What a wonderful week! Oban,Loch Shuna,Crinan Canal,Loch Tarbert and Arran tide rips,sunshine and rain,however,finally downwind!.
Now in Troon,near Glasgow airport.preparing to sail to N.Ireland.Mary's been onboard for a ten days,Richard joined two days ago (following a bus trip around Scotland),Alan (RNLI-Padstow) joining again Sunday in Bangor.
8/7
Kerrera,Oban
Walked the island,nearly ran out of water,nearly got lost,tea shop closed.
Free ferry
Marina waived charges.
9/7
Mary arrived.
Malt Whisky cruisers piling in.
Forecast 5-6 N/NE great! Going down to Loch Shuna,Craobh (croove) Marina.
Sailed through Sound of Luing renowned for its tide rips,over falls and races.However,’prudence’ being my middle name and Neptune on my side (for once) the wind was up the chuff and the (Neap )tide carried us along gently in the right direction.Bliss!Sorry not to see much wildlife here.Was so impressed with Moray Firth and the wildlife got spoilt.I suppose further North (next time!!!!) is the same,less people and pollution.
Bit busy here,like the Scottish solent,only friendlier and incredibly beautiful.Just picture postcard misty hills and gaping Lochs,bolt holes everywhere.Masts trying to hideaway at every opportunity,but not as friendly as the (guess)M.Firth,where less boats and people were friendlier.
Craobh marina was very pretty.Shop owner from Romford.In fact,the whole villiage seemed to have been bought renovated and sold off to people from England who wanted to escape the rat race.
Mary and I took a lovely walk along the harbour arm and mary spotted an Otter.
10/7
Fueled up and left a 10.00 FOR A FAIR TIDE DOWN PAST Dorus Mur,also renowned for rips and races, with eddies running in the opposite direction along the shore. Once again,we had a gentle slide down to our destination at the Crinan canal.Only 10 miles !and in an hour and half!However,had to stand off for an hour as a fishing boat was unloading.
Met Lisa the sweet HM at the canal office,so helpful.
A Grand Banks (big motor cruiser) pushed in front in the tiny sea lock and nearly lost his lines.mary inquired as to whether they were new to boating!A lovely old S&S built yacht alongside us wasas nervous as us thinking we might get squashed like a boat sandwich. Another boat tried to get in and was caught, by the now building Northerly , and almost hit the wall and the rocks nearby as he had to reverse to get back out.
Decidied to help Lisa out with loads of yachts trying to get in and out,so we went alongside a ketch in the inner harbour.Great lunch stop.Whilst we were sitting there in the intermittent sunshine (Mary had nearly got down to her bikini but had shorts on with a JIC sweater on top)
After our smoked salmon pate lunch, drinking our green tea (nice girly time) we saw s/y Shy Talk (try not to say that on the radio quickly!) who we’d met in Craobh, he (Don) was waving avidly and shouting,Mary (just had a hearing test and failed) thought he was saying ‘I’m catching crabs!’ what he was saying (I couldn’t hear at all for the wind) was ‘I have engine failure!’ Anyway,luckily for him he drifted on to us and I said he should count his blessings,then tried to claim salvage.That didn’t wash ,so I made them tea to calm them down after their mini trauma.Both (Don & Dick ) ex-mariners hadn’t met for 30 years until that day and were now sailing down a canal (a place of instant divorce if there ever was)
Got through ther first lock then two swing bridges were mary was put on tally ho 8manul blow)foghorn (so the bridge keeper knows we’re coming) she start well but faded at the end to the amusement of all the cyclist and people along the canl.
Moored up for the night before our first manual set of 5 locks and a bridge.
Alongside a know it all guy who has the answer to everything.he told me he’d been on boats for 48 years and I said I’d been on boats 49 years, as I’d been born on one.
Lovely lock keeper (on bicycle) promised to help out tomorrow, but we couldn’t get breakfast out of him.Thanks Colin.
Pam and Alan on ‘Cari’ on the isle of Rona, so happy for them as they had the time and the audacity, so they headed North after Oban and see the Hebrides.
11/7
woken at 0700 to the smell of bacon and neighbours asking for the shower key.no breakfast though.
Bright and breezy (still from the north).Aired the bed linen on deck and mary’s ‘bloomers’ from the rails we charged for the first of 8 locks. 5up and 3 down. Charged was operative a word as the lock keeper grabbed my stern line and tried to brake me with it and snap my life harness hanging on the rail, went with it! the boat alongside lost their lines and it felt like pandemonium. Anyway once we calmed down and four of us set the pace we did brilliantly just helping each other. Mostly Dick steered (Shy Talk) and I stayed onboard Svanevit, controlling the lines bow and stern, whilst mary and Don (Shy Talk) open, closed and regulated the locks. Whilst rafted for a cuppa an RNLI jacket appeared and it was Peter Howland the Sea Safety officer for the area.he’d seen my sea safety dodgers and gone to open lock 8 –waited but we didn’t appear.We’d decide d to Make a pit-stop tea,ginger biscuits ensued then a trip in his car to get milk,then he went and opened lock 8 for us,again! Jolly fun ensued at each lock with friendly banter all round.A new word today when a lock keeper mentioned that we had plenty of room to ‘ scroot’ around before the lock, we believe it was a local term for ‘standing off’, or ‘hanging around’. Hope so anyway.
Landed for the night but decided we could move on to a prettier spot,where we’d find natural resources such as shower, toilets and a pub. we stopped at Lochgilphead,the centre for Argyll.
No toilets etc ,however,
12/7
Lochgilphead.Mary and I had an Indian take-away for dinner as the fish and chip shop had closed down!
Richard ‘Frances Fletcher’,out of Brighton joining us next.Will get to Ardishaig tomorrow and make for East Tarbert a nice Loch tucked away from most winds and wait for him.Then hopefully down to Arran.(Spoke to Stewart Wyllie who has offered me his mooring there.
I met him at the Essex Boat Jumble in the spring.He has also said his friend David Bone MBE might pipe me in at Troon,his son is Colin Bone from the lifeboat at Troon)
13/7
My brother’s birthday today.I’m sad he won’t be joining me.
Met the ol’ crazy colonel at Ardrishaig! Went through the last lock together.As we left Don of Shytalk was seen hanging over the bow rail for his life,we stood on and apparently he tried to go ashore but missed badly!grappled his way back onboard and we carried on.A lovely tack down to E.Tarbert Loch and we were so happy sailing that we nearly missed the bay!Just a double take on the compass and landmarks then we prepped ourselves and toodled in to a spectacular bay.Still a busy fishing harbour within a lively and colourful town.There are two main mooring spots and decent pontoon berths.Plus they’re adding more.Went for a lovely walk along the south shore and discovered the midges. Had to shuffle home trying not to sratch the embarrassing places that’d been bitten.Keep hearing ‘Mull of Kyntyre’ in my head.We are on Kyntyre and it is wonderful.Though up to -10c in winter doesn’t set me on fire.
14/7
Richard arriving today.Quite a trek from Glasgow.But the weather is rubbish (SW 5/6) and jobs to do. Pumped up dinghy.Walked into town received cheque for RNLI (will take to Troon lifeboat) from Rag Doll boutique whilst telling the owner about my trip.
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