Scotland Redux
Summer evening on Kerrera.
There is something about the light in the summer in the higher latitudes that we love. Those long long evenings, and that glow. It makes all those hard days at sea a dim memory. But I digress.
We spend a week in São Miguel, Azores, recovering from the aborted passage and what we later realized was a spot of covid-19. The weekly vegetable market with the plentiful local fruits and vegetables was a delight to visit. We rented a car and explored the island from tip to toe. One evening a piano emerged from the stern of a cruisers boat and there was a concert for those in the marina. Our heart however was not in it, we were anxious to keep moving and get north.
A fine specimen in the Jardim Botãnico, São Miguel.
This time, with the help of a weather router, we planned our departure date and set off again, bound for Scotland after a week onshore. The passage took 10 days. It started off well with sighting of some pilot whales, the sun was warm and the breeze light. We sailed for the first two days with the code zero, our favorite sail. On the third morning the sky was blazing orange. If you believe the old saying, “Red sky at night, shepherds delight. Red sky in morning, sailors warning”, this was not a good omen.
Anticipating a change in the weather we took down the code zero sail and packed it away. The winds built and soon we were sailing with 2 reefs in the mainsail in 30kt wind. The waves increased and there was a lot of green water over the deck. We passed a smaller Dutch boat and chatted on the radio. The captain was rather concerned about the waves as he had a 2 year old onboard and was unsure what the forecast was. We sent him the information we had, but did not hear from him again. The update from our weather router confirmed our concerns that the lows moving off the NE coast of US and Canada were going to make our passage to Scotland via the west coast of Ireland problematic. We therefore decided to break our journey and stop in Kinsale on the south coast of Ireland for a couple of days, then pick up more favorable winds and make our way to Scotland via the Irish Sea. After nine nights at sea we sailed through thick fog into the harbor at Kinsale.
View across Kinsale Harbor.
After a couple of days in Kinsale we set off again, Scotland bound. It was still uncertain where we would land. One choice was Oban, a favorite town or ours and close to the start of the Caledonian canal, our shortcut to the summer cruising grounds of Norway and Sweden. However it was quite a journey in to Glasgow, where we planned to reunite with family for a few days. The alternative was Ardrossan, where we had left Helacious 3 years ago. A good safe harbor with grocery store within easy walking distance and a train station linking us to Glasgow close by. As we sailed up the Irish sea yet another gale was developing and the decision was made for us. We booked our spot in Ardrossan and they held open the storm gates to the marina until we were safely inside.
In Glasgow we were well cared for and enjoyed the family time together. We were present for the excitement of election night, Wimbledon and the semi-finals of the European football cup.
The sun shone and we enjoyed a couple of walks along the Clyde and Forth canal and the Roman Antonine Wall.
Time was ticking. We restocked the ships supplies with Scottish delights and within a week we were off again. The wind was from the north for the next week, so heading around the notorious Mull of Kintyre with its strong currents would have been quite unpleasant. Instead we chose to traverse the Mull on the Crinan canal, a 9 mile long canal built in 1801. The license we purchased was for 4 nights. We decided to take it slow and enjoy the scenery. There are 15 locks and 7 swing bridges, fortunately there were some lock keepers to help with the heavy gates.
There were a couple of lovely walks just off the canal that we enjoyed. One to see the prehistoric Cup and Ring rock carvings, the other through Dunardry woods for a fine view west toward Jura.
We exited the canal and anchored just off the entrance, ready to catch the morning north going tide up through Dorus Mor and past the Corryvreckan whirlpools toward Oban. Both these named channels are notorious for the potentially hazardous conditions, should there be strong wind over tide, due to the treacherous currents that flow through them. The next day as we approached Oban we heard a distress call on the radio. A yacht had fouled their propellor with fishing gear and was drifting into the Gulf of Corryvreckan. Shortly after a Royal lifeboat roared past us on its way to assist. We passed Gylen castle on the southern tip of the Isle of Kerrera and tied up in the marina for a couple of nights.
Gylen Castle.
In Oban we visited the Clipper boats that were in the town marina. What sailing machines. However with no autopilot, no windlass and shared bunks, it was not the boat for me. We explore the ruins of the ancient castle of Dunollie, seat of the MacDougall clan with fine views over to Kerrera. The evening light goes on well past 10pm and we enjoy walking among rabbits and the local sheep.
Rabbits enjoying the soft grass in the long evening shadows. Below a Ryeland sheep with multiple horns, and Jacob sheep with impossibly thick coats.
Birds gathering to roost in the evening light.
After leaving Oban we take a few days to slowly make our way up to Fort William and the start of the Caledonian canal. We were going to take this shortcut through the heart of the Scottish Highlands to get to Inverness and our launching point to continue the summer in Norway and Sweden. The few days we were traveling up Loch Linnhe to Fort William were dramatic with the rain clouds swirling around us.
We enter the canal through the sea lock as soon as it opens in the morning and we pass through to the bottom of Neptunes Staircase, the series of 8 locks that raise the boat up 64ft (20m). Just before the first lock there is a road and railway bridge that has to be passed; the railway bridge serves the West Highland train line, more commonly known as the Hogwarts Express as it passes over the iconic Glenfinnian Viaduct. While we waited in the canal the steam train passed us by.
The only reason I am mentioning this is that later that day the railbridge broke and for the next four days no more boats could pass, upstream nor downstream until they fixed it. We were so lucky.
For anyone who has taken a boat through a canal system, they can tell you the going up is much harder than the going down. With only the two of us onboard, Neptunes staircase was quite daunting. However we got lucky. In the first lock we got chatting to the smaller boat tied up alongside with 4 strapping Danish lads onboard. We ended up borrowing Simon to help us through the multiple lock gates. That evening we all tied up at the top of the staircase in Banavie and celebrated together, sampling the various whiskies we had purchased along the way. It was a fun evening.
The following day we travelled a mere 7 miles to the southern end of Loch Lochy. Here we tied up and went for a lovely walk along the shore. The mossy woodland and misty vistas were lovely.
Monday we hustled down Loch Lochy to meet up with Ed and Eve, our crew for a few days through the remainder of the canal. The sun came out to welcome them onboard.
Soon we had the new recruits in training and haulng on the lines. It was a fun few days as we passed through the bustling town of Fort Augustus and Loch Ness.
Was it something I said?
Loch Ness is huge! At 23 miles long and with a depth of over 700ft for much of that length, it is a massive body of water. The water is FREEZING. Brian confirmed, that despite what I said, the top 6” were not even a little bit warm.
We stopped half way down the loch for a calm night at anchor on a gravel bar we had discovered 3 years previously. Not marked on the charts (it is now on Noforeignland), it was the perfect spot to enjoy the views up and down the loch.
The view south down Loch Ness.
On the final day we swing by Urquhart castle then continue on to Inverness where we say our goodbyes. It is now time to get Helacious ship shape for our next passage across the North Sea. We spend a few days in the marina, have a visit from a mechanic (leak in the coolant system, main engine) and resupply the lockers and liquor cabinet in preparation for Norway and Sweden.