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Greetings from the Isle of Skye. We end this month anchored just below the Skye bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh in very wet and windy conditions. To be fair, this has been the first piece of nasty weather we've experienced all month - generally our problem has been too little wind, rather than too much. Blazing hot sunshine would have been nice, and a bit less chilly in the evenings, but all in all, the weather for us this month has not been at all bad - using as our yardstick the fact that we have eaten nearly all our meals outside in the cockpit. The wind, when we've had it, has been mainly southerly - excellent for our northward progress. We have moved on another 288 miles this month, mostly in very small leisurely stages - this being the 'holiday' phase of our voyage. The exception to this was at the start of the month when we made 114 miles in 2 days of excellent sailing. On the first, we left Whitehaven and made a longer than planned passage, arriving off Drummore - the most southerly village in Scotland - tucked just to the east of the Mull of Galloway. Having enjoyed a very good sail, we were somewhat disappointed to find that the anchorage was pretty much non-existent - just off a beach outside the harbour which was completely dry. The wind piped up strongly just as we arrived and blew violently all night. As a change in wind direction was forecast, we took anchor watches all through the disturbed and anxious night. The anxiety was exacerbated by apprehension of the tidal gate of the Mull of Galloway facing us the next morning - as described in our pilot 'Fearsome Passages': Its headlands, tidal races and overfalls constitute one of the greatest challenges to the cruising yachts in the waters of the British Isles. However, having checked and rechecked tide times all was well as we rounded the cape close inshore in relatively benign conditions. Setting off northwards towards the Firth of Clyde we then enjoyed another great day's sail - downwind under genoa and mizzen. Notable features en route were Ailsa Craig (340 metre volcanic plug just sitting in the Firth of Clyde), the dear old 'Waverley' - a frequent visitor to Bristol - paddle-steaming its way around the Clyde, and a submarine, half-submerged, ploughing stealthily through the water. As the seas moderated through the day, we found ourselves flying along and bypassed 2 potential destinations, arriving after 68 miles into the secure anchorage of Lamlash on the Isle of Arran. This is a superb natural harbour, protected on the open side by Holy Island. It was apparently used as an assembly point for wartime north Atlantic convoys. We anchored off Holy Island, which is currently in the ownership of the Tibetan Buddhist 'Centre for Peace and Health' and used as a monastery and educational centre offering such courses as 'Swimming Dragon Quigong and Meditation' and'Flying with both wings' - and numerous others - but we just went for a walk. After our flying start to the month, we then slowed right down, with passages mostly of 10-20 miles and frequent days 'off'. First step was to Largs from where we visited Glasgow for a day's sightseeing on foot. An interesting mix of immensely large and grand Victorian buildings with some drab dereliction. The Necropolis - 'city of the extravagantly wealthy Victorian dead' - is an amazingly opulent graveyard. Sauchiehall Street was a bit disappointing - just a pedestrianised shopping area which could have been anywhere, however we managed to find some Rennie Mackintosh architecture - rather reminiscent of Gaudi in Barcelona. Finally the Kelvingrove Museum - to spend an excellent two hours browsing the wonderfully informative exhibits on a all manner of subjects - we particularly liked the Spitfire flying over the elephant. Then back to the sailing and into the beautiful Kyles of Bute, then round to East Loch Tarbert on Loch Fyne - a picturesque fishing village. Here we were lucky to coincide with a visit of the 'Screen Machine' - an articulated lorry which unfolds to become a mobile cinema seating 80, which tours the villages of the Highlands and Islands. Next day a leisurely downwind sail with genny poled out the 9 miles to Ardrishaig - the southern end of the Crinan Canal. The canal was a delightful experience in itself, and also served the purpose of cutting
out another of the dread tidal gates - the Mull of Kintyre. The canal, which was
completed in 1801 is 9 miles long and 20 feet wide.
Next Oban - fishing port and ferry gateway to the islands. We strolled around the sights with all the other tourists, lunching on seafood from a quayside stall, visiting the distillery - one of the oldest (1794) and smallest in Scotland (7 employees), and noting the incongruous profusion of clothing and footwear factory outlets. While anchored off Oban, we hopped on a train 12 miles to Taynuilt and headed for the sound of the pipes for the Highland Games. The official opening of the games was marked by the procession of 'chieftains'' at the head of a pipe band - last time we encountered chiefs was in Fiji! We focused on the 'Heavy' events - including putting the shot, throwing the hammers - light and heavy, 56lb weight over the bar, etc. - great brawny men in kilts. All very entertaining - together with the dancing competitions - highland, sailors hornpipes and Irish jigs, various field events from the serious half mile run to three-legged (all ages at once) and pillow fights - and everything accompanied to the constant swirl of bagpipes as the various piping events proceed throughout the afternoon. A lovely atmosphere and great event - our only disappointment was in having to leave before the caber tossing to catch our bus back to Oban. The other excitement for us in Oban was a completely unexpected crossing of paths with our previous much loved boat Perdika. She now lives in Glasson Dock near Morecombe Bay, and her owners were on a 3 month cruise around the west coast of Scotland. With mixed feelings we dinghied over for a visit and were very glad we did, finding that Paul and Jan love the boat as much as we did - especially having done a lot of work on the engine and teak decks! After a day's delay in Oban due to heavy weather - which we put to good use doing a bit
of forward planning and chart ordering - we motor-sailed up the Sound of Mull to
Tobermory. However, all good things come to an end and with the threat of more bad weather looming,
we set off north again, rounding yet another tidal gate - no less than Ardnamurchan
Point - the most westerly point on mainland Britain.
With the bad weather in mind and no very tenable anchorage on Eigg, we continued on northwards towards the awesome Cuillins on the south west coast of Skye, before starting up the Sound of Sleat to the secure anchorage of Isleornsay. A motoring trip in no wind, but compensated for by a day of fantastic hot and clear sunshine - while gale warnings were in force for our sea area! The bad weather kept threatening, but not quite arriving, so we thought we'd better press on to Loch Alsh, involving a passage up the narrow channel of Kyle Rhea, through which the tide rips at 8 knots, so timing was a bit critical - but we've become pretty used to this by now. Windy rain squalls were starting, but we got through the channel and into our anchorage during a sunny interval. The anchorage of Totaig, at the end of Loch Duich is another beauty - tiny and rock-ridden, it was a sheltered and tranquil spot, half a mile across from the iconic castle on Eilean Donan. We dinghied over the next day to visit the castle - a maze of passages and rooms with lots of tartan, weapons, family photos and heirlooms and a fantastic setting. From there, after a couple of nights, we moved the final 7 miles to Kyle of Lochalsh in worsening conditions, in time for Julia to catch the train for one of her trips south. Chris was left on the boat, at anchor in nasty weather - alone with his ukulele! The ongoing testing of our refitting and equipping of the boat is proving very satisfactory. By and large everything is performing well. Particular stars are our 'new generation' Spade anchor, which digs in immediately every time and stays solidly put - better than our old CQR which held well, but sometimes took a few attempts to set. Also the autohelm - 'George' - who is a real trouper - although we realise we have sited the display in the wrong place and will have to move it (more for the winter jobs list!) The chartplotter - 'Jeeps' - is interfaced with everything and, though we know it's cheating, we do enjoy all its cleverness. Our only problems have been those we had as we left Bristol - dodgy VHF aerial and alternator. The VHF aerial we have temporarily solved by using the second aerial on the mizzen mast - meant for AIS - but not really needed much in these parts. The alternator was more of a problem and when Chris used our weatherbound day in Oban to investigate further he decided we needed professional input. Rather impetuously we decided to continue progress and seek out help in Tobermory - potentially a foolish idea, given the small size of Tobermory, but by our great good luck, we found an excellent (and dishy) marine engineer who came to our aid immediately. A keen sailor himself, he understood our need not to be held up (although there could be worse places than Tobermory). It was all a bit of a puzzle, but the conclusion was finally reached that we needed a new alternator. John managed to source one and arrange for it to be transported from Inverness in 24 hours and then fit it - all done very efficiently and, relatively, inexpensively. A superb and relaxing month. Our only disappointment is in not yet having met anyone else on the same voyage as ourselves - or many fellow yachties at all. Next month is likely to prove somewhat more challenging. We'll have to up the pace with longer passages and, now that the 'barbecue summer' has been scrapped, may experience more difficult weather conditions. |