We got to the boat last night late on. Just enough time to get everything packed away, beds made and get to bed. We knew in advance that the weather for Friday and Saturday looked spectacularly rough. High winds, low pressure and big SW seas all combining to make really uncomfortable conditions.
Awaking early Friday morning and looking outside it looked quite nice, blowy but blue skies and the seas hadn’t picked up yet. We made the decision to head out and point the bow for Kerrera Marina.
Once out of Craobh Haven we made the decision just to rig the foresail and that reefed to 30% of the standard Genoa. It was basically a hanky we were flying and we still make 6 knots across Loch Shuna and up into Cuan.
Approaching the western end of Cuan Sound
The water at the western end of Cuan had about a 3-4m swell coming in from the South West and the waves were crashing onto the rocks at Easdale Head. We came up the east side if Insch Island and were clocking speeds over ground of between 7 and 9 knots all the way up into the Sound of Kerrera and this was with blue skies, the wind behind us and a hanky hanging from the forestay.
Fore-reaching up the inside of Insch Island
We navigated into Kerrera Marina and found an empty berth on Pontoon B. I had planned on coming in stern first but as we approached the pontoon, the wind caught the bow. Rather than fight it, I decided just to got with it and did a stylish pirouette and berthed perfectly, bow in to the pontoon. Marian was there to help with ropes. Thanks Marian!!
The ‘East End’ and the south channel buoy in the Sound of Karrera
Safely tied up for two nights, we have dinner booked for the four of us and a fine weekend planned enjoying the protection and comfort of the marina and lashings of electricity!
Linda stayed home while Martin was joined by Martin Kean and Steven Walker for a boys weekend away. The Friday was howling winds so a shore day was spent with a trip to the Kilmichael Glen standing stones and Dunadh Fort then dinner in Lord of the Isles.
Saturday had an early departure originally planned for Jura, then Colonsay/ Oronsay, but eventually became outbound through the Corryvreckan, up past the west of Karerra to Camas Nathais north of Oban, west of the airport. A lovely anchorage with seals and a white tailed eagle soaring. Dinner was pie and potatoes and the boys watched the football with good signal.
Sunday saw a sail from Camas Nathais to Oban Transit Marina and Martin and Steven being tourists in Oban for a while before sailing down through Cuan to Airds Bay (which we found already in use) before anchoring in Loch Beag.
Finally, early on Monday morning we motored round into Craobh Haven, dieseled up, and the chaps headed home.
From Craobh Haven, down the inside of Jura and across to moor up in Ardbeg Bay overnight. A visit to the distillery in the morning, then up through the sound into West Loch Tarbert for a second night before home in a sporty blow to Croabh.
From Craobh Haven to Tobermory, Tobermory around the west side of Mull, through the Treshnish Isles along the west side watching the seabirds, down to Iona, through the Steamer Passage with dolphins and slept in David Balfour Bay. The next day across the south of Mull with a Humpback making an appearance and back into Craobh Haven.
We had a very long lie! Linda eventually awoke around 09:30 and we had a breakfast of mueslis and yoghurt then sat around for a good while reading, doing some boat jobs and general R&R. At the back of 1pm we kitted up and headed out to weigh the anchor. It came up nice and easy but with plenty of mud still attached and thinly spread over the bow and me.
It was blowing over 25mph and white capping in the Inner Loch. It was also low tide but there was still some current running outbound. The passage is quite narrow at low tide and a bit narrow when there is significant side wind. We made it out easily and followed the track out of the loch with just half the foresail. We were making 8knots with a hanky flying!
Sunset in the Inner Loch WLT
As we were leaving the Loch we could see one solitary yacht heading north a fair bit out from the Loch and a fair bit north of us. We headed out, still on half a foresail only and never dropped below 6.5knots!
We fired up the west side of Jura with a pile of wind powering us north. The whole way I was worried that it was too strong and upsetting Linda. Actually, she was worried that I appeared stressed! With just half the foresail we were firing up faster than I planned and I was also worrying that we would be too early at the Corryvreckan.
As we approached I couldn’t see any standing wave so we sneaked in through the gap between the island and Bay of Pigs. The wind was 20+ and we were doing in excess of seven knots.
The yacht that we had seen as we left West Loch Tarbert we had overtaken as we powered north and we guessed they were now about thirty minutes behind us as we went into Corry. We were at least 45 mins early and I could see the outbound stream in the middle flowing out to sea.
We sneaked in from SW, passed Bay of Pigs and were about 10m off the northern headland when the current really hit us. With 25 knots of wind on a reach we were making 8.5 knots through the water but only 2 knots over ground! The chart plotter was suggesting we would hit the south of Scarba although we were facing East. Making only 2kn course made good we moved north across the stream and were 50m off the south of Scarba’s SE corner. We were making better progress and managed to catch the eastbound eddy which punched us out into the inner sound.
It was flat water, stiff breeze from the SE of 20 knots plus, and we were making 7 knots plus towards Craobh. We made tea, tidied up and got ready to enter the marina. It was actually a lovely sail, in brilliant sunshine; best weather of the day.
Of course as we were going into the Marina the gusts picked up (that was enough to make us decide to berth nose in) and there was a big catamaran fishing boat on the diesel berth. Every time I came out from the lea of it, the wind caught us and swing out stern round. A few chaps from neighbouring boats came to catch lines and we made a good berth.
Unfortunately we couldn’t get a table for dinner, so decided to just head home.
We slept well throughout the night and I awoke at 7am when my 2nd anchor alarm went off. We hadn’t moved I had just set it with the scope too narrow deliberately as we were close to the shore on the West side at full stretch and I wanted it to alert me if the wind went eastern and risked us getting close to the shoal. We were about 3m off it with the anchor chain taught so I went back to bed for an hour.
I run a different scenario where, instead of going to Carsaig or Crinan on Friday and the Lagoon on Saturday, we would sail out through the Sound of Islay to West Loch Tarbert Friday and to Craobh Haven (which so failing, the lagoon) on Saturday. When Linda did wake up she was happy with this plan. It gives us ore sailing although we are ‘retracing our steps’ to some extent.
Linda didn’t fancy getting up so I offered to take us out the Bay and let her rest but by the time I had the anchor retrieved she was up and dressed and by the time we left the Bay she was up in the cockpit with me.
The breeze seemed to have calmed again but we rigged up and were making about 5kn southbound past Tayvallich. The first 18mph gust made me think about a reef so I immediately took in one reef on the main as we approached the northern most rock in the loch.
We made a great sail all the way down the loch but just before the McCormaig islands and the reefs at the bottom of the Loch the wind became unreliable, disappearing and gusting at right angles so we stuck the motor on and motored south of the McCormaig Islands.
Once they were behind us we quenched the engine and sailed, mostly a tight reach across the Sound. It was very pleasant. The sky was dark and pretty and the breeze was a solid 12 knots and gusting up to 18 knots. It was a very pleasant crossing and we must have averaged over 6 knots in the crossing.
As we approached the base of the Sound, I made us a brunch of team and coffee and bacon sandwiches. Just as I brought out the sandwiches, a little seabird on our port side caught my attention for a moment. I urged Linda to look and we sat watching as a puffin spotted us watching him, got shy and took off towards Gigha. It was quite excellent munching bacon sandwiches washed down with hot drinks as we cruised past Brosdale Island and Black Rocks up into the Sound.
By the time we were past Black Rock Buoy we were sailing at over 9 knots with the wind behind us and we went from seaboard run, to goose winged, to port run. Passing Port Asking we were doing 11-12 knots and we didn’t drop below 8 knots all the way round into West Loch Tarbert.
The new distillerySound of Islay
The wind increased again as we came out of the Sound and I brought a double reef in on the RR Genny and we were still doing 8 knots, clipping eastwards into West Loch Tarbert. The Loch was pretty choppy with white horses although we were only 100m off the lee shore.
We dropped sail about a quarter mile off and motored into Glenbatrick Bay West anchoring in 3m and putting 15m chain out. It held fast and we settled ourselves inside but not before we watched an otter on Sgier Ageanne running along the ridge and down towards the water. We could hear occasional squeals from the rocks and I imagined the Otters warning us of the horrific gusts that can roll through the hills.
Of course, no soon we were settled I felt something strange and noted to Linda I thought she was dragging. Minutes later the anchor alarm rang and we popped out to find 30 mph wind and big white horses with Misha pointing east and obviously dragging quickly.
We recovered the anchor to find the biggest single piece of Kelp I have ever seen; boulder and all. It was so big I couldn’t lift it out the anchor and had to spend ten minutes pulling bits off to get rid of it.
We decided to motor into the inner loch where we knew it would be much calmer and passed at least six seals sitting on rocks looking at us. Every one of them thinking to themselves, ‘could have told them they would have been better in the Inner Loch’.
We turned right into the Inner Loch and anchored in the first southern anchorage (where I spent my Birthday last year); Cairidh Mhor. Misha was very happy about tis and said it was were she wanted to be all along!
All tidied up, we settled indoors again and I have to admit, Misha is right, it Is far more comfortable here. But of course, no reception so Linda doesn’t get a Masterchef fix tonight!
Rainbows and Sunsets in Inner WLT
Tonight’s dinner is left over chicken casserole and brussel sprouts which was all very tasty. We had some crappy television downloaded on the iPad and watched a couple of hours before our eyelids got too heavy and demanded horizontalness.
Both of us slept very well and I awoke about 7am rested and comfortable all except my right shoulder which is whinging again after the incident with the kelp in the anchor. I let Linda sleep (it wasn’t truly my decision). However by 09:30 loneliness got the better of me, I slipped out of bed and made tea before returning with the hot beverage. It still didn’t wake her, so I actually raised the courage to deliberately wake her up.
Breakfast was toast, muesli and yoghurt. I ran the engine for the toaster and the hoover to tidy up the saloon from the crumbs and drain the bilge etc. Then we sat around rejig until it was time to set off around 13:30.
The sky was heavy. There was a small blue fishing boat lifting lobster pots about 100m outside the bay and I awoke to his winch rattling around 7am. There wasn’t a whole load of wind in the bay and there was no wash so it had been a very comfortable night and the only movement we noted was the odd boat passing through the sound sending wake into our bay.
Great Northern Diver
We rigged up and headed north. After our encounter with Finlaggan yesterday when I saw Hebredean Isles would be crossing our path I radioed him to confirm we would pass by his stern. That was the only item of note as we sailed all the way up to the McCormaig Isles.
Castle Sween
We cut through them and north further into Loch Sween, passing by the castle and getting some good photos as we went. Hebridean Princess was heading out the Loch and we passed about half way up, just about the top reef.
At that point Linda noticed a yacht turn out of Tayvallach northbound and guessed they were going for the Fairy Isles, our destination. I offered Linda a trip into Tayvallach, specifically as she had scoured the boat for wine and found narry a bottle on board but she assured me she just wanted to get to the anchorage.
Loch Sween
As we turned into the Fairy Isles, sure enough the yacht; Wind Lass, was anchored right in the middle of the entrance. But there was also a small fishing boat anchored in the southern bay and a rubber dinghy motoring about with a fisherman in it.
We headed for the Northern bay and surveyed it a bit. There was a seal sitting on a rock with his head and his flippers up, just as I remember a young one doing the last time we were here about twenty years ago. The Navinics charts show a spit crossing right across east to west of the northern anchorage as a drying spit. However there we no sign of that on the Antares charts or in the water. We dropped in 5m and tested a good hold then made tea. The fisherman wandered about us, the little fishing boat lifted their anchor almost as we finished dropping ours, and I made the decision to move just as the fisherman ran his dinghy up into the northern inlet.
We pulled in the chain and when the anchor was on the bottom with the chain vertical we could feel the bow of the boat dip but the anchor wouldn’t lift at all. It has been years since I had this previously and I was at the point of thinking I might stop using the tripping line. But of course as soon as I tugged the tripping line up, the anchor tripped and started ascending perfectly. Just to show why I always use a tripping line despite the grief of it.
We motored well around the yacht anchored and I noted he was right in the middle of the entrance. We travelled to the South Bay, and did a survey around the 4m contour. Then dropped in 4m right in the middle of the bay. We did a full anchor check, got the ball up, the anchor alarm set and Linda went below to make tea while I sat on deck looking at the shoreline, the geese and the seal.
Fairy Isles
After ten minutes I was certain that Wind Lass had moved position and I called Linda up to look but she was certain the yacht was where it had been previously. Another ten minutes passed and she as sitting ‘wrongly’. I couldn’t describe it, just ‘wrongly’. Then I noticed that while we were moving back and forth in the breeze she was only sitting with her port bow into the wind. At that moment, we saw the fisherman in the rubber dingy rive back and jump on board. We radioed him to offer help but he didn’t answer. He very quickly lifted his hook; there wasn’t much chain out at all, and revved her hard. She bounced off the rock she was on and headed our of the Bay. She looked none the worse for her adventure. I hope he and his yacht are ok.
Chicken CasseroleChicken Casserole
We double checked our anchor, set an extra anchor alarm and settled inside. I made chicken casserole and G&Ts and we had a lovely night. Linda got to watch Masterchef, I read planned tomorrow and then we watch crappy TV till out 9pm Bedtime.
After a good long-lie we sat on deck in warm spring sunshine eating bacon sarnies and sipping orange juice. There was a White Throated Diver (Great Northern Diver) fishing in the bay with us and we had occasional fly-bys from geese, cormorants and oyster catchers. One particular cormorant stood out; standing drying his wings on his rock.
BunnahabainThe new distilleryCormorant at Oronsay
We set full sail as we motored out of the Bay. Linda took her by Compass across to the Sound of Islay and did it brilliantly. We passed Glen Shiell going in the opposite direction towards Oronsay about a third of the way towards Islay..
The tide was still set against us and as we got to Bunnahabain we had 3kn against us but we were still making 4kn southbound however approaching Coal Isla the wind had died back and we weren’t making headway against the current so we dropped sail and set the hook right in fromt of the Distillery and watched the chaps working redecorating the ‘New Shed’ which is actually the older of the two buildings on the front. We could see the stills through the big windows but more impressively we could smell the distillation and were definitely enjoying our cut of the Angels Share.
After 45 mins the tide had turned so we left the bay and headed round towards Port Askaig. We were under sail but in light breezes were only making 3.5kn when Finlaggan headed up the Sound towards us. I didn’t realise she was heading into Port Askaig so stayed to the right of her, exactly where she was wanting to go. Finlaggan raised us on the radio and asked if I would mind heading out towards Jura to allow him into his slip which we did and then sailed south. We got all the way to Black Rocks before being calmed again and all the way to Gigha was on and off the engine as the wind came up and died away.
We arrived in the NW bay of Gigha; Bagh na Doirlinne and anchored up in 4m in the centre-south of the Bay with views across to the Paps and up the Sound of Jura. The white sand under us grabbed the anchor well and the light breeze from the south is holding us in good shape on the hook.
Dinner was Chicken Pie with Scalloped Potatoes and Mange Tout. The heater is on, our faces are glowing, Linda is watching Masterchef and its just relaxing.
We arrived at the Marina yesterday and did quite a bit of sorting her out; filling water tanks, cleaning things, and sorting things out. Despite having a full larder we opted to eat at Lord of the Isles. Linda had the Mackerel Pate and I had the Haggis Nuggets to start. I have to say it was very tasty, served with a portion of honey and a side salad. For main we both had Crayfish Mac & Cheese. It had a Depp cheer taste with the seafood shining through and a lovely thick, sticky, texture that I really enjoyed. While quite expensive for what it was, it was a very good meal and we enjoyed it. We would certainly recommend it to others. We happily bumped into Barry of Jennie Wren Boat Charters and enjoyed catching up with Barry who is one of our favourite folks in the local area.
We were in bed at 9pm and I slept well but was awake for chunks of the night with my shoulder complaining about the day it had. I awoke bright before seven am. The sky was blue with fleeting clouds but there was a stiff breeze and substantial gusts. Linda needed some extra sleep and the gusts were getting stronger all the time. I had the boat all ready to leave at 908:30 but then found the gusts were up over 25kn and I pulled it at that point; just too gusty. We popped up to the marina office as we had told them to expect us on the fuel jetty. It was good to chat with Alastair, Sue and Julie.
Linda took some rest, I dealt with a few emails and phone calls then prepped the boat again and around 10:30 we moved over to the fuel jetty. The wind had dropped down to practically nothing and it was easy to tie to the jetty and fill ups with diesel. The good news was that I had been able to estimate our use nearly perfectly based upon the 1.5l/h on motor and 0.7l/h on heater. We had used 31l total.
With the boat all ready for our trip we motored out of the marina and set full sail. We headed out through the Corry and onwards directly for Oronsay. The day was alternately sailing then becalmed and motoring then rigging sail gain. It was fun and we had a good time. Linda made soup for lunch, I had a carrot cake muffin. The last few miles seemed to drag a tad and its always longer round the reef and into the bay than I think it will be. We anchored in the NE bay just inside the reef in 6m right in the middle.
Linda had a wash and cooked fish cakes, stuffed mushrooms, and stuffed peppers. It was tasty and we washed it down with a non alcoholic gin and tonic and watched Killing Eve. It rained heavily outside but we were very snug in our anchorage and it was lovely and comfortable inside Misha with the heating keeping us warm. By 9pm we are both falling asleep and heading to bed with our books!
