Upper Loch Sunart

Today was a fasting day. We woke in time for the 7:10 am Stornoway Coastguard weather. The easterly F6 was still there. It was a fantastic morning, sunny and still. We showered in the new shower block which works really well as a family bathroom and had porridge for breakfast. We still had some double cream left over from the pineapple and we allowed ourselves the indulgence of having some on the porridge. Then we prepped the boat and left.

Out in the loch there was a little wind so we raised sail and pottered out at about 1 ½ knots. We were just making against the tide. We ‘tacked’ east and it died completely, leaving us drifting slowly backwards with the tide. Reluctantly we put the engine on and motored up the loch. It was absolutely beautiful. I got to work making the birch branch I cut off a fallen tree into an ensign pole. Alison steered. We dropped the main and left the stay sail up for luck.

Every now and then we cut the revs and took pictures. We took about 80.

At springs the tide runs at 3 ½ knots through Laudale Narrows. As we approached we could see a line on the water. West of the line the water was smooth. East of it were ripples. As we crossed the line Alison could feel the pull of the tide on the tiller but it was really weak.

We got to the head of the loch at Strontian around 12:30. There were plenty of unused buoys but I fancied anchoring. We dropped the hook next to a moored yacht and had our meagre lunch and then rowed ashore for a walk.

An elderly gentleman was reading his paper in his car and asked about the boat. We had a nice chat about the development of moorings and how they were helping the local economy. He was about the same age as Robinetta.

The pilot book’s instructions for anchoring mention an obelisk. It is a war memorial above the road and gives fine views of the loch. As we came down to the road a passer-by said what a nice day it was for me to be taking my young lassie out for a walk.

Strontian has a hotel, a petrol station/post office/general store, a police station, a pottery/craft shop a supermarket and restaurant, a tourist information centre and a large camp site. It was a lead mining village and gives its name to the alkali metal element strontium. We can’t remember if we camped here on honeymoon.

The anchor came up cleanly with a little mud on one fluke and we headed back towards Garbh Eilean where we planned to anchor for the night. This time as we passed through the narrows there was a proper rost and the boat swung in several directions, but again, the pull was weak.

When we got to the anchorage Alison was initially sceptical but we motored around and found a perfect spot and put out 30m of chain in 10-15 feet of water. That should hold us even if the threatened F6 happens. The anchorage is stunningly pretty.

We sat in the cockpit enjoying the view and listening to the Martyn Bennett album we had bought in Tobermory. Magic. Then we had our meagre dinner.

Alison found she had picked up a leaflet for a wildlife hide and it was exactly where we were. You can see seal, heron and occasionally eagles and otters. I suggested we go for a tour around the bay and the island in Worm. It was lovely. We were followed most of the way round by a seal pup who kept under water most of the time but kept coming up to take a peek. We saw lots of heron and cormorants and perhaps some raptors but we were not sure.

I’m in love with Loch Sunart.

Tobermory to Loch Sunart (Salen)

The forecast this morning was NE force 4-5, going round to the SE within 48 hours, and although the wind was expected to drop tomorrow neither of us fancied heading out round the top of Mull and down the west side. We did want to visit the Treshnish Islands, but the pilot discouraged us with talk of exposed anchorages, and we decided that a visit to Loch Sunart would be more enjoyable.

Photo: Allan Fraser, Touch of Grey

We left the berth just before ten, and raised sail within the harbour. It was very calm there, with hardly any wind, and we ghosted out at 1½ knots with the wind almost dead astern. This was just a sheltered harbour effect though, and as soon as we cleared Rubha na Leip the wind was on the port bow, force 3-4.

We had bent on the no 1 jib, but as the wind picked up and the  power kicked in half way across the Sound of Mull I regretted it, until Julian suggested we reef the main. We put a couple of rolls in, and steering became much easier! We were still touching 5 knots at times, with seas rolling up behind us. It felt quite cold, and I gave the tiller to Julian while I went below and put my oily trousers on.

The entrance to Loch Sunart has a fair few rocks in it, but having a chart plotter in the cockpit makes the pilotage in really simple. All traces of swell vanished as Big Stirk fell behind, and the wind eased too. A small lugger came sailing out of the Loch on starboard tack, while we were on port. Julian decided to tack, so we would be well clear of them, and as I pulled in the jib sheet the end of it appeared from forward. Luckily the starboard sheet was still attached, so I could furl the jib away.

Since the main was slightly reefed the balance with just the stay sail was not too bad, so we tacked back round onto our course into the loch, with the lugger well astern of us. Julian went forward and brought in the jib to retie the sheet, and we were soon inside Loch Sunnart sailing with three sails again.

The wind dropped in the shelter of the Ardnamurchan peninsula, and Julian decided we should shake the reef out. I decided I should be the one to do it, because Julian has been doing nearly all the sail raising, but ran into a problem immediately. As I lowered the peak, to take the pressure off the gaff saddle so I could raise the throat, the Scottish courtesy flag which we had been flying quite high up the flag halyard got caught in the peak halyard block. Julian had to come back off the wind to pull it free, and then I could get the peak down. Unfortunately it did not help, as I could still not pull the throat halyard hard enough to pull the throat up and unroll the reef. Julian had to do it, which I find annoying. I used to be able to raise sail by myself! Julian thinks it is because of the bigger main and longer gaff, and wants an extra purchase to help get the throat up and properly tight, which he finds difficult too.

Loch Sunnart is a lovely place to sail. Very picturesque, with many islands and anchorages to explore, and winding enough that the waves get little chance to build. We wound our way round the top of Oronsay, then south of Rigsa, then north of Carna in bright sunshine, with occasional rain clouds overhead, that never opened above us. The winds were interesting once we were clear of Carna, dying away to almost nothing, then gusting, so we could go from 1.6 knots to 4.2 in seconds, although the wind direction stayed constant.

We ate lunch on the move, then lowered the sails just outside Salen and motored into the inlet. Our charts and pilot book only talk about moorings, but the Welcome Anchorages magazine which is published every year promised a pontoon, and it was easy to spot as soon as we were inside the entrance. 

A yacht had been motoring up the loch behind us as we sailed, and it came past as as we motored slowly in. Anegada was moored up on the pontoon while we were still getting our fenders and ropes sorted, and took our lines as we came in, which was very helpful!

We were only just tied up when the harbour master appeared to tell us about the facilities and offer suggestions about what to do locally. She was very friendly and welcoming.

We took her advice about a walk up the hill just above Salen, and had an afternoon stroll in the Sunnart Oakwoods Forest. There were some fallen trees by the path, and Julian spotted a likely ensign pole, so rescued it from rotting.

The views were superb, and I would highly recommend it.

Tobermory

After the high winds of Thursday we took a day off from sailing in Tobermory, looking round the town and shops in the morning.

I rinsed the salt off the decks and sides, then touched up some of the paint that had been chipped over the season, while Julian cooked up more mackerel for dinner. We then had a think about where to leave Robinetta for the winter. There are a lot of places near Oban and Crinan who do laying up ashore, but they all have different drawbacks and advantages, so it's not an easy choice.

We went to An Tobar, the arts centre, in the evening, to listen to Rab Noakes and Kathleen MacInnes doing a set of Love and Murder Ballads. Fun! And wonderful singing and playing.

Sound of Mull

The Whitehouse restaurant at Lochaline is famous. We tried to book for last night but got an answerphone and then Alison rang them again when we got to Lochaline. They were fully booked but offered us lunch or dinner today and we jumped at the lunch option.

This gave us a leisurely morning to shower and put water and diesel into the tanks.

The new pontoons at Lochaline and the toilet block are excellent. You have to walk through the silica sand mine to get to the ‘village’. The mine is the only one in the UK which is pillar and stall rather than open cast. The Jurassic sand is in a 5m seam covered with basalt from a volcano on Mull. Once through the mine you are at the Calmac ferry terminal where there is a snack bar and just above sits the general store and petrol station and the Whitehouse.

Alison and I used the ferry route from Fishnish on Mull to here in 1982 on our honeymoon. Back then the ferry took at most 8 cars. Now it is a full size ro-ro.

The meal was outstanding. My starter was a gazpacho with a scoop of basil sorbet in the middle and a pair of langoustine. Alison had a salmon terrine. My main course was halibut with courgettes and roast new potato and an oyster on top. Alison had venison liver with beetroot and now can’t say she doesn’t like beetroot! We drank tap water. Nothing needed another flavour! The colours of the dishes were amazing, partly due to the generous use of flower petals from their garden.

Back on the boat I looked at the weather. At least I looked at xcweather.co.uk which as far as I know uses the NOAA grib files as the basis of its forecasts. I didn’t look at the Met Office forecast. Xc said F4 gusting F5 from the north.

We got ready and set out. The wind was right behind us so we turned back to get the main up and then motor sailed into the Sound of Mull. Once in the sound proper we turned the engine off. The wind was extremely variable in strength. The Lulls were so deep we would have stopped moving without the 1 knot of tide we had in our favour. The gusts were strong enough we were glad we had kept yesterday’s reef in the main and set the No 2 jib.

Just north of Lochaline the Sound of Mull runs mostly east-west and we had a nice reach.  After that it runs NNW and we had to beat, but it is wide enough that the tacks are long. The gusts got stronger and we reefed down twice. We picked up the inshore waters forecast from Stornoway Coastguard at 16:10 and wished we had got it earlier. F5 to F6, occasionally F7! By then we were only 7 miles from Tobermory.

Great shot by Allan Fraser of s/v Touch of Grey

It was a really nice day. We got ever changing views of the mountains in all directions and lovely cloud scapes. There was a decent amount of blue sky and occaisional sunshine. It was far too nice to want to be anywhere else.

Gradually the lulls stopped happening and the wind strengthened. Several other yachts were going the same way and we saw them shorten sail too. I got a nice shot of this Westerly Fulmar Sarah Maria crossing a south going yacht. We couldn’t reduce the main any more without untying the bottom mast hoop. Alison went forward to do it but a loop of the tie was over the bight and she couldn’t shift it. I took a screwdriver up there and prised it loose and we reefed all the way down. A bit after that we put the jib away and turned the engine on to keep the speed up.

We had run out of favorable tide and we wanted to get into port.

With the sails reduced Robinetta was pretty comfortable and riding the waves nicely. At the edges of the sound the sea state was slight but in the middle the waves were getting bigger. Now and then one would break over the cabin. One went right down my neck. We had really no idea what the wind speed was but we knew it was at least a good F6. As we got near Tobermory I noticed the wind was blowing the tops off the waves. I thought that only happened in an 8.

Just outside the harbour we were passed by a Dive Boat. I wonder what it was like diving today.

Alison was on the helm and not at all sure she could get safely round into the harbour. I dropped the peak and throat halyards a little to scandalize the main and let the sheets out a little and we made it round quite gently. Once in the lee of the headland the sea was much smoother and we could go head to wind and get the main down. I went forward and got the foresails down and reefed the bowsprit.

The sun was quite low now and in our eyes and it took a while to find a nice pontoon berth but we got in quite easily and someone from the next boat took our bow line. He was from Sarah Maria and we had parked right next to her. It is his grandfather’s boat and he was sailing her with two friends. They came over and offered us part of their huge (60+) mackerel catch and we sat on Robinetta drinking wine and beer and then they fetched chips. Alison and I had a fine meal of fresh mackerel fillets fried in butter and garlic with morning rolls and chip shop chips.

What a great day.

Ardfern to Loch Aline

We decided that heading north towards Mull would be a good idea. Tobermory is over 40 miles from Ardfern, so too far for a relaxed sail, but Lochaline  is only 33, which feels much closer, so we decided to go there.

The tides control a lot of when we should leave. Ardfern to Lochaline means going through the Dorus Mor, which even at neeps can run at 4 knots.... We needed that with us, and since it started to run around 0530 that meant an early start. Julian set the alarm for six, and by 0635 the engine was on and Julian had let us off the mooring. I wasn't quite ready, so he did it single handed.

The depth gauge decided it did not want to work, which is not a huge problem since we have the GPS chartplotter. The rocks of the West coast of Scotland stay put unlike the English east coast mud and sand banks. I got it out of the cupboard and fitted it, then turned it on. Nothing happened.

I told Julian I could not make it work, and he gave me the tiller and had a go. We were just clear of the marina entrance, and I remembered there were shallows there, so I slowed down and Julian turned on the chart plotter on his Samsung tablet. Luckily that worked fine, and after ten or so minutes of cleaning the terminals on the plug the proper chart plotter was back in business.

Julian then went forward to get the bowsprit out, and discovered another problem. The Wickham-Martin furling gear had lost its shackle pin. We had lived in dread of dropping it overboard when fitting or changing jibs, but it had just worked loose while on the mooring, and vanished. This was a major loss, and after a few minutes grumbling and worrying Julian went below to try and find some threaded rod to use as a substitute. He came back up with the old gaff saddle bolt instead, tried it for size, and even the thread was on the correct pitch!

We can't use it as a replacement long term, steel bolts in bronze fittings are not good, but it will allow us to furl the jibs on demand until we can get hold of a bronze one.

We motored through the Dorus Mor without trouble, going from 4.3 knots to 7 for a while, then up the Sound of Luing. Both are known for fast tides and overfalls. but the wind was light, and it was neeps, so we had no problems.

We got the sails up as we passed Beinahua, then turned onto our course up the Firth of Lorn. We tried sailing, but the wind was very light, only giving us half a knot in addition to the one knot from the tide, so the engine soon went back on, even though I changed jibs from the no 2 I had net on originally to the no 1.

Half an hour later the wind freshened, and we had a good sail along the south coast of Mull up to Duart point and then into the Sound of Mull where we had to start tacking. The sea state changed too, with the wash from the ferries that passed us making it unpleasant at times, and after a while we furled away the jib and put the engine back on. The wind continued to freshen though, and we had to reef the main as we neared Lochaline

We turned into the approach channel for Lochaline at 1530, just when the Reeds almanac predicted the tide would begin to turn against us. The wind dropped dramatically as we entered the Loch, and I dropped the main hurriedly in the calm, rather than waiting to go head to wind later.

The pontoons are too new to be on our chart plotter, so we weren't sure exactly where they were, but they were easy to see from the entrance. There was plenty of space too, with only two yachts already there, so I rigged the ropes and fenders for starboard. I had just finished, and we were nearly in the berth when I realised we still had the stay sail up, and the bowsprit was still out. Julian quickly dropped the stay sail, and there was enough room for the bowsprit.

A sailor from one of the other yachts came along and took our bow line, and we were soon moored up securely.

We paid our mooring fees at the office then walked along to the village shop for food and diesel. It's only about ten minutes away, and stocks a decent amount; the only problem was that it started to rain on the way back, and did not stop. It turned into a very damp evening!
 

We had bought haggis and swede to cook for dinner, which was not a good idea. The swede was woody, which was not surprising for this time of year, and I had no foil to wrap round the haggis as we baked it in our electric oven. The mashed potato was good, but not enough to make up for crunchy haggis and unmashable swede...

The one good thing was using the oven warmed the cabin up nicely to drive off the damp!

Back on board

Spent the morning in boat chores. I put the damp and mouldy clothes through the washer and drier, while Julian washed down the inside of the boat. I took the charts and pilot books that we would not need to the car, together with the charcoal stove that we have carried all the way from Tollesbury, and not been able to use. It feels good to have the space available for the bin again! Worm's spars also went in the car as it is unlikely to be warm enough to want to sail her in the next couple of weeks, and it is a nuisance having to move them in and out of the cabin every night. Of course it will now get warm and calm enough to want to use them!

The weather was great for getting the boat dry, with clear skies and a brisk breeze. We could have gone for a sail, but getting the boat habitable felt more important. We left her open all afternoon, to let the breeze blow through, while we drove to Kilmartin and looked round the museum and prehistoric sites, then on to Dunadd and climbed up to the top of the rock and saw the coronation footprint and carving.

We are having a fasting day today, so no Galley of Lorne tonight, just back to the boat for baked beans and an egg, followed by an evening looking at tides and possible destinations for tomorrow. It's neeps, so that will help with getting through the Dorus Mor, and the Sound of Luing.

Back to Ardfern

Drove up to Ardfern, leaving Stortford at about 0930. Weather was fine for driving, dry and sunny, and we had no holdups, managing to make it past Glasgow before 1700, which meant we were at Ardfern by 1900. I had phoned the marina before we left home, and asked them to leave the key out for us, which they did. I thought they said one place and we could not find it there, but luckily there was still someone working, who knew where it should be, and it was!

Key safely in pocket we headed for the Galley of Lorne Inn for dinner, then collected Worm from the dinghy park and rowed out to Robinetta. It was almost dark by the time we got on board, and felt cold; there was a thin film of black mould over a lot of the paint work, and our mugs needed washing before we would drink tea out of them. It had obviously been quite wet in the month we were away! Some of the clothes we had left on board were damp too, and Julian's Guernsey was growing mould...

The water that had been standing in the pipe smelt odd, but we pumped it away, and soon had a fresh flow that had just run through the charcoal filter between tank and tap. A very useful piece of kit! After a cup of tea we got the bedding out. Sleeping bags and pillows were all fine since we had stowed them properly in dry bags.