The Long Way Round - 2018

The winds to the lee of the high mountains on Mull do funny things.  So it was that, on our short passage from Loch Aline to the isle of Kerrera, opposite Oban, we saw winds dropping from force 4/5 to flat calm and then back to force 6/7 on the beam.  This gave us an easy 7 knots with 2 reefs in the mainsail, as we sailed into harbour.  We love the short fetch around here, giving mainly flat water. Yesterday we visited Oban, which seemed rather big and noisy by our standards, so today we went for a walk around Kerrera, gentle and quiet. Oban from McCaig's Tower Kerrera Cow On our walk we found a mobile 'phone, lying undamaged on the stony track, which we used to call a random person in Germany (recently called list).  This turned out to be the owner's daughter-in-law, who called the owner's wife and soon the relieved German gentleman had his 'phone back.  Luckily he didn't have a code to turn it on (although he should have)! As well as improving i...

Storm Hector blew through Tobermory and we all kept an eye on our mooring lines as the boats shuddered and rocked about in the F9 winds and drenching rain.  But we were snug with the land next to the marina blocking out the worst of the gusts. Doug went back to the waterfall that we had visited yesterday to see how it had changed after so much rain. Upper Falls before the Rain After the Rain The day after Storm Hector, we set off again, headed for the picturesque Loch Drambuie.  We had fresh winds to blow us there and it felt good to be at sea once more after 4 days in Tobermory.  We threaded our way through the narrow entrance and dropped anchor in the loch. Loch Drambuie The weather was alternately windy, wet and then the sun tried to show through.  This was nothing like the clear blue skies we had been used to for so long. We busied ourselves with painting and reading - not very dynamic but we felt this section of our trip was nearing a close....

The trip to Tobermory from Muck was a short one, about 16 miles, which was a good thing because there was almost no wind, so Yanni powered us and George steered us.   The early favourable tide through the Sound of Mull turned out to be unfavourable around Ardnamurchan Point, which slowed our progress.   Ardnamurchan Point is famous as a difficult point to round, when the weather is bad.   We’ll be back this way in about 2 weeks and conditions might be more challenging by then.   The fine weather has turned cloudy and gales are forecast for later this week. Tobermory Marina Tobermory on Mull seems very crowded and busy after the Small Isles.  All of a sudden we are alongside a pontoon, with water and power and a street full of shops only a short walk away.  The houses are brightly painted and there are tourists arriving in coaches.  All very different from our recent anchorages. Marinas are good places to recharge one’s batteries, have ...

The next day we left Rum and sailed onwards to anchor in Laigs Bay on Eigg for lunch en route to Port Mor on Muck for the evening. View of Eigg from our Lunchtime Anchorage Eigg looked like a much easier place to live than Rum.  It's shores had some lower lying land with sheep and cattle grazing and there were several homes to be seen.  Its population exceeded 100 last year and the primary school currently has 6 pupils and 2 teachers (1 principal teacher and a shared head teacher).  It generates nearly 100% of its electricity from solar, wind and hydro-electric power. In 1997 Eigg was purchased for the island community with help from the government and a number of benefactors.  Since then, life seems to have improved for the islanders and they have been able to attract many new residents.  It is however reported that some longer standing residents feel that incomers have the best share of new electricity supplies and housing. After lunch we motor saile...

Our next voyage through the Small Isles took us to the Island of Rum.  This is a wild and mountainous place with just one anchorage on the east side. View of Rum Island from the Sea Rum has two interesting claims to fame.  One is the exotic and rather curious Kinloch Castle, a hunting lodge for a previous owner, Sir George Bullough.  Sir George used to have his staff fire at unwanted boats who dared to enter his waters, earning it the title of the "Forbidden Isle". The other is that they boast the largest and most prolific population of midges - maybe not something you would normally want to advertise to potential visitors! Kinloch Castle The island was sold by the Bulloughs in 1957 and is now owned by Scottish National Heritage (SNH), a government funded organisation that promotes the natural environment for the public to enjoy. The population is currently about 30 people and they have a primary school (described as "very remote, rural") with 1 pupil...

The "Small Isles" consist of 4 closely grouped islands: Canna, Rum, Eigg and Muck. Canna is a lovely island for yachts to visit.  The harbour is well sheltered and beautiful. The Main Anchorage on Canna There is the wonderful "Café Canna" close to the anchorage, serving food and drink throughout the day.  This is also a great hub where locals can meet up. We enjoyed a walk alongside the basalt cliffs, where we think we spotted an eagle and then climbed up the rough hillside to visit a pair of Neolithic "cellars".  No one seems to know exactly what these were used for but they date back to 10,000 BC.  Doug climbed a short way into one of them and took a photo inside. Doug Looking Inside a Neolithic Cellar - also called a Souterrain View Inside The Neolithic Cellar Cliffside Walk on Canna The island is owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) and currently has a population of 26.  The last 2 children left the island last year, ...

The 6 th June was a very long day.   Up early, we motor-sailed south-west, to drop anchor, 3 hours later, in Mingulay Bay. Mingulay from the Northeast Since 1912, Mingulay has been an uninhabited island.  It was then that the population gave up the struggle to survive there, and left for more fertile lands.  Part of their problem was that the main anchorage, where we now lay, is wide open to the east and often has a seriously bad swell, preventing boats loading and unloading.  For us however there were gentle winds and almost no swell. Anchored in Mingulay Bay We paddled ashore to a beautiful beach, trying not to disturb a large seal, sunbathing nearby.  And then we walked up to the old village, slowly collapsing into ruins.  Roofs were all gone and many stone walls were half fallen into the vegetation and wild flowers.  It was both beautiful and poignant. Ruined Houses in Mingulay We met a group of climbers, who were c...

We decided to set out on a longer sail to cover the 50 miles from Coll to Castlebay on the island of Barra.  This is at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides and getting there involved leaving the nice sheltered flat seas we had so long been enjoying.  We would be setting out into the bigger waves from the Atlantic Ocean. The passage was hard on the wind and the boat heeled over as we pounded our way through the waves. Sailing to Castlebay on the Island of Barra We made good progress and arrived in Castlebay at 4:30 pm having had quite a hard sail in fairly poor visibility and F4/5 winds.   It was a nice surprise to find that a marina had been constructed the previous year so we could tie up alongside rather than having to blow up the dinghy and row ashore from a mooring.  The marina was still a "work in progress" and they were in the process of building a new slipway for small boats but had not made the shower block yet. The following day we found that w...

We really liked Coll.  It seemed such a friendly place and also the sun shone the whole time, so everything looked particularly good :) We spent two days there; the first doing our jobs like laundry (on board this time as Coll does not run to a launderette), filling up our water tanks (by rowing jerry cans ashore and filling up from the tap behind the toilet block (?) and buying some more food. I also visited the plant and cake sale at Arinagour Primary School, which is Coll's only school and spoke to their Head Teacher, Mrs Aileen Cook.  They have seven (!) children at the school and two teachers, Aileen and one other teacher.  The children are taught in one classroom and are divided into two classes - younger and older.  When they are twelve, they fly away to attend Oban High School and live in a school hostel for the weekdays and then fly home at weekends. There are about 200 people living on Coll. On the second day, we were lent bicycles by Jane and Tim wh...