25th June 2016 – Day 37 – Bannatyne marina, Bute to Millport, Great Cumbrae Island

Snapped drive belt

The next morning Mark did his usual engine checks and 2 problems came to light. Firstly, the alternator belt had snapped, so he fitted the spare and secondly, most of the coolant fluid had leaked out onto the floor of the engine room, and straight into the bilges. He topped it up and we siphoned it into a container, but we also needed to know exactly how it leaked. One theory was the suspect coolant lid which we will try to replace once we find an appropriate shop, until then we will need to keep checking it.

Waverley

Once fixed, we left the marina and headed for the island of Great Cumbrae, passing the Waverley once again, on her way to Rothesay this time. 

We motored through the shipping lane – "it's OK" says Mark "big ships only sail on Monday to Friday 9-5.30pm" – yeh right! "So we’d be OK". 

Rothesay

The wind picked up so we set sails and sailed down between the islands of Bute and Great Cumbrae. We rounded the bottom end of the island, headed for Millport bay and found the visitor’s moorings negotiating our way around the rocks and parked up.

Great moorings with pick up buoys and great hefty chains. Always feels more secure on moorings, especially if you know the wind is going to pick up overnight.

Looking towards Largs marina

We got the dinghy set up and went ashore to find ourselves walking among holiday makers. It was like stepping ashore at Western-Super-Mare or Padstow with kids in ill-fitting wetsuits splashing around in the sea, trampoline parks and fish ‘n chip shops.  Quite alien to the world we had been used to the for last month.

We found the supermarket, bought some tea and ran straight back to the dinghy, unable to cope with the crowds.

Little Cumbrae Island

As the tide went out we realized we were quite close to the rocks and to another mooring buoy. We were assured by the size and condition of the mooring chain which was now up on deck and hooked around one of our cleats, strapped down so it wouldn’t jump off in the night.

The evening was blowy but the sea soon settled down once again and gave a good night’s sleep. All the seabirds visiting the nearby rocks, the ducks with their broods and the kids on the boat on the next mooring sailing and capsizing their tiny Topper Taz gave us lots of things to watch – who needs telly, eh!

24th June 2016 – Day 36 – Salthouse anchorage, Loch Riddon to Bannatyne marina, Bute

The next morning and we had the Go-pro checking the bottom of the boat again. We had seen something nasty the day before and needed a closer look.

West Kyle, looking into Loch Striven

Whilst checking for keel bolt damage after running aground the camera had whisked passed the prop. On closer inspection we realised the prop had been wrapped in something very much resembling stringy stuff. We quickly took some better footage of the prop only to discover it had all gone, must have been some weed we picked up whilst motoring to get to the anchorage. With the problem sorted we up anchor and headed for the Burnt Isles at the bottom of the loch.

Bannatyne bay

The pilot warns of strong currents (up to 5 knots) through the gaps around the isles so we made sure we were going in the same direction as the current and even though the northern gap is small it certainly wasn’t anything to worry too much about. Anyway, I don’t always find warnings carry too much weight when the very channel they are warning you about is surrounded (within a few meters) by safe anchorages, it’s hardly going to be a torrent of water if they then advice you park up next to it.

We motored all the way with less than 3 knots of wind for most of the journey. East Kyle is as pretty as West Kyle. We arrived at the friendly little marina and were given heaps of information about the surrounding area.

23rd June 2016 – Day 35 – Lochranza, Arran to Kyle of Bute and round into Loch Riddon

The next morning saw us walking around the bay with its dramatic landscape. Lochranza was beautiful in the sun. We visited the castle on the spit of land in the middle of the bay and then walked around to the craft shop and then back to the distillery. Deer roam the streets and golf course in Lochranza and we were treated to the herd crossing the road in front of us.

The only thing missing in Lochranza is a shop to buy supplies, we managed to get some bread from the distillery, ironically, and begged for some butter at their restaurant in the visitors centre but that was as far as our provisioning went. We are going to have to break open the dreaded Fray Bentos pie for tea. Umm yummy!

Back to the boat and fixed up some lunch before releasing the mooring line and running back to the Kyles of Bute. The wind was behind us now so we set the genoa and waited for the wind to hitch a ride through Inchmarnock Waters again. Nope the wind wasn’t playing today and just as we got everything set it died completely and the headsail hung there like a limp rag. It didn’t know which way to go and slowly drifted from one side of the boat to the other with the waves driving it more than anything. In 0.9knots of wind there isn’t enough strength to even lift the sail from her forlorn state so we wound it in.

The sun was so hot in the cockpit it was down to tee shirts again and off with all the heavy sailing gear. We motored sailed most of the way up the West Kyle which was doing a pretty good impression of a lake rather than the ferocious sea. Several boats were determined to sail and sat completely still for ages. We motored on and rounded the top end of Bute, something the chart calls the Buttock of Bute, very nice! We found our intended anchorage at An Caladh and motored into the little bay, but another boat had beaten us to it and with drying ground on our left, there wasn’t really enough room for us as well. One quick reference to the pilot and we headed for an anchorage at the head of Loch Riddon.

Lesson 1 - if you ever refer to the pilot quickly be sure to read the instructions completely and thoroughly. When we got to the anchorage it was close to high water and motoring over the top we found depths ranging from 15 down to 11 meters, which was still a little too deep for an overnight anchorage. So we headed further up the loch trying to find 5-6 meters. Suddenly the boat lurched forward and came to a complete halt.

Anyone who has been aground before will know the sinking (no pun intended) feeling well. We knew we were on a falling tide and so if we couldn’t shift Ty Mor quickly we would very quickly be in a great deal of trouble. Luckily we were going very slowly and also, luckily, the bottom was soft mud, so by throwing her into reverse quickly she released herself immediately and we hot footed it back to deeper water, laid the anchor, checked the bilges for water coming in and then got the Go-pro out on a long pole to search for damage under the boat.

Finally, after all that we read the instructions – ah – don’t go any further forward than the stone wall, otherwise you will run out of ocean very fast. Yep, they are absolutely right. Later that evening as the water completely disappeared, with the outgoing tide, all around us the extent of the mud bank became clear.

22nd June 2016 – Day 34 – Portavadie marina, Loch Fyne to Lochranza, Arran

Portavadie marina

We left late morning after refuelling the boat and waiting for a passing rain storm and headed over to Lochranza again. The trip was identical to the previous day. The wind direction was the same the waves were hitting us in the same direction but today with a couple of knots less wind we made the journey in good time. Using the conditions rather than fighting them.

The wind today was gusting to 20 knots instead of 26. The sea state was calmer meaning we didn’t climb every wave just every third wave and the reefed main gave us plenty of speed today. Guess that’s sailing.

Portavadie's very narrow entrance

Another good sign today – there were a few other boats already successfully tied to the visitor’s mooring’s today whereas yesterday they were all empty, not a single boat had stayed the night but now it was obvious they were all planning to spend the night on the moorings.

Flatter seas today and slightly less wind

Today we were prepared, we were going to try the successful reverse manoeuvre again and it worked first attempt.  We watched as several other boats came in behind us determined to learn from others as to the best technique to use. One large boat came in with just a couple on board and they had a specialised boat hook which deployed some kind of thin line with what looked like a metal bar on top. The man then got his dinghy in the water and secured the boat at water level. Smart, but wouldn’t have worked yesterday in the high winds.

Waverley in the distance

A BritSail training boat sailed into the bay with a few trainee sailors and instructor on board and we watched carefully as the instructor did a fly by and then lassoed the buoy with a rope which neatly caught the buoy underneath. He secured it to the boat which then allowed him to dangle a trainee over the side holding onto one leg. He gave instructions and poke her with a boat hook until she had secured a second line. They all cheered as she completed the difficult manoeuvre. Clever but, there again, wouldn’t have worked yesterday. We later spoke to a fellow sailor who gave us the trick of a weighed line – possibly with a piece of chain – and using that to lasso the buoy.

The evening was spectacular and another few dramatic pictures were taken.

 

21st June 2016 – Day 33 – East Tarbert, Mull of Kintyre to Lochranza, Arran then back to Portavadie marina, Loch Fyne

We ended up spending 4 nights in East Tarbert because for the first time since leaving Swansea we had high winds and rain storms pass through. The Coastguard was giving out gale warnings in areas not too far from us and strong wind warning for our area, so many of the boats stayed put. The first day was spent catching up with washing, shopping and banking stuff and we went for a walk to the castle. It was the wettest day we have had since starting out, so we battened down the hatches and lay low for the day, catching up with all things internetty.

Mark says it looks like Widow Twanky’s wash day

 

The following day we went for a walk to West Tarbert and stopped for tea in a hotel.

Entrance to East Tarbert

East Tarbert marina

  

The castle overlooking the bay

 


Finally, the weather cleared enough to venture out and we made what should have been a short trip over to Arran. The winds were still strong gusting up to 26 knots and once again right on the nose of the boat meaning we were beating into it as close hauled as we could. We tacked backwards and forwards slowly getting closer to our destination but the sea had other ideas and it seems some days for every inch you sail forwards the sea pushes you back 3. 

The boat was heeled over, even with 2 reefs in and going was very slowly. We finally made it mid-afternoon only to find the mooring buoys in the middle of the bay didn’t have any pick-up buoys and with our high free-board it was proved difficult to pick up them up in the very strong winds funneling down the mountains. 

We tried everything – boat hook got it but the strength of the wind pulling the boat meant that it slipped through our hands and broke in 2. One half of the boat hook was left jammed in the shackle on top of the buoy and to add insult to injury a cormorant then went and sat on it, as if to say – this yours?

The next thing we tried was lassoing the buoy. Funny how every other the day the trusted bit of rope sinks, today floats right over the top.

The next thing we tried was to grab the buoy with the second boat hook which is specially designed so that you can poke a rope through the shackle on the buoy and retrieve the rope back to the boat, not today the shackle was too small to take the boat hook and rope.

We gave up and went to tie to the pontoon and talk to mum and dad who were waiting patiently and watching the whole charade. Plan B to the rescue. As it was going to be a pretty uncomfortable night in the high gusting winds on anchor and on mooring we decide to use the wind strength and to hot foot it back to Portavadie marina where we were sure of a hot shower and a flat calm night’s rest. 

  

Over to the buoy with our boat hook, shooed away the cormorant and managed to retrieve it in reverse with me stood on the sugar scoop, strapped onto the pushpit and dangling very close to the water. Got it, first attempt. 

We briefly considered tying to it at the same time but all the previous arguments still held so we set sail once again and literally flew all the way back to the marina. Running on genoa alone we were reaching speeds of 7-8 knots and completed that leg of the journey in less than an hour and a half. 

Dramatic sky on our way to Arran (Take 1)

Sun the sea approaching Arran (Take 1)

Infuriating  sea knocks us backwards

Looking back towards Loch Fyne in Inchmarnock Waters

Hot-footing it, running back to Portavadie 

Portavadie marina is very comfortable. Acres of space for visitors and very posh facilities.

17th June 2016 – Day 32 – Ardrishaig basin, out through the sea lock and down to East Tarbert, Mull of Kintyre

You have to qualify which Tarbert you are referring to as there a huge number of Tarbert’s all over the west side of Scotland (this was something Pete Bundell had warned us about before even leaving home – ‘watch out’ he said ‘there are Tarberts everwhere’ – somehow this stuck with me). This one is on the west side of Loch Fyne and is where the peninsula gets really thin. 

Once a Danish king dragged his galleon (Mark says they weren’t very big, so it would have been easy) from West to East Tarbert (about 2 miles) so that he could claim the Mull of Kintyre as an island and claim it as his own – this, apparently was something the king of Scotland had decreed – he probably said something like – Danish – if you can sail your boat around a Scottish island then you can claim it as your own. If not its ours! As you can tell I am no historian.

Anyway back to our story – the day started with excitement. Time to get the boat ready for the open ocean again and batten everything down. Sailing gear needed to be found and wellies made at the ready. The sea lock keepers announced that they were about to lock a small boat into the basin and it would be awfully handy if we (us, Shy Talk and another boat who had come in the night before) could exit at the same time. This would mean the road bridge would be open for the minimum amount of time (wouldn’t want to inconvenience those car drivers for any longer than they had too).

We made our way into the lock behind ‘Shy Talk’, managing our own ropes only to be shouted at several times by the couple behind us who couldn’t control their boat (even with bow thrusters) and also couldn’t wait for us to tie up. Some people are so impatient and it makes it all the funnier when you are then confined in a very small space with them, I said ‘nothing like a bit of stress first thing in the morning’. The lock keeper gave them a dressing down when he discovered they had their ropes the wrong way round and couldn’t control their boat as the lock descended. Ha!!

Out of the lock and the race was on. We set sail and took off leaving the other boats behind us. Not surprisingly we were faster than ‘Shy Talk’ he was only 25ft long but the Jeanneau was a similar size to us and, since the shouting incident in the lock, there was no way were they going to beat us down the coast. We won of course but I’m not sure they even realised they were racing.

Outside East Tarbert, the porpoises were busy catching fish and were suddenly all around the boat, but they were obviously too busy to give us a passing glance so we motored on into the harbour and tied up. ‘Shy’Talk followed very soon after us and took the berth next to ours and sometime later the irritable couple also came waltzing down the pontoons and nodded recognising us.

East Tarbert was a great little stop over and had the all-important Co-Op, the obliquity castle, a number of eateries and, we found out later, a great fresh sea food shop. Internet was working and I had some phone signal at last. Hurray – civilisation! Mum and dad caught up with us as well.

16th June 2016 – Day 31 –Oakfield (Miller’s) bridge to Ardrishaig basin

We completed the last couple of locks and made our way to the Ardrishaig basin only to meet back up with ‘Shy Talk’, Don was also a single handed sailor who lived in St Georges, Bristol and travelled the Scottish isles in summer. He is in his seventies and only sails on good days. We kept meeting this little boat and its crazy owner.

Oddly, when you start travelling you keep meeting the same boats over and over even though must be thousands and thousands in the immediate vicinity. Boats which we thought were travelling in completely the opposite direction turn up days later in the same marina or anchorage. ‘Granny’s wake’, a Moody 47 was one such example and ‘Shy Talk’ proved to be another.

We spent the day and evening lazing around eating and drinking and once again said good bye to mum and dad, they were off to see the Mull of Kintyre and find another campsite. The plan was to meet up at East Tarbert the next day.

Working the locks

Knew I'd invited them for a good reason

Waiting for a boat travelling the the opposite direction

15th June 2016 – Day 30 –above the locks at Cairnbaan, Crinan canal to Oakfield (Miller’s) bridge

The next morning, we waved good bye to Jeffery (he was travelling in the opposite direction to us) and Mark cooked and ate his fish.

The lock keepers were anxious to get another boat down the flight of locks and to equalise the water pressure which had built up over night. With them working the locks we hitched a ride and they took both boats down together. The last lock was tricky – it was immediately after a road bridge so the lock had to be fully prepared before the road bridge was closed to traffic and swung.

We tied up to the pontoon at the bottom of the run of locks and went for a walk. We left mum and dad in charge of the boat and went to find ancient rock markings and a fort. We found the ancient artwork but the fort was buried in shrubs, apparently, so couldn’t be visited. The midges were really irritating and the man we spoke to regarding the fort also told us about – Smidge. It was off to the shops as soon as possible to buy some of the miracle product.

 

The masterpiece

 

The next section of the canal

The illusive fort

After lunch we ventured a little further down the canal, back to the campervan and dad left to get a good night’s sleep in the van. Mum stayed on board.