21st Sept 2009, The Flying Visit & Loch Feochan

The flying visit was really very strange – we were going to at anchor in East Tarbet Bay near the Mull of Galloway, the sun was shining and there was a strong (cold) wind blowing – there was also a large grey ship further up in Luce Bay earlier. Anyway, quite amazing – an Admiral came past us quite close, we weren’t sure what was happening, it looked like he was heading for the shore but then turned towards us again but then turned again to the shore. We just watched wondering what was going to happen, we first thought that he was going to come aboard then when he turned to the shore (we had mixed feelings) but then he must have changed his mind ( maybe saw us watching) and actually came aboard. Couldn’t believe it at first! See the pictures below – must have stayed for about 3 hours in all just resting with us in the sunshine – didn’t say much about why he was here, but we saw quite a few that day, maybe even the occasional female one…..



OK – so we have a wild imagination.. There were dozens of them that day all heading in the same direction (I’ve been told it’s all to do with the fairy moans) but the wind was very strong and cold and it did look like a few of them would have ended up in the water. We carried the one from the front of the boat out of the wind so that he (she?) could recover in the warmth of the wheelhouse. We did notice that when they were resting in the sunshine they would have their wings in the closed position [this seems to be the normal resting position for butterflies, moths normally rest with their wings open] – but if you move your hand across to create a shadow (not too close as to frighten them) they open up the wings into to open position.

So there we are – the story of the Flying Visit…. We have forgotten to relate quite a few additional experiences but will hopefully remember to add some of them when we have time.

We are now in Loch Feochan from where we left in July 2007. We got ashore in Gigha and had a nice meal in the hotel and after checking the weather thought that we could head up to Tobermory before some bad weather that is due, via an overnight anchorage on the way. So we left on Saturday morning a couple of hours before low water so that we could go up with the flood tide. A good blow of 20 knots from the south – southwest then coming round to the west, so that was ideal. There would only be a couple of parts of the trip where the waves would be big (but not like the Atlantic big) where we would lose the protection of an island. It started off overcast but then brightened up and we had a fantastic sail up – just like how we remembered it. We had a cracking sail and speed over the ground, because we had a Spring Tide with us, was brilliant. Anyway – on the way up we had been talking & texting with friends from Feochan , checked the tides, we could go into the loch and back out and up to Tobermory next day without any problems. We spoke with the marina to arrange a buoy and were met on the way up by Evantu and the rest of the reception committee were on the pontoon when we got in.

So that is it I suppose – we will just have a few days sailing when the weather is decent and remain on the boat until after the end of the month, go home and restart the land-lubbers life – work etc. There’s still a bit more to tell but that will do for this post…. More in a week or so…..

18th Sept 2009, Gigha

Arrived Gigha last night after a good sail up from Stranraer. Also had a good radio contact with J&B while they are about 1/3 of the way across Biscay on the way back south to the sun from Holland. We are on a mooring buoy, limited electric so will update more later - we forgot to tell you about the flying visit that we had......

14th Sept 2009, Stranraer

We got away from Kirkcudbright a couple of hours before high tide ( left at 1pm ) on Wednesday 9th and only went as far as the Isle of Whithorn where we anchored overnight. That was a whole 4 weeks in Kirkcudbright and we were really getting quite settled there, it is a great wee town made especially welcoming by the locals who are very sociable and hospitable. [ You know who you are – Thank You ! ] It was a gentle sail and very enjoyable in the sunshine, and after Isle of Whithorn the next stop was at East Tarbet Bay by the Mull of Galloway, we could have gone on round the Mull but decided to park up and waste a day instead of going over to Ireland. We had decided that we would put into Stranraer rather than head too far up so that Carolyn could easily get over to Dumfries and Lockerbie to see her Mum & Dad while her Dad went into hospital for an operation. [ Press Update – operation was today and all OK ]. So when we left E Tarbet bay to round the Mull the wind never came far enough to one side or the other to make it a decent sail and we had the motor on all day. We also had to wait for the right time of the tide because the current around the Mull is about 4 knots and rather than leave in the dark about 3am we waited for the afternoon tide. Of course that meant that we didn’t arrive in Loch Ryan until about half past nine at night – an hour into darkness. As you’ll see from the pins on the route – we anchored in the part of the bay call ‘The Wig’ overnight before coming into the new pontoons at Stranraer on the Saturday morning.
We’ll see how the weather goes over the next few days but I think we should be able to get a little bit up the coast here before heading around the Mull of Kintyre – maybe Rathlin – maybe Sanda…… and get up towards Loch Feochan for the end of the month.

24th Aug 2009, Still in Kirkcudbright

Who would believe this weather! The amount of rain and strong wind is - OK, with some small breaks in between – is really trying. Now that it is spring tides the range of the tide is just over 9 metres, the amount of water rushing out of the river on the ebb is phenomenal, and with the added extra water from the heavy rains it is mesmerising to watch the water flowing past the boat, it really makes you quite dizzy.
We would have liked to have been into the Clyde by now as the initial idea was to go up to Rhu and then back down before going towards Oban, but the weather is not giving us confidence that we can easily get back out of the Clyde before the end of the season and the small breaks between the bad spells are not quite long enough to get between good shelter. So, we are still here in Kirkcudbright – not a bad place to be though – the town has everything you would expect in a small rural town and there are buses if you need to go further afield. The people are very friendly and the summer entertainment has been good. On Friday night we went on a historical walk with ‘Maggie’ who took us around the town and explained how it was and what was happening in the town in the 17th century. She and her friends, about 30 of them, were all in period costume (and all volunteers), put on a great show and the whole tour was very educational, entertaining and highly recommended to anyone visiting the area. Thankfully it stayed dry!
So, we are settling into an easy existence here and will wait until the beginning of next month before moving on, when we will head northwards in a more direct route without going too far into the Clyde (if we do).

16th Aug 2009, Kirkcudbright

Well, we left Maryport at 5:20 on Thursday 13th, which was as late after high-water as we thought we could and as early as we could before sunrise. Between Maryport and Kipford someone has planted a slalom course of 60 giant sticks with 3-bladed fans on the top – it could make for some interesting sailing but we just kept clear of them. The area goes under the name of ‘Robin Rigg Windfarm’…. We had a gentle sail across the Solway Firth to Kircudbright where we arrived at the mouth of the estuary just before low-water – so we went to explore how far we could get up the channel (low-water Neaps) ; answer: not far. We met Rab Thomson, the retired Harbour Master that we met the last time we were here in about 2000, who still does part-time HM; he was sailing out for a day’s fun with his cousin from Canada. But Rab was concerned that we hadn’t been into Kirkcudbright before and were going to come to grief in the shallows. So we went to the recommended anchorage at Ross Island to wait for the time to go in. After a lazy time of reading, lunch and a couple of coffees we pulled up the anchor and out with the foresail to sail as far up the river as possible – but just after the lifeboat station the wind died away to 3 knots and we had to put the engine on.

We’ve not been doing much here mainly because the weather has not been very good but we have managed to get out for a couple of walks, exhibitions and happened to visit a local ale-house for some refreshment on the day we arrived to find out that there was evening entertainment in the town square with Scottish music and dancing. It stayed dry and was a fantastic start to us being back in Scotland. We will be here for a couple of days more and then hopefully the weather will be kind to us for sailing further north.

12th Aug 2009, Maryport

Had a rest day on the 9th then Carolyn’s Mum & Dad came for lunch on board then we all went back to Lockerbie to stay a couple of nights at their house; which also gave us the chance for a quick visit from Peter (our youngest) when he was on his way to Dumfries. So we haven’t really seen much of Maryport, the price at the marina here has gone up to £18.50 per night (any length of boat) but for a week it is £8 / metre and a month is only £20 / metre so the longer stays work out at a reasonable rate. Water and showers etc are included in the price but electricity is extra. Carlisle is a 35 minute train journey if you need some major shops.
It’s great to be in this area because we are originally from Dumfries-shire and a quick cross-border-raid by car from here was a good way to get back for a visit. It is reported that the River Nith can be navigated up to Dumfries but that will need to be left for another time because tomorrow we are heading for Kirkcudbright. It is one of the unusual place names of Scotland that does not sound like it is spelt….. So if you want to sound like a local rather than a TV or radio reporter from south of the border you need to say “Kir-coo-breh” and not Kirk-cud-bright.. We'll tell you all about what it's like in the next post.

8th Aug 2009, Maryport

Left Dale on the 5th and sailed overnight to Holyhead, full moon, light winds; stayed overnight just the 1 night at H/head and then did another overnight to Maryport – just arrived so will sleep some and update more later. Good sail last night and another bright moon.

4th August 2009, Dale, near Milford Haven

We left Swansea at first lock-out (7am) yesterday and headed west but the weather was bigger than predicted and we came into Dale to wait for a more comfortable time to go further. [ Maybe Fishguard or Holyhead in the next day or 2 ].

1st Aug 2009, Swansea - and some photos

Friday 31st of July and the weather was reasonable for moving west although it meant heading out of Cardiff and fighting the tides & current for the first few hours; but at least it was ‘neaps’ so not as bad as it could have been. We managed to sail for about half of the time but when the wind dropped, was more astern than from on the beam and the seas became very confused we got the motor on and made best speed into Swansea, arriving about 6:45pm. We hope the bad weather in the Irish Sea will quieten in a couple of days and then we’ll make or way further West & North.

The photo’s below are 3 from Loctudy, 1 of leaving France with 10 French boats barely visible in the distance; then 4 from The Scillies and 3 at Padstow. Then Cardiff - 6 of relatives, 13 from the night of the French Circus act and a couple of old black & white photos from years ago….

29th July, Still in Cardiff

We’re still in Cardiff – but that’s not a problem – we’ve been made very welcome at the Cardiff Yacht Club ( http://www.cardiffyachtclub.org/ ) and have had a great time visiting relatives and friends in the area. The weather has been a bit wet (in general since arriving at the Scillies) so that has curtailed some of the days out but I suppose it is us taking a bit of time to get used to the British weather again after having been spoilt in the past with a higher number of days of blue skies in France, Spain and Portugal.
It was also a bit of a change for us to be in such a vibrant city as Cardiff after having mainly been in quiet places during the last couple of months. The centre is buzzing with people and the huge shops are very busy, the old docks area has been developed into a modern tourist attraction area since the Barrage was finished and is now ‘The Bay’; it has the feel of a very modern, active city. One of the events in The Roald Dahls Plass one evening was a fantastic aerial display performed by a French Circus team which (in the main part) were suspended 60 or so feet in the air from a crane in a contraption similar to a giant chandelier and incorporated their musical instruments and trapeze artists. I will try to pick a couple of the better photos to give you an idea of what it was like.. The evening finished with a fireworks display ( and a couple of pints in the ‘Packet’ ).

The main reason for visiting Cardiff is to visit as many of my Aunts, Uncles and cousins as possible ( from my father’s side ) because we very rarely get down to South Wales and it has been a number of years (too many to mention) since we have seen them. The photographs, cine film and stories from the distant days of childhood holidays were fantastic to see and hear. Another good thing was the visit of a distant relative ( 3rd cousin of my father’s from his mother’s side) that had contacted Carolyn while she was researching the family tree. The young lady ( young 80’s ! ) in question had driven up from near Heathrow airport to stay with her half-sister near Cardiff which also allowed her to meet up with us and put a face to the sender of the family-tree emails.

It’s going to be difficult to move on , not just because the weather is not suitable – we’ve had a great time here and would thoroughly recommend Cardiff as a city / area to visit or have a holiday. May be the weather will be better for heading West by the weekend or early next week – watch this space…… In the meantime we will try to select a few of the ‘better’ (less compromising?) photos to post up on the next instalment.

17th July 2009, Cardiff, Wales

Just a few words - more later...
We left Padstow about 10:30 on the 15th to make our way north, hoping that the seas were not too big and that we would make good time up to either Lundy (40 miles) or Coombe Martin (60 miles). We ended up at Coombe Martin, which is near Ilfracoombe, and anchored there for the night at about 9pm ish. The seas looked like going to Lundy would not have been a good option and the distance to Cardiff the following day would be less from Coombe Martin - so Coombe Martin it was. A little bit rolly but that settled during the night and we left there at about 6am and had a little bit of a sail up to Cardiff - the wind was meant to be SW but started off from the south then moved to just south of east - too tight again so we put the engine on and motor-sailed.

We hope to be in Cardiff for a week or more and will add another post later in the week. The route has been updated.

10th July 2009, Padstow

After checking the weather at Camaret we made the night crossing to the Scillies direct from Camaret instead of calling in at Ouessant – it looked like the stronger winds were coming in early. After a misty, wet and miserable start the weather lifted a bit for crossing the shipping separation scheme northeast of Ouessant. We had a change of plan before we left - to go through the Chanel Du Four to make best use of the tide and current, there were ten other French boats on a rally chasing us but they carried on along the north coast of France when we made our turn to head north. Once clear of the shipping lanes we got the engine off and had a good sail for the rest of the way with 15 – 20 knots of wind and arrived in Hugh Town about 8:15am, spoke to the Harbour Master on the radio and said that I would see him in the afternoon after some sleep. We used the radar for most occasions that we met shipping so that we could work out their speed and the closest point of approach and that worked a treat….

If anyone is passing Camaret and needs to buy diesel at the marina - Don’t !! Take cans to the Supermarket (Camaret) and get it for 99cents a litre or buy it at somewhere like Loctudy 1.07€ at the marina . In Camaret marina it is 1.26!!!! We paid 1.19 in Herbaudier and thought that was expensive. However we are now clear of French waters and no visits from the Customs ; we hear many stories about yachts being boarded several times during their visit to France but they didn’t bother us even once….

Hugh Town was much the same as we remembered it and we stayed on the buoy in St Mary’s Pool for most of the days for the peace of mind that we were on a strong mooring rather than be at anchor – however it was un-comfortable at times with the swell coming in from the west. Before we left for Padstow we made our way round to Porth Cressa to anchor and give the hull a good scrape to clean off the weed from around the water-line. Since coming back into the northern waters of Spain and France the rate of growth has increased and the speed through the water was definitely reduced. We have also left the Scillies a day ahead of the original plan so that we didn’t get caught out with the strong winds that are predicted over the next few days. The passage here to Padstow was also overnight to make best use of tides and ( we thought ) the winds; but the winds were much lighter that predicted and we had the motor on all the way. We will wait until the seas settle and the wind is favourable before we make our way to Wales for the next port of call.

6th July 2009

While you wait for the update of the trip from France to the Scillies, Carolyn thought it was important that you got the crew (real) version of the Biscay crossing – So here it is.

Hi there! The Biscay Crossing....
We're here! I know ... you may already know already but I'm shouting you see!
Well you can read the blog which gives you some idea of what it was like! ... or read on!
For the first 24 hrs we had the engine on and there was no traffic - no problem to me! Indeed I even thought to myself that one or two ships per watch would be good! Only down side was that as soon as I started my 9 - 12 watch then my batteries went on my mp3 player! Ach weel!It had been very misty so we had the engine on but we did have lots of phosphorescence in the water - it looked like blue coals flashing past. Fantastic! (It's actually the only good thing about a night sail) Then the dolphins came to play and for most of the night there were one or two dolphins by the boat. They looked like flashing blue torpedoes!
Day 2 dawned and the wind came round to a better direction and off went the engine. All sails up and of course the wind starts rising when I'm on watch and Trevor's having a sleep(well trying to) I'll be fine lah lah lah the usual - I sing when I'm nervous! Still rising, now gusting 18knots. Not horrendous but we do have all sails out. I poke my head in the cabin and say "I think we'll have to shorten sail" Nothing! - He's finally managed to drop off. I'll manage. I reef the genoa and keep looking at the wind speed. Gusting 20 knots. I poke my head in the cabin and try again but I really don't want to wake him. Nothing. Glad he's having a doze so it's more lah lah lah. Gusting 22knots and my head is in the cabin door and I have no problem with the volume now when I announce "I think we need to shorten sail" ! It was fine - up he got, reefed the main and Balchis leans less and seams more comfortable - nae bother! We do 3 hrs on 3 hrs off on long trips so there's no real time to go to bed we just get by with a couple of hours at a time. After all of the reefing Trevor can't sleep anyway and the boat is rolling a bit. We decide to try a snack and maybe eat later at 8 or 9. Yeehah I'm now off watch! Phew! This, of course, is not how it looks but how it feels! Anyway it's fine when we're both awake or even better when I'm asleep! I don't remember if I went for a lie down but soon it was time to balance a bowl of bolognese (with the spaghetti already cut!) With dinner over it's my watch again - 9 - 12. I dodge fishing boats, worry about how far away Di and Bob on Sheer Fantasy are and get by. No dolphins tonight but more traffic. I feel as if they are all heading towards me! Still, not long until I'm off watch at midnight and Trevor had charged up batteries for my mp3 player. Very quiet lah lah lah because Trevor worries about the funny noises!
Midnight and I can make Trevor a tea and give a traffic report - nothing actually came within 2 miles but it feels like dodgems to me! I'm off to bed. Phew! Still rolling about a bit but we have created a nest in the cabin and you can wedge yourself in! Well in no time at all it's 3am. More traffic around and Trevor tells the story of a mast head light and a yacht which hadn't noticed him and didn't have any low down lights. Apparently it was the other way round but sleep deprivation's a wonderful thing. After going up forward and using the 33,000 million candle flashlight on the sails and then putting on all our motoring lights he veered quickly away! Glad I was in bed!
Mp3 player on and still sailing without any engine. Use of the radar is limited to save electricity. Quite a lot of traffic. Red lights - oh yes "no port left"(port you see is red in colour) Green lights well they're not red so "no port left" - not. so must be starboard must be right. OK he's going left to right that one is getting fainter the other one is getting brighter can't see nav lights(red or green) on most as they are too far away. Nav lights on that one but it looks ages away. I'll just have a wee squint at the radar. All appears ok. I can't tell which radar blob or light is Sheer Fantasy but they're bound to be going the same way Lah lah lah. So it goes on. Then there is a bright light ahead but no nav lights. Mast head so maybe there's a red or green sector light showing - no! Bloody hell! Well Trevor's dozed off so I'll manage lah lah lah. The light is on a steady bearing... ok I'll alter..... No, still on a steady bearing. I'll alter more - 10 degrees this time. No! Still on collision course! Still no visible nav lights! No more lah lah lah - way past that! 20 degrees and that's all I can do as I'll lose the wind. Shit! No! Still on collision course! Still no nav lights. Cabin open " Trevor!" Quick explanation to tired skipper while the sweat trickles down my back! Have you checked through the binoculars? Emm no! Trevor checks through binoculars and ........ bursts out laughing tells me it is a star, well planet, and announces he's going back to bed!!!
I could tell you about how I then couldn't tell the difference between a yacht with faint lights 1 mile away and a lighthouse 8 miles away but I won't!
I'll need to go now and lie down as I'm exhausted just typing it!
Carolyn

4th July 2009

Arrived in the Scillies 0815 yesterday , 3rd July. Not much internet connection. All OK. More Later.

1st July , Camaret

We had a look at the weather in Loctudy and it looked quite promising for crossing to the Scillies overnight on the 3rd July – so we have move a little closer to the crossing point. We left Loctudy knowing that it would be a long motor to get here but a motor to Camaret was more acceptable than a motor from Camaret to the Scillies. However, we left about 9:30 so that we could get past the couple of headlands with the tide not too strongly against us (it wasn’t going to be perfect, and we played the inland route past the Raz de Sein to make use of the counter-current (which made a big difference to us as we caught up on the boats that had left 45 minutes before us when they were plugging away in the middle of the channel and not making much headway).

Luctudy is a lovely wee town and the marina ( you could also use the buoys in the river) had free WiFi, free use of bicycles which made it easier to get to the Carefour, about 1 mile away; and there was no noise from the town or disturbance from the fishing fleet. Absolutely wonderful! Diesel was 1.07 € unlike Herbaudier which was 1.19 €. This year in France we have also been very pleasantly surprised by the attitude of the locals – 2007 they seemed very discourteous and rude (with the odd exception) – this year they are all very friendly , polite and excellent hosts. We have put it down to the fact that we are earlier in the season this year and may be they were fed-up with tourists from across the Channel by the time we got there in 2007. Who knows?? The main thing that we have realised is that the image we got in 2007 stayed with us ( until proved wrong this year ) ! When anyone meets a foreigner (or tourist of any nationality) they are representing their country – they should give the visitor a good image to take away with them.... (rant over.)

We are currently checking which stuff we need to buy before leaving France that may be cheaper than in UK ( not onions – 2.50€ per kilo - 60 cents in Spain ). It may be worth getting some of the fermented grape-juice that seems quite popular out here – even though they sell it in plastic bottles… We also need to get some meat & veg to last us a few days because we may anchor at Ouessant before crossing or go straight to the Scillies ( not sure yet ).

27th June 2009, Loctudy

5 pm - Just tied up in Loctudy after doing an overnight from Les Sables d'Olonne, we called in at Herbaudier for fuel with the intention of staying but the office was shut & the showers were shut so we weren't going to pay 23 euro for nowt. Looks good here but will up-date with more info in a couple of days. Position on the route updated.

23rd June 2009, Les Sables d'Olonne, Updated 24th

23rd June
Arrived here today at about 2.30 pm after a great sail up from Ile d' Aix. ( see route for locations ). More tomorrow for a short update and a couple of pictures.

24th June 2009, Les Sables d’Olonne, France
We had been in Royan for 4 nights and were sorting out where to go next, mainly because we are now back into big tide ranges, shallows and river entrances to ( several ) harbours, and made the decision to try the mooring buoys at Ile d’ Aix; which turned out to be a good choice. We were also going to be moving on from there without Bob & Di on Sheer Fantasy ( they’re waiting near La Rochelle for visitors ) so the last night in Royan we had a meal together and a couple of drinks while on the buoys at Aix, and we sadly sailed away at about 7.30am on the 23rd. We’ve had some great times together and they’ve been great company - see you soon…..

The trip from Royan to Aix was a motor-sail because the winds were a little too light (for us) and a little too tight ‘on the nose’ to get any real speed out of it. However, from Aix to Sables was a great sail, used the engine for less than an hour – just clear the buoy and the other boats and then to get up the river to the marina; and we made good time with the tide also helping – only 1 ship to keep clear off in the separation zone off La Rochelle. So – a couple or more days here and then move a little further north…..

The photos are : 1 that Bob took of Balchis while crossing Biscay (2nd day - wind about 15knots off the port bow); 4 of the Boat Beasty enjoying his time in Royan (because Inversnaid Primary School will be starting holidays soon); 2 of the ‘Hawaiian Farewell’ from Higher Water and Porky Huntus…. And the last one is of the morning departure.

20th June 2009, Photo Update

The following photos are from Povoa to Port Medoc…
The first 7 are Povoa then 3 from the next town south, about a 3km walk – 3 photos from Cangas and then the next 8 are of the trip from Cangas to Pobra de Caraminal ( including the visit from the Duanas ). 1 of the Tiller-Pilot operating the wind-steering rudder, which allows us to link it to the route on the chart plotter. Then 6 from Camarinas, followed by one that looks a bit like a St Andrews cross in the sky – we took that as a message of where we’re meant to be heading… 2 pictures from Ares – the fog bank is what we sailed through to get from Sada (but worth it). Then we have 2 from Viveiro, 4 from Ribadeo and 3 of Gijon. The tug squirting the water is as we leave Gijon followed by 4 of the trip to Ribadesella; then the next 9 are from Ribadesella, including Di showing you how we got on and off the boats at low water. A picture of Sheer Fantasy in the middle of the Cap Ferret Canyon – crossing the Bay of Biscay, followed by 1 of my need for a haircut (now accomplished – last haircut was November 2008). The remaining 14 are from around Port Medoc, having some fun flying the kite and suffering from too much of the bikes….