Leg 6 Inverkip to Largs

Day 1: Thursday 29th August 2013  - We left home in bright, warm sunshine and caught the 10.43 from Wylde Green.  Memories of standing on this platform every weekday morning in all weathers briefly came to David's mind.  Once again we celebrated our good fortune.

The train from New Street arrived early, and we were stationary outside Glasgow Central for long enough to notice it was drizzling. Once again we had returned from the glorious summer in the south to more unsettled weather in the north.   We decided not to ring the Marina for a lift from the station at Inverkip, it had stopped raining and the walk is (very) downhill.

As we arrived at Kip Marina we could see a fret coming across from the other side of the Firth of Clyde, and by the time we got aboard the drizzle had reached us.  We thought you might like to see what gives us joy every time we get aboard Noisette...

Saloon

Galley

 A quick trip to the Sainsbury’s Local gave us enough victuals to keep us going for a few days, and we settled down to a review of forecasts and options of places to visit.

Nav station

Day 2:  Friday 30th August 2013 - we had arranged for an engine service to be done by the local Volvo agent while we were away.  Despite several emails and phone calls to them, the last of which assured us it would be done first thing on Thursday morning – the engineer definitely had not been on board.  David went to speak to them for an explanation but had no joy, only a conversation with  a rather frustrated member of staff who said the boss was in Aberdeen until Monday and he had been trying to locate Martin the engineer but he was not answering his phone. We emailed the boss to tell him we considered the order cancelled. 
 

Master cabin

Today was wet, not particularly heavy rain but sheets of mizzle – that cross between mist and drizzle that soaks you immediately – and we decided that we did not need to sail in that, our time is our own, we can be fine weather sailors if it suits!  We managed to get on deck when it was not mizzling to reattach jackstays and jib sheets etc. so that the boat was ready to go.

Heads

Chris found a 6.5 mile walk along the now disused aqueduct and past the reservoirs in the hills behind Inverkip which promised some excellent views of the Firth of Clyde.  But not today! David was adamant that if it was too wet to sail it was too wet to walk.

Forepeak

However, it did give us chance to take these photos of the inside of Noisette as we promised, and tighten up the anchor windlass mounting bolts, which would hopefully solve the problem of waves over the foredeck getting in to the forepeak locker.  Chris did get her walk (woof woof C!!) - It brightened up in the evening and we enjoyed a short walk along the beach path before it got dark.

 

Day 3: Saturday 31st August 2013 – dawned bright and sunny.  We left the berth at 12.10 and immediately saw "fellow Maltsters" Lyn and Rod just leaving Duet.  A quick conversation across the fairway revealed that they were on their way home and were overwintering Duet in Kip – maybe we will see them again.

We sailed north up the Firth of Cylde with one reef in the main and full jib, past Dunoon and the entrance to Holy Loch and into Loch Long.  The wind was W or NW and was gusting strongly down the valleys and around the headlands making for a varied and interesting sail.  Loch Long is a Dockland Port and contains  Naval service areas where the nuclear submarines are refueled and rearmed.  Consequently there are areas which are restricted and others which are prohibited.  They are guarded by very fast naval range boats.  Despite the gusts we managed to keep to the designated channels and got a cheery wave from the range boats and their out riders in their fast RIBs.

 Carrick Castle

Loch Long and Loch Goil are majestic fjord type Lochs with steep sides, penetrating deep into the Argyle Mountains.  We turned along Loch Goil, past Carrick Castle and picked up a visitor's mooring in Lochgoilhead for the evening.

Trip statistics 18nm 4 hrs.

Lochgoilhead

We reinflated and launched the tender and went ashore to explore the very attractive village and enjoy a pint in the local which was also serving some very appetising food at very reasonable prices - noted for future reference.  We had supplies on board and with the mizzle coming over the mountains to join us, we returned to the boat for dinner. 

As we boarded  the tender we were asked to undertake a mission of mercy – a chap had been fishing and had cast across the anchor line of a nearby boat, leaving 5 hooks in the line.  He was worried that the owner might return to pull up his anchor and hook his hands.  We agreed to remove it for him and as he did not want it back – gained a fine piece of  fishing gear to add to our (so far unused) collection.

Back on board we felt cold – probably as we had wet bottoms from the rain on the tender and we put the heating on!  Come back summer!

Day 4: Sunday 1st September 2013 - at 08.10 we had the forecast from Belfast Coast Guard: Westerly gale F8 continuing in Hebrides, and SW gale 8 expected Rockall soon, and Malin later, but at least the Navy's still on holiday - no submarine of live fire action!

As technically we were in Malin we knew that the gale was not expected before 18.00 but were unsure how much shelter we would be afforded by being in the Clyde rather than 'open sea'.  We stayed with plan A - to go  Millport on Great Cumbrae, but with an eye to flexibility as strong southerlies or south westerlies would not make this a comfortable anchorage.

We watched a group of scouts in Laser Picos learning how to deal with gusty conditions in Lochgoilhead before slipping the mooring at 12.10 and retracing our route around the experimental underwater weapons research gubbins down Loch Goil and Loch Long, past Holy Loch and Dunoon with 1 reef in the main and full jib.  As we left Loch Long we lost the alternating shelter and gusts provided by the mountains and were having an interesting sail in a fairly steady force 6 to 7 wind.  We saw 8.2 knots boat speed.   Unfortunately the block on the jib furling gear could not take the strain and sheered.  This is the second time this has failed - the first time the bolts pulled out of their tapped holes and we replaced them with machine screws and lock nuts. This time the plastic compoiste side peices have sheared off.  We will have to make the line off on the aft mooring cleat until we can replace it.  The wind had more south in it than forecast, and so conditions did not improve when we were in the shelter of Great Cumbrae as we had expected.  After a very short discussion, we decided to head for shelter of Largs Marina rather than the moorings in Millport.  We wanted to see whether we felt it would be a good option for over wintering anyway, and the chandlery may have a suitable replacement for the jib furling block.
  
Trip statistics 26nm 5 hrs.


Day 5: Monday 2nd September 2013 - unusually there were no gale warnings today but it was still windy and we could see lots of white horses running past the entrance to the marina.  We visited the chandlery - thought we had found a replacement pulley - but when we tried to fit it found it was too small - so after cionversations between thenice lad=y in the chandlers and Barton, who make the blocks, we ordered a custom one.  We decided to spend the day exploring Largs and walked along the very pleasant coastal path to the village where we found some interesting shops and eateries as well as a large Morrisons.  Although the station was much further from the marina than at Kip, when we overwinter we are likely to be using the car rather than the train.  The marina has a much large range of services than Kip, and we liked the feel of the place.  Looks like this will be Noisette's winter home.

Entrance to Loch Riddon from Wreck Bay

 Day 6: Tuesday 3rd September 2013 - we slipped the mooring at 11.05 and refuelled with diesel before heading across the top of Great Cumbrae and NE towards the Eastern Kyle of Bute. 

With full main and jib and helped by a steady force 3 and a favourable tide we made good time and sailed through the narrows at the Burnt Isles.  What a contrast with our first nervous motor sail through these notoriouis narrows back in June before we learned to go with the flow and not get too anxious reading the dire warnings in the Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions.

At Anchor out of the tide in Wreck Bay

We explored Loch Riddon, which dries a fair distance from its head, and finding no suitable anchorage or mooring, anchored in Wreck Bay on the northern tip of the island of Bute. 

Here we were only a few boat lengths out of the fierce flood and ebb tides that flow up and down the East and West Kyles and between the Burnt Islands

We enjoyed a walk ashore and found a couple of rusty lumps of ship that had clearly been wrecked there, until forced to retreat by the midges, on this quiet, sunny afternoon and enjoyed a very calm evening at anchor.

The Narrows, Burnt Isles - at low tide there is no question
about where the buoys should be

 
Trip statistics 17.1nm 4 hrs.
  
Day 7: Wednesday 4th September 2013 - We weighed anchor at 10.25 and beat past the villages of Tighnabruaich and Kames with full main and genoa  before the wind freed allowing us to reach down the Western Kyle.  The wind backed again and we beat through Inchmarnoch Sound, between the Isles of Bute and Inchmarnoch and down the eastern side of Arran towards Brodick, where the wind rose and the tide turned to produce a steep little sea.  One of the jib sheets caught around the main halyard jammer on the mast, mid-tack, and displaced the coiled topping lift from its cleat.  Somehow the topping lift managed to tie itself around both flailing jib sheets in a perfect constrictor knot.  David hooked on and went forward to solve the problem, getting very wet in the process.  Noticing that we had lost a second patch of UV strip on the jib, we furled it up and motored into the calm of Brodick Bay.  Where we picked up a free visitors mooring for the night, courtesy of N. Ayreshire Council.  We rewarded the local Council Tax payers by going ashore and victualling, returning with a very heavily laden tender.


Trip statistics 36.5 nm 8 hrs 20 mins.

Day 8: Thursday 5th September 2013  -
After the energetic sail from Wreck Bay the plan was not to do much today.  

Nearly at the top - Noisette moored in the bay, middle distance

We went ashore in the tender, walked along Cladach Beach, and had a leisurely lunch and pint of tasty Arran Ale in the pub near the castle.  One of the delights of this cruise has been the astonishing range of beers brewed in the islands, most of which are rather good.  Cider drinkers are not so well catered for, which is unfortunate as Chris hasn't yet converted from apple to hop.

It must have been a very good lunch, because we then decided to walk up the path to Goat Fell, the highest peak on Arran at 874m, or 2,866ft in old money.  We didn't really have any intention of reaching the top, but were nearly there when we realised the sun was going behind the ridge and we would be in cold shade if we did not turn back.

Goat Fell beyond the now-busy moorings

Apparently it hasn't always been called Goat Fell - you can take your pick between the Gaelic "Goath" which means "Windy, or the Norse "Geit fjall" which means "Goat Mountain".

Having completed our 8.5 mile walk we got a few more supplies in Brodick before tendering back to Noisette for a rest - after our quiet day.  




Day 9: Friday 6th September 2013 - We slipped the mooring at 10.25 and had a fine relaxed sail - nothing too extreme, and the opportunity to quietly trim the sails and steer a course to get the last fraction of a knot out of the gentle breeze.  We picked up a visitors mooring in Millport at 15.15.  These are also free, but we understand only becvause the boatyard with the contract to collect the dues doesn't bother to do so.  Very strange!  We were later rewarded by the sun setting over Arran and the mountain we had climbed the day before.  Venison was on the menu this evening, complemented by a bottle of Villa Maria that Kathryn and Gaz had brought on board in Oban.  Leaving it in the engine room for a while made it the perfect temperature for drinking.

Trip statistics 19.5  nm 4 hrs 50 mins.
 
When we were last in Millport in June we had not noticed the colourful lights all along the promenade, but then it had still been light when we turned in.  This evening, despite a windy forecast, the sea turned glassy at dusk just before the rain started, and we battened down the hatches to enjoy Ricky Ross's "Another Country" - BBC Radio Scotland's answer to Bob Harris.


Day 10: Saturday 7th September 2013 - During a surprisingly smooth night we were woken several times by torrential rain.  It is prudent to take the forecast seriously and wait patiently for the wind to rise to expectations.  It did, and we decided that we didn't need to get cold and wet, so went ashore in the tender for a walk, and got back aboard cold and wet!  The wind veered (nautical term for the wind moving clockwise around the compass, ie. from NE to SE) and our tranquillity was disturbed by the swell that comes into Millport Bay when the wind is coming from anywhere between SE and SW.  The rocking and rolling found the limits of adhesion of our wine glasses and coasters at dinner, and by 0300hrs the mainsheet had worked loose, allowing the boom to swing.  This prevents sleep, and necessitated a damp trip on deck to tighten the sheet and restore relative peace and calm.

Loch Ranza Castle

Day 11: Sunday 8th September 2013 - a beautifully sunny morning in Millport with a fresh F4 from the SE.  As the forecast was for cyclonic 4 or 5, perhaps 6 at first, becoming mainly NWly, we set sail with one reef in the main and full jib and headed out of Cumbrae Sound towards Arran.  We made rapid progress across the tide, and thought we were going to get wet again as Arran dissappeared in cloud from time to time - but we stayed dry!  We were even surfing as we approached the Cock of Arran (the northern-most bit).  Once round the corner, the wind died and we motored gently into Loch Ranza and picked up one of the community company moorings. 

 Trip statistics 14.1  nm 3 hrs.

On the road to the distillery

When we were last here, all the moorings were taken and we had to anchor in a strong SWly which sent strong gusts down the mountainside across the anchorage.  This time was more pleasant, and we landed the tender at the pontoon, put our donation for the upkeep of the moorings in the honesty box, and walked inland.

The only stag in the village

With perfect timing, we reached the Arran Distillery just in time for the last tour of the day.  Most of the others on the tour seemed to be Russian, and had paid a lot more for the priviledge of a more extensive nosing than we would find pleasurable.  The Arran Malts are distinctively un-peaty, but their delicate aromatics are very attractive. We purchased a bottte to add to our on-board nosing collection - 7 different Malts is not too much for one boat (but we are running out of space).  On the way back to the boat we popped into the campsite for a shower, and afterwards attracted midges that seemed to have ignored us when we had been less clean!

The herd

We spotted the stag lazing by the campsite, and as we walked back past the castle we met a herd of female red deer grazing quite happily in the middle of the village - easy pickings...


A big steel ketch came into the Loch and eventually anchored where we had dropped the hook on our previous visit.  We didn't recognise the ensign on this ship that looked like it had crossed many oceans, but we eventually worked out that it was the Namibian ensign.

 Day 12: Monday 9th September 2013 - waking at 0800hrs for the Maritime Safety Information Broadcast from Belfast CG, Loch Ranza was glassy, and there was a very gentle breeze blowing out of the Loch.  We hoisted the main sail on the mooring, and ghosted out of the Loch into Inchmarnock Water that was the smoothest we had yet seen.

Inchmarmock Water can be smooth

Rounding the Cock of Arran

With nothing in the fridge for tonight's supper, we got the mackerel lines out, but one got away, and then inevitably the wind filled in.  Our principal is that anything that can take our lures at 5kts we probably won't want on board, so we reeled in the lines.  We then had a decent downwind sail that enabled us to practice our gybes.  The crew controls the jib easily enough from forward of the wheel, but with the mainsheet and track directly behind the helm, gybing is quite tricky.  With such a big main sail and umteen-to-one purchase on the mainsheet, there are miles of mainsheet for the helm to take in as the boom approaches the centre line, and then pay out again smoothly while centering the rudder to stop the boat rounding up.  This is not a problem with an additional pair of hands aboard, but something we have to perfect when we are just sailing with the two of us.


The Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions warn that anchoring in Lamlash Bay can be tricky as the bottom shelves steeply, so we picked up one of the moorings laid by the Holy Island Ferry company.   A very pretty anchorage sheltered by Holy Island - a spiritual retreat now owned by Buddhist Monks.

 Trip statistics 16.6  nm 3 hrs 55 mins
 

Lamlash moorings from the Drift Inn.
Holy Island in the background

We had the mackerel lines out again moored in about 15m of water, but still had no luck so went ashore to pay for the mooring, have an ice cream, and a walk.  We enjoyed a pint at the Drift Inn while watching a 49er launch from Lamlash Sailing Club - we wondered if they knew Tobi Watson (son of Sailing Manager at Midland Sailing Club, who now lives in Scotland and until recently sailed a 49er).  We watched the 49er cope with increasingly strong gusts and shifts, and with perfect timing we made it back on board and had the dinghy stowed just as a front went through bringing squally rain.  With no fresh fish aboard, we enjoyed a delicious, traditional Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie for dinner - our first meal out of a tin this cruise! We still had fresh veg though.

Day 13: Tuesday 10th September 2013 - with stronger winds forecast for Wednesday and later in the week, we decided it was time to head for Noisette's winter home - Largs Yacht Haven.  As we weighed anchor we exchanged our prognoses of the conditions we were likely to encounter out of the Bay with the crew of Tebah, a 37ft Etap, the Belgian-built allegedly unsinkable yacht.  We expected one reef in the main and full jib to give us a fast close reach to the Hunterston Channel and up to Largs, but they were less confident and talking about two reefs in the main.  The forecast of W or NW backing SW 4 or 5, occasionally 6 didn't quite materialise, and we were close hauled most of the way and made good speed in quite a steep sea.  As we settled down to enjoy Noisette at her best, we saw two sails that had followed us our of Lamlash return to the shelter of the Bay.

In the lee of Bute and the Cumbraes, the sea became a lot smoother, and we called up Largs Marina on Ch80 to find out what berth they'd allocated us.

 Trip statistics 17.4  nm 2 hrs 50 mins

Day 14: Wednesday 11th September 2013 we have booked train tickets home for tomorrow morning. Today was spent tidying and cleaning Noisette inside and out so that we find her as we want her when we next return.  We also took the jib to the sailmaker for the UV strip to be replace, and arranged for the engine to be serviced.  We then had our final cruise dinner in Scotts at the Marina - and very good it was too.

This point marks the end of our first summer cruise - from now on we will be in winter mode, and visits to Noisette north of the boarder will be shorter and our time at home correspondingly longer.  We hope that, now that we are not tied to only weekends, we will still have the opportunity for some good sailing through the winter - but that depends on the weather - and there is always a list of maintenance jobs to be done.

Summer cruise summary:

Days on board: 105 days

Stopovers (includes repeat visits): 52

Logged distance: 1790.1 nautical miles

Passage time: 311 hours 25 minutes (5.75 knots - faster than we'd thought!)

Engine Hours: 213 (68% - not bad considering we had to motor all the way from Gosport to Brixham, from Falmouth to Milford Haven, and through the Crinan Canal)

There is no doubt that Noisette and retirement both live up to our dreams.  We are making plans for next summers sailing and already have some thoughts about destinations for the years after.

 

Leg 5 Mallaig to Inverkip

Day 1: 31st July 2013 - we had travelled home from Mallaig with Alan and Jackie in their car at the end of the last leg of our Scottish cruise, a very dramatic and picturesque drive down the west coast of Scotland, through Glencoe and along Loch Lomond.  Having spent a busy 10 days at home tidying the garden and catching up with friends and family we are ready for the next stage of the cruise.

Sunset over the Small Islands from Mallaig harbour

An 11 hour train journey, which was every bit as dramatic and picturesque as the drive, saw us back in Mallaig by 18.45 and on board 10 minutes later.  Having off-loaded the bags we decided we deserved a pint and a fish supper before victualling. The evening sky suddenly developed into a bright red and as we went to photograph it (never as good as the real thing) we met a Korean lady doing the same thing. She was on a 5 week trip to the UK. She asked about the boat and asked if we could read a compass. When we said yes she was astounded, said she thought they were only souvenirs, and insisted on taking a photo of us because of this skill.  I would be very interested to hear the stories that are told when she returns home!

Day 2  to day 4: 1st August  - 3rd August 2013 - The the yacht moored next to us in Mallaig was flying the Cruising Association pennant, and we inevitably got talking, and found that we had both been to Loch Maddy.  We found the visitors'moorings with notices on them saying "Do not use - chain degraded", and dutifully posted a notice to this effect on CAptain's Mate - the CA App.  A later response from Paul Bragg said the chains had been replaced and the moorings were again safe to use, and it turned out that we were actually talking to Paul.  Small world, the Western Isles!

Paul suspected that there was something around his prop, and was trying to get a diver.  As we needed to change the sacrificial anode on our propeller we discussed the possibility of a shared cost, double job (almost buy one get one free). This was agreed and a knock on the coachroof at 10.00 announced the arrival of Ian the Diver, who very efficiently completed both jobs for less than 1/3 of the price we had been quoted for a diver in Falmouth 5 years ago.  Job well done!

Across the Sound of Sleat to Skye from the coastal path

Despite the red sky at night, the forecast is not looking so rosy.  Strong winds, possibly gales from the south or south west starting tonight for the next couple of days. We are well sheltered here, plan to head south and would like to explore some of the small anchorages we did not visit on the way up. That means we would have less shelter after beating into a strong and potentially strengthening wind. Decision made! We will stay here till the forecast improves.  It is easy to find things to do in Mallaig. We visited the shops and galleries, went for a swim in the local pool (indoor and heated), walked the coastal path above Loch Nevis and inland to the fresh water loch, and while an occasional shower passed  we hid  in one of the pubs or tea rooms. With one eye on the forecast we knew that the gale should blow through on Saturday and Sunday would be our first chance to move on.

Day 5: Sunday 4th August - the forecast held true and the gale had  passed. The 0600 forecast  was SW 5 to 7 decreasing 3 to 4. We were (obviously!) heading south and slipped the mooring at 10.40 prepared for a brisk beat.  We were not disappointed, the sea was still 'lumpy' from last night's gale and there was still plenty of wind.  We put one reef in both main sail and jib and away we went. The weather was mainly dry though we had one squall with heavy rain and gusts over 26 knots.  Noisette coped well with the conditions, we have not found anything to phase her yet!  As the day went on the wind reduced (as forecast) and the sun came out - with  a force 4/5 wind that is "champagne sailing". 

Beach at Loch Ceann Traigh

We decided against tackling the rather complicated pilotage of Loch Moidart, and anchored for the night just to the South of  Moidart in a wide bay with wooded hill sides and white sand beaches - Loch Ceann Traigh.  We were the only boat in the bay. 

Trip statistics 22.5 km 5 hrs 50 mins

If being alone in such a beautiful spot, on a warm sunny evening, was not wonderful enough, as we sat and admired our surroundings the water was 'boiling' in large patches with small fish being chased by larger fish. We watched a feeding frenzy of around 200 gannets diving from about 30 feet into the water, coming to the surface with a fish, taking to the air in a spiraling formation before circling round for another dive. 

The view of the Small Islands from our anchorage at Loch Ceann Traigh

It reminded us of planes stacked in the air at Heathrow.  Then a very large bird flew across and into the trees. The binoculars and the bird book enabled us to identify it as a white tailed or sea eagle.  It flew down to sit on a rock at the waters edge and seemed to be bemused by so many fish. It did not know which to pick, while gulls and gannetts appearded to be ting to distract it from taking their fish. A magical evening.

Loch Earharnar, Coll from the garden of the Coll Hotel

The petrol station, Coll.  Volunteers needed to staff it!

Day 6: Monday 5th August - Keen to use the favourable tide we weighed anchor at 0625. We were not the only ones to be up, the sea eagle was flying over the bay and being harassed by gulls.  With less than 5 knots of wind and that on the nose, we motor along the coast towards Ardnamurchan Point.  As we bore away to round the point (for the fourth time) we hoisted full main and jib and were close hauled in bright sunshine at 0900 on a Monday morning.  Our thoughts were briefly with all those beginning another week at work.  We realise what lucky people we are.
With a fair forecast, we aimed to pass West of Mull rather than heading down the more sheltered Sound of Mull back towards Oban.  We had a couple of heavy showers, but we are surprised how infrequently we have encountered rain (so far!).  We picked up one of a dozen new visitors' moorings in Loch Eatharnar, Coll at 12.35.  Coll is a very small but active community with a population of 164 (2001).  Their new community centre is magnificent, and hosts a multitude of activities as well as being where visiting yachties can get a shower.  The link will give you a feel for the island.  We had a 6 mile walk across the island, but never did find a path down to a beach on the wild west side, and had dinner in the Coll Hotel, by which time every mooring was taken, and a couple of other boats lay at anchor - all good for the island's economy..

Trip statistics 26.4 nm 4 hrs 10mins

Day 7: Tuesday 6th August 2013. We hoisted the mainsail before slipping the mooring and within half an hour were clear of the rocks, out of the loch and the engine was off.  The joy at just using wind power hits us every time we stop the 'iron tops'l'.

Fingal's Cave, Staffa

This was another geological exploration. We sailed through the Treshnish Islands - near horizontal strata of rock of varying hardness, and therefore erosion rates, making them look like layer cakes: past Staffa - and Fingal's Cave with its basalt columns - which inspired Mendleson's Hebredian Overture.

In the right conditions it is possible to anchor off Staffa and to walk into the cave (or to take a dinghy in if the tide is low and there is no swell).  Unfortunately, today there was a considerable swell running and we did not want to risk leaving the boat in such an exposed anchorage even for a short time - we will save that for another day!

A French Hallberg Rassy anchored next to
us in Loch na Lathaich, Ross of Mull

We did sail close inshore and waved at the tourists who had just arrived on a trip boat.
 
We anchored in Loch na Lathaich on the Ross of Mull and for only the second time on this cruise had to have a second go at setting the anchor as it dragged through what felt like soft sand.  After a snooze in the sun spent the evening watching a family on the nearby pier catch mackerel as fast as they could cast. 

Trip statistics 24.8 nm 6 hrs

Day 8: Wednesday 7th August 2013 - There was heavy rain overnight and by the time we awoke at 0800 the cloud was clearing to leave a clear blue sky, warm sunshine and a cool westerly breeze.
 

The Mull to Iona ferry passing clear astern
(or I'm sure I can get another 0.5 knot out of this sail)

We weighed anchor at 0925 and motor sailed out of Loch na Lathaich and West along the Ross of Mull.  The tides run strongly in this part of the world and it pays to have it with you, especially in narrow channels. However, if the wind is blowing in the opposite direction from the tide, it creates a very steep choppy sea. Today's trip was tide dominated as we were going through the Sound of Iona, the narrow strip of water that separates Iona from Mull, but as the wind is blowing from the South, we time our passage of the Sound to coincide with the earliest, weakest south-going flow to make our passage more comfortable.

The Abbey and village on Iona

 Iona is a lovely small island reputed to be where Christianity was introduced to Scotland.  Iona Abbey is one of Scotland’s most historic and sacred sites. The abbey was founded by St Columba and his Irish followers in AD 563.  The island also has a natrual beauty and tranquility.  There is a small village and white sand beaches. Worth a visit from a nearby anchorage when the day trippers have gone home!  Not factored into our itinerary this time but on the list for a visit another time.This trip we contented ourselves with a broad reach through the sound in glorious sunshine.

Anchorage in Loch Tarbet, Jura
- note erosion of raised beaches!

The forecasts for wind direction overnight has been inconsistent and as this impacts on whether an anchorage is viable, we decide not to visit Colonsay or Oronsay but to head to the more sheltered anchorage at Loch Tarbet on the Isle of Jura.  There are many place names including "Tarbert", which apparently means "isthmus" or "promontory", and so it is best to be specific - this one is the JURA Loch Tarbert, and definitely not East Loch Tarbert or West Loch Tarbert!  The loch has a wide, uncomplicated entrance (if you avoid the many prominent rocks) but the pilotage becomes rather tricky if you want to explore the inner reaches of the loch, despite pairs of white pillars providing transits to clear the most hazardous

Sun set Jura Loch Tarbet  - 21.36

rocks.  We thought it seamanlike to anchor in the shelter of drying rocks on the South side of the entrance ot the loch, given our intention to make an early start.
The anchor set well, and we marvelled at Jura's wild rugged beauty, alone again, dining in the cockpit watching the sun go down leaving the sky dark red.

Trip statistics 34.5 nm 9 hrs 15 mins

The mornings red sky - 05.32

Day 9: Thursday 8th August 2013. The forecasters will be confused as after last nights red sky (sailor's delight) we have a magnificent red sky again at dawn (sailor's warning) - perhaps we will have an exhiliarating sail!
Today's trip will be even more tide dominated as we will pass through the Sound of Islay, the strip of water between the islands of Jura and Islay. Tides wait for no-one, and we weighed anchor at 05.50 in order to arrive at the Sound at slack water to reduce the effect of wind over tide (bigger waves!).

Approaching the sound. Jura far right, Islay ahead with cloud

As we headed towards the sound the wind looked promising for a while and we broad reached with light motor assistance,  but it was swirling around the headland and we were soon motor sailing with full main into a headwind.  With a breakfast of porridge to fortify us we entered the sound at 0700.  Our boat speed was 3.4 knots and speed over the ground soon increased to 4 knots showing we had a little bit of tide with us - all to plan. The wind was starting to funnel along the sound (on the nose, of course) giving us some bouncy waves as a result of the wind over tide (it will be much worse

In the sound

in another hour!). The maximum wind strength we saw was 18 knots and we were looking forward to a brisk sail when we shot out of the other end of the Sound.  By 08.00 our boat speed was still a leisurely 3.3 knots but our speed over the ground was 10.8 knots - we now had 7.5 knots of tide helping us through.  We were glad we got the timing right and it was going our way!  By 08.30 we were trhough the narrowest part of the Sound, and the channel was widening and the current was therefore reducing.  We unfurled the jib and turned the engine off.  We were out of the turbulent water and did not need it to keep us on course now, optimistic that we would have a good sail for the next couple of hours.  As well as leaving the strong current we had also lost the funnelling effect of the wind, and now only had 4.5 knots to play with.  We sailed until the wind died completely and then motored the last few miles to Port Ellen, Islay.  We tied up on the pontoon at 12.10

Trip statistics 23.9 km 6 hrs 20 mins

Port Ellen is a neat little village with hotels, shops and white sand beaches. Today most of the shops are closed as it's the Islay Agricultural Show, which we're told is a very small Show, but very big in the Island!  The Island is the

Port Ellen, Islay

centre of the Malt Whisky universe with 7 active distilleries and the malting factory for most of the West coast distilleries - preparing the malted barley to each distillery's specific specification.  The pontoons are run as a community business, and were the best value we've found on our travels so far - £16 a night including electricity - and local B&Bs provide showers for visiting yachties for a couple of quid.  We were told that they plan to double the number of yachts they can accommodate, as this is a very good place from which to head across to Rathlin Island and other destinations across the North Channel in Northern Ireland, as well as the start and finish of passages up and down the Sound of Jura and around the Mull of Kintyre.

Day 10: Friday 9th August 2013 - A squally morning followed a wet and windy, but comfortable, night.  We were conscious that  this was another tide-dependent passage but not because of a 'Sound'.  We will be rounding another notorious headland, the Mull of Kintyre. and need to ensure that the 4 or 5 hour passage to get there corresponds with the tide going with us around the Mull, but with the minimum of wind against tide.  The temptation is to 'get on with it' but we did not want to arrive at the tidal gate early.

We slipped the mooring at 12.15 and faced a squally force 5 in the bay, with the sun shining on the Port Ellen beach.  Once we were clear of the bay the turbulence in the wind settled and we had a very pleasant sail with 1 reef in the main and jib.

The Mull of Kintyre

We had plotted the time schedule to progress us to the tidal gate hour by hour so that we could monitor our progress and as we reached the point where we expected the tidal steam to start to sweep us towards the Mull we were just 10 minutes ahead of schedule after 5 hours sailing.  Consequently we had a smooth and uneventful rounding and a pleasant sail through the Sound of Sanda and back into the Firth of Clyde.

The wind died at 20.30 and we put the engine on to help with the last few miles past Davaar Island and into the sheltered natural harbour of Campbeltown. 

As we tied up, a couple walked down the pontoon and stopped to chat. They had left Port Ellen at about 08.00 that morning and had arrived at about 15.45.  A shorter time than we took, but they had motored a lot of the way and used favourable tides across to the Mull.  But boy, was Mrs Skipper moaning about how rough it was coming around the point!  Mr. Skipper promised her that he's take another look at the tidal atlas.  As this was our first rounding of the Mull we were happy with prudence and I suspect there were some conversations about timings for tidal gates in their boat afterwards.  It is not a question of right or wrong - you take your choice!

Trip statistics 47.8 nm 9 hrs 45 mins

Day 11: Saturday 10th August 2013 - Cambeltown is a pleasant little town , but seems huge after the Western Isles!  It has a great deal of history, with several distilleries and whisky tasting venues.  There is a big resurgance in Malt Whisky production and the large conglomorate Diageo is helping to develop and promote the individal identities of the small distilleries.  What ever you think of the huge company behind this - the present impact on the fragile econonies of the smaller Islands and communities seems to be positive. 

There are lots of independent shops in Campbeltown selling different and interesting products and a wealth of interesting architecture.  The local Town Hall organises historical and architectural walks around the town - but unfortunatly not on the day we were there!  We contented ourselves with a walk around the bay and through the town before victualling for fresh food supplies at the ubiquitous Co-op. 

After a leisurely lunch we slipped the mooring at 15.15 and headed back out into the Firth of

Anchorage at Port Crannaich,Carradale

Clyde.  The wind was not strong - about 5 knots but behind us (for once) and we had a gentle sail with full main and genoa along the coast.  As the wind was still in the south we abandoned plan A, which had been to anchor in Carradale Bay, as this would have been exposed to southerly winds, choosing to go around the headland to anchor in 7.5 metres at Port Crannaich just North of the village of Carradale .

Trip statistics 13.9 nm 3 hours 20 mins.

As in most parts of Scotland the water was so clear that we could easily see the bottom and we spent some time watching a large starfish walk across the sand and weed below us. 

We must have spent too long looking at the seabed as we awoke in the early hours to the sound of the anchor chain and we concerned that the anchor was dragging.  We checked our position (using both the latatitude and longitude readings on the GPS, and the visual transits  we had used when we layed the anchor) and had not moved further than you would expect the boat to swing with the wind changes and tide.  The anchor drag alarm had not gone off. However, we could feel vibration though the chain, and it seemed that the change of tide had swung the boat one way then the other, resulting in the chain crossing itself.  We decided to let out some more chain just to be on the safe side and (eventually) felt able to return to bed.

Day 12: Sunday 11th August 2013 - not an early start to today!  We studied the chart and the weather forecast and with the wind forecast to go to the NW we chose a small  bay - Scalpsie Bay on the south of the Isle of Bute to head for as our anchorage for the evening.

We weighed anchor at 12.10 (as the tide became more favourable) and began motorsailing as there was only 2.8 knots of wind.  However this soon filled in, giving us a wind strength of around 12 knots and we hoisted full main and genoa.  As we sailed along the Arran coast it became increasingly gusty. We saw all wind strengths from 2.8 knots to 26 knots in the first hour and a half.  Even with full main, Noisette dealt with these conditions admirably and we commented that the Firth of Clyde was reminiscent of sailing on a big lake.

By 14.00 we were clear of the north of Arran and into Inchmarnock Water.  This is where the tides and winds which have passed different sides of islands and land masses come together again and everytime we went through it gave us an interesting sail.  It is the place where Clyde races are won or lost.  On this occasion we had steep seas, the weather had become squally and the wind, now a background of 24 knots was reaching 33 knots in the squalls.

What was more concerning was that it was still blowing SW, S, or SE but showed no intention of going to the NW as forecast.  This meant that our chosen anchorage, now in sight, would not be viable.  We briefly considered an anchorage in Inchmarnock Sound, sheltered by the Island of Inchmarnock, but with the wind strenghening we decided that the narrow entrance, guarded by rocks, might be a little too interesting and not provide sufficient shelter.  We decided to head in the direction we had planned for tomorrow, up lower Loch Fyne and into East Loch Tarbert, which had been our last port of call before entering the Crinan Canal on our way north.  We knew we would be protected from any wind direction here.  We had been making increasingly rapid progress, but our change of plan meant that we would be sailing closer to the wind, and so we hove-to and put a reef in both main and jib before gybing to head for our nights refuge.

Lower Loch Fyne was a little more sheltered than Inchmarnock Water and the wind steadied to 18 knots gusting 22 or 23 - perfect for a good sail.  The effect of the topography was to funnel the wind and once again we found ourselves beating to our destination - making us glad we had reefed, and making for a great sail - but sorry we had no time to take photos today!

Trip Statistics 28.1 nm 5 hours 20 minutes

To make up for the lack of 'stills', here are links to videos of Noisette taken earlier on the Malts Cruise by Sabine and Peter, who were on the German yacht Santa Maria,  The first was shot as we beat South to round the Point of Ardnamurchan, and the second as we picked up a mooring at Tobermory.  With your sound turned on, you will hear Santa Maria's a cappella 'Noising' (as opposed to the purpose of the Malts Cruise, which was 'Nosing' the whisky). On  a good day, the 'Noising' sounded very much like the skirl of bagpipes, but they admitted this was not their best performance.  It's not enough that they speak perfect English, they play with our words as well!

Day 13: Monday 12th August 2013 - There is a sail maker right by the marina in Tarbet and we decided to see if he could repair the torn leach tape on our genoa that we had caught around the radar dome on our rather windy beat from Plockton to Inverie on Loch Nevis.  We thought this was apt as the name boldly displayed on the sail loft was W.B. Leitch - Sailmaker. (Just to clarify - the leach is the back, trailing edge of a sail) David went to make enquiries while Chris went to the Co-op to get tomatoes forgotten in the last victualling trip.  The deal was done, we took the sail to him in a wheelbarrow borrowed from the marina and he agreed to have it ready for us to collect on Wednesday morning.

We slipped the mooring at 12.10 and headed north along Loch Fyne. We only had 12 or 13 knots of wind but were expecting gusts over the hills so hoisted the mainsail with one reef and full jib which gave us a respectable boat speed of about 5 knots.   

Loch Fyne is a very picturesque Loch - famed for its sea food it has lots of good waterside

Rainbow over Loch Fyne

restuarants many of which put out mooring buoys for passing yachts that are free to diners.  There are also  lots of quiet anchorages, but despite this we found it very quite, with hardly any other yachts.  

As well as the scenary it pays to keep your eyed peeled for wild life.  We had 2 very interesting encounters on this trip, the first a golden eagle flying high above the Loch - awesome! and the second  - not one of Scotland's big 5 (golden eagle, red squirrel, otter, red deer, common seal) - this was a crocodile - about 5 feet long, right in the middle of the loch!  Fortunately it was swimming - or more correcty blowing - away from us, a child on the beach must have been very upset to lose their bright green inflatable croc.  Chris wanted to do croc recovery drill, but as it was blowing down wind quite quickly, and already well behind us David's more sensible approach was followed.

 

 

 

 

Inverary

We anchored off the bridge at Inverary and sat on board watching the coachloads of tourists  visiting the town and castle.  We decided that the landing place looked very muddy (as it was a low spring tide).  We prefered the view from the water looking at the town than from the town looking at the water so stayed on board!

Trip Statistics 26.3 nm 5 hours 30 minutes

Loch Gair

Day 14: Tuesday 13th August 2013 - We weighed anchor at 12.20 and enjoyed a pleasant beat down the Loch with full main and jib, anchoring at Loch Gair for the evening at 16.50.  This is a small well-sheltered Loch with a narrow entrance.  Despite many moorings there's still lots of space to anchor.  There is a very pretty village and a sadly derelict large house - now beyond economic repair.  The Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions - our bible - warned of muddy landing, and when we saw the number of buckets of water the crew of another boat used to get the mud off their boots and dinghy when returning to their boat, we were glad we stayed on board. The perfect place for a quite night, and maybe next time we will time our visit so that we can go ashore closer to high tide.

Trip Statistics 18.1 nm 4 hours 30 minutes

Day 15: Wednesday 14th August 2013 - We weighed anchor at 0820 and motored out into Loch Fyne where we hoisted full main and jib and sailed through the narrows and past the famous "Oystercatcher" restaurant at Otter Spit into Lower Loch Fyne and back into East Loch Tarbet, where we tied up to the pontoon - the harbour master allows an hour's complimentary stay.

Trip Statistics 13.3 nm 2 hours 45 minutes

David went to collect the sail whilst Chris prepared lunch and dinner (in the Wonderbag - need to tell you all about that).  Unfortunately there were no trollies or wheel barrows available and he  carried the sail back to the boat (I thought that was what mobile phones were for - C) but he was glad of the new information from the sailmaker that the genoa is made of Contender Astra sailcloth that is lighter than Dacron.

We had lunch at the pontoon - giving David chance to recover -  slipped the morring at 13.10 and headed back down Loch Fyne towards Inchmarnock Water - what surprises will it have in store for us this time?

As we left the protection of Loch Tarbet the wind was gusting over 23 knots so we hoisted the main and jib with 1 reef.  We were beating again and making good boat speed, 5.2 knots in 15 knots of wind, into a confused choppy sea.  We were keeping pace with a boat that followed us out and motored along the shore.  

PS Waverley

We noticed a boat coming towards us which at first glance was obviously something different and then recognised it as the PS Waverley, the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world, built in 1946.

Castle Ruin - Loch Ranza with yacht on a visitors buoy

Progressively the wind died off and we did not have enough power to push the boat through the choppy water with reefed sails - so we shook the reefs out and off we went.  No real Inchmarnock surprises today - just a long beat in choppy water, with a shifty wind which made it necessary to keep tacking to ensure that we were going towards our target and not away from it!  One of those sails that is very satisfying - especially when it is over.  We anchored in Loch Ranza on the north coast of Bute at 18.30.  Although the entrance to this loch faces NE and it should be protected from the SE through to SW,  southerly winds come over the hills and channel down the valleys and can make the anchorage very uncomfortable.  For this reason, about a dozen visitor buoys have been laid, but all were taken, and so we had to anchored in deeper water, and closer to the lee shore, than we would have liked.  On this night it was a gusty SW wind and caused the boat to swing more than normal.  We made sure the anchor was set firmly, veered lots of chain out, and had no problems.  Another good night's sleep at anchor!

Trip Statistics 19.7 nm 5 hours 20 minutes

Just after we anchored the weather closed in and we decided that it was not going to be pleasant to launch the tender in the rather incessant drizzle and go ashore in choppy water.  The rewards of a nice dinner and a bottle of wine on board seemed greater.  We will return to Loch Ranza another day to discover its delights and to visit the castle (ruins).

The Wonderbag mentioned earlier is modern hay box technology. A large insulated 'pumpkin' into which you place food (in a pan), that you have heated, to slow cook, with no power.  Today's meal was cubed beef with potates, carrots, onion and swede cooked in a red wine, herb and garlic sauce (Bourguignon a la Chris). Took 10 mins to prepare, simmered for 20 mins, into the Wonderbag to cook itself for hours while we sailed and ready to serve when we want - brilliant!  It does Paella, suet pudding and lots of other things as well - just what you need after a long cold sail.  Great on board - useful for night sailing providing instant hot food for those on watch, reduces fuel consumption, condensation and the number of pans you use!! We found it useful before the freedom of retirement when we had 3 or 4  hours to drive to the boat on a Friday evening.  David would prep the meal - into the car - it was ready to eat when we got on board.  There will be lots of camping and even at home uses!  We bought ours at the boat show a couple of years ago.  The price, £60, seeems a lot, but they run a scheme where for every one bought one is given to a family in South Africa where it has made a large impact on both ecology and family finances, reducing the need for fuel. 

Day 16: Thursday 15th August 2013 - There are strong winds forecast for Friday and gales forecast for Saturday and Sunday.  We plan to head home on Monday so this feels like a good time to move towards a safe haven where we can leave Noisette for a couple of weeks.

We  weighed anchor at 1035, hoisted full main and genoa and we were broad reaching across Inchmarnock Water towards the south shore of Bute.  How long will this last, we wondered?    For a pleasant change, we are making good speed - in the right direction!   As we sailed we were catching another boat that was on a very similar course.  We were analysing his sail setting etc to understand why we were going faster - as all sailors (racers) would do.  Then the wind changed dramatically: from a broad reach we were suddenly close hauled as the wind  was now coming at us from the other side of the Island of Arran.  Perhaps the other yacht had failed to notice the wind shift.

At this point we were distracted by a fishing boat, with his nets out, who was on a collision course with us, though still about 1.5 nm away at this time. Fishing boats often change course as they follow the fish so we watched the situation.  Other than the distance between us closing - the situation did not alter much. The fishing vessel did not have AIS (that would have told us exactly how close we would pass) but close observation led us to conclude this would be too close.  We bore away to increase our speed in order to try and pass ahead of him but the Inchmarnock effect set in and the wind died, so we were slowing down and therefore still on a collision course.  Getting quite close now so we decided that we needed to make an ealy and obvious manoeuver to let him know our intentions, and we tacked to sail parallel to him to enable him to pass us.  At this point we had just sailed ahead of the other yacht.  Now on port tack, we passed behind them before tacking back to pass safely behing the fishing vessel.  The other yacht was now in the same position with the fishing vessel that we had been and they too tacked to avoid him.  They looked surprised that we had tacked back onto starboard so soon and now they needed to pass behind us.  We sailed safely 200 metres behind the fishing boat and continued on our way.  For some reason the other yacht did not tack back for a long time and when they did they were heading in the same direction as we were but about 2 miles behind.  The lessons learnt in the shifty winds at Midland Sailing Club are important ones!

We bore away onto a beam reach along the south shore of Bute and as we rounded the south east corner we were pleased that the wind stayed true and we were able to broad reach along the coast before gybing to make our destination of Kames Bay on Bute,  just north of Rothesay, where we anchored for the night just off the Port Bannatyne Marina, and did a few calculations about how much money we'd saved by anchoring for free rather than picking up buoys or going alongside pontoons.

Trip statistics 20.9 nm 5hrs 20 mins

Day 17: Friday 16th August 2013 - We weighed anchor at 1035 and sailed with full main and jib.  With 18 knots of wind from the south west we beam reached and then broad reached, with one gybe to our destination at Kip Marina, Inverkip where we had decided to leave Noisette for the next couple of weeks. We were tied up on B pontoon just inside the entrance at 12.50.

Trip statistics 10nm 2hrs 15 mins 

Carving outside the marina office - know how he feels?

Kip Marina is a large fully serviced and very sheltered marina.  The village of Inverkip is small but self contained with an unstaffed train station and a well-stocked Sainsbury's local.   Everything we needed but unfortunately we did not find things in the right order.

Having ordered the train tickets on the internet we needed to collect them but the internet said that Inverkip station did not have a machine - we had been told this about Troon but it turned out to be untrue so we went to the station to find out.  It was a 15 minute walk - up a very steep hill.  When we got there we found that the internet was right - there was no machine but a very detailed notice told us that the nearest fully manned ticket office was at Wemyss (pronounced "Weems") Bay - one stop (the final stop) further down the line.  A train was due in 5 minutres so we jumped on it and collected our tickets from the ticket office there.  We decided to have a look at Wemyss Bay and with a holiday camp we thought there was going to be a shop some where.  We had walked through Inverkip and not seen one.  We asked for directions and ended up walking about half of the 3 miles back towards Inverkip before we arrived at a small, not very well stocked, SPAR.  Having bought what we could we decided not to go back to catch the train, but carry on walking to Inverkip.

Once back on the boat Chris googled shops in Inverkip and found the location of the Sainsbury's - if only we had turned the other way down Main Street.... we live and learn.

Day 18 and 19: Saturday and Sunday 17th & 18th August 2013 - Saturday morning was wet so an ideal opportunity to clean the inside of the boat - with carpets vacuumed, floors washed, wood dusted and polished and everything put back in its right place - we decided we had earned a bit of retail therapy and went to the chandlery to investigate the oilies.  We have both decded that our current oilies have come to the end of their lifespan.  We have had then for probably 15 years, they have sailed with us through various passage races, across the channel several times, around the Channel Islands and Brittany, to the Scillies, around Cornwall, to Chichester and on to the Round the Island (Wight) Race - they could navigate to Fowey and Salcombe on their own! - and they have been to Antarctica where they were worn every day for 22 days - not only sailing but climbing rigging, walking up glaciers and bottom sledging back down.  They are old friends and certainly do not owe us anything.  We did not buy, but we narrowed the selection process down for when we visit the Southampton Boat Show next month.

The evening turned out to be sunny and we enjoyed a pint sitting on the lawn outside the bar next to the rather luxurious showers - the wind was beginning to get up as forecast..

It was a windy night and Sunday dawned very windy, but sunny.  There were people on the racing boat moored next to us and we enquired if they were going out racing - they seemed somewhat relieved to report that it was their turn to be committee boat today.  

We continued preparing for home and while Chris washed and dried all the bedding, towels and clothes that, if we carried them home we would only wash and carry back, David tidied ropes, put the tender and other sailing equipment away and washed and polished 'topsides'.  What a smart boat - we always try to leave her in a better state than we find her and we have certainly managed that this trip.  Not only the cleaning but repair of the sail and replacement of the navigation light we lost overboard. Satisfied!  But it has occured that, those of you who have not been on board do not know what Noisette looks like inside.  The time to take pictures for you will be while she is tidy ie before we put all our stuff back onboard on our return.  Weather permitting we will do that for you and include them in the next instalment.

The racing/ committee boat was back by 1430 and reported that they had set a startline and most of the racers had decided they would go in.  It was apparently blowing 33 knots out "in the river" ie. Firth of Clyde! They seemed happy with an early finish, they had done their bit!

We went for a walk along the coastal path and beach in the evening - turning back when it started to rain and the wind was beginning to die down a little.

Day 20: Monday 19th August 2013 - We had arranged for the engine to have a service while we were away and David went to have a chat with the engineer before we left for the train. 

We left 40 minutes to walk up the hill to the station and as we took the bags off the boat the heavens opened.  By the time we had reached the marina reception (200 metres) to leave a key with them we were soaked - or would have been but for goretex jackets!

The marina staff gave us a lift to the station and told us to ring them when we got to Glasgow on our return trip and they would meet the train and bring us back - so friendly, so helpful.  We were early for our 11.01 train, which arrived on time, but managed to be a bit late getting into Glasgow Central, leaving us just a few minutes to leg it from one side of the station to the other to catch our train.  By 16.45 we were home, enjoying a cup of tea and going through a mercifully small mountain of post thoughtfully sorted into two piles - real stuff and junk -  by our kind neighbours.