Kyleakin – Skye

Many thanks to Pamela Burns and her team at The West Highland Hotel Mallaig for their contribution to the charity (BADA).

We rose this morning at a leisurely 0630 and set out for the Skye Bridge at 0700. We sailed most of the way (unexpected and unforecast) and arrived about 30 mins early at the narrows of Kylerhea. (Near Gleneig at the top of the Sound of Sleat pronounced Slate, on the map, then travelled north). We had reduced the motoring because we were ahead of programme. Nothing daunted we motored slowly into Kylerhea against the wind and tide achieving about 2 knots. The book says it is dangerous to go through in contrary tide and strong wind situations (it was neaps and the wind not exceptional). Effectively we sat it out. The raging torrents of Kylerhea narrows were kept for other people on another day, it was a pussycat for us.

We got to Kyleakin at 1130 and moored to a free buoy. Then lunched on the boat virtually under the Bridge. Kyleakin is a little village in Skye at one end of the bridge is it’s big brother town across the water (Loch Alsh), the town of The Kyle of Loch Alsh. Both are ex ferry terminals, need I say more.

Change of plan – we are going to use time because we are ahead of our non existent schedule and Linda is threatening me with purgatory when I return. Believe what you will! Actually we need to get to Cape Wrath at neap tides with light winds. The first is within our remit, the winds are not so we need to position ourselves ready at the head ready for winds. Neap tides (Ullerpool) were 18th June and about 3rd July. No point in sitting endlessly in a scruffy fishing port when we could be exploring further south. So that is what we will do.

View from our lunch table. The Skye Bridge

View of the local village, Kyleakin, from the boat.

The local town across the loch, The Kyle of Loch Alsh across Loch Alsh and of course across the bridge from the boat.

Jim says the castle in the rain is giving us a ‘Harvey Smith’.

If somebody had not told us about the buoys we would be rafted 3 deep with these guys and paying for the privilege! The Port of Kyleakin.

Freya Too moored to her free buoy with a tug passing. We are the boat furthest away.

English: Sketch map of Loch Alsh, with Loch Duich, Loch Long and the Sound of Sleat. Localities include Kyle of Lochalsh, Kyleakin, Glenelg, Shiel Bridge, Eilean Donan, Ardelve, Balmacara. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mallaig

We set off from Tobermory at 0600 this morning (0530 up!). As usual we were not the only people leaving at this time. After two hours we rounded Ardnamachan Point. In sailing terms this sorts the men from the boys! We sailed all morning but unfortunately it was raining over the land and we saw very little, we saw Ardanmachan Point and the mountains behind it. Occasionally on the way we saw the islands of Eigg, Rhum, Canna, Muck and a few others and the south of Skye before nearly colliding with the ferry on its way out from Mallaig, only joking it was never closer than 100m. Mallaig is an industrial village with foreign tourists everywhere and high prices. A strange mixture. We will rest here a day because of the predicted high winds tomorrow. Next stop when the weather clears is the Skye Bridge. This entails ‘shooting’ the narrows of Kylerhea which can have currents of 15 knots. Don’t worry we have the technology but we will have the day off first!

Brand new very expensive marina with no facilities. Before they had just a few buoys to moor to.

One of our favourite images. This place is a ferry port and fishing village and as such is a commercial semi waste land. To be fair to the ship repairers they had nearly 20 people working on the worst look vessel alone and at least one guy working on the hull of the other.

Ferry from Skye coming in.

Odd place is Mallaig, it has the front road which goes the length of the harbour and this ‘T’ road off it which apart from the railway appears to be the only way in and out. The ferry can be seen ‘stored’ for the shift.

Tobermory

First thanks to Alan Davidson and Emma Hurley in Oban Marina and The Macdonald Arms in Tobermory for their contributions to the charity.
Oban Marina had nobody on duty when we arrived, and nobody to take any money when we left, we spoke to all sorts of people but everyone said if they can’t be bothered to attend then that’s their tough luck.
So we left at 0610 this morning for Tobermory. No wind again so we motored. A beautiful morning we arrived in no particular hurry, having travelled steadily down the Sound of Mull, at 11.15 having fuelled and watered the boat at the fuel bunker.
Tobermory is one of my favourite places, having been here three times before but not for 20 years. My what a change, there is a marina here now! But the houses are still vividly painted. Tomorrow we will start early and head north to Mallaig.
Our thoughts are with ‘Tiny’ Tim Suttill…..all the best mate!

Sun rising over the Sound of Lorne – the entrance to the Caledonian Canal, as we go into the Sound of Mull.

Mull – Beautiful morning – on the way to Tobermory.

One of my favourite castles – I took a short cut between two lighthouses rather than going round both so we were further away than I would like for the picture. Life is full of compromises!

Our approach to Tobermory.

Tobermory. A classic picture of the different coloured houses.

Oban

We left Ardfern at 13.30 to chase the tide to Oban, it never caught us up! We went past Doran Mor and the Gulf of Corrivecken (not through it – it can be the most horrendous whirlpool in Britain). I have been through it a couple or three times on courses but fortunately our course was not through it. We went through the Sound of Luing which can also be tricky – uneventful! Steady away to Oban. No wind so we had to motor the whole way. Oban is not my favourite town, we stayed at Oban Marina which is actually on Kerrera, an island opposite the Sound of Kerrera from Oban. We arrived at 1915. Jim cooked tea – we ate half of it and left on the 20.00 ferry to Oban. Flying visit to hole in the wall, a couple of pubs and back to Kerrera on the 2100 ferry. Checked out the marina and facilities and then to bed for a early start for Tobermoray.

Coastal settlement typical of Scotland.

Freya Too snuggled into Oban Marina, which is in fact on the island of Kerrera opposite Oban across theSoind of Kerrera.

Leaving Kerrera for Oban on the free ferry.

Leaving Oban Marina (Kerrera) for Oban.

The Front in Oban – George Street

Oban – showing the sort of pier head with the classic ‘folly’ on top of the hill behind. The light was peculiar, it wasn’t that dark but it was after 8 o’clock at night.

Ardfern Special

The poster below is for is an example of how a good number of Scots are well aware of tick-borne diseases. I think if the pictures are too small you can click on them to enlarge them

Not sure whether you can read this rather faded poster which is above the hand drier in the Gents changing/wash room (and apparently in the Ladies.

Ardfern – Argyllshire

We got deserted at Gigha so with the storm clouds gathering we took a calculated risk and ran before it to better shelter. We made Ardfern with about 5 mins to spare (after 6 hours). A bit close and in fact we nearly had a problem as we could not moor properly against the wind (in a very sheltered harbour behind an island up a loch 5 miles from the entrance in the Sound of Jura).
We had to come here because I ordered a book from them but we would have had to stop somewhere round here anyway.
Coincidentally, almost, I have been here before because at least 3 of my practical sailing courses started and finished here. I was surprised to find that the local pub was in the CAMRA Good Pub Guide though.
The trip here was full of apprehension with the gale (force 8) following us but apart from achieving 8.3 knots with only one sail up it was fairly uneventful, until we docked!
Woke up Saturday morning 0630 for weather forecast. Winds force 5 to 7 variable – went back to bed. Woke up again 0930 – it is snowing and blowing a hooley. Went shopping in shorts and sandals – it’s not that cold. Won’t go anywhere today – tomorrow looks better.

Glimpse of Freya Too at moorings

Water (sea), hills, weed, shack and boats. I am going to have to ration these picture as they are starting to look very similar.

This is the first Camra pub we have seen since Sadly it is only a real ale pub because the English boaters outnumber the locals. The Galley of Lorne.

Freya Too moored in Ardfern.

The Crew in pensive mood having discovered real ale for the first time since the Isle of Man, in a Camra pub called The Galley of Lorne.

Capt. Bill showing off his sun tan in The Galley of Lorne. Pity it is only face and hands.

Ardminish Bay – Gigha

We came from Glenarm to Gigha with a couple of other boats from Whitehaven crewed by couples from Batley! We were last in of course but it was interesting to have other people about. We left at midday and sneaked up the coast using the countercurrents for a couple of hours then headed across the North Channel at the top of the Irish Sea to the Mull of Kintyre, and then we were only half way to Gigha. We got in to Ardminish Bay at about 20.15 and as soon as we had anchored we were attacked by black clouds of midges. Jim didn’t seem bothered but these bitey-things just love Bill meat. We closed up and I covered myself in insect repellant but it was too late I was already a victim.
Having been going for three days and the weather having turned nasty we decided to have two days off. So we are sat in the middle of the bay on our own while it blows a force 8 gale. Well to be honest as you can see from the photos we had quite good weather this morning, but all the other boats up and left. We are chained and roped to a buoy and expect to go nowhere. It is blowing up nicely now, but tomorrow will be worse

Last night there were about 10 boats in the bay.

And then there was one – do they know something that I don’t?

Ardminash village above the bay, with the Gigha Hotel. The island is owned by the inhabitants as a collective. Certainly is interesting, and progressive.

Ferry terminal with islands and mainland to the north. Across the water (Gigha Sound) is the Mull of Kintyre.

The only moving thing in Ardminish Bay today except for the clouds – the ferry.

Scotland

Scotland – I know we are in Scotland because within 20 minutes of arriving here (Island of Gigha off the Mull of Kintyre) was savaged by a million midges who selected me for a snack.
Scotland is our 5th country, or if you follow Jim’s logic it is the 6th because Cornwall is apparently a country! For those who might have difficulty counting it goes England, Wales, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Scotland. I think when we get to Yorkshire Jim’s count will go to seven!
We have travelled 768 miles. We have anchored three times, attached to buoys twice and have otherwise stayed in marinas and harbours. We have visited a pub at least every ten miles (average), thank you for the sponsorship Alan Ware, I think the pubs will be few and far between in Scotland but we will try!
No photos with this post as I am not going out there while the midges are on parade so description of trip here will also wait.

Glenarm

Now we are in Glenarm on our way to Scotland. We left Bangor with a little trepidation because of strong winds and poor visibility. A somewhat lumpy but fairly short (only 4 hours) because we had wind and tide. Travelling at 8 knots most of the way we were over taken by a number of larger yachts but it is not a race! Anyway we had different destinations. Northern Ireland continues to be very hospitable we were going to have a couple of nights here but the Marina manager has told us we have to leave tomorrow because of the weather. Local knowledge beats the manual. We are off to Gigha tomorrow at midday.

A quiet little village.

Nice little village switch an industrial waste land between the marina and the village. This is a picture of the local bridge and a old fort used by the owner as a vast advertising hoarding.

Glenarm High Street with Jim loitering next to a pub. The only two pubs are next to each other!

Bangor Northern Ireland

Freya Too at her moorings in Bangor N.I. A huge marina.

Bangor NI is not to be confused with a town in Wales. We got up at 0330hrs circumvented the ‘Turbo’ and shot out of the Strangford Narrows. Only to find that despite being threatened with a gale – force 6, we had insufficient wind to run any sail. We persevered with a foresail for a couple of hours but it was slowing us down. As we approached Bangor at about 1100hrs the wind sprung up and it was perfect sailing weather – to late!
Bangor has a very nice marina and front. Unfortunately it has so many trees and masts that it is very difficult to photograph. By English standards it is a very small town. It has a Coop and an Asda both are of moderate size. It has a railway station (to Belfast – nearly walkable) a bus station and a few bars.

A touch of Bangor. The oldest building in Bangor on the left – castle tower, the newest in the middle which is the Coast Guard, Harbour and Marina Authorities, and a stone built customs house now converted to a restaurant on the right.