dommyp – Page 9 – Sailing Azimuth

August 24, 2021December 21, 2021

Aran Islands to Brandon Bay

Tuesday 24th August, 2021, Inishboffin to Inishmore

After the embarrassment of keeling over in Inishboffin harbour (read about it in the previous post!) we made a quick exit from the anchorage at 0600 that morning, with a long sail planned down to Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands at the end of Galway Bay.

It was a glorious sunrise, with light winds from the South East that meant we were able to sail the entire way on a close hold and tacking down the coast. We were of course both completely exhausted, having been up most of the night, but the sun was shining, and the views were inviting.

As we got close to Inishmore, we heard the rush of air as a whale surfaced about 100m from the boat, the second whale siting of the trip. And we were once again joined on the journey by a pod of dolphins, which was to become a daily occurrence on the rest of the trip

We anchored in a pretty bay off a white sand beach called Portmurvy on the North East side of the Island, 50NM from Inishboffin.

Looking back at the lighthouse on Slyne Head

Wednesday 25th August, 2021, Portmurvy to Shannon River

We woke to a reasonable size swell entering Portmurvy which meant meant we didnt want to chance rowing the dinghy in to shore on to the beach. Unfortunately that meant we couldn’t visit the iron age fort on Inishmore, so we weighed anchor and headed South again for Loop Head 36NM from the end of the Aran Islands.

We had fair winds for a couple of hours which got us away from the Aran Islands.

Erragh Lighthouse on Rock Island at the North end of Inishmore

Eventually the wind died and we had to motor for a bit until we got closer to Loop head where the wind picked up again and blew us around in to the Shannon Estuary. The cliffs around Loop Head were imposing with very interesting geology with layers twisted and contorted, and the cliffs peppered with caves.

Once in the Shannon Estuary, we stuck our nose in to the first Anchorage option of Kilbaha Bay, but we didnt like the look of it as it felt very exposed and swelly. We were glad we carried on and rode the fast tide further up the estuary to the anchorage at Cariggaholt and anchored just off the end of the pier in the front of a tall castle tower. This was a much nicer and secure bay, especially as the wind started to pick up from the North East.

We took the dinghy to shore and visited the little village. Couldn’t get in the restaurant, so settled for a takeaway from “Max Bites” and then an illicit visit to the the castle for a closer look.

Thursday 26th August, 2021, Carrigaholt to the Margharees and Brandon Bay

We left Carrigaholt Bay at 1130 when the tide turned to leave the Shannon Estuary and motored out of the Bay. The tide at the narrowing entrance gave us an SOG of 11 knots!

With the strong tide and the light winds, there was scope to sail, and we downwind sailed all the way to the Kerry head at the end of the estuary until the wind died.

On with the motor again and we transited the last 7 miles to the Margharee Islands and dropped the anchor next to Illauntannig. This tiny island hosts 6th century monastic remains with beehive huts made of stone, so we took the dinghy in to shore to go and visit.

6th century monastic remains on Illauntannig

Its an exposed spot, and when the wind picked up and the swell started to roll in, we decided it was not the best spot to anchor for the night. So we weighed anchor and headed a 6 miles further west down the coast to Brandon Bay protected by Sheveglass mountain and had a comfortable night.

August 20, 2021November 26, 2021

Clew Bay, Killary Lough & Inishboffin

Friday 20th August, 2021 Broadhaven Bay to Achill Sound

Another headland to go round … the west coast is littered with them and none of them are easy! Today was a drizzly rainy day with poor visibility. We sailed downwind to Eris Head after leaving Broadhaven Bay. As we rounded the head, the wind was now a close hold and Tacked down the coast. Further South, and the wind was kind, and swung us out past Achill head in the mist and the gloom. It rained hard most of the way. It was a shame the weather was so bad as the views along this coast are supposed to be some of the best coastline in Ireland! At one point the top of the mountain appeared from the cloud and I captured these…

Once we rounded Achill Head, we were hoping for a downwind sail to take is towards Clew Bay, but the wind was too light with the rough sea state, so we motored for two hours. We rounded Achillbeg Island and stuck our nose in to Achill sound to investigate an anchorage. It was way to shallow and not obvious where to go, so we chickened out and anchored off the beach on the East side of Achillbeg. It was a nice easy night until 6am the next morning when we started to drag anchor towards the beach and the rocks!

Saturday 21st August, Achillbeg to Killary Lough

We departed at 0900 and sailed due South to Killary Lough across the mouth of Clew Bay, past Claire Island and along the Connemara coastline. It was a fabulous sail with a beam reach up to 9 knots and then downwind in to the mouth of the Lough. The entrance is framed by mountains, and the heading is marked by some concrete pillars through the narrows

We motored through the narrows and down the long narrow loch avoiding the mussel farms all along the edge and anchored right at the end off the town of Leenaun.

Once we were anchored up, we rowed to shore (yep the outboard engine was still knackered!) and went to a bizzare shop inside the local pub, and had a great lunch at the blackberry cafe where we sampled the mussels from the Lough, and fish and chips … delicious. We rowed back to the boat and chilled out for the rest of the day enjoying the amazing scenery of the place. We were the only boat in the whole anchorage!

Sunday 22nd August, 2021, Leenaun to Inishbofin

We left the next morning and there was zero wind, so we motored back out of the Lough through the narrows and across the bay to Inishboffin through all the rocks and small isles. Inishboffin is recognised as being one of the finest all weather anchorages on the west coast and has a big maritime history. The entrance is very tricky with reefs and rocks, but the installation of a leading light makes it easier to navigate. Once inside, you are immediately greeted by the ruins of a Cromwellian fort on your starboard side, and the blue water and sandy bottom of the totally enclosed anchorage. Its a beautiful place. However, the anchorage is tricky, cause the Irish seem to love to fill all their most popular anchorages up with fixed moorings, so it took us some time to find a spot that we could fit in. Its really shallow too!

We took the dinghy to shore and went and explored the fort which is still pretty intact even though it in places it overhangs the rocks and you look straight down in to the sea.

Then we went for a walk to explore the east side of the island past white sandy beaches and family holiday homes. It felt very much like the Scilly Isles, and was very popular with the locals arriving by ferry.

White sand beaches on east side of Inishboffin

We ended up at the Doonbar hotel for tea but had to sit outside in the chill. A few pints of the blackstuff provided some alcoholic insulation

Tuesday 24th August, Inishboffin, disaster strikes!

The forecast was for no wind, and the sun was shining, so we decided to stay another day and walk more of the island. This time we headed west to take in the views of more sandy beaches, rocky coastline and peat bog paths.

Inishboffin and Inishshark views to the west.

We went to the pub for lunch and chilled out for the rest of the day on the boat. We decided on an early night cause we planned on an early start for the next leg South. We were both woken at 23 30 when we were tipped out of bed as the boat fell over! That was very disconcerting…. the anchorage was flat calm and there was no wind??? What the hell was happening? It turns out we had run aground. We had been in this anchorage for two days at this point, and the boat had been drifting around in an arc of about 270 degrees. Now it looked like the boat had drifted in to the final 90 degrees of the arc closest to the beach, and in conjunction with the low tide had come to rest on a sandbank at the back. She was still floating at the front.

Well there is not a lot you can do in this situation …. Azimuth weighs 31 tonnes. You can’t just get out and push her off! Checking the tide we still had another 80 cms to drop, so all we could do was check the bilge to make sure we weren’t taking on any water and then sit out the whole process for the next 4 hours! By 0100 in the morning, the boat was right over on her side… with the toe rail under water and fish swimming over the deck! The pub across the water was in full swing with music and laughter …. however maybe lucky for us the fog came in, so in the darkness no one could witness our embarrassing situation! Over the next three hours, Azimuth started to slowly right herself. Thankfully, there was still no waves or wind, and finally we lifted off at 4 in the morning. I pulled in some of the anchor chain and climbed in to bed. I think we survived!

August 16, 2021December 15, 2021

Exploring Donegal Bay

Monday 16th August 2021, Rossillon Bay, Aran Island

We had a rough night at anchor. At high tide, the swell came over the reefs that protect this bay and the wind picked up from the North West. It was time to have a day off and relax with lots of reading, playing the Pearce Family favourite “Skipbo” and watching films.

Tuesday 17th August, 2021, Rossillon Bay to Teelin

The wind still remained strong from the North West and it was another rough night at anchor, but it still felt better than working for a living! The weather was being tricky, but it looked like the wind was set to drop later in the afternoon, and might allow us to sneak round the corner in to Donegal Bay, which would mean sailing around another of the big Atlantic headlands Malinmore head.

We left the anchorage out through the narrow channel and were met by big seas! 2 to 2.5m waves and a big swell from the North West which we had to take on the beam to head further South. Poor Azimuth was being thrown around a bit, and poor Ailsa didn’t fair well either! The wind was blowing about 25 knots from the W/NW so with two reefs in the main we tried to sail with the Staysail, but struggled to get any decent speed to cut through the swell and the wind angle was poor, which meant it would be difficult to get round Malinmore head. So, we furled out the genoa with two reefs, and Azimuth heeled over and started to dance through the waves, slicing at 8 knots. As we approached the headland, the seas grew , so I manoeuvred us further offshore.

Finally I could turn further south to round the island of Rathlin O’ Birne. We surfed down the swell on a beam reach and hit 12.7 knots! A new record for us in Azimuth. Eventually we could turn downwind in to Donegal Bay, and we had a great ride surfing down the waves, until eventually the headland sheltered us from the wind, and we found we didn’t have sufficient wind to stop the genoa from flogging in the swell. Time to motor the last few miles in to Teelin

Cliffs and waterfalls below Slieve League

It was an overcast and misty day, but even though the conditions were tough, the coastline here was majestic. Some of the biggest cliffs in Ireland, with cascading waterfalls. We were accompanied by dolphins too. Teelin harbour finally appeared ahead, and once inside, it provided great protection with no swell. We both slept for 10 hours!

The tower on Carrigan Head, near Teelin. Very cool geology!

Views of Teelin Harbour from the anchorage

Wednesday 18th August, 2021, Teelin Harbour to Killala Bay

The wind prediction for today was light winds up to Force 4. So we set off with trepidation to cross Donegal Bay! When we got out of Teeling Harbour, the swell picked up from the North West again. The sea state was not as bad as the day before, however, the wind was much stronger than predicted! So with 1 reef in the main and genoa we whisked across at 8 knots with 45-60 degree apparent. Ailsa was worried about feeling sick again, but she was absolutely fine. It turned out to be a really nice sail and we entered Kilalla Bay which is wide open to the North. However, we found a really comfortable anchorage behind St Patricks Rocks off Ross point outside of the Kilalla bar. We would have liked to cross the bar but we could only do that at high tide, and that would have restricted the times for departure again.

Thursday 19th August 2021, Kilalla Bay to Broadhaven

We left Kilalla Bay at about lunchtime, after a chat with some friendly local fisherman. The winds were forecast to be very light and the sun was shining. So motor sailing was the order of the day and we worked our way along the South coast of Donegal Bay, enjoying the scenery and the amazing geology.

Downpatrick Head was a real highlight along the coast with its flat limestone and shale strata and distinctive 50m high sea stack.

Further down the coast as we entered Broadhaven Bay the views of the coast and the Stags that guard the entrance were also breathtaking

The entrance to Broadhaven Bay & The Stags

The anchorage in Broadhaven Bay was on sand in crystal clear water. We had a really comfortable night.

August 11, 2021November 26, 2021

Coleraine to Aran Island

Wednesday 11th August, 2021 Coleraine Marina

We woke up to rain! The storm was starting to build, so it was good to be in a marina on the river Bann well away from the worst of it. We ordered the Irish West coast Pilot book from a local shop in Northern Island, so that we could get it delivered before we left the Marina. When the rain stopped we took a walk in to the town and went to the local Chinese restaurant called the Water Margin on the river.

Thursday 12th August, 2021, A visit to the Giants Causeway

We took a taxi to the causeway visitors centre and fought the wind swept coastline to go and visit the Giants causeway. It was pretty busy with people, but well worth the effort. We couldn’t help comparing it to Staffa further North. The Giants causeway is actually an extension of the same bit of Geology.

The coastline along here is very spectacular. We decided to walk back to the little village of Bushmills to get some lunch. The path follows the Victorian steam train trainline which was not running due to covid. Bushmills was a popular place although most of the establisments were closed, and we couldn’t get in anywhere, so we had fish and chips and sat in the local park. Then we caught the bus back to Coleraine after a great day out exploring.

Friday 13th August, 2021, Coleraine Marina

We took the time whilst we waited to plan the trip down the West Coast of Ireland. The pilot book had turned up with the charts. Then we went and stocked up with essentials. We were not sure how remote the west coast would be and when we would have chance to get to shops. We kept checking the weather, and it looked like the storm would blow itself out by the next day.

Saturday 14th August, 2021, Coleraine to Ragerty Island, Mulroy Bay

We had been holed up for 4 days now so were itching to get going. The storm had finally blown itself out, so we left the marina and motored back up the River Bann to the sea. We needed to get the tide right to round the formidable Malin Head on the North coast of Ireland. We arrived at the sea and sailed very slowly with some tide still against us past the entrance to Loch Foyle and the river to Derry. We had now officially entered Ireland, and the start of our West Coast adventure. At this point the wind started to pick up a little and we tacked up towards Malin Head until it died again a couple of hours later. Now we had the tide though and with motor on again we were averaging 8.5 to 9 knots SOG.

As we rounded Malin Head the waves were HUGE! It was very uncomfortable, and we saw another fishing boat being thrown around like a cork. At least Azimuth is a big boat and she is very seaworthy. After the head, the waves subsided a little and we motored all the way in to Mulroy bay and anchored on the west shore out of the swell just behind Ragerty Island in sand. We arrived just after 9pm just as it was getting dark, we were both exhausted after a long day sailing.

Past Malin Head and heading for Mulroy Bay

Sunday 15th August, 2021, Mulroy Bay to Aran Island

After a peaceful night at anchor, we were up early and sailing by 8:30 for a fantastic sailing conditions averaging 7 to 9 knots with the sea state much improved from the previous day. The wind was perfect for a beam reach Force 4/5 from the North West.

The coastline was very dramatic, sailing past features like Horn Point, the Bloody Foreland and Gola Island until we reached and sailed around Aran Island, and anchored in Rossillon Bay off the beach in sand.

Anchorage at Rossillon Bay, unfortunately the pub was shut!

August 6, 2021December 13, 2021

Back to Northern Ireland

Friday August 6th, 2021 Back to Sanna Bay

We had been thinking about how to get back to Portishead for the last few days and we had a few options. However, we didn’t think that we would be up in this part of the world again for a long time, and we have a special love for Ireland. So we were considering going back to Portishead via the West coast of the Green Isle, sometimes known as the Wild Atlantic Way. It has a reputation amongst sailors as being challenging.

To make that leg of the journey happen, we would need to allow some time to explore, and potentially to have to wait for good weather too. We had been very lucky with the weather in Scotland, but now the entering August, it was more possible that we would get Atlantic Lows. So we made a plan to get back to Northern Ireland over the next few days and then turn West and take on the challenge.

We left Loch Scavaig that afternoon and had a downwind sail (finally!) going back south through the small Isles of Rum and Eigg and headed for the harbour on the East coast of Muck (Port Mhor). We dropped the hook, but there was not alot of room to swing, and a swell entering the harbour made it rolly. So we made a decision to move a few miles further South back to Sanna Bay on the end of Ardnamurchan peninsula, where we had stopped on the way up.

As we left Muck, a huge rain cloud, that was deep grey cut by a rainbow was moving slowly towards us. You could see the sheets of rain, even though we remained in sunshine. We just made it in to Sanna Bay before the rain hit. Of course, sods law …. the anchorage at Sanna was even more rolly than Muck. Oh well, it was an uncomfortable night … sometimes you have to take the rough with the smooth.

Saturday 7th August, 2021, Sound of Mull

We left Sanna Bay that morning, and no wind meant motoring around Ardnamurchan Point and in to the Sound of Mull. Once we entered the sound, we had 15 knots of wind on the nose again! It doesn’t seem to matter which direction you go, the wind is always on the nose! We headed for Loch Aline again for an easy night at anchor. We took the dinghy in to shore and walked to the farm shop on the estate to find it shut! Then defeated, we decided to relax for the rest of the day.

Sunday 8th August, 2021 Loch Aline to Loch Keils

We awoke to a still day and left Loch Aline at 0900am. Motored down the Sound of Mull out in to the Firth of Lorne and headed to Dunstaffnage Marina to take on some more fuel, and get rid of the mountain of rubbish we had accumulated. We still had to get rid of all the beer bottles from the visit by the lads! Dunstaffnage is a beautifully looked after marina with really friendly staff.

Leaving the marina at 1300 we were expecting to motor all the way down the Firth of Lorne, but thankfully the wind picked up and we tacked our way down the Firth in a fresh breeze and sailed in to the Sound of Luing through the pretty scary entrance strewn with rocks, islands, other boats and lobster pots!

We had timed the tide really well for the entrance to Luing, and now we really picked up speed. The wind picked up too, or at least the apparent wind. As we crossed Corryvreckan we hit 10.7 knots as we were totally over sailed and were hit by 27knots of wind. The autopilot gave up, so I was hanging on the wheel for dear life, and managed to steer us through the worst of it. As quick as the gusts appeared, they dropped again. This is certainly a formidable stretch of water. Stress over the rest of the sail was nice and easy down the Sound of Jura and back to Loch Keils for the night.

Monday 9th August, 2021, Loch Keils to Port Ellen, Isle of Islay

One of the Isles that we hadn’t visited on the way up was Islay, famous for its whiskey distilleries. It had to be visited to complete our tour of the Hebrides. It was another day of motoring, with no wind as we pulled out in to the Sound of Jura from Loch Keils with the South going tide.

Joining other boats heading south down the Sound of Jura. Skipper on watch!

Ailsa skippered us all the way to Ardbeg distillery and we dropped the hook in the anchorage right outside. It looked very quiet…. we were the only boat there. So we went online to check, only to find that the distillery is closed on Mondays!!! Pearce organisation strikes again, couldn’t organise a piss up in a distillery?!

Turns out all of the distilleries were closed, so we took our tour from the sea! On the plus side we probably saved ourselves a fortune in specialist whiskeys

Our seagoing tour of whiskey distilleries!

Just round the corner is port Ellen Bay and we anchored off a white sand beach for the night, in prime position to head south again.

Tuesday 10th August, 2021, Port Ellen to Coleraine

We had an early start and was sailing by 0630. The wind was great for crossing the North channel to Northern Ireland until about 2/3rds of the way across and then it died. We were visited again by a huge pod of dolphins.

As we approached Northern Ireland, we started to fight the strong tide and because its shallow, the sea got really rough and choppy with short seas. We had to motor the last few hours to get close to the shore and our planned anchorage looked really rough. We decided to head for Coleraine and an anchorage on the river Bann.

The River Bann has a very strange entrance from the sea, where walls have been built out from the beach and a channel dredged to the entrance. Where the sea meets the river, the waves were short and sharp, but once through, we found ourselves pottering down a pretty river to the anchorage about 2 miles further down.

A check of the weather looked concerning, as there was a big Atlantic Low developing to the west which was due to bring 40 knot winds on to this North West coast of Ireland over the next few days. We both decided that we did not want to be tacking Malin Head and the North West corner of Ireland in those kind of conditions. The anchorage on the river was not very big and would not be sheltered from the coming storm, so we decided to get a spot in the local marina for a few nights and brave out the gale. It was a nice motor further up the river down a narrow dredged channel and we berthed up for the next few nights.

August 3, 2021December 13, 2021

Isle of Skye

Tuesday 3rd August, South Harris to Skye

Our jaunt to the Outer Hebrides had been fun, but the lure of Skye in the distance was stronger and with the favourable winds we decided to sail back across the Minch and go and explore the west coast of Skye.

The Minch was flat calm and we sailed across on a close hold averaging 5 to 6 knots dodging the big ships sailing up the coast. On reaching Skye we sailed in to Loch Bay south of the Waternish Penisula. As we entered the Loch, the wind gusted and we found ourselves heeled over hard doing 9 knots even with the sails depowered. We decided to anchor at the end of Loch Bay where a stream reaches the loch. It was a spectacular place with a wooded shore and steep cliffs. Very sheltered too even though the wind was still gusting down the loch.

Wednesday 4th August, 2021, Dunvegan Castle

We left Loch Bay at 10 in the morning and sailed downwind until the wind fluked around the headland and on to the nose. The next section was tricky navigation with the chart showing a small channel between the island and a large reef in the main channel. We motored through, but unfortunately a boat called Amazing Grace hadn’t checked their charts carefully enough and had ended up on the reef. We called them up on the radio to offer some assistance, but they were OK and just had to wait a couple of hours for the tide to lift them off. We heard later on the radio that they had floated free later on.

Once through the narrow channel, we entered Loch Dunvegan and faced 20 knots of headwinds, so motored down the loch and in to Castle Bay at the end. The anchorage is right in front of the castle. But now the wind was gusting force 7! We dropped the hook, and then proceed to drag towards the back of the bay where its very shallow. We reset again and stuck out 60 metres of chain. This time the anchor held.

Dunvegan Castle from castle bay anchorage

We tried to start the outboard and snapped the cord!

Doh! So now its a full strip down of the starter, find some compatible string, and we are up and running again in time to get to shore for some grub!

The castle has a dinghy dock, so we thought that would be an easy place to moor up? We had a pleasant walk through the castle grounds and got to the entrance gates to find we were locked in! So we quickly backtracked to the dinghy and trundled further up the loch towards the little village of Dunvegan. Time to stock up at the Spar and then join the huge queue with lots of people from the local campsite for the one takeaway restaurant, the Misty Cafe. We sat outside on a bench in the evening sunshine eating our pizza’s just as the midges came out, the first we had seen in Scotland so far this year. A quick retreat back to the dinghy and what do you know, the outboard wont start! A saga begins! It was a long row back to the boat, but with nice views. We even saw the former 18th century Dower House of Dunvegan Castle that we had stayed in with our friends Gill & Guy a few years back.

Thursday 5th August, Loch Scavaig & the Black Cullin

We left Dunvegan in the early afternoon and sailed out past the headland close to the huge cliffs and Neist Point lighthouse.

As we got further south, the views opened up of the Black Cullin on the horizon. Sea conditions and winds were perfect for a fast close hold sail towards Loch Scavaig which lies right at the foot of these mountains. On the way we were accompanied by a pod of Dolphins and we watched them play at the bow of the boat for at least 10 minutes. Quite amazing, as we were doing 7-8 knots at the time!

It definitely is one of Scotland’s finest anchorages, and we dropped the hook close to one of the rocks with lots of seals basking in the sunshine.

Friday 6th August, 2021

We took the canoe out to explore the loch, and after we had walked up to see Loch Coruisk which feeds on to Scavaig, we decided to drag the canoe up and take a paddle right up to the foot of the Cullin. Truly breath-taking views. it was a hard paddle in to the wind, and we got out at the beach right at the bottom of the caldera. Forgot to take the camera! But just so you get an idea of the place, I stole some pics of the internet below!

We drifted back down Loch Coruisk with the wind and then I paddled / pushed the canoe back along the shallow rapids that connects the two lochs together and relaunched the canoe via a slippery mountain of seaweed. As we were heading the 200m back to the yacht, we heard a hissing noise and thought we had punctured the canoe! Fortunately it was just one of the valves in the seats that had come loose, so crisis was averted. A very special place to visit

Loch Coruisk at the foot of the Cullin, connecting to Loch Scavaig

July 31, 2021December 13, 2021

Outer Hebrides

Saturday 31st July, 2021, Loch Torridon to Lewis.

Today we planned to do a long sail across the Minch out to the Isle of Lewis. The wind was stronger today than it had been for a long time, finally blowing! As usual though it was on the nose, so we had to tack out of Loch Torridon. We found ourselves in a race with another yacht which was fun. We were both on a lean.

Sailing a close hold in Loch Torridon

The Minch turned out to be quite rough, and we were a little over powered, hitting 10 knots but getting thrown around in the steep seas. The seas started to smooth out as we got in the lee of Lewis and it looked like we might make Stornaway on a single tack, but then the wind shifted and so we headed a little further South to Loch Bhrollium arriving at 1800. Its a narrow loch which is very sheltered and we anchored right at the end and shared the anchorage with a colony of seals.

Sunday 1st August, 2021, Loch Claidh

We had a very slow sail just round the corner to the Isle of Harris in the Loch Claidh and anchored behind Eilean Thingarstaigh, recommended by the excellent Antares anchorage charts we had been using alot. It certainly was a real pretty spot with great views over the mountains at the end of the Loch. Very sheltered too. We shared the anchorage with another yacht, as well as dolphins and some huge jelly fish … Ailsa’s favourites!

Monday 2nd August, South Harris

We left the anchorage at 12 30 after seeing a pod of dolphins swim past the boat. Another day of light airs saw us sail further south past Scalpaig lighthouse and West Loch Tarbet. The going was slow but it was nice just drifting our way down the coast of Harris. We made it as far as Lingara Bay in the end after tacking all afternoon. Lingara was a weird place to anchor. The weather dulled over and the tight anchorage with lots of broken rocks on the shore (from a quarry) made it feel inhospitable. It was a rolly night.

Light airs sailing along the coast of South Harris

July 26, 2021December 13, 2021

Loch Hourne, Isle of Rona & Loch Torridon

Monday 26th July, 2021, Mallaig to Loch Hourne

Its a sad day today because Caleb was leaving us and heading back to Stirling. It had been great having him onboard for over two weeks, sharing our sailing adventures. We had to get him to Mallaig to catch the train which should have been simple. We called the harbour to find out that they were full! So we had to anchor just down the coast and walk two miles in to town. The town claims that Mallaig is the jewel in the crown of the western isles???? I didn’t agree as we fought our way through the crowds of tourists, the ice cream and fish and chips shops. It felt a bit overwhelming to me after the remote places we had been visiting for a month. We ate our fish and chips whilst defending ourselves from the over friendly seagulls. We put Caleb on the train and stocked up at the local coop, and then headed back to the solitude of the boat.

We raised the anchor and set sail North from Mallaig up the Sound of Sleat with Skye on our port side and mainland Scotland to starboard. Then we headed in to Loch Hourne to soak up the views. There are many anchorages in the loch but the one we had in mind was already occupied so we kept going. It was well worth the effort, because this loch just gets more and more special. There are two narrow sections that open out again in to larger waters. We anchored next to the first narrows nestled between 3 small islands all on our own surrounded by steep sided mountains and misty views. It had the feel of a remote Norwegian Fjord. I realised that I had visited this Loch many years ago when I walked the Cape Wrath Trail with two friends. We had walked over the Noydart peninsula and come down these steep mountains and stayed at a little farm on the edge if Loch Hourne at a place called Barrisdale. I could see Barrisdale from this anchorage and it was great to be back again!

Tuesday 27th July, 2021 – Loch Hourne

The next day we took the canoe out to explore more of the inner Loch. It was very sheltered and we drifted down with the tide to the second narrows and spent a great day exploring this wild place.

Wednesday 28th July, 2021 Loch Hourne to Balmacara Bay

It was time to head North again and so we needed to do some careful tidal planning. At the top of the Sound of Sleat is the the Kyle of Rhea where the water gets squeezed through a very narrow section and the tidal streams can reach up to 6 knots. We needed to arrive at the entrance when the tidal stream was heading North. Leaving the anchorage at Loch Hourne we had strong wind on the nose funnelled by the mountains so we had an exhilarating sail, short tacking our way up the loch doing nine knots on flat waters. The winds here are completely dominated by local effects and bear no resemblance to the forecast, so you have to just ad-lib! Leaving Loch Hourne then we shifted from a close hold to almost dead down wind in light airs, a complete change to the feel of the day. We had got out of Loch Hourne a lot faster than anticipated anyway, so we ghosted slowly up towards the Kyle of Rhea and managed to arrive just as the tidal stream turned.
Once through the Kyle, the water opens out again in to Loch Alsh, and we dropped the anchor on the North side of the Loch in Balmacara Bay for the night.

Thursday 29th July, Loch Alsh to Isle of Rona

We left the anchorage at 11am and head up towards the Kyle of Loch Alsh with some trepidation. The chart says the bridge to Skye across the Kyle is 29m high at the centre. Azimuth’s mast is 24m high. It was going to be close, no room for an error! We slowed right down under the bridge, but the tide was quite strong. I lined us up to with the right heading and the marks on the bridge. It felt VERY close!!

We sailed out from the Kyle for a couple of hours until the wind died and then motored up the inner sound until we were called by “Range control” on the radio. I hadn’t noticed in the chart, but it appears we were about the enter a live firing range! We were instructed to divert to within a 1 nautical mile of the coast of the Isle of Raasay to avoid being hit by shells! Once past Raasay, we sailed through the tight gap of Caol Rona between Raasay and Rona and arrived at the entrance to Acairsaid Mhor anchorage. This is a very sheltered place with a very tight entrance winding through rocks and reefs. We sneaked in slowly and dropped the anchor in this popular spot, although in the end we had the whole place to ourselves!

Friday 30th July, 2021, Isle of Rona to Loch Torridon

In the morning we took the dinghy in to the Isle of Rona, bumped in to the nice bloke that runs the hostel and the Rona ferry, on his advice we went for walk round the island. We climbed the track up the highest point on the island. We stopped for a rest and whilst Ailsa was checking her messages on her phone, I decided to walk the last bit of the path to the trig point to take some pictures. I was gone for 10 minutes, and when I got back, Ailsa had disappeared! We then spent the next hour trying to find each other again. Finally meeting up, she blamed me … and I blamed her …. oh well! Rona is a pretty place and worth a visit. It has geology that looks very similar to Iona, and the Ross of Mull, with pink granite and serpentinite.

View from the top of Rona, Skye in the background.

The sail across the inner sound to Loch Torridon was nice with light winds. Happily the range was not firing, so no hassle either. Eventually the wind died, and we headed for Loch Diabhaig a little loch on the north side of Torridon. It proved to be way too deep and difficult to anchor in and there was a strong local wind making the conditions choppy. So we decided to sail downwind to Loch Shieldaig and anchor off the village. We took the dinghy to shore and went for dinner at the little local cafe. It was an excellent meal!

Leaving Rona and sailing to Loch Torridon

July 24, 2021November 26, 2021

Loch Kinloch, Rum & Inverie

Saturday 24th July, 2021

Another glorious day of blue skies and sunshine. We decided to sail over to Loch Kinloch on the Isle of Rum about 20 miles from Loch Ailort. The winds were very light, and the sea conditions completely flat which meant an awesome sail across to Rum, skirting past Eigg on the way. The wind picked up on the beam as it accelerated between the Eigg and Rum and the we whisked in to Loch Kinloch on the East coast of Rum and dropped the hook in front of Kinloch Castle at the foot of the Rum Cullin.

Sunday 25th July, 2021

Yet another fabulous day of blue skies and sunshine … is this really Scotland?!

We took the dinghy in to shore and tied up to the old stone Pier. A short walk round the bottom of the Loch and we arrived at the castle which was unfortunately shut and looking in quite poor repair. It is a Victorian folly of a rich industrialist who owned the whole Island. There are a number of short walks on the island and we took a path that headed up a stream at the back of the castle. The islanders generate their electricity from a hydro plant that we walked past. The path lead up to a view point with views over Loch Kinloch.

We got back to the boat, and made a plan to go and visit the UK’s most remote pub, the Old Forge at Inverie. Only accessible by boat and famous for its fresh local seafood. If you eat at the pub then they let you stay on a free mooring for the night. We booked our table, pulled up the hook and made the sail back to the mainland and Loch Nevis, sailing past the bottom of Sky and the Black Cullin, past Mallaig on an exhilarating close hold and in to the entrance to Loch Nevis.

We picked up a mooring buoy off the village and took the dinghy in to shore and had a really good meal at the pub. All local seafood, highly recommended.

July 21, 2021December 13, 2021

Loch Moidart & Loch Ailort

Wednesday 21st July, 2021

It was supposed to be another glorious sunny day, but we woke to thick pea soup fog! It wasn’t showing much sign of burning away either. There was no wind, so we edged out of Sanna Bay on on instruments, following our track in and motored along the North side of Ardnamurchan Peninsula and edged very slowly in to Loch Moidart. The entrance is a twisting route between rocks in to this Loch and it was definitely made more interesting by the thick fog. We dropped anchor in a bay very close to the entrance, but away from the main route in. Moidart is very shallow in places, and difficult to navigate helped greatly if you can actually see the shore!

Thursday 22nd July, 2021

We woke again to fog! However this time, the sun won the battle early in the day to reveal a cloudless blue sky, and then we realised what a spectacular place we were anchored in. We took the canoe and paddled with the tide about 2 miles down the Loch to reach Tioram castle. Tioram is a faily complete ruin, but its position commands views of the whole Loch and this was a really special day to see those views. Ailsa decides that this is to be our next home when we hang up our sailing shoes. Might need a little bit of work though?

Views of Loch Moidart from the anchorage

We sailed out of Moidart at 1500 with the intention of the heading to the Borrowdale Islands, a little further North up the coast. However we changed our minds when we saw the huge mountains behind Loch Ailort and diverted to another amazing anchorage off a white sand beach in front of the bothy in the outer loch.

Views of Loch Ailort Anchorage and Caleb claims his own island …

Friday 23rd July, 2021

Caleb and Dom decided today was the day to conquer Rois-bheinn. This is the Munroe mountain at the edge of the loch that stands at 876m. So we loaded the rucksacks with supplies and lots of water, cause it was a hot day and set off across the loch in the dingy to the South shore. We pulled the dinghy up on a rocky beach walked along the shore until we came to track past a house. We didn’t have a map, so we were doing this by feel, but lucky for us we came out on the road right opposite a sign saying this was the access footpath to the hills.

It was a pleasant and easy climb to about half way up. Then the path disappeared and we were faced with a STEEP climb to the top. It was an exhausting climb with many false summits and the heat of the day kicking in, However the effort was well worth it with the huge views from the top.