Scotland is without a doubt one of the prettiest places on earth when the sun shines. Mountains covered in a bright green carpet flows right down to the sea. The islands off the coast provide extensive areas of "ballroom sailing" and should you weary of that there are interesting anchorages to investigate every few miles, each with its own castle or distillery, sometimes both. However, since our arrival, we have been plagued with every other day gales and the sun is no where to be found. We are back in Loch Aline where the winds have howled for the last 3 days and we have both been in a funk. Today Gus and Helen on Wings have caught up with us. The visit, along with an improved forecast, has helped raise our spirits. Its was a treat to meet up again with our winter neighbors from St. Katherine Dock. Gus always has the latest news on the location of our little winter community so we spent some time catching up. Each time we attempted to launch the dingy the winds would howl so the next morning when Gus offered to pick us up in their dink we jumped at the offer to get off the boat for a while. Mail was waiting for us at the marina. (I should mention that the Cruising Association has been fantastic at forwarding our mail this summer. King has credit cards again! The lost driver's license, however, will have to wait till we get home next winter.) Since Wings is heading south and we are still hoping to head north we were able to exchange some cruising pilot books and charts. Helen also shared her copy of Dracula which she had picked up in Whitby while in view of the Whitby Abby, aka Dracula's castle. While Wings delivered their charts by dink, Ostinato took a different approach.
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| Ostinato Express delivers charts for Ireland |
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| Dunstaffnage Castle Chapel |
July 3 - 56.27 N 5.25 W
Ostinato arrived in Dunstaffnage Bay, just a bit east of Oban, to sit out the next blow at the marina. We tied up in 20 knots of wind which immediately died to nothing the minute the last spring line was in place. Our neighbor was another catamaran. The first sailing cat that we have seen that's larger than us. King immediately dropped by to ask where he got hauled. He turned out to be a charter boat from the south coast but gave us a few leads on possibilities....none, unfortunately, which panned out. King wants to change out the other prop so we continue to look at options. From the boat, the beach here looks pretty good but after a long morning's walk we ended up with soppy shoes and no place for consideration that didn't contain a menacing rock or two. The only thing that saved the day was the Dunstaffnage Castle ruin that sat right at the end of our beach excursion, just begging for us to visit. I had not bothered to bring my billfold which meant our English Heritage membership card remained on the boat so I did my best Southern whine performance to gain our admission for half price concession.
What looks like a potential weather window continues to expand so we hopped on the bus to Oban to do a bit of sight seeing and to stock up on fruits and vegis. Inside the grocery we were in our typical grocery store hypnotic trance as we flowed up and down the isles. King was off in search of coffee ice cream, oreos and pickles (you couldn't make that up). I was simply wandering around, circling in on the wine section, and then to my shock there they were, little bags of FINZ (aka Pepperidge Farm Goldfish) just sitting there on the shelf calling my name! I let out a little cry of delight as I swept the bounty into the basket. King found me dancing down the aisles. Oh happy day.
It looks like we have a large high pressure system sitting over the entire UK for the next five days so we are headed north. How far will depend on how long the system lasts. As we prepared Ostinato to leave Dunstaffnage Bay, sweet sounds of singing, accompanied by a fiddle and accordion, drifted over from a nearby yacht. We hadn't enjoyed that since our time in beautiful Ireland!
July 5 - 56.39 N 5.56 W
The following morning we set sail north up the Sound of Mull for Drumbuie.
Close to the anchorages narrow entrance we passed the RNLI Rescue boat pulling a yacht we had met the week before in Loch Aline. We still don't know what happened to the skipper who was single-handing his boat. We had planned to meet up with him again in Skye but that appears unlikely now. It was a reminder that things do occasionally go wrong. Drumbuie's narrow rocky channel opened up to a beautiful deep open bay that offers good protection from the winds if you can fine a spot shallow enough to lay down your anchor. No wind forecasted tonight. The water is like glass.
It looks like we have a large high pressure system sitting over the entire UK for the next five days so we are headed north. How far will depend on how long the system lasts. As we prepared Ostinato to leave Dunstaffnage Bay, sweet sounds of singing, accompanied by a fiddle and accordion, drifted over from a nearby yacht. We hadn't enjoyed that since our time in beautiful Ireland!
July 5 - 56.39 N 5.56 W
The following morning we set sail north up the Sound of Mull for Drumbuie.
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| Anchored in Drumbuie |
The sun was shinning the next morning but there was not a breath of air so the sails stayed stowed and the engine droned away all day. The plan was to sail the 35 miles north to Mallaig but our plans tend to be fluid these days. While reading the pilot book, I noted that an anchorage called Inverie ten miles further north in Loch Nevis boasted about having the remotest pub in Great Britian. Sounded like a required stop to me. The Old Forge Pub also offered a FREE mooring if you eat dinner. This was quickly turning into a no brainer. King took a bit more convincing. Mooring balls are not his favourite since you don't know when they were laid or last checked but he eventually caved.
Inverie 57.02N 5.44 W - The entire village is only 4 buildings so I was a bit skeptical when we were told the only sitting available for dinner was 6:30. However, at the appointed hour, people appeared to flow out of the woods in droves. The pub clientele was made up of hikers and sailors. The hikers arrived in shorts and t-shirts. The sailors, in their boots and sweaters. We slept without the heat on for the first time in close to a year! 65 degrees. A Scottish heat wave.
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| The most remote pub in the UK |
Inverie 57.02N 5.44 W - The entire village is only 4 buildings so I was a bit skeptical when we were told the only sitting available for dinner was 6:30. However, at the appointed hour, people appeared to flow out of the woods in droves. The pub clientele was made up of hikers and sailors. The hikers arrived in shorts and t-shirts. The sailors, in their boots and sweaters. We slept without the heat on for the first time in close to a year! 65 degrees. A Scottish heat wave.
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| The Loch that housed UKs remotest pub |
July 8 - 57.25N 6.11W
Departed at 7:30 the next morning for the sail to Portee, the main town on the Isle of Skye. We were the only boat leaving the anchorage to head north. That seems to be an ongoing theme these days. Again, the winds are light so we motored the entire day. Moving through these waters is like sailing in the mountains of Colorado. Each bend in the Sound delivered more spectacular beauty than the one before. We arrived early at the narrows and the current was flowing fast in the wrong direction, of course. I suggested we go up a nearby Loch to visit a castle while we waited. King had apparently had enough castles for awhile cause he put Ostinato's engine in high gear and we slowly plowed through the 1 1/2 miles of rushing currents and swirling eddies. The mountains continue to get higher. King and I both went from one side of Ostinato to the other snapping pictures. We picked up a mooring in Portee by mid afternoon with plenty of time to launch the dinghy and do a little exploring in the town. The forecast is for five more days of light winds. Tonight we finally committed to continue going North to the Orkney Islands hoping Jerry will give us a rain check on Ireland.
Up and out early the following morning to catch a bus over to the west side of the island to see the view and tour yet another castle. We ended the evening watching the Skye Bagpipe Marching Band perform in the town square. King almost purchased one of their CDs but I convinced him a little bagpipe goes a long way.
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| Portee |
Departed at 7:30 the next morning for the sail to Portee, the main town on the Isle of Skye. We were the only boat leaving the anchorage to head north. That seems to be an ongoing theme these days. Again, the winds are light so we motored the entire day. Moving through these waters is like sailing in the mountains of Colorado. Each bend in the Sound delivered more spectacular beauty than the one before. We arrived early at the narrows and the current was flowing fast in the wrong direction, of course. I suggested we go up a nearby Loch to visit a castle while we waited. King had apparently had enough castles for awhile cause he put Ostinato's engine in high gear and we slowly plowed through the 1 1/2 miles of rushing currents and swirling eddies. The mountains continue to get higher. King and I both went from one side of Ostinato to the other snapping pictures. We picked up a mooring in Portee by mid afternoon with plenty of time to launch the dinghy and do a little exploring in the town. The forecast is for five more days of light winds. Tonight we finally committed to continue going North to the Orkney Islands hoping Jerry will give us a rain check on Ireland.
Up and out early the following morning to catch a bus over to the west side of the island to see the view and tour yet another castle. We ended the evening watching the Skye Bagpipe Marching Band perform in the town square. King almost purchased one of their CDs but I convinced him a little bagpipe goes a long way.
Off to Kinlochbervie in the morning. A 70 mile run north. Located 15 miles south of Cape Warth it will be our last anchorage on the west side of Scotland. The following day, weather permitting, we will round Cape Wrath and head for the Orkney Islands.
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| Skye - South of Portee |
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| Skye bridge light house |
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| Just kept getting better and better |
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| In the clouds |
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| Watch that speed! |
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