SCOTLAND WESTERN ISLES AND WHISKY. 29th May 2018

Pulladobhraine

Returning to Taipan and with the load of provisions stowed away we enjoyed the meal at the Waypoint Restaurant at Oban Marina. This is a well run and friendly marina with a free ferry service to Oban. Very accommodating indeed. After filling with water and fuel at the dock we headed 7nm south to Pulladobhraine, a tiny tight little spot nestled amongst islets. Sentijn were there too so a reunion was in order. Birthday time. Davids. A celebration was held with the Sentijn crew aboard Taipan. In deference to his old age, he received a Winchrite. To be picked up on the south coast somewhere.

The Ocean Cruising Club Gathering was to commence on Saturday with a Dinner at the pub in Craobh Haven and as the Currin family had a mooring available we were invited to pick it up. However, the weather forecast was lousy so we decided to go into the marina. £37 per night! What a fun weekend we had though. Australian boats “Diomedea” with David and Andrea McKay and Jim and Paula Holland on “Freydis” whom we hadn’t met before, but did pass in the Caledonian Canal last season. There was approximately 30 members present and Simon and Sally Currin hosted a great Sunday BBQ at their home overlooking Asknish Bay. We also caught up with old friends Bill and Jane McLaren “Vagrant” who we met previously in Shetland and in the Caledonain Canal. Bob Shepland gave a wonderful talk in the afternoon about a recent ski and climbing trip to South Georgia. What a legend!!

Loch on Dura 

These stomes form the beaches!

Acharnarnich Bay provided anchorage for our first night on leaving Craohb Haven. Tucked into a nook at the bottom of the peninsular in lovely calm weather it was another delightful spot. On the morning of the 22nd a wind shift caused a change of plan and we followed Sentijn through the notorious Gulf of Corryvrecken, also called the Great Race. The water races through this narrow gap causing some pretty wild whirlpools and overfalls. Of course, we didn’t see any because we got the tide right!!

The west coast of Jura is very exposed to the Atlantic Ocean and the volcanic nature of the rock formations along with the long gone ice age. Allegedly the area was once under 2000 feet of ice. (not so sure about that though) give rise to some spectacular geological formations with numerous caves and raised beaches. There are vast areas of cobbles. Round stones of every size with absolutely zero vegetation. In Loch Tarbert, ashore from the anchorage, we found the Loch formed by a rock cill covered with the debris from a melted glacial event and forming a dam wall. A nesting area for several bird species and a very dramatic mountainous and absolutely remote setting. The area is reminiscent of Tasmania’s south-west wilderness and the Port Davy area, with less vegetation.

This is one of the peaks they climbed!!

Work had to resume next day. it being necessary to recommission the water maker. It has been pickled for 2 years but with ocean passages planned and some south coast chandlers en-route it was decided now was a good time to activate it in case we need any parts. After wrestling with leaks in tight places the water maker is back in business and making water to spec. 60lt per hour. 

Paps of Jura

From Loch Tarbert we sailed south and east again around to Craighouse Bay. The home of Jura Distillery. The little town was packed with runners as the Fells Race was due to start next morning. This annual run involves over 300 runners and the course includes the 7 Paps of Jura, a 28 kilometers run and a climb of 2378 meters. The Paps of Jura are mountains of shale. They require the runners to crawl up and skid and jump down. Grueling to say the least. The first runner completed the circuit in just 3 hours and 20 minutes. They were all looking a little battle scared on their return.

Theyre off.

The easterly wind picked up and the anchorage was looking a little dubious so we chose to sail south-east 10nm to the north-west corner of Gigia. This was an overnight stop only but a pretty location. Next day a 20 mile run in blissful conditions saw us anchored up for the day at Laphroaig Distillery on Isla. Isla is probably the whiskey distillery capital of Scotland. With its many famous distilleries attracting ferry loads of visitors daily. 

Jura Distillery

The very pretty anchorage at Craighouse.

Time marches on and it's nearing that time when we can go back into the Schengen Area so we need to be heading south. This fabulous weather won't last forever. Our next passages will take us east of Ireland and on to the south coast of the UK once again before crossing to France. So check back again soon.

Taipan at Laphroaig Whisky Distillery

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NORTHUMBERLAND ROAD TRIP. 16th May 2018

Castle Stalker

Departing the Caledonian Canal in early May we sailed 19nm south, down beautiful Lock Linnhe past Corran Point Narrows and Light to Dallens Bay behind Shuna Island, dropping anchor in 6 m on mud on a spectacular Scottish afternoon. 

In company with Sentijn we set off to do a circuit of the island Castle Stalker. Privately owned and not open to the public except at certain times during the summer, it sits on a tiny island in Loch Laich. With enough tide it is possible to motor around it in the dingy. Castle_Stalker

Corran Point Light

Next morning a 27nm trip south and west down the Sound of Mull to Tobermory. Tobermory is the main town on the Isl of Mull. Some provisioning was required and some internet!. 

Tobermory

Moorings for the first night then a night at anchor before heading back down the Sound of Mull to Duart Castle where we anchored and went ashore to check out the 13th Century home of Maclean Clan. Bought back from a ruin in 1911 it is one of the last remaining privately owned Castles in Scotland and is the home of the Clan Chief himself. This restored castle is open to the public and during our visit the road was closed so we had the place pretty much to our selves. 

Duart Castle

After the Duart Castle visit we continued 7nm to Oban Marina where we picked up another mooring and packed to leave on a road trip to visit Andrew and Christine in Northumberland.

The Sound of Mull

Normally a 5 hour trip we managed to spend over 9 hours on the road but did divert to the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel

Kelpies are huge Stainless Steel clad sculptures of horses heads. I watched them being built online some years ago and had resolved to try to see them. They are spectacular.

The Falkirk wheel is a form of boat lift. The revolving structure transports boats up or down at Falkirk to get vessels from the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal. Its the only one of its kind in the world.

Alnwick Castle

Northumberland provided numerous opportunities to spot Castles once again. The Bamburgh_Castle was just down the road and Alnwick_Castle 20 minutes drive inland. Both are magnificent but crawling with tourists so we enjoyed them from afar. Lindisfarne_Castle on Holy Island was also close by but its still covered in scaffolding so we passed.

A short drive north back into Scotland and on to the port town of Eyemouth where we found the sculptural monument dedicated to the memory of those lost on the 14th of October 1881. About the sculpture

Bambough Castle

The countryside is bursting with spring color and we spent the day meandering around the Scottish border towns and villages enjoying the scenery.

Hospitality at Frosts Static was exceptional as usual and we were sad to leave after almost a week.  Time to head north again along the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and the Highlands, back to Taipan in Oban.

Still a little snow on the high bits!

Ocean Cruising Club gathering is in just a few days at Craohb Haven.

MORE PHOTOS FROM SCOTLAND AND NORTHUMBERLAND.

CALEDONIAN CANAL May 14th 2018

The Caledonian Canal runs vaguely North-South. Lying in almost perfect alignment down the massive geological fault that is the Great Glen, are four natural Lochs. Loch Lochy, Loch Oich, the famous Lock Ness and Loch Dochfour. They make up 38 miles of the 60 miles of the total length of this engineering masterpiece running from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. 

There are 22 miles of cuttings,  29 locks, and 10 bridges. The Canals designed purpose was to enable naval and other sailing vessels to avoid the treacherous Pentland Firth and Cape Wrath. William Jessop and Thomas Telford are credited with the engineering design and it took roughly 40 years to complete by which time the arrival of the age of steam largely rendered it unnecessary. It survives today to provide access to forestry and Highland economies with Germany, Holland and the Scandinavian countries. It plays a major roll in the Scottish Tourism economy, as a popular route for commercial cruisers, private yachts, fishing vessels and small naval vessels using it as a shortcut and as a destination in itself. The route also attracts walkers, kayakers, and cyclists.

Inverness is tucked into the armpit of the Moray Firth, at the northern end of the Caledonian Canal. Our arrival at Clachnaharry Sea Lock was the entry point for our trip south. Arrival is carefully timed to coincide with the lifting rail bridge so you can enter Muirtown Basin. We explored Inverness for a week, re-provisioned and awaited the arrival of Pam and Jon Tweed and Sentijn with John Kara and Dean, who were still coming north on the East Coast of the UK. 

Memorial at Cullendon.

Tweed arrived with a hire car and for the next two days, we explored further afield. The battlefield at Cullendon, where, in 1746, English Soldiers killed or wounded 1500 to 2000 Highlanders in a brief and bloody battle.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Culloden Their fight to restore Bonnie Prince Charlie, is graphically represented in a new Visitors Centre at the site. In beautiful weather, we then drove down along Lock Ness to Urquhart Castle and then onward inland to take in some highland scenery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urquhart_Castle

Touring at LocH Ness

Inverness City sights and some shops satisfied the shopping urges and then it was into the serious business of Locks. Muirtown Flight comprises 4 locks in a staircase, with the top gates forming the bottom gates of the next one. It takes about an hour to traverse the stairway. We carried on to Dockgarroch, approximately 5nm where we spent the first night on a pontoon provided. The cost of the canal was £438 and included 2 weeks in the canal and pontoon berthing. There is also power and water available at many pontoons. Onshore ablutions are very good and there are laundry facilities as some stops. Some of the stops have restaurants or pubs and some, just a lock keepers cottage. Dockgarroch has a new Visitors Centre and offers some attractive Highland souvenirs to the many tourists who bus in here to take a cruise on Lock Ness.

Loch Ness

Loch Ness the next day was a 20nm sail in brilliant sunshine with a headsail only. Loch Ness is over 220M deep with steep mountains on both sides. There's a lot of forestry on the lower hillsides. The higher mountains are treeless and clad in heath in the Autumn. Now there is a lot of golden Gorse flowering. 

Loch Ness was the training ground during the WWll for the Dam Busters. The hillsides have raised beaches, well really just shelves, which run perfectly horizontally several hundred meters higher than the current shoreline, caused when the water level dropped in some past millennia. Formed into roads during the Jacobite Wars by General Wade, they facilitated access by the English Army to quell the Highland Rebels. Feelings still run deep in the cultural heritage of the Highland Scots. 

Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle sits high on a cliff halfway along the western side of the Lock. We were able to approach quite close for a great view from the water.

Fort Augustus

Fort Augusts, midway along the Great Glen, Fort William at the southern end and Fort George at the northern end on Moray Firth were built by the English, and linked by General Wades roads. Fort Augustus is a small and particularly picturesque town and is one of the main centers on the canal. The Fort has been substantially modified, now houses private condominiums and is not open to the public. 

A quaint Pepper Pot Lighthouse sits at the entrance to the next section of the Canal. We spent 3 nights here during which time Sentijn caught us. Jon had met them in Cocos Keeling. 

There are numerous choices for dining and pubs and a new Visitors Centre is almost completed. We dined, walked and explored here for 2 day. Fort Augustus has a stairway with 5 locks and a swing road bridge at the Loch Ness end. After traversing the locks to the top, Pam and Jon left us the following morning by bus, back to Inverness, to catch their flight and continue their travels. We had such a great time catching up and sharing time with them in this precious place.

Southern end of Loch Ness. Fort Augustus.

On Wednesday the 2nd of May, in company with Sentijn we pressed on South. The weather closed in and it was a pretty cold. 9.5nm. Laggan Lock was the next stop after a pretty, but misty, passage through Loch Oich and the River Oich. Loch Oich is the highest point on the canal at 32.31meters.  At lock Laggan, our first downward lock, Eagle Pub is a converted Dutch barge serving as a restaurant and bar. Weather was a bit grim but a Scottish piper suitably clad in a kilt, was undeterred by the stiff breeze up the dress and he piped in one of the Canal Cruise boats. 

Thursday dawned cold and rainy so we decided to stay put. Friday we locked down the 2 locks into Loch Lochy and we pressed on for another 9 miles in highland mist and a fresh nosily to Gairlochy where we spent the night. There is nothing much here apart from Canal facilities for boaters. Laundry, showers power and water. Gairlochy to Neptunes Staircase was just 5 nm on Saturday. Approaching the snow-capped mountains on the west coast, Ben Nevis is a spectacular sight as the mist lifts. 

Neptunes Staircase consists of 7 locks down with a road bridge at the bottom. Going down is much easier than going up. You just let the lines loose as you go. Going up you need to be shortening lines all the time and with the turbulence in the locks as they fill, that can be fairly arduous. We stayed the night at the top. Availed ourselves of a nice meal at the new Visitors Centre and enjoyed the improving weather. 

Next morning our descent was delayed by a road bridge failure. Being a Bank Holiday Weekend, Technicians were hard to get. However, by late morning we were underway. It takes approximately an hour and a half to complete the decent then it was just a mile or so to a couple of locks then the Corpach Basin, our last night in the Canal. We had in fact been 8 nights but as it was not busy and there had been several delays with breakdowns of infrastructure, this was overlooked. We paid £6 for power for the week and next morning, 7th May we exited the sea lock into Loch Linnhe.

The Caledonian Canal is an experience we would definitely recommend. The scenery, history and culture is amazing. The staff are excellent and some even remembered us from our trip through last year. Locks are not difficult, a couple of long lines and plenty of fenders are all thats really required and of course time. Allow plenty of time. We enjoyed 2 weeks between our arrival in Inverness and our departure at Fort William.

Taipan and Sentijn at the top of `Neptunes Staircase with Ben Nevis behind

Onward South on the Atlantic Coast of Scotland for our next adventure. A planned Ocean Cruising Club Gathering in Craohb Haven south of Oban, return to Tobermory and some spectacular anchorages are just a few of our plans. We will also take a road trip to Northumberland on the Northeast coast of  England. Stay tuned.

Kara's photo of Taipan leaving the last lock.

Further information on charts and guides for the areas at 

https://eoceanic.com/

http://www.visitmyharbour.com/

https://www.memory-map.co.uk/

http://www.antarescharts.co.uk/

Maps Me

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SCOTLAND VIA THE EAST COAST FOR SPRING. April 2018

Farewell to Ipswich. Its been a great spot to hang out for a couple of very wintery months. The snow gave way to rain and cold wind for several weeks. An occasional glimpse of the sun was a welcome indication that spring was around the corner. Work aboard progressed with the new Northern Lights 5kva genset being inserted into the tiny space allocated under the binnacle, and behind the main engine, thus replacing the retiring Mase3.5. 

We took a train to London to visit good friends Ray and Jeananne, stayed in their lovely home and toured a few of the sites. Not least was Greenwich, a sight of significance for sailors. Painted between 1707 and 1726, the Painted Hall ceiling at the Old Royal Naval College was rigged with scaffold and we were able to take an up-close tour of this amazing painting, the largest in Britain

Easter came and went and provided plenty of opportunities for farewell dinners and final goodbyes to all our friends. Its the yin and yang of cruising. You meet so many lovely people but you have to say goodbye.

Kris, James Tomlinson Talisker l, Kara Dean and John Pennington, Sentijn, Maree Jackson Red Roo. David.

On Friday the 13th of April we motored down the River Orwell to the mouth and anchored near Felixstowe in preparation for departure north on the flood tide on Saturday morning. Our first leg was from Felixstowe to Scarborough 180 miles. Arriving in Scarborough in very foggy conditions we learned that winter had taken its toll here. Many docks had been destroyed in winter storms and we had to tie alongside an old fishing boat. This inconvenience was countered by the advantage of being able to purchase a 30kg bag of scallops from a fisherman. He wasn't keen until he realized we were on "that Australian yacht", then he was very friendly. 

Taipan in Scarborough in a very dense fog.

David making off with the bag of scallops!

The next leg was 66nm north to Blyth, hugging the coast to get the best views in the fabulous sunshine. Blyth was a new port to us and a very easy entrance. It was however not open for the season, so there were no facilities to use. The dock was an easy side tie on the visitor's pontoon and as the weather was closing in we ended up staying for 2 nights. David cleaned the massive scallop haul which kept him busy for about 3 hours.

Bamburgh Castle

35nm to Holy Island was a short day, once again we traveled in close, once again passing Bamburgh Castle and Farne Islands and we enjoyed the spectacular countryside emerging in its spring colors. 

Lindesfarne Priory. Medieval Monastery ruin on Holy Island.

Holy Island is a great anchorage with a well-marked entrance. We entered towards low water against a little current. without incident. A late afternoon dingy trip round to the fishing dock where we left the dingy and walked the beautiful little streets to the old Abby ruins. Lindisfarne Castle is still shrouded in scaffold so we didn't go. One can only "do" so many castles!

Holy Island Boathouses.

Lindisfarne castle and Limekilns

20th of April and we set off for Arbroath, one of our favorite stops on the coast. The entrance can be tricky as there is a cill on the marina and their gates only open for certain times of the tide. There is a good website with all the times. With this in mind, we had chosen our passage along the coast to coincide with high tides in the morning and evening, thus making it easier to expect to make entrances and departures like this in daylight. The entrance at Arbroath is well marked and has great leads, but should not to be taken lightly. It is an impossible entrance in strong easterly or southeasterly weather.  Our entrance was dead calm and we slid quietly into the hammerhead and tied up for a night. They have the best rates on the coast too.

Arbroath

More dodgy weather was forecast so we decided to make haste towards Inverness to meet good old cruising buddies Jon and Pam Choat aka TWEED in Inverness at the northern end of the Caledonian Canal. A relatively benign but slow overnight passages saw us rounding Peterhead on dusk and then it was slow progress to windward against the current for 6 hours. Dawn was stunning and the day turned clear and sunny with very little wind. nevertheless, we made it to the Sea Lock at Muirtown with just minutes to spare and we had arrived.

New Slains Castle south of Peterhead. Scotland

Chanonary Point Lighthouse on the Moray Firth Scotland. 1846

Next its the Caledonian Canal.