restaurant are very good.

Anyhow we phoned them to ask about a possible berth for at least one night and we were informed to go into any that were free – this seemed strange because we could have been taking a residents berth; but then I remembered that Kerrera Marina operate on a principle of non dedicated berths even for those with annual contracts, so I reckoned it would be a similar situation.

In to the marina we went – spotted a free berth and in we went to tie up; just missing a torrential downpour in the process and put the kettle on for a well earned cuppa. I then thought it might be prudent to advise the marina office of the berth we had taken so gave them a call. It was once again that their interpretation of customer service came back to fore as they intially wanted me to move to another pontoon, and when I asked two questions:

No1 being ” what berth on that pontoon do you wish me to take”…………they asked if I could see any that we free on that pontoon which was at the other end of the marina from us!!

No2 being ” If you wanted me to go to that pontoon why did you not advise when we called earlier?”…….answer it’s OK you can stay where you are as we are not to busy!!!!!

Now is it just me?????????????????????????????

When we went to go up for a shower and pay our lawfull debts the offices were closed, and there was a notice on the shower/toilet block that these were for the use of berth owners but that the key could be obtained from the office or restaurants subject to a £20 deposit.

Again is it just me or is this ancient thinking – can they not simply have a key pad entry system?

We simply laughed at the madness of Dunstaffnage and went for meal at the Wide Mouthed Frog – …………….an oasis in a sea of madness.

Pity really because it’s in a great location with Dunstaffnage Castle close to the marina, a castle steeped in history and according to some historians, once the resting place of the Stone of Destiny. Perhaps one day things may change……………………………………

28/29th July

Suffice to say we had no intention of providing them with any more of our hard earned pennies and headed round the corner to Oban and decided to take up one the new visitors moorings provided by Oban Bay Berthing to encourage visitors to the town. These moorings are just north of Oban Sailing Club, painted yellow with a black “V” painted on them, and no pick up buoys attached the photograph in the link should give a good guide as to their location. There is also a handy pontoon provided for short alongside stops/dinghies and it’s only a short walk from the town, with payment by way of an honesty box on the pontoon and it’s only £12 per night.

These moorings are arranged in three trots of five with the inside trots for boats around 10m LOA, the middle trot boats around 11m LOA and the outside trot for boats around 12m LOA.

If you wanted to travel to Oban in style there is a Seaplane that operates from Glasgow and lands you at the marina at the island of Kerrera just across Oban bay.

Oban has a lot of Caledonian MacBrayne ferry traffic and they do announce their arrival/departure on Channel 16 as a local byelaw gives them all rights in Oban Bay…..in other words keep out of their way whether under sail or engine. The photo below shows one of the ferries passing below McCaigs Folly which sits above Oban.

30th July

With more strong winds forecast we decided to do a clockwise loop of Lismore Island en route to Port Appin and on the way up Lock Linnhe on the Morvern side is Glensanda Quarry which is huge and you might get a bit of an impression from the photo’s on this link, with no road access which means everthing is transported in by boat and the material out by large vessels.

We went round the north end of Lismore and took up a mooring just off the Pier House restaurant where we went ashore and paid for shower facilities (they also have a sauna available) booked a table for a meal and had an amazing seafood platter, a wee bit expensive but just so fresh – lovely.

31st July

Woke up to a beautiful sunny morning had a lazy breakfast wondering where the forecast F8 had gone and then departed Port Appin and meandered back into Loch Creran onto our mooring and the end of a smashing holiday.

As we were doing all the runs ashore the wind was picking up to around 25kts so with everything stowed back into the car it was back home, and that night it really did blow a bit.

The weather during our two weeks was pretty peculiar with the reality being different from the forecast, however it didn’t in any way spoil our holiday, which was marked by us visiting so many new places and it also included a record number of books read; and sadly like all good holidays was over far too soon.