Tidying up

We spent the day doing laundry, deciding what to pack for the Netherlands and drying things. We dried lots of things. All the sails went up, on the mooring and billowing in the light breeze. They came down again and the foresails were bagged and stowed.

Loch Craignish and Ardfern are absolutely beautiful. Today we could actually see them. We checked the bus times and the train times and when the chores were done we chilled in the sunshine in the cockpit.

After dinner we went to the Galley of Lorne again for one drink and to use the wifi. The barman tried hard to remember what our 'usual' was. The trouble is we keep having different things!

I like Ardfern.

Tomorrow we head south to join Kajan for the Dutch OGA 10th birthday cruise. We won't be back on Robinetta for about a month.

The Galley of Lorne Inn

It didn't take long last night for the urge to go ashore to win. We rowed to the pontoon and wandered, dripping, up to the Galley of Lorne hotel with 20 minutes to spare before last orders for dinner. Perfect timing as the band was due on shortly too.

The Galley of Lorne is brilliant. Good food (if a little fussily presented), great beer, free wifi, and, the night we were there, great music. The band were called Stillwater and performed a mixture of Blues and more general covers including Neil Young, the Band, Emelda May and Kirstie McColl.

We got back to the boat around 1:30 am.

Wet

Day came and yesterday's strong winds were but a distant memory. We had had a really quiet night and this morning was calm and pleasant.

We had a lazy morning showering and having breakfast at the shop and cafe at Tayvallich and catching up with the blog, etc.

The Navionics charts on my tablet suggested an evening trip to Ardfern would catch the tide and we contemplated a walk on the Taynish peninsular but the clouds came down and neither of us really fancied it.

Back on board Alison used Reeds to check my tidal estimate and came up with a much earlier departure time so we got ready and went. There was not a breath of wind. Half way down Loch Sween it started raining. From then on we got anything from light drizzle to heavy rain all the way without a breath of wind.

Near the MacCormaic islands and again by Carsaig Bay we saw porpoises, just for a moment.

We both wanted to take a look at the entrance to the Crinan Canal, me because I'd only seen it leaving on Bonify last year and Alison because she hadn't seen it before. It was also a place Robinetta had been twice before, back in 1938. As we got near, the clouds came lower and lower until the visibility was about 100 m. We went into full fog mode with double lookout, life jackets and 4s blasts on the horn every 2 minutes. We never saw or heard another boat.

The ground level cloud persisted all the way up Loch Craignish. It is at times like these that we really know how lucky we are to have GPS. There was never a moment of concern over the course, even though each time Alison took here eyes off the plotter we went wildly off track.

It cleared a little as we got to Ardfern. We found the buoy we had been allocated quite easily and picked it up. We were absolutely sodden.

Strong Winds

I woke around 06:30 to an uncomfortable pitching sensation. As we sleep across the boat this meant we were rolling. On deck we could see a long, low swell, perhaps 10 m between crests and 50 cm high coming into the bay between Goat Island and the mainland of Jura. Most of the boats looked quite steady, but a few were rolling like us. We put the bed away and went around securing things. Worm's spars and oars came down off the cabin roof and inside. Back below and lying lengthways on the benches it was much more comfortable.

The wind was supposed to get up early this morning, but not too strongly and we had planned to stay at Craighouse until the afternoon flood tide and then head for Carsaig Bay to anchor, a nice short evening trip of 15 nm, leaving about 10 nm for Saturday to get to Ardfern. This morning we wanted showers and a visit to the distillery. We hadn't planned much after that but we knew we could hire bikes or go for a walk or stay on Robinetta and do some writing. Alison has more to do on Eastcoaster.

At 08:10 we got the forecast from Belfast Coastguard. NE 4 or 5 going E 5 to 7 going SE 4 or 5. Saturday's forecast was SE 4 or 5 becoming variable 3 or 4. We should stay here tonight. But the swell was really uncomfortable.

At 09:00 we got into Worm to row across. It wasn't easy and we scratched some paint on Robinetta but once in Worm the swell was so gentle that Alison found the trip simple. Once on the pontoon we pulled Worm up on top to stop the swell banging her against it.

First stop was the shop. We wanted milk and morning rolls. We got the milk but the only bread was defrosted sliced loaf. Next stop was the hotel for showers. At reception we were told they weren't offering showers to boaters while the shower block was being rebuilt. Things were not going well.

We walked along to the public toilets on the old pier. A really old stone building with barn doors and only cold water but the toilets themselves were new and clean. From the pier we could watch the boats rocking on the moorings. They were lying to the wind, which was north-easterly but the swell was refracting through the small islands and coming in abeam. The yachts with long keels were rolling much more than the fin keelers and catamarans.

A catamaran at anchor raised sail and left. As she left the bay she pitched quite a bit.

It was nearly 09:30 so we walked up the hill a bit to see if there would be a view but there wasn't. We went into the distillery shop and I found a pack of three sample sized Jura malts but they were not allowed to sell them to me until 10am. We sat on their benches and looked out at the view and chatted with a couple who were waiting for the distillery tour.

Although we had slept well we were tired from bracing against the rolling and not in the mood for Jura's mountains and we discussed leaving early. I said we would be beating up the loch against the tide and gaffers don't do that. At 10:00 we bought the whisky and rowed back to the boat. Getting on wasn't as difficult as I had feared but on board it was very uncomfortable.

Alison suggested we try and get to Tayvallich. We were there years ago on Ariel of Hamble and we knew it was really sheltered. It was about 20 miles away and it would be 25 from there to Ardfern but the last 6 miles up Loch Sween to Tayvallich should be sheltered.

At 11:00 we bent on the No 2 jib and left. It was quite bouncy on the way out but the wind was moderate. In deeper water the swell wasn't so bad but the tide was stronger than I had hoped.

When we first started sailing Robinetta we always declared a skipper. In general we took it in turns and now and then we sparked badly. The worst was usually when I was skipper and Alison wanted things her way. Over time we both became better sailors, better skippers and better crew and now we hardly ever bother to ask who is skipper. This morning we were both irritable and the conditions were challenging and we were not perfectly in tune with each other. I said "I think we need a skipper today. Will you be skipper because I don't really want you as crew." After 30 years we can be honest with each other. Alison thought about this and agreed. That was one less storm we would have to deal with.

On engine and staysail alone we were being swept south so at noon we put up the main with two rolls on the boom and let the jib out. We were sailing well so we turned the engine off. That was better but we still felt in danger of the wind pushing us towards the small islands on starboard tack and the tide pushing us down onto some rocks on port. In fact, on starboard tack we were just stemming the tide.

At 12:30 I said "on the next starboard tack we will put the engine on to stem the tide and motor sail". Alison agreed and finally we were on track. Things went much better now. We were only making 2 knots SOG but we were getting where we needed to be. We had also cleared the Jura shore and were in deep, hazard free water.

An hour later the wind started getting up and so did the seas. At 13:45 we reefed to the first hoop and put away the jib and the iron topsail. Fifteen minutes later I untied the first hoop and we put in all the reef we could. Ten minutes later we dropped the main entirely and put the engine back on. The next two hours were difficult. The wind was very strong and the largest waves were enough to knock us off course. Then the new stainless steel shackle for the port back stay went flying. I grabbed the two ropes and held on while ferreting in the locker for a piece of line and got it all tied back on and useful. Small boats are so convenient. Only tiny amounts of water came into the cockpit and it felt quite safe. It was just very hard work.

As we neared the mainland coast the sun came out and the sea calmed down. We knew this should happen as we now had an off-shore wind and the fetch was getting shorter, but it was nice to have it happen in practice. Quite a bit of our speed was from the staysail and the wind backed a little, pushing us towards the MacCormaig islands. I hated the idea of being pushed leeward back into the heavier seas and asked Alison to tack more towards the shore, I said it didn't matter if we got pushed south now because the tide would turn but west was bad. She agreed and we went about a mile eastwards before turning back towards the track. We looked at each other and said "this is fun". Then a fishing boat passed us at about 15 knots into Loch Sween and Alison said "I've got engine envy."

We didn't know what the entrance to Loch Sween would be like. There was a danger the wind would funnel down the loch and be on the nose at the entrance and this could put up the sea too. Or we might get in the lee of the hills and have a more gentle time.

It wasn't like either of those. The sea was now really gentle, but the wind was if anything still building. As we got inside the loch proper by the castle I said "We have a sailing breeze, we should be able to just sail, I want to put the main back up." Alison said "Have you felt the gusts in the staysail? You can try it as long as you are prepared to drop it again." Well. We got the main up about 50 cm when the gust came and nearly pushed us over. We put it back down.

As we motor-reached up the loch the wind seemed to get ever stronger. It was still coming over the hills and letting us use the staysail. Even more importantly, it was across the loch so the waves couldn't build.

The foot ferry from Jura passed us, this time it was my turn to get engine envy.

Half way up the loch I saw something in the water ahead. Big rocks right on the track. Alison had missed them when laying the course. I was glad we were near low water and they were very visible.

We dropped the staysail outside the entrance to Tayvallich. It sits on the western shore just where a large island divides the loch in two. There is a small anchorage in the outer bay and then a narrow entrance blocked in the middle by a reef. Inside is a small village, a large caravan site and many moorings, including three visitors moorings. A more sheltered spot is hard to imagine. The echo sounder had not been on and went back into its 'stuck' mode. Oh well, the Garmin and Navionics charts were fairly accurate and Alison's memory was good too. We got in quite safely.

We went exploring and found one free visitors mooring. We picked it up easily and tidied the boat. I noticed the echo sounder was working again. We could tell there was some wind and a little swell coming in but Robinetta was not rocking or pitching at all, just swinging gently. We had made a good choice; less than a cable away there was a strong force 7 blowing.

The inn at Tayvalich serves fine food but Alison had planned to cook tagliatelle carbonara and that was just what we wanted. I can't remember seeing Alison drink a bottle of cider so quickly and I had an excellent bitter from our cellar.

I looked at tomorrow's tides. We could leave at 4 am and pick up the 6 am flood to Ardfern, or we could leave at 4 pm and pick up the evening one. Or we could leave at 5 am on Sunday and still be in Ardfern for lunch.

We listened to the forecast. E veering SE 5-6, decreasing 3-4 and becoming variable later. Saturday night's was variable becoming SW 3-4.

We won't go in the morning! Tomorrow afternoon we can decide whether to go then or on Sunday morning.

We settled down for a quiet evening.

That's the second time we have broken our rule about going out with F7 in the forecast. This time it is possible we should have stayed in Jura and booked into a hotel or B&B. We really did get the F7 but we went to a better place and it all worked out. Once we sorted out who was skipper we worked well together and had fun. As usual Robinetta did us proud but if we are going to make a habit of this we need to be able to reef the main more deeply and possibly have a trysail.

Sound of Islay

Plan A for today had been to go anti-clockwise around Islay to Port Ellen. It is much shorter clockwise and after reading Reeds I was happy to go through the Sound of Islay. But I realised if we did that, we would have to leave Port Ellen the next morning. There wasn't much point. Plan C was to go through the sound to Lowlandman's Bay, a sheltered anchorage if the blow came early. Then we would be in easy reach of Ardfern.

We set off to get to the sound mid-ebb. As we left Colonsay another yacht came in to take the berth. We had met a visitor on Colonsay who was staying in a cottage and could see the pier. He had asked if there was a timetable for yachts to use the berth, since every time one left another arrived. "Just co-incidence" we told him!

Our tide working went perfectly to plan and we hit 8 knots through the narrows past two distilleries.

On the other side we got brilliant sun and a light breeze.

Alison took a look at the Welcome Anchorages book and asked why I had chosen Lowlandman's Bay rather than Craighouse were there were visitor's moorings, showers, a hotel and the Jura distillery. I said "let's do that then". Plan D. We now had no agenda and determined to sail without engine.

Alison remembered that I wanted to take some pictures of Robinetta sailing and this was the perfect time for me to get into Worm with a camera. After the photo shoot we rendezvoused perfectly. Alison said it was the first time she had ever single handed Robinetta.

We got to within a mile of Craighouse and the wind died completely so reluctantly we turned the engine on.

Alison's parents looked at our photos in June and asked if we were always wrapped up for winter. Well not today.

There were lots of yachts moored but still about 3 of the 16 new moorings available.

We had a lovely easy row ashore and a drink in the beer garden of the hotel. The view was stunning. I can't help thinking that every view looks a little better if it has Robinetta in it.

After a light meal at the hotel we noted the opening hours of the distillery and shop and went back for a peaceful evening aboard.

Enjoying Colonsay

After our disturbed night all I wanted to do was sleep in, but Julian had more energy and after breakfast we headed for The Pantry, the local cafe which has free wi-fi, so we could publish our blog posts. It was warm and dry when we got there, but driving rain kept us there for longer than we expected.

It soon cleared, and we went for a walk along roads and tracks towards Colonsay House to see the gardens which are only open on Wednesday. Just before we reached the driveway Julian asked if I minded walking a bit further, to see the Atlantic facing Kiloran Bay. Turns out that Trip Advisor has it rated as one of the best 25 beaches in the world. It is rather gorgeous!

Colonsay House gardens were pleasant rather than spectacular and overgrown in some areas, most notably the “wilderness” area which is becoming a great exploration zone. Finding the paths could be a challenge.

We walked about six miles and came back to Robinetta for an afternoon snack before heading out again to the brewery and bookshop. There was a craft fair to look at too, and a book sale in aid of the RNLI. Julian found a copy of Claud Worth's 'Yacht Navigation' including design details of the famous Tern IV and his log of a 33 day circumnavigation from Bursledon via Rockall and Orkney in Tern III.

Wednesday is local fish night at the Pantry, so we had booked the first sitting at 1830. Julian had Colonsay Oysters “The best oysters he's eaten” and my local prawn cocktail had warm shell on prawns to dip in sauce. The main courses were excellent too!

After that it was time for music at the Colonsay village hall, with Iain Thomson a singer/songwriter from Mull, perfectly backed up by the whistles, drum, uilleann pipes and mandolin of Marc Duff.

It's all go on Colonsay on Wednesday!

A bouncy night

Mooring up to the pier at Colonsay was lovely and calm until 2030 when the swell started to get up. We were so sheltered from the wind that we could not feel it, and we had hoped to lie with loose lines like at Frazerburgh, but Robinetta was moving too much as the swell came through the gaps in the boards we were tied against and the centre line tied on to the rope down the ladder was taking all the strain. Julian had tied it to the grab rails, and I could see them moving, stressing the screws that went through the deck and into the batons beneath. We retied the line to the shrouds and winch which gave the line more freedom to move on the ladder rope.

We had to tighten the bow line to stop the swell pushing Robinetta's stern against the boards, which meant we had to be up and down all night adjusting lines. Julian fixed a loop of shock cord on the bow line to buffer the snatching as she rolled. We got to bed at 2300, and took it in turns to get dressed and go out into the rain to check the lines every hour. Low water was at 0308 and we decided that checking at 0200, then not again until half five should be fine.

It was difficult to sleep with Robinetta rocking, but after Julian did his last check at 0200 I did manage to drop off, only to be woken by the sound of Worm knocking against the cabin. She was supposed to be tied fore and aft, but something must have happened. I scuttled up on deck to look (not bothering to dress) and saw that the line that kept her stern in had vanished. Finding another line and fixing it would take time, so I ducked back down and put on my hoodie and oily jacket.

Up into the dark wet night again I felt around, and discovered that we still had Worm's stern line. This is her main sheet, and runs on a horse across the stern while sailing. The shackle that holds the block on the main sheet must have worn through the thin line of the horse, and this is what had parted. I pulled Worm round, and ran the sheet through her quarter knee and retied her stern to Robinetta.

Down in the nice warm cabin again I undressed my top and dried my legs before checking the time. 0340. Uhg.

I did not want to wake up next time I should be checking Robinetta's lines; Julian was moving to do it for me before I could think about asking. Being part of a team is great!