Blog updated 27/9/2011

27 Sept 2011: Last 2 days and tracks added

26 Sept 2011: Boat tracks for September added (all except for today)

25 Sept 2011: several days added. Tracks for walks for September added

10 Sept 2011: Added tracks up to 7 Aug.  Also the last few days

26 August 2011: Added some more pics (for late June) and also some video clips on various days.

23 August 2011: Added tracks of all walks.  Aslo boat tracks up till mid July. Many pages affected.

14 August 2011: Added video clips to 1 August 2011

10 August 2011: Uploaded 9 Aug 2011 and 10 Aug 2011

8 August 2011: Uploaded 8 August only

7 August 2011:
At last a 3G connection.  I have uploaded from 28 July 2011 to 7 August 2011.  I suggest you go to 28 July and start from there.

Tracks up until 27 September 2011

Tracks from the Scottish part of the cruise up to 27 September 2011

See all the tracks at once on Google Maps. Or to see detail of individual tracks, go to the day in question and click on the link. You will then see the track on Google Maps.

Tuesday 27 September 2011 – Holy Loch to Kip Marina

Another morning of low cloud and occasional rain.  We watched 3 Ocean Youth Trust boats leave the outer pontoon of the marina and then slipped our mooring with 1 reef in the main.  We soon decided a second reef was necessary and carried on into the Clyde proper.  We found the wind much stronger there – about F6 and from the south and right on the nose, so decided to return to Holy Loch and try again later.  We picked up another mooring and had a slow lunch and then left again with 3 reefs.  This worked much better until the wind dropped a bit, when we started to go rather slowly.  It seemed strange to keep wishing that the wind meter would show 22+ so we could sail properly again. We eventually found that the “buoyed channel” to the marina only covered the last few yards, but soon found our allocated space, which seems quite sheltered.

Tomorrow we do a bit of tidying up and a few jobs, then start to go home on Thursday. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Holy Loch during a bright interval

Approaching Kip

Monday 26 September 2011 – Rothesay to Holy Loch

A fine morning with the barometer a little higher at last.  After a bit of shopping we took a quick look at the old Winter Gardens which have been converted into a tourist information office.  However it is better than the usual sort as it actually tells you something about the area.  Sailed up the Clyde past Dunoon and into Holy Loch, where we picked up a mooring.  Too idle to go ashore.

Tomorrow we go to the marina at Kip. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Rothesay Harbour with ferry on its berth

Leaving Rothesay Harbour

Sunday 25 September 2011 – Isle of Bute

Forecast was for wind and rain and it was raining.  We decided to take the advice of a neighbouring boat and take the sightseeing bus round the island, stopping off at Mount Stuart.  The bus was an open-topped double-decker, with the first few seats on top under cover.  We had the first of the open seats but as the rain had stopped we did not get wet, just cold.  After the other islands Bute is remarkably green and cultivated, so we saw more cows in the space of an hour than ever before.  At Mount Stuart we were taken on a tour of the house (home of the Marquess of Bute), which is an amazing pile of different types of marble built in Victorian Gothic style.  Well presented and an interesting tour but of course there were many interesting things which were not explained, in particular the special clocks.  One had at least 4 dials and 2 had 24 hour faces.  They hire out some of the rooms for weddings and other events – quite a venue!

After a brief lunch we started to explore the gardens, which are enormous and better not visited in pouring rain.  Much of the grounds are occupied with trees and shrubs, so it appears to be a large arboretum.  As the map was getting soggy and my shoes were filling with water we missed a good deal and headed for the kitchen garden where we warmed ourselves in the heated greenhouse full of tropical plants.  We took the bus back to Rothesay and arrived in more pouring rain, glad we had not spent the day sailing.  The boat is on a pontoon, connected to shore power, so we soon started to dry off.

The weather forecast suggests tomorrow will be better…

Inchmarnock and Arran. Glad we are not sailing.

Mount Stuart

Saturday 24 September 2011 – Burnt Isles to Rothesay

Fine and sunny with light wind in the shelter of the anchorage.  Went ashore and walked along to Buttock Point, the northern tip of Bute.  As we walked a number of yachts came past, obviously in a race.  It turned out to be CCC and Fairlie YC having their Closing Muster for 2011 with a race from Rothesay to Tarbert.  Back on the boat it was sheltered and warm enough for us to have a swim off the boat – a very brief one of just 2 laps, only the first off the boat this season. After lunch we sailed down the East Kyle to Rothesay, where we went into the harbour.  The visitor’s berths seem OK except that the Calmac ferries come and go frequently, making some noise and wash.

We started chatting with two men on a Jeanneau “patio doors” motor boat and joined them for a glass of wine.  We heard that there had been a submarine rescue exercise in the area earlier in the day when rescuers were dropped by plane to a sub in distress.  We had seen the plane but did not know what it was doing. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Burnt Isles with race coming past

Anchored at Burnt Isles.
Caladh Harbour in left background.
Loch Riddon on right.

Friday 23 September 2011 – Loch Gair to Burnt Islands (Kyles of Bute)

Gentle rain and poor visibility received their usual response – we stayed in bed a while and had a leisurely breakfast.  We then decided we ought to just put on our waterproofs and get going and by the time we left the rain had stopped.

We sailed out of the moorings and started beating down Loch Fyne into F4 (1 reef) which increased to F5 (second reef).  The Ocean Youth Trust boat which we saw yesterday slowly overtook and a couple of other boats motored south from the Crinan canal.  Sometime after lunch we were able to bear away onto a close reach and then later turn downwind and go up the West Kyle (of Bute).  After a slow sail past Tighnabruiach we anchored in Wreck Bay by the Burnt Isles.  The names are not very inviting but it seems a sheltered place.

Still no 3G network from 3 here, so you will have to wait a little longer to read this. Tomorrow we will take a trip ashore to look at Bute – it’s too late today. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Aran, with mountains covered by cloud

Looking back up Loch Fyne now that the weather has improved a little

Looking up Loch Riddon from our anchorage

Thursday 22 September 2011 – Crinan Canal to Loch Gair

Yesterday’s strong wind had gone, just leaving occasional gusts, so it was time to move on and leave the canal.  We stopped to visit the shop at Ardrishaig as our food stocks were rather low, stopped in Ardrishaig basin to top up the water and then left the canal at the same time as another boat.  It requires a bit of an effort and a change of mind-set to move from the confined canal to the sea with its complexities of tides and navigation.  At least we had kept up with the weather forecasts so we expected the weather to be acceptable, though a bit wet and cool. Just outside Ardrishaig we had a brief glimpse of 2 porpoises.

Pam was keen to visit Loch Gair, on the grounds that it was downwind, downtide and free.  Those are reasonable criteria to help choose a destination, but if we stick to them we might never get to Kip!  We picked up a free mooring in Loch Gair, but could not be bothered to go ashore as there was nothing special to visit.

Hopefully tomorrow we will go into the Kyles of Bute. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Locking down – the last lock before the sea lock

Out into the sea at last

Approaching Loch Gair

Wednesday 21 September 2011 – Crinan Canal

The forecast of wind and rain proved correct.  We sat around waiting for the rain to stop, eventually spotting the mast of a boat approaching the lock behind us.  It was a couple with a Hunter Sonata, taking it from Arisaig to Kip.  We helped them through the lock and they then rafted alongside and came aboard for a cup of coffee and a breather.  We then went through the next 4 locks together to Cairnbaan.   We stopped there to visit some ancient cup and ring markings on flat rocky areas at Achnabreac.  These are 4000 years old and nobody knows what they mean.  We also visited the fort Dun na Maraig which was marked on the map but found only a wooded rocky hill with no path leading up it and nothing on top to show it was a fort.

The canal is very quiet with an end-of-season feel to it, not helped by cool, wet and windy weather.

Tomorrow the weather should be good enough to leave the canal. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Cup and Ring Marks at Achnabreac

Cup and Ring mark site has a fine view

Locking 2 boats together shares the workload

Tuesday 20 September 2011 – Crinan Canal

There were only 3 boats going through the canal today.  We saw both of the others.  We started up the locks near Dunardry, with Pam steering the boat and me on the shore.  After 2 locks we waited for the boat coming up behind us and passed a boat going the other way.  We then went through the other 3 Dunardry locks together and stopped at the pontoon above Lock 9.  Although it’s easier having 2 boats sharing the operation of the locks, we needed lunch.  We are also not in a rush because the weather forecast was bad for today (Tuesday) and also for Wednesday, suggesting winds of 6-8, though the wind seemed light all day.

We eventually found the path to Dunadd, which is the ancient castle of the Dalriadan kings, who ruled this part of Scotland about 1500 years ago.  There is not much left of the castle but it stands on an impressive rock lump overlooking miles of flat marshland.  We found some of the markings on the stones but not the Oggam inscriptions which are supposed to be there.See track to Dunadd.

Tomorrow we will go down through 4 locks to Cairnbaan, and hopefully leave the canal in reasonable weather on Thursday. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Must stop before the antique bridge which crosses the lock.

Going up in the lock.

View over the marshes from Dunadd

Top of Dunadd

Do-it-yourself lock operation

Special markings at the top of Dunadd

Monday 19 September 2011 – Loch Craignish to Crinan Canal

A rather yellow sunrise.  After breakfast the rain started and visibility was poor, so we sat around reading books etc.  Just before lunch we set off for Crinan, which is only a few miles away and was a biased beat with 1 reef. At Crinan we entered the Sea Lock and soon found ourselves in the canal.  The canal is much narrower than we had expected – you would not want to meet a boat coming the other way in most places.  Stopped above Crinan Bridge for a cup of tea and to take a quick walk in the woods.  Then we moved on to a staging beside the bird hide, shortly before Bellanoch Bridge.  We have not yet found the bird hide. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Dawn from “The Lagoon”. The sky soon turned yellow.

In the sea lock at Crinan

Crinan Sea Lock: going up.

Narrower than we had expected

Tea stop by the bridge

Estuary of the Add with canal on the right.

Sunday 18 September 2011 – Ardfern to Loch Craignish via Lussa Bay

A fine day with reasonable forecast but low pressure.  We decided to sail down the Sound of Jura with the tide and then come back again.  It seemed as if it would be a broad reach down there and close-hauled coming back.  We took a look at the Dorus Mor and as there was not much tide against us, went through and continued South down the other side of the islands.  The tide ran quite fast with various swirly bits but always smooth.  Making good speed with the following tide we selected Lussa Bay as our lunch stop as we would have enough time for a trip ashore. 

We followed a wooden fishing boat style yacht into the bay and found an elegant old gaff cutter already anchored there.  Whilst we were getting lunch ready a dinghy came from the gaffer and offered us a big pan of prawns.  The man from the gaffer was taking a small charter party for a day sail and had over-catered, so we readily accepted the prawns.  After a generous lunch we took a quick trip ashore and met the charter party coming back.  They said we could have tea at the top of the beach.  We thought they were joking as although Jura is a large island it is very wild and empty and there were only a handful of cottages around the bay.  It seemed impossible that one of these could be a tea shop.  However there was a table at the top of the beach labelled “Tea on the Beach”.  On the table was a menu and a walkie-talkie radio, so we ordered our tea and cakes, which arrived quite quickly.  What a brilliantly simple way to run a tea shop – there were not even any chairs!

The other boats had left so there was plenty of room for us to sail away from the anchorage and find that the wind had backed so we had a reach all the way back.  The wind held almost all the way back to Ardfern where we dropped off Chris and Anna and just had enough light left to pick up a mooring in “The Lagoon”. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Lunchtime, including prawns

Ordering tea on the beach, by radio

Lussa Bay is more sheltered than we expected.
Would not want to be here with swell from the SW

Chris and Anna were quite cheerful
at the start of the trip (and at the end too)

Saturday 17 September 2011 – Cuan Sound to Ardfern

We had arranged to meet Chris and Anna at Ardfern.  They had spent a few days camping and kayaking and were going to join us for Sunday.  However first we had to get out of Cuan Sound and then through the Dorus Mor into Loch Craignish.  Cuan Sound proved quite exciting as things happened quite quickly once we got into the main run of tide.  We were soon swept past the marked rock in the middle of the channel and kept scarily close to the end of Torsa to avoid the unmarked rocks near there.  We recorded a maximum speed of 9.7 knots, whilst motoring at about 5 knots.  The Dorus Mor was a bit tame by comparison, possibly because we were near the end of the ebb. 

We went up Loch Craignish and picked up a mooring in “The Lagoon” whilst we had lunch.  We then sailed down behind the islands on the Eastern side of the loch and anchored near Eilan Gabhar.  Mistake. Should have just motored as the wind was messed up by the high islands and the water was cluttered with fish farms. We then landed on Eilean Righ to explore and look for the cup marked rocks. Mistake 2.  Although  our destination was only 500m from the shore we turned back after I got fed up with struggling through bracken, brambles and bog in light rain.  Surprisingly we managed to get to Ardfern Marina before Chris and Anna and my temper had improved a bit by the time they arrived. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Swirly water in Cuan Sound

Heading for the Dorus Mor during one of the fine spells between showers.

Anchorage seen from the impenetrable interior of Eilean Righ

Friday 16 September 2011 – Luing

Weather forecast not too good and we wanted to take a look at Luing. Walked over the top of the island where there is an orientation plate on top of the trig point.  This spot has a great view over the Firth of Lorne, but it was a bit grey and dull. However the visibility was good enough to find most of the islands shown.  We took a look at the village of Cullipool, which like Easedale is full of tightly-packed slate-miners cottages.  The slate mining stopped many years ago and all the houses are now modernised. 

We bought a cup of coffee at the shop and continued round about half of the island.  Like Seil and other nearby islands, this island is long and thin and is full of long and thin ridges, reflecting the extreme way the rocks have been folded.  We saw lots of cows and calves as raising beef cattle is the main form of income.  Climbed the North Dun near Ardinamir but did not find the South Dun. See track of the walk.

Maybe tomorrow we will go to Loch Craignish which is not far but requires us to pass 2 tidal gates – the second half of Cuan Sound and the Dorus Mor.

Our quiet anchorage. Torsa behind. Seen from Luing

View from the top looking W over Firth of Lorne

The dun near Ardinamir

Thursday 15 September 2011 – Puilldobhrain to Cuan Sound

We went through the very narrow Easdale Sound and picked up a mooring. We visited the island of Easdale which was a slate quarry up till 1914 and has mostly been quarried away, leaving huge holes filled with water and loads of slate waste.  However it contains an active village which was originally built to house the slate workers.  There are no cars – the ferryman has a quad bike to move heavy things and every house has a wheelbarrow or cart to move smaller items.  There is a pile of such barrows by the ferry landing.

Easdale is shortly to host the Scottish, European or World (not sure which) stone skipping championships.  Apparently hundreds of people turn up to take part and to watch.  It seems to me a very slow, but entertaining, way to fill up the old pools with quarry waste.

After a walk round the island, visit to the folk museum and lunch at the cafe we moved over to the other side of the channel.  This feels like the mainland but is the island of Seil which is linked to the mainland by the “bridge over the Atlantic”.  We took a walk round the old quarry where all that remains is a very deep pool of water.  Apparently this used to be a tall rocky outcrop, which was quarried away.  Quarrying then continued until the hole was enormously deep.  In 1881 a great storm broke through into the deep hole, wrecking the quarry and all the equipment. Tourists come here by the busload, but it was quite quiet so we visited the “Slate Islands Heritage Centre” and suffered information overload.  We then moved on to the biggest souvenir shop on the west coast, but bought nothing. On the beach we picked up some bits of slate containing good iron pyrites crystals.

In late afternoon we motored the short distance into Cuan Sound and anchored between Torsa and Luing. We made a brief trip ashore onto Torsa where we saw a group of 3 otters near the bank.  My first view of otters. Follow the track on Google Maps.

View from Torsa. The otters were on the nearby shore

Easdale Sound from the island

View from the top. The rock which is
left is all not slate. Note the dyke.

Trolley park

View from the top: Harbour, village, the sound and the other side

Wednesday 14 September 2011 – Tobermory to Puilladobhrain

At last the bad weather has moved away and we have a little sun and wind from the NW.  After visiting the bakery and co-op we left with reefed main and full genoa and had an excellent fast run down the Sound of Mull, leaving behind the other boats which started at the same time.  Wind was NW 4-5 with occasional gusts of 6 when we considered another reef.  We passed Duart Point at about slack tide in smooth water, which was good as if the tide had turned against us we would have expected overfalls.

We found our way into Puilladobhrain (pronounced pulldoran) in spite of not being able to see the leading marks.  2 boats were already at anchor.  After we returned from our walk ashore there was a total of 5 boats, which is a small number for such the most popular anchorage in the area.  Late in the evening the French boat which we met at Eigg arrived and anchored.

Maybe tomorrow we will visit Easdale and Cuan Sound. Follow the track on Google Maps.

Catching a bigger boat in the Sound of Mull

Anchored in Puilladobhrain

The “bridge over the Atlantic” which joins Seil to the mainland

Looking S from the bridge down the Sound of Seil

The anchorage from a hill.  All the
islands are narrow ridges running NE-SW.