A routine row out to Robinetta

Leaving a boat on a mooring in November is not as simple as laying her up on the shore as we need to make regular visits on her. We need to check the battery level, run the engine to make sure it does not seize, and check the water level in the bilges. The mooring line might also show wear. We don't get any huge waves or swell, but storms and motor boat wake can set her moving significantly.

We went out to see her on the 8th November, after several days of heavy rain and found water showing just above her floor boards. The electric pump had got blocked again. Luckily it had not burnt out, and Julian got it back into working order after a bit of a struggle, as the non return valve had got jammed open....

The weather today was perfect for a row out, with bright sunshine. I wanted some pictures of Robinetta on her mooring for the cover of the next blog book, so I rowed all round her while Julian took lots of pictures. When we finally got on board the bilges were nearly dry, and the electric pump was working. 

We had taken the radio off to check it ashore, and now know that the problem is with the aerial. We will need to do something about that before next season, but there is not a lot we can do now, so Julian installed it again as is. There is no need to haul our spare aerial up when the boat is on the mooring!

I put a coat of teak oil on the grab rails, and Danish Oil on the cabin sides, and then we came home.

We do hope to get some sailing over the winter, but so far there has been either too much wind, no wind, or heavy rain, or both. Today would have been perfect, it only there was some wind!

 

 

Homeward Bound

I’m still not used to having few time commitments. This time last year I would have wanted to get home for work on Monday, although working ‘from boat’ would have been an option.

We had thought about making this a longer trip. But the forecast was for very little wind for the next few days, so it didn’t feel especially attractive. It did look like good hill walking weather, and I had a look at some walks we might do. I didn’t find anything I felt we were ready for and we decided to motor home.

We went for a little walk around town before leaving. We found the sign marking the position of the Highland Boundary Fault. The fault then heads north-east and goes through the Rosneath peninsula just south of our house and then through Helensburgh and across the Central Belt to Stonehaven. It’s our claim to be living in the Highlands, at least geologically.

We got coffee and some shopping and headed back to the boat. Alison wanted to get home at about high water, to minimise the distance we would have to carry Worm across the shore. That meant about 5 pm so we had loads of time.

Once under-way, it was so calm that we put George to work on the tiller and I worked on my Gaelic.

The views across to Cowal were particularly fine today.

We got a little light rain as we neared Cloch Point but nothing like Saturday’s deluge!.

Then Alison spotted a gaff sail near Cove so we diverted to try to meet them. They seemed to have some wind too! We dodged the Western and Calmac ferries and headed over. As we got closer, we recognised the profile of a Wylo II, sailing nicely with tan sails and a white topsail.

We got close enough to have a chat. A nice couple sailing Ariel out of Holy Loch. Hopefully we will get to see them again. I’d forgotten, but I had left an OGA invitation card with the boat a couple of years ago. It wasn’t convenient for them to join at the time. Perhaps they will now.

We now had wind, so we raised sail and had a lovely broad reach to the entrance to the Gare Loch, gibed, and headed through the narrows.

The Gare Loch One Designs were racing and their windward mark was right amongst the Silver’s moorings. I tacked to keep out of their way and then the wind died. It took the tail end Charlie of the racing fleet about 5 minutes just to round the buoy. A couple of minutes earlier there had been a fine breeze!

We motored gently onto our mooring, put the boat to bed and rowed ashore. I estimate the tide had fallen by 2 cm by the time we landed. Close enough.

Taking it easy

The anchorage at Wreck Bay gave us a lovely peaceful night, but by the time we woke up the clear skies of yesterday had been replaced by thick cloud. Porridge made the appropriate breakfast, but we did not linger. The forecast was for rain and strong winds, first force 5-6 South or South East, then cyclonic but going North West 4-5 later. That would mean beating down the West Kyle against the wind, then turning north into Loch Fyne and hoping to reach Tarbert before the wind changed. The sooner we left, the dryer we would stay!

We got the engine on at 08:00, and I went forward to start hauling up the anchor. Julian then took over, and between us we got up the 30m of chain in 10 minutes. Hauling up chain is good exercise! 

There was no obvious wind on the water as we motored out of the bay, but we could see it in the burgee, and as soon as we had space to turn head to wind Julian got the main sail up. Given the forecast we left yesterday's reef in place. The wind was flaky as it made its way over and through the hills of Bute, at times so strong the reef was essential, but mostly light we were only making 3 knots. Passing Port Driseach at the north end of Tighnabruaich in flat water there was enough wind to turn the engine off, but we could see white horses on the waves when looking ahead past the south end of Black Farland Bay. 

Once we passed Rubha Dubh those waves began to cause us problems. The fetch of the waves kept them small, but they were closely spaced, and each one slammed into Robinetta's bow. These were the type of waves we have labelled "Robinetta Stoppers" and we were barely making 2 knots. The gusts meant we could not shake out the reef, and the thought of 2 hours of this to cover the 4 miles to Ardlamont Point made Julian and I look at each other. We knew it was due to rain heavily, within the hour. 

looking towards Loch Riddon

We agreed instantly to give up on Tarbert, and turned round to sail back up the West Kyle. 

By 10:00 we were back where we had started that morning. Our new destination was Rothesay, and as we turned into the narrow channel between the Burnt Islands the wind came onto the node and we had to put the engine on. It also began to rain. However the flat sea state in the East Kyle gave us no problems.

We could see a mass of sails in the distance as the racing fleet of the Clyde Cruising Club made its way towards us. We had hoped to meet them in Tarbert, but instead we closed with the Colintraive shore to keep out of their way. It did give us a chance to admire them, but having to constantly wipe rain off the camera lens did not make for great photography although I took a lot of pictures.

CCC racing fleet in the East Kyle

Going to Rothesay rather than battling to reach Tarbert was a great decision. We were moored up in the Outer Harbour by noon and went ashore for lunch, then had a good look at the excellent little Rothesay museum before returning to Robinetta to sit out the heaviest rain of the day. By the time it stopped the floorboards in Worm were afloat.

Dinner, then live music in a pub rounded off a different day to the one we had planned, but we had a good time. 

Rosneath to Wreck Bay, Kyles of Bute

The weather forecast for Friday was for bright sun, and clear skies. Perfect for heading out for a weekend sailing, although Saturday would be rather wet and windy.

We launched Worm off the beach at low water this morning. We had a lot to take to Robinetta as we were going away for the weekend, so needed our sleeping bags (now clean) back on board, as well as clothes etc. Once on board I realised that I had forgotten to bring the fuel for our spirit stove, so had to row back to the house. Julian stayed on Robinetta, preparing her for the trip. He had booked an online seminar for today, with three sessions, with the first being at 10:00, and we had hoped to be away by then, but it was not to be.

I was back on board at 10:30, and filled the stove, before making a cup of tea and listening in to the seminar.

We got the engine on to warm up as soon as the talk finished, and were away from the mooring by 11:18. Julian raised the sail as soon as we were clear of the moorings in Stroul Bay, putting in a reef to the first cringle. The forecast wind was South or South East, 5 or 6, occasionally 4 in Firth of Clyde, and we currently only had a 4, but we had bent on the no.2 jib, and reefed the main to match it. We needed the engine to get through the Rhu narrows as the wind was on the nose, but once we were past the caravan park we could begin to sail, and once we were clear of the Gareloch we came onto a lovely broad reach down the Clyde.

Julian’s second seminar session ran from noon to 1pm, so so I was on the helm all the way past Gourock, gradually closing with Cloche Point. The only worries were the Western Ferries running to Hunter’s Quay, as there were three on duty and they had a fast turn around.

Once we rounded Cloche Point we hardened up, and fine reached towards Toward. Unfortunately the wind was more south than south east, and as we closed with the Cowal peninsula the sea state increased, and began to produce “Robinetta stopper” waves. Trying to tack back across the Clyde our non making tack saw us going backwards, so at 14:45 we gave up sailing and put the engine back on.

By 15:55 we were at the Toward cardinal, and could some off the wind enough to sail again, so the engine went off and we sailed all the way up the East Kyle, once again on a lovely broad reach. Past Loch Striven the sea was beautifully flat.

Once past the ferry at Colintrave we got the engine on to take down the main sail, and made our way to the anchorage at Wreck Bay. The Antares charts suggest anchoring in 6m, which would be 9m at high water, as today was the spring tide. I laid out 30m of chain on deck, and Julian took us into the bay. There was one boat at anchor already, but plenty of room for us, and we dropped anchor at 18:10, out of the tidal stream.

Now we are past the equinox the evenings are drawing in really quickly. I had wanted to be anchored by 18:30 when it would be getting dark, so we had made it in good time.

After dinner Worm knocked gently on the starboard cabin side, and I needed to take a lantern out to help me see to tie her securely alongside for the night. This was a dark of the Moon spring , and the brightest light was our own anchor light. I had a wonderful view of the stars, and called Julian up to admire it too.

The shortest trip

 Julian caught the bus to go home and get the car first thing this morning, while I tidied up Robinetta, and decided what to leave on board, and what to take home. We hope to use her again this season, for day and weekend trips, so did not want to strip her of all her comforts.

Crew in training with skipper by Christopher Bashforth

The yacht moored up closest to us was a training vessel, and Christopher Bashforth the skipper asked if I would mind showing his students the differences between Bermudan and Gaff rig, so I spent an enjoyable hour proving that the apparent excess of ropes were actually easy to use. There was virtually no wind, so I could hoist the main sail, and demonstrate the difference between a high cut jib and a genoa. They were really interested in the rig, and when getting the main sail down I could flake it properly, unlike yesterday when I had had to do it in a bit of a rush.

learning the ropes by Christopher Bashforth

Then I walked along the pontoon and came across the lovely Spirit of Callisto, a gaff ketch whose owners had discovered how much they liked the split rig in this, their first season owning her. She will be staying based at Rhu, and I hope to see more of them next year.

Once Julian returned we loaded up the car with 3 trolleys worth of gear, before getting some lunch at the Rhu Cafe. Then it was time for the twenty minute motor up to our own mooring. We had had this serviced back in the spring, but no one had used it since, and the pick up  "handbag" and its rope were covered in weed and small mussels. 

Julian came forward from the helm to help me secure the mooring line to the bits, and once he had tied it in place I tidied it up by scraping the mussels off with a knife so they would not damage the cap rail. Then I had to sluice them off the foredeck... 

After a last cup of tea on board I rowed us ashore in Worm. Our big trip was over, but our sailing season should continue for a while, as we have yet to make plans to have Robinetta hauled out for the winter.

 

 

 

Nearly Home

I was really happy that we had gotten as far as Tarbert yesterday.

I thought that if we got an early start we could get all the way home today. It's about 40 nm, which is close to 12 hours at our normal planning speed.

In the event, we didn't wake up early. And then I heard Brian chatting on the pontoon and put some trousers on to say hello. Brian was having to change his plans because of things happening at home. He's going to leave Sender 2 in Scotland for the winter.

So we ended up having breakfast with him and suggest places in the Clyde to leave the boat.

It was 10:20 before we got away. The forecast was for light winds with gusts, all southerly. We put the big jib on and once out of the harbour, shook the reefs out and raised full sail.

Just outside the bay there was a spectacular sight of gannets diving.

The track from Tarbert into the Kyles of Bute is mostly east and a bit south so I had hopes we could reach that bit.

Not only could we reach, but the wind was perfect for our big sails. We were doing 5 1/2 knots over the ground at times. I think we might have touched 6. Even with our late start we might be at the Rhu narrows at 16:30!

The sea state was lovely too, with just enough bounce to make it fun and nothing to slow us down. The waves were coming from the south west, so the fetch was only from Kintyre.

Photo by Steve Cochrane 

Other yachts were enjoying it too. One came out of Portavadie and another from the Kyles and passed us, and each other just of Ardlamont.

Having a boat just in front when rounding into the West Kyle made it really easy to see when the gybe would be.

There was a second shoal of fish just off Bute and the gannets were there in force again.

Coming up the West Kyle we were very close to a run and set the preventer. The sea was completely flat here and we were still making great time.

We got to the Burnt Isles and sailed straight through the north channel. The channel markers are named after the islands, west buidhe and east buidhe on the north by Eilean Buidhe (the yellow isle), Fraoich and Mor on the south, by Eilean Fraoich (heather isle) and Eilean Mòr (big island).

Then the wind went flaky.

All the way down the East Kyle it came and went. We used the engine in the deepest lulls, although we made it past the Rhubodach-Colintraive ferry under sail. Rhubodach-Colintraive is the headland of the old man. Colintraive comes from Caol an t-Snàimh, the Kyle you can swim across.

We had the engine on all the time from half way down the East Kyle to Toward Point.

Then the wind came in strongly again and it was time to sail. Getting round the point was a bit stressful and we got some ferry wash from the Wemyss Bay to Rothesay ferry.

But running or very broad reaching again. The wind was strong for a while and we reefed but had to shake it out again. We were using Cloch Lighthouse as an aiming point, but a big cargo vessel came out of the inner Clyde and we were right in the channel so we came over to the Renfrewshire side. In the event, the ship seemed to go outside the channel to the west and we need not have worried.

Looking at the chart, I think we must have mistook the Cowal Safe-water mark for the Gantocks beacon. From a distance, the SWM looked red, not red and white. It splits the ship channel in two, so the ship was in the perfect place and we would have been out of its way anyway.

The wind went too light to sail soon after and we motored for a bit, but were able to turn the engine off again before we got to the path of the Western Ferries. Unusually, all the ferries were docked as we passed.

We saw both the Gourock Dunoon and Gourock Kilcreggan ferries as we turned the corner.

There was a huge Cruise ship just leaving Greenock. Alison read off that it was the Nieuw Statendam. It can carry 2,692 passengers.

A small warship came out of the Gare Loch and did some manoeuvres south of Helensburgh before heading out of the river. We heard someone on a loudspeaker giving orders but couldn't hear what was said.

We had made the decision to go into Rhu Marina. Then we could get a bus home to fetch the car. There is a lot on the boat we won't need again this year and it's much easier to unload from a pontoon than bring things ashore in the dinghy from the mooring.

We got the mainsail down near the number 4 red. A bit too near! I thought we had just agreed to wait until we were passed the Caravan Park.

But it was really calm and it wasn't hard to avoid the buoy and turn away from the point before it got too shallow.

Alison had called the marina and we'd been told to go anywhere on J pontoon. We set ropes and fenders for port side to. Luckily, the first slot was available and we came in and moored easily.

It was about 8 pm. Earlier than I had feared, given our late start, and the most hours of sailing we have had in a day all year!

I cooked our standby dish of pasta and chorizo and got some prep in for my Gaelic class tomorrow and we turned in.

Through the Crinan Canal

Heavy rain yesterday evening saw the canal fill up again, but the basin lock keeper came in early to start purging it, and by 09:00 they were able to operate the locks again. With so many boats waiting to head south we were formed into batches, with the first lock through containing 3 boats. Robinetta was in the second batch, and entered the first lock in company with 2 others at quarter past ten.

One of the three was only going as far as Bellanoch, but we continued on with Sea Holly, joining another yacht at the start of the Dunardry flight. Worm was the usual worry, needing to be dropped back between locks, then brought in close as the lock gates shut. After a while Julian rigged a lovely system that made her much easier to handle, although I got pretty tied and fraught in the meantime!

It was 13:45 before we reached the top of the Cairnbaan flight, and then we had to wait for a couple of yachts heading out of the lock. There was not much room to moor up, but Robinetta behaved beautifully despite the wind, just sitting in place at idle most of the time. Julian was able to get himself some lunch, but I was having to concentrate too hard to be distracted by food.

By the time we were at the bottom of the Cairnbaan flight at 14:45 I was pretty tired, and handed over the helm to Julian while I went below to get something to eat.

Sea Holly was going all the way down the canal and out into Loch Fyne, and we decided to do the same, but thought we might stop on the pontoons in Ardrishaig harbour. It would all depend on the sea state, but we had to let the canal workers know where we were aiming for. On the way we passed another Gaff rigged boat. I am sure I remembered seeing her in the exact same spot last year.

Sender II was waiting to enter Ardrishaig Sea Lock when we got there. They had been waiting to lock out for an hour, which had given them time to get their bowsprit out and prepare for sea. Meanwhile Robinetta was very much in canal mode, with her boom in its crutches, and the sail covers on.

We were last into the lock which contained 3 other boats, and unfortunately scraped Robinetta's hull on the concrete as we tried to make sure we made it into the gap beside Sea Holly. Luckily the damage was just cosmetic.

We moored up on the harbour pontoon at 17:15 to think about what we wanted to do. There was a fair amount of swell coming in, and Robinetta was moving against her lines. Deciding to go on towards East Loch Tarbert and its protected marina was the obvious choice, so we prepared Robinetta for sea, and were ready to head out in twenty minutes.

We headed out, but I was not prepared to sail before having a cup of tea, and Julian reluctantly agreed to wait for me. We had the stay sail up, and I half hoped that Julian would decide that was enough sail for the trip, but once refreshed by tea I agreed we should get the main sail up. With a reef.

Julian was proved right to want to sail. We had an hour of sailing with a good breeze, and reasonable waves. As soon as the engine went off he announced "Freedom!" He really does not like canals!

It began to rain as we reached down Loch Fyne. Nothing like as hard as the previous two evenings, but the visibility went down a lot. We turned the running lights on, then the steaming light, as we reluctantly turned the engine back on to head towards Tarbert.

It was getting dark as we entered the harbour, and the chart plotter turned itself into night mode before we moored up, but we still had enough light to see the pontoons, and were able to moor up on a finger berth, right next to Sender II. The skipper of Sea Holly came along to take our lines and help us in, which I much appreciated.

It had been a long and tiring day, but we were now within easy reach of Rosneath and our home berth, after over a year away.

  

 

Going Nowhere

moored up in Crinan Basin

We got updates every few hours from the Canal staff. There was too much rainwater in the canal and they were purging it out of both ends. By the time they got it under control, it was too windy at the top locks.

Someone saw an otter eating a fish in one of the fender tyres outside the sea loch but it was gone before I got there.

I had a coffee and a cake and did some studying.

A short rally, and a wet sail

All plans change with the weather. The OGA rally dinner on Friday was a great success, only one person who booked failed to get there, and his place was taken by a single handed sailor of a Wylo called Matthew.

However the weather on Saturday and Sunday meant that no on the water activities were sensible, and the band expected to play on Saturday evening cancelled. With an eye on the weather ahead the rally dispersed on Saturday morning, to head home north or south. We left Kerrera on 09:20, heading for Croubh, or Ardfern, or Crinan, depending on how the day went.

Sequoiah in Kerrera Sound

Sequoiah was going to head north for the Caledonian Canal, but she sailed south down Kerrera Sound with us. We were motor sailing, with very little wind, but it was just about worth unfurling the jib as we sailed in company, taking photos of each other before Sequoiah turned back.

We worked out that we should be able to make Crinan before the lock keepers stopped working, and we would have a favourable tide the whole way. I phoned Crinan, and they said they had room for us, although we might need to raft up. So we settled down to make sure we kept up at least 4 knots.

Sender II

Sender II sailed past us, disappearing ahead to go through the Sound of Luing as we furled our jib before heading into Easdale Sound. 

This is a short passage, but full of rocks and mooring buoys to avoid. We went through without problems. As we aimed for Cuan Sound we noticed 2 Bermudan yachts behind us. They were sailing hard, beating into the wind across Easdale Bay, and we soon realised they intended to sail into Cuan Sound. We lowered the engine revs to let the first one get past us before entering the Sound. We were worried that having them tacking ahead of us could make it difficult to avoid them in the narrow channel, but this did not happen as they sped ahead.

Julian was keeping a careful eye on them, and saw how the wind caught them as they turned to pass Cleit Rock, and decided we should reef. This worked perfectly, and we were reefed well down as we came off the wind on turning west of the Cleit rock. We got the jib out, and throttled back, and sailed at 7 knots with the tide under us towards the north end of Torsa. This was the only part of our trip where we were not sailing as close to the wind as possible, and it was over all too soon.

The second yacht came past before we reached the end of Torsa, and was well clear before we turned back onto the wind, heading for Shuna Sound. Another 3 yachts came round the north of Torsa as we watched, and we thought they must be racing. We were not, so we furled our jib, and fully reefed the main sail as the wind became very strong in the gusts. Drizzle turned into rain as we left Shuna Sound, and by the time we were heading for the Dorus Mor it became torrential.

Luckily the sea state stayed slight, nothing to cause Robinetta problems, and we were well up to time on our ETA at Crinan. The strengthening wind caused Robinetta to heel, and I was having to round up to spill wind in the gusts, so we got the main sail down 2 miles north of the Dorus Mor.

Motorsailing on staysail alone got us through the Dorus Mor at 2 knots. The favourable tide was slackening, and the wind was on the nose, but once we were through the narrow passage we could come off the wind slightly and sped up again.

By the time we reached the sea lock at Crinan we were soaked through and cold. Luckily there were two lock keepers waiting to take our lines. They needed patience. I had tied a 5m and a 10 m line together to they would be long enough in the lock as we were close to low water, but I had not tied the stern lines together well enough, and it came apart when Julian threw it. We lost the black line. Meanwhile I was totally failing to throw the bow line high enough until the lock keeper extended a boat hook, which I managed to reach.

Once we were tied on at the bow I headed back to the cockpit, and tied another line on to the stern, Julian was justifiably unhappy with my ineptitude as he fended us off from the other side of the lock with the boat hook.

It took me two goes to get the stern line onto the boat hook, but we were finally secured.

Once Robinetta was floating at the height of the basin Julian went to pay for the transit, and get the codes for the toilets. The lock keeper grumbled that we had not told them about the bowsprit and Robinetta would not fit where they had planned, so I got the bowsprit in, which was the first time I had done it in a while. It did not want to move, and I spotted some paint missing from the deck beneath where it's inboard end had rested.

Once we were in the basin I changed the fenders over to the port side, and Julian got us into the tight space where the lock keeper was waiting to help us in. It was a real relief to be tied up securely. We pulled Worm ashore and tipped out the rain, then Julian went off to the heads while I got the covers on. Sender II made it into the Canal well before us, and had already headed down the canal to moor at Belanoch before we entered the basin.

We are in for a wet and windy night. Julian complained that it was always raining in Crinan, so I reminded him that we only came here when the weather was bad. That cheered him up a bit, but he hates canals, and locks. There is no Wi-Fi here, or phone signal, so we headed for the pub after dinner, to get some weather information and post this blog

Calm to horrid, and back again

We spent a comfortable and calm night anchored at Salen Bay, although a slight swell began to roll in about 5 a.m. The morning was dry, but not especially warm, and Julian had his Gaelic lesson in the cabin as the wind was a bit too brisk to have it in the cockpit.

We had decided to head straight for Kerrera; after 3 days at anchor I wanted a shower, and we needed to get laundry done. The Met office forecast the wind to be gusting up to force 7 in the morning, and we would be heading straight into it, so we had no plans to sail.

We got the engine on and the anchor up as soon as the lesson ended at 10:30, and soon discovered how well sheltered we had been. The sea state once we were heading between Dearg Sgeir and Mull was nasty, but we had the tide with us, and made it though on engine and nearly centred staysail without being stopped by the waves. Sometimes the wind gusts were so strong that Robinetta’s bow was pushed to port, and bringing her back on course was difficult despite the engine being on full revs.

Provident tacked into the bay ahead of us, then tacked again and came past us inside Dearg Sgeir. She was reefed, but moving fast.

We stayed under engine, keeping to the Mull side of the sound. A Bermudan rigged yacht was sailing down the sound with us, tacking just behind us on each leg. We could not have sailed as close to the wind, but our motoring approach let us keep slightly ahead with her course made good.

The lumpy sea kept our speed down to around 3 knots, but Fishnish Bay gave use enough shelter for the waves to disappear, and the swell was not a problem. We were making 4 knots then, which was lovely. Julian made sandwiches for lunch and the trip began to feel pleasant.

That changed after we passed Rubha Leth Thorcaill and lost all shelter. The waves were back, the wind seemed to strengthen, and we passed though a large lump of seaweed that we were afraid would wrap itself round the prop. Once we checked the prop was clear we realised that the drop in speed was due to the waves. Their wavelength had shortened, and turned them into Robinetta stoppers.

Once Julian took the helm he got the jib out, and we started sailing on jib and staysail to see if that would help our speed. Our first tack, towards Ardtornish Point was exhilarating, although we were soon overhauled by the Bermudan yacht that had been keeping us company. When we tacked back towards Mull on the non making tack our course made good did not increase, and we soon lost sight of the other yacht.

The next hour and a half saw us lucky to make 1½ knots, and not all of that was course made good. Glas Eileanan never seemed to get any closer, and it began to spit with rain. I put my oily trousers on before I took my turn on the helm, but may as well not have bothered. The rain became torrential, and went straight through them, soaking the trousers beneath and even allowing runnels of water into my sea boots. Visibility went down to less than 50m, and we got our lifejackets on. The rain did damp the waves a little, and the wind began to decrease. Our speed crept up to 3 knots, and it looked as though we would get to the south end of Lismore before the tide turned. Julian suggested a mug of soup, which was heavenly.

The visibility began to get better, and I could see Duart Castle, and one of the smaller Mull ferries then the rain became drizzle, then stopped. By the time the ferry passed us on its way back we were past Lismore, and the sky was clearing, and there was even a hint of sun over Oban. The wind was very light now, and Julian suggested we give George a go on the helm. Once one of the big CalMac ferries, with horrible wash had passed us I agreed to give him a go, and handed over the steering.

Not long after that Robinetta was rolling gently towards Oban in bright sunshine. Julian decided he wanted to try sailing, and with the main up and the engine off we sailed for an hour until the wind died totally. That hour made up for the horrid conditions of the previous 6 hours of the trip. We stripped off our sodden oilies and spread them out to dry, had a cup of tea, and generally relaxed. The sky to the north was still dark grey, but that just made the rainbow we could see over Dunstaffinage brighter.

We were moored on a pontoon at Kerrera Marina by 18:15 after a very varied day of sailing. It had rained so much that Worm’s duck boards were afloat, but the day ended in bright sunshine.

We will be staying at Kerrera until at least Sunday, as we are hosting a rally for the OGA. More on that in due course.

Salen

The weather was drizzly as we got ready to leave but it dried up and we got some blue sky and even some sun heading out of Loch Sunart.

We got the sails up in the narrows of the entrance to Loch Drumbuie. In theory, the wind was behind us, but it was totally still for long enough.

Other boats were leaving too, taking advantage of today's weaker gusts.

The wind and gusts, and especially the lulls, were quite challenging near the rocks at the entrance to Loch Sunart. But the tide was pushing us nicely south, our of harms way. We reefed down and motor sailed as far as the cardinal and then turned the engine off.

Looking north up the Sound of Mull

We tacked near Calve Island and suddenly it wasn't nice. I don't think the sailing was different but I had the sun in my eyes and reflecting off the water and the view south was horrid, dark and foreboding. I turned the engine on and pointed straight into the wind. That calmed everything down and got the sun out of my eyes.

We carried on like that for an hour and then it felt much nicer again so we sailed the rest.

Coming into Salen Bay we had more swell than we expected. I said "maybe we just have a lunch stop".

But once we were anchored, it all felt nice.

Salen Bay is really sheltered from the west and south but it's open to the Sound and we are getting strong-is sh wash from ferries and shipping. But fewer than one per hour.

Towards Salen

Loch Drumbuie is lovely but it was time to move. I need better internet on Wednesday morning for my class and we need to get to Kererra some time!

Southerly winds will head us in the Sound of Mull so I wanted to go west-about Mull. But there is a huge Atlantic swell at the moment. It's predicted as 5 m off Tiree today and 2.5 m off the north-west coast of Mull. 

So we won't do that.

I fancy going into Loch Don at some point. Bob Bradfield speaks glowingly about the wildlife there on his Antares chart. But it's not ideal for internet.

Our usual stop in the Sound of Mull would be Loch Aline. But Salen looks good on paper with southerly winds. 

The tides run south this morning, so we will get some help pointing. And it's only 11 nm. Time to get going.

Slowing right down

abandoned village on the Treshnish peninsula

Our 2 night stay in Tobermory was used to be true tourists, rather than sailers. On Friday night we went to two concerts and a Ceilidh, and really enjoyed all activities. Getting to our walk required us to get a taxi at 07:20 (the only time one was available). Luckily the Tobermory Stores opens at 7a.m. so we could buy pies for our packed lunches. The walk was great, but really tiring, and we were given a lift back to Tobermory by another couple who had been on the walk with us.

Waking up this morning took a while, and the overcast then rain did not encourage us to move. We had hoped to sail to Coll and anchor, but with gusts of 30knots forecast for Tuesday morning we had already decided against that. Today we might had sailed to Ulva ferry, a much more sheltered anchorage than Coll, but in the end we left Tobermory just before noon, and sailed back to Loch Sunart.

We had a lovely reach over the Sound of Mull and past the Little Stirk cardinal, but then the wind faded away and we were only making half a knot under sail. No problem, this was the perfect time to heat some pies for lunch. The wind even obliged us by increasing once we finished our pies and let us sail into the Loch.

The problem was that the wind was very gusty, 20 knots one minute, and 2 the next, which made helming rather challenging.

Julian had a look at going into the anchorage at Loch Teacuis, but by the time we got to the entrance channel it would be close to low water, and this
channel is less than ½m deep in places. Instead we headed back to Loch Drambuie. There were already 5 yachts at anchor on the south side of the Loch, but we were happy to anchor near to the same spot we had left on Friday. We will probably be here 2 nights, sheltering from the Met office’s noon forecast of SE force3-4 increasing 5-6 later, with force 4-6 still blowing tomorrow.

 

Back to Tobermory

 We spent two nights at anchor in Loch na Droma Buidhe (Drambuie) off Loch Sunart. It was lovely to just chill out and relax, although we did do some boat maintenance. Julian spend some time looking at things to do on Mull, with the result that first thing this morning we pulled up the anchor and headed back to Tobermory, under engine as there was no wind.

repairs to the stern with undercoated marine filler 

nce tied up on the pontoon I finally got round to repairing the damage to the stern that we had done back in Stronsay in June. Epoxy filler needs the wood to be dry, and we had finally achieved that state!

Tonight we will be going to a Ceilidh at An Tobar, and tomorrow we have booked to join a walking tour in the north end of Mull. Having Robinetta on a pontoon makes both excursions easier, and we can also refill the water tanks.

Tobermory and Loch Drumbuie

We came to Tobermory to make sure I would be able to take my class. I woke up late and got up even later.

We were on a buoy so we had to row ashore for the heads. We got back with 5 minutes to spare. I managed to get online before the teacher!

Then we were just going back ashore to get some lunch and a lovely Australian chap came over in his dinghy and we chatted for the best part of an hour.

It was 12:20 before we got ashore.

We got hot pies and ate them and then it was time for my next zoom call, a conversation session associated with my class.

I started that from the harbour side, but then it started spitting with rain so we went back to Robinetta. It was fun joining one breakout room from the shore, another from the dinghy and a third from the cabin!

We had told the harbour we would be leaving at lunchtime. So after my second zoom session we headed over to the fuel dock and filled up and headed out.

I'd suggested Loch Drumbuie for an overnight. I wasn't expecting any wind but we had a smashing beat around the rocks off Loch Sunart and then a very gentle run in, all the way through the narrows into Loch Drumbuie.

Once through the narrows we turned head to wind and put the engine on to drop the sails. This always drops the volts to the chart plotter and it restarts.

Not this time. It went off and stayed off and the VHF was off too. I swapped the fuses with the cabin lights and the cabin lights still worked so we had a wiring fault. That shouldn't be triggered by a voltage drop.

We had lost depth but we still had a chart plotter and GPS on my phone. We knew where we were on the tide and what the rise and fall were tonight. With the Antares charts, we reckoned it was safe to anchor without a depth gauge.

So we went for it. There was already one yacht in the north anchorage and another in the north east but loads of space left. So I laid out 16 m of chain and we dropped in what we think was 4 m under the keel at high water with 2.5 to drop.

Safely at anchor, I started looking for the fault. I'd worked out it wasn't in the switch box when Alison put her coat away and everything came back on line. 

So there is a loose connection in the wet locker. I'll find and fix it before we leave.

South to Tobermory

An easterly wind got up in the night, and Robinetta was restless on the mooring. Having wined and dined a little too well last night I was not at my best, but neither Julian nor I wanted to stay longer, so dropped the buoy just after 8 a.m.

The harbour entrance was very bouncy, and the wind on the nose and the tide heading into the harbour brought our speed under engine down to 2 knots. We slogged over to the shelter of Rhum before trying to raise the main sail, and did so with a reef in. Julian managed to get a weather update, and the met office forecast took us aback. Variable 2-4. The wind had felt much stronger than that! However the met office was right, and we soon shook out the reef.

Calm after a bouncy start, Canna in the distance

We headed down the west side of Rum, on a straight line course for Ardnamurchan point. The wind came and went, and the engine went on and off, but we had 4 hours of sailing in our 10 hour passage, which was much better than we did on the trip from Canna.

There was not as much bird life as earlier in the season, but we were briefly visited by dolphins. From what we could see they lacked the yellow stripe of common dolphins, and we wondered if they were Atlantic white stripes, which are also on the local cetacean listings. However a local expert I asked later said tht white stripes were very rare, and they were most likely to be Commons, whose yellow stripes can be very pale.

The wind died away as we passed Ardnamurchan point, and the sea became glassy in the sound of Mull. As soon as we were safely past the wash from a ferry coming out of the sound we got the sails down.

An hour later we were on a mooring buoy just off Tobermory marina, and after a light dinner (it was a diet day) I rowed us ashore to the co-op, and for a walk around Tobermory. Nothing seemed to have changed since we were last here, except that Cafe Fish, cooked no fresh fish; smoked fish and shell fish only.

Ashore on Canna

We spent Monday exploring Canna, walking up the hill from the harbour to see the 9th century Celtic cross, then continuing west along the coast to where a Neolithic Souterrain showed the island had been inhabited for thousands of years. The sun was scorching, and the wind none existent, which made the return trip exhausting. For the first time this year we were too hot. The cool shelter of the Sheering Shed, where we could get cold drinks from an honesty fridge, was a lifesaver as we got back to the village.

Julian by the souterrain

Celtic cross

Rum from Canna

After rowing back to Robinetta we went straight into the cabin to get out of the sun, and spent a couple of hours relaxing. I spent some of that time watching as yachts arrived and tried to pick up mooring buoys. This is never easy to do with an audience, but they made me glad that Robinetta is small, with much lower bows than most modern cruising yachts. Eventually all the buoys were taken and by half six there were at least 4 yachts at anchor as well.

I rowed us ashore via a Cornish Crabber 30 called Wave of Mylor, wanting to exchange greetings with a fellow gaffer. Once Julian and I had showered we met up with her crew and had a drink before going into the restaurant for dinner.

Vatersay to Canna

We poured over the pilot books trying to decide where to go next. The weather was calm but variable for a little while, but we didn't want to get stuck north of Ardnamurchan and miss our own rally in Kererra at the end of the month.

Coll and Tiree are closest to Vatersay but have no anchorages good enough for changeable weather.

We decided to go to Canna, which is a bit in the wrong direction, but nearer everywhere else.

It's about 36 nm from Vatersay to Canna. We didn't get away until 10 am but that felt OK.

We went south around Muldoanich, we allowed us to sail. The wind went very light and we put the line out and caught 4 mackerel instantly. One was huge. I put one of the normal sized ones back.

The trip to Canna was uneventful. We got some wind we could use for some of it and motored the rest.

I split the time between cleaning the fish and scallops, cooking them and eating them, preparing for my first class of the new Gaelic course and reading Johnson and Boswell.

We had the scallops as a starter for lunch. Just fried in butter. Lovely.

At Alison's suggestion, I cooked the mackerel with a sweet apple. That turned out brilliantly. We had sautéed potatoes too and it made a big lunch. George was helming and the weather was lovely.

We got to Canna about 8:30 in the evening and picked up a mooring buoy. It had lost its pickup buoy but it was easy to grab the rope.

North coast of Canna

Canna Harbour is an EE dead spot.

Vatersay

 We thought of having breakfast at the cafe but there was a bit too much swell. So we had breakfast on board, by which time the swell had gone down so we rowed ashore to use the facilities and found that the café was shut. So we were glad we'd eaten!

There is a well marked trail around the island visiting the historical and archaeological sites. It was such a lovely day that we had no excuse! We did skip the last bit which visits the trespass village. Not because we were tired, but because a short-cut would take us past the cake box! We had tray bakes. Deliciously indulgent.

Gorgeous views all along the trail.

Neolithic standing stone

Contrails heading to America

Back at the beach, I went for my first swim of the year. I've wanted to lots of times but there have always been too many jellyfish. It was cold, but lovely.

On the way back to Robinetta, we dropped off boat cards on the two gaffers.

Back aboard, we spotted someone in a dinghy by the gaffers and waved. A while later, he rowed over and came aboard and we had a beer and chatted. They have had Eleanore B for a few years, initially as a lug ketch but this year converted to gaff cutter to be more suitable for couple cruises. They are relief crew for Eda Fransen.

The others had gone scallop diving. They also came to say hello. Later, the skipper of Wild brought us two of the huge scallops they had dived.

Hopefully we will see them again. Two lovely young couples with gaffers!

Too uncomfortable to stay put

Robinetta’s motion at anchor when we went to bed last night was not too bad, but by 02:20 she was rocking so violently that I was wide awake, and unable to get to sleep. We knew swell would get into the anchorage, but this was much worse than we had hoped. There was no way we could stay here.

By 02:30 Julian had the anchor on deck, and I was helming Robinetta back along her outbound track. Neither of us had the energy to raise sail, and with the lines frapped up Julian did not even think of getting the cover of the stay sail as he came back to the cockpit. Only one of us was needed, so after he wet the tea I had boiled the kettle for Julian stayed below, and got back under the covers. Every now and then he popped his head up, and asked if I wanted spelling, but I did not feel at all sleepy, so stayed on the helm the whole way.

The half moon was reasonably clear of cloud, but no stars appeared for a long time. I kept on the line as I steered past the dark shapes of Mingulay and Pabbay simply enough, by keeping the moon’s glow on the starboard bow. At some point I would need to leave that line, to head for the anchorage at Vatersay, so I called Julian up to put in a course to steer.

The clouds to the north cleared away at about 04:30, and I suddenly had a star to steer by, or at least a planet, as I was pretty sure this was Venus. The horizon began to brighten, and by the time I called Julian up at 05:10 it was light enough to pick out the yachts at anchor in Vatersay Bay. Spotting the crab pot markers was not nearly so easy, and Julian thinks we ran one down. Nothing wrapped itself round the prop….

By 05:32 we were anchored again, in 6m under the keel at the bottom of the tide. Julian put 30m of chain down, which should be enough to hold us with a rise of tide of 2.5m. To our surprise we were not the only gaffer there, in fact the gaff rigged yachts outnumbered the bermudan ones!

Once I was sure we were secure I went to bed, and slept like a baby until 09:30. When I woke up the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and there was a slight swell running...

North Bay, Vatersay

 

 

A short sail south to Mingulay

We spent Thursday in Castlebay, repairing Worm and putting Danish oil on Robinetta’s cabin sides. The weather was overcast, with mist wreathing round the hills, and we did not want to do much. Today was clearer, with a light breeze, and we decided to head for Mingulay. It is only 11nm from Castlebay, so we were not in a hurry to leave, and caught the 10:30 bus, which goes to the ferry and airports, then returns in a circular route.

Leaving Castle Bay

Once back at the marina Julian launched Worm, and we set off for Mingulay at 12:30. We raised sail in the Castlebay approaches, and headed for Mingulay under sail, not minding that we were doing less than 3 knots on a run.

Once we turned south we were broad reaching and sped up.

Robinetta at anchor in Mingulay East Bay

The sea was calm, and the light wind kept us going past Vatersay Sandray, and Pabay. It was a lovely sail until the wind went very light as we approached East Bay on Mingulay. We headed into the bay under engine, to see a flock of sea kayaks sitting just off the beach as they decided where to land.

I headed us slowly towards the beach, hoping to get to 4m beneath the keel before we dropped anchor. We seemed to be getting very close to the steeply sloping beach, and I lost my nerve, and told Julian to drop anchor with 6m under the keel. We had 25m of chain ready, and Julian let out another 10m when I told him our depth. We were only an hour before low water, with 3m rise of tide expected.

Once we were secure on the anchor I rowed us ashore. The pilot book warned about problems with landing due to the swell, so we picked our place and moment carefully. We got ashore without problems, and had a short walk. Low clouds were drifting in over the hills from the west, and we spent less than an hour ashore. Still, we got to explore the deserted village of East Bay.

Relaunching Worm as carefully as we had come ashore, we got back to Robinetta with sandy feet, but no water in the dinghy.

Deserted village on Mingulay

Onward to Barra

We decided that we might as well go straight to Castlebay, Barra, today. There was very little wind in the forecast, so it would be a motoring day. As long as the waves from yesterday's sailing breeze had gone we would be able to put George on the helm and sit back.

That is almost exactly what we did. We did get the main sail up at the north end of Rum, and had half an hour under main and jib as we headed to the south end of Canna, and another hour sailing after lunch, but George had no problems helming when we were motor sailing.

The sitting back bit did not quite happen. When Julian got the sail cover off the stay sail before letting go of the mooring buoy at 07:45 he discovered that the tape we had used to mend the stay sail in Mallaig had come off along half its length. I spent over half the trip to Barra sitting in the cabin sewing it in place. I knew I should have sewn it on in the first place, rather than just relying on the self adhesive!

Motor sailing towards the hazy horizon

We did the 45 miles from Rum  in just over 11 hours. The light breeze kept the sails full, but with that distance to cover we wanted to keep above 4 knots, and that meant having the engine on as well. This meant George could be used, and all our tech got a good charge. The horizon was hazy, but the sky overhead was bright blue, and the sun sparkled on the water.

We were tied up in Castlebay Marina by 19:00, which gave us enough time to walk up to the Fish Box Kitchen and get scallops and
prawns for dinner which we ate in the cockpit with a glass of wine. Lovely.

Sun plus wind

I've been pretty down in the dumps since Stornoway. We haven't had a decent day's weather on the boat. Either too much wind or none at all and no sunshine to speak of. Some days the visibility has been less than a mile and the cloud base has been a few hundred metres.

This afternoon promised sun. The forecast wind was 8 knots gusting 12 from the south. A bit calm to move Robinetta but more would have created too much swell.

It was a flat calm with a hint of blue sky at Inverie this morning. So we put the No 1 jib on and raised the main on the mooring and motored off. Next stop Rum.

We picked up a pod of dolphins near Bogha Don (or Bodha Donn as I think it should be). Lots of young. We normally think of them as common dolphins but I saw a picture today that makes me think these might have been Atlantic white sided. They followed the boat for a while doing lots of jumps but we didn't get any pictures.

Then a second group came to play near Mallaig.

After that there was a huge group of mixed seabirds on the water. We tried fishing but we weren't very patient.

Then a third group of dolphins and a Minke.

Breaks in the clouds came and went but the blue seemed to be winning.

We could feel a tiny bit of wind. As we got out into the Sound of Sleat, it got more noticeable. After a while we were heeling a little so I throttled back and put the jib out. The sea was still glassy but there was enough wind to move us at 3 knots! The engine went off.

Entering Loch Scresort, Rum

mThe trip to Rum was lovely. The wind dropped away for a few minutes and then started building. Two miles from Rum we needed to reef but the sea was still slight. Eda Fransen was there at anchor and gave us a wave. We dropped the sails, shaking out the reef, and picked up one of the new visitors buoys around 2pm.

After a cup of tea, we rowed ashore and walked to the shop, past the “castle”. By now, it was brilliant sunshine and the woody path’s shade was welcome.

Rum has excellent walks but my toe is still a little sore, although it is healing well. So after an ice cream, we headed back.

Aboard, we caught up on emails and read it for a bit and then I cooked the venison meatballs we bought at Inverie, with spaghetti and a jar of Ragu.

After dinner, we rowed ashore again to visit the otter hide.

We didn't see any otters but I did see a heron.

This is the sort of day I desperately needed.

 

A bumpy night

The Inverie moorings lived up to their "not sheltered" label but Robinetta was secure on her mooring. We tried tying Worm alongside to stop her bumping the stern, and it worked for a while, but at 2 am the line was making a lot of noise. I got up and let her off astern, and the rest of the night was quieter.

We woke up to heavy rain, and noticable swell. The mooring was not exactly comfortable, but moving  did not appeal either. By lunch time the swell had died down enough to contemplate rowing ashore, so after a sandwich lunch I bailed Worm out, and we headed ashore to spend the afternoon in the Old Forge Inn (they do not serve meals on Mondays).

The coffee, beer, and whisky were excellent, and we spent the afternoon there. Visibility was poor, but we were snug and dry in the Inn.