WIP DRAFT while I wait the tide for the Sound of Luing.
I weighed at 05:15 and headed down the Sound of Mull with a light wind from the NE, that progressively changed to a light south westerly and just before arrival to F3-4.
pic of rainbow
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| 17 miles in just under 4 hours. |
WIP (while I wait the tide for the Sound of Luing)
The latest forecasts are showing fresh NE winds on Saturday which with F6 today rather puts the kybosh on The Treshnish Islands. It also shows rain most days for a good while and not very helpful winds to get south next week.
After a shower and some last minute shopping I left at 11:20 earlier than planned and against the tide to perhaps give me the opportunity to get to Loch Spelve to make a passage through Luing a possibility, with a very early start, on Friday. If things go to plan I'll be in shelter if and when the stronger northerly wind arrives on Saturday, probably on the Jura side of the sound or east of Ghia, most likely the former as I am not in that much of a rush.
There was absolutely no wind in the harbour that was rapidly emptying out of cruising yachts, outside there was about 8 knots but with more forecast and heavy squalls about I stuck to headsail only. Soon after it was up to 15 knots and varied from that, occasionally less, up to 20+ and at one time 25 which was a bit nerve wracking with the dinghy in tow.
Apart from having to avoid a freighter and two large ferries the trip was generally uneventful but I decided against Loch Spelve as the wind had steadied to a brisk F5 and would be on the nose and against the tide at charted over-falls at some point between Duart Castle and Lock Don. So into Loch Aline with a swift 360 degree turn and a lurch towards the shore when the ferry, which had been alongside for at least an hour, decided to come out just as I got there.
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| Entry delayed by the ferry, we would have collided just south of the red can buoy another yacht and a large motor boat coming from the east also had to take avoiding in and we entered in line astern with me leading, probably frustrating them as I stuck to 5 knots, 6 over the ground, as they both over took me as soon as they could whilst I was getting the anchor ready. |
Facebook post:
The plan for tomorrow is to leave when I wake up to take the last of the tide out of the Sound of Mull and then cross to the east side of the Firth of Lorn 6 or 7 miles N of Fladda and anchor there, leaving early afternoon to get the first of the S going tide down the Sound of Luing stopping for the night at Crinan or a bit further S.
If the weather is as the models showed in the evening I should have light adverse winds on Friday but tide all the way after the stop for lunch and a north-westerly on Saturday to take me down the Sound of Jura, but I will need to find a safe spot later o Saturday as a F6 is forecast.
Pics to follow.
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| 14 miles in three nd a half hours. |
Slept late, checked engine oil (no loss / usage) and changed the gearbox oil that I omitted to do on the previous service but that was done early so no big deal.
With rain all afternoon I stayed put for a bit of blogging and did not blow up the dinghy to go ashore.
Light winds early morning so I got the dinghy out and rowed ashore, 15 litres of diesel from the self service pump at the garage. Unusually they have a good stock of Campingaz 907 cylinders so I will be back as soon as the wind drops and they are open to get one before they are snaffled up by others.
I could have done without the cold shower rowing back to the boat after the hot one. It continued to rain to early afternoon, at the time of writing it is too windy to row ashore for shopping although I would be blown back to the boat, assuming I didn't miss, and it is not worth getting the engine on as it would have to come straight back aboard due to v strong winds coming, I don't need the dinghy to flip over and drown the engine.
The lunchtime inshore forecast is, if anything, worse than I thought it would be, Arnamurchan point is a few miles west of here so take you pick from:
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point - Strong wind warning
24 hour forecast: Cyclonic 5 to 7, becoming northwest 4 or 5, backing south 5 to 7 later. Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in northwest and slight in southeast. Showers. Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours: South 5 to 7, increasing gale 8, perhaps severe gale 9, veering west 6 to gale 8 later. Moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in northwest and slight in southeast. Fair then rain then squally showers. Good, becoming moderate or poor.
The Minch - Strong wind warning
24 hour forecast: Cyclonic 5 to 7, becoming northwest 4 to 6, backing southwest 6 or 7 later. Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth at first in central area and rough in south. Showers. Good, occasionally moderate.
Outlook for the following 24 hours: Southwest 6 or 7, backing south 7 or gale 8, perhaps severe gale 9, veering west or southwest 6 to gale 8 later. Slight or moderate, becoming moderate or rough, occasionally very rough in south. Fair then rain then squally showers. Good becoming moderate or poor.
NW winds should be OK here, more N could be bad news as the harbour would then be a bit exposed but I'm on a 15 Ton mooring so safe enough and I'll not be bashing against a pontoon.
The wind so far has been very variable and swirling with boats sometimes pointing in all directions, now we are all pointing a little N or W with tight mooring lines.
I heard what sounded a bit like a yacht engine, but it kept going so after a while I poked my head out to take a look and saw a yacht at least 500 yards away in trouble with a partially furled headsail flogging in the strong breeze.
The charter boat from Oban, that I have seen quite a few times over the years, had what is known as a halyard wrap, the jib halyard looked to me to be very slack, this meant that the halyard could not keep the part of the furling gear at the top from turning and the halyard then gets wrapped around the forestay, as a result the bottom part of the sail furls whilst the top does not. They either did not recognise what was happening or kept on furling anyway making things worse. This can be a devil to sort out, and you have to know how. They gave up and tried to pick up a buoy encumbered by a lot of windage aloft in the very fresh wind.
On the 4th or 5th attempt, pictured above, they lost a boat hook but were very lucky, I did not see that but the skipper of the old boat next to me did and had a small ridged rowing dingy, he sculled out in 15 - 20 knots of wind with some gust quite a bit higher to retrieve it and helped them get onto a mooring at the end of the anchorage, then went aboard and helped secure the sail - but not before it had flogged a long rip or two in the sail.
Well done that man, and thankfully there was someone around with a dinghy that could be rowed in those conditions, mine couldn't be, at least up wind.
On Monday morning the boat made it into the marina with the sail removed, the end of their sailing holiday and are now likely to have an argument with the charter company and / or the insurers who generally do not cover damage to sails unless caused by something else breaking or by contact with something external.
After a windy and wet night it was sunny with no wind first thing so I was ashore shortly after eight to do a large bag of laundry and shop for a few things. Annoyingly they had change the combination on the front door, which is required for access before 09:00 and I had to wait 15 minutes for someone to come out before I could start the wash. Once it was in the dryer I did the shopping and went back to the boat with that and to pick up the empty gas cylinder, back on shore I got the replacement cylinder and the laundry making it back to the boat just as the wind started to blow up.
It still looks like blustery or gale force winds and serious seas west of Mull until Thursday so I paid for the last 3 nights and bought a discounted five day ticket that can be used at any time so hopefully I can wait for decent weather, spend a few days around the area then come back here for a night or two to get ready for a longer trip south.
Tobermory is quickly filling up in advance of the Gale(s), at 14:00 the marina is full and I can only see a couple of 15 Tones moorings left, from 28? (according to the web site but I suspect a few have been added)
It was pretty windy last night but with maximum gusts of 32 knots recorded locally it was not as windy as forecast so those down in Loch Aline who reported deploying two anchors did the right thing, but now they have to get them up. Storonoway though were getting gusts of over 40 Knots so it looks as though we were lucky.
We might not be as lucky later as the domestic forecast for Tobermory has gust of 42 Knots this evening.
Annoyingly the swirling wind means I have to keep all of the hatches closed for much of the time to keep the rain out and we are promised showers for the rest of the day.
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| Tomorrow looks like a non starter as well, Thursday is much better. |
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| But with > 5m waves off Coll tomorrow its will be a few days before I'll want to go there or to the Treshnish Islands so perhaps an exploration of Loch Sunart will be in order although shelter it rather variable and the good anchorages may be full. Some research will keep me busy for a while. |
Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point - Strong wind warning
24 hour forecast: West or southwest 4 to 6, occasionally 7 at first and 3 later. Very rough at first in west, otherwise moderate or rough, but becoming slight or moderate in east. Showers, squally at first. Good, occasionally moderate.
F4 or 5 is not a problem normally but not attractive for west of Mull anchorages with the accompanying seas.The Minch - Strong wind warning
24 hour forecast: West or southwest 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 at first, then decreasing 4 or 5 later. Moderate or rough becoming slight or moderate, becoming smooth or slight later just north and east of Skye. Showers, squally at first. Good, occasionally poor at first and moderate later.
Not a good day so far and it is not yet 9 o'clock and I am waiting for the rain to stop. The latest forecasts are showing fresh NE winds on Saturday which with F6 today rather puts the kybosh on The Treshnish Islands. It also shows rain most days for a good while and not very helpful winds to get south next week.Added to that for several days to come the tides are not helpful to get through the Sounds of Islay or Luing.Finally whilst clearing a blocked sink, the plug in the other popped out as I was using the plunger and I got a face full of very dirty water. A good job that happened before my shower rather than after.So, what next? I gave up trying to do a detailed long term plan as there are just too many variables. After a shower and a bit of last minute shopping, hopefully avoiding the rain showers, I am going to head down the Sound of Mull, probably this afternoon when the tide turns or first thing tomorrow. Then take it from there, light winds tomorrow so probably quite a bit of motoring and the Sound of Islay looks favourite for Friday evening or Saturday but we shall see.
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| Leaving Plockton |
I was ready a bit early so left at 07:30 in a flat calm hoping to get some sailing in on the way to the Kyle Rhea, I did get to sail a couple of miles out from Skye Bridge to a miles or so beyond, making 3 knots or less, before I put the engine on the make slack water, such as it is, at the Kyle Rhea.
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| Skye Bridge |
[..] I think the boat in front is the big American boat that was across the pontoon from me in Stornoway, she came in from Broadford Bay, now on the hammerhead in Tobermory. It was fun catching he up in the v light wind 😀Response from someone I know who is a keen and good racer [and he knows I did an awful lot at high level racing back in the day]
Now now Mr. Lashbrook, you are not racing, are you ? 😄[..] heaven forfend. Anyway it wasn’t a fair fight, 40+ft of lumbering steel against 3.5 tonnes of A9m in 5 knots of wind broad reaching, me with a 150% deck scraper, his headsail rather smaller (nether of us put mains up till later, if I’d put the kite or chute [up for such a short distance, I guess you would have had a point?]) Mind you I’d swap for a transatlantic if someone would do the heavy lifting for me 🙂
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| Pleased with the timing despite some slow sailing, planned arrival at the Kyle Rhea was 10:20. |
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| I was the third of at least 6 yachts heading down the Kyle Rhea at the beginning of the tide. I had hoped to cut the corner half way through but a fish farm boat was coming the other way against the tide. |
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| Plockton past Skye Bridge and through the Kyle Rhea. |
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| Ardnamuchan Point, the sea bigger than it looks but no problem about 1.5 knots of adverse tide but an hour later I had slack water for the last leg into Tobermory. Not for the first time as I have past in the evening there were huge flocks of Guillemots on the water east and north of the point. |
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| Plockton to Tobermory, 58 NM in twelve and a quarter hours, most of it motoring. |
I guess I could go to a sheltered loch to anchor but even Loch Aline could be a bit iffy with the strong wings coming everywhere from c S through W to N. So I think I’ll stay on the mooring.It was probably a good choice to opt for the mooring rather than a pontoon, assuming a place was available, cheaper, private and with all the wind no problem with electric power. The down side will be having the dinghy in the water in those winds and probably needing the engine on it to get ashore, but if there is no extended quite period I have fresh food to last through Tuesday so could easily wait till Wednesday to blow it up.
I just hope my last surviving carrot will last another couple of days for the spag bollthe mince having the longest use by date."
The UKMO 03:30 and ECMWF models for Monday evening
Click her for a separate post on my stay here and the weather updates.
The urgency is off my return, at least for a week or two as my wife has been referred to a different consultant for a different type of surgery.
However, the weather for next week around these parts is not good. It is miserable here at the moment raining with light occasionally quite fresh winds but should be improving, contrary to Wednesdays forecast, Friday looks OK to move so, assuming that does not change, I will head south tomorrow to Tobermory before stronger winds Saturday. Or to the Small Islands or someplace else for a night if Saturdays weather gets delayed.
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| Models for mid day Friday. I will probably be motoring. |
The Minch - Strong wind warning
24 hour forecast: Cyclonic becoming northwesterly, then variable later, 5 or 6 at first in south, otherwise 2 to 4. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in south. Rain or showers. Good, occasionally moderate or poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours: Variable 2 to 4, becoming southeast 3 to 5, then veering southwest 4 to 6 later. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in south. Showers, becoming fair later. Good.
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| Tuesday is not looking good. |
Kyle Rhea
This is the key one, the tide though here can run faster than the boat will go and there can be overfalls to the south and strong eddies, so has to be done with the tide and although slower for a mile or so it is usually best done close to slack water so as to give the best tide on leaving if going any distance. South going from HW Ullerpool so be there at c 10:20.
Extract from chart insert 2540-2 Kyle Rhea Working backwards.
Skye Bridge:
The tide under the Sky Bridge is not insurmountable but can run at up to 4 knots so best to plan for it. It is very variable, at springs (neaps are different) usually east going HW Ullerpool - 3:00 to +3:30 but depends air pressure and particulalry on wind.So friendly from 07:20, best not to pass after 09:30 so as to be at the Kyle Rhea at slack water.
Point of Ardnamuchan.
Whilst not extreme the tide around the point will definitely slow you down significantly if adverse and can cause rough seas especially wind against tide, it is SW going from HW Ullerpool - 00:10 till +05:50 = 10:10 - 16:10. There is nothing to be done about that as even at better than 6 knots I would miss the tide, I'll just have to hope it is not that rough and stick it out.
Only being 8 miles from Skye bridge and another 4 with the tide to the Kyle Rhea the first part is easy, slip not later than 07:45 to give some time to clear the anchorage to make the entrance probably a bit before the tide turns (it could turn a bit early) at 10:20. Plug that into the route I already had from previous visits and let Seapro crunch the numbers and we get this.
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| SeaPro is only as good as the number of tidal "Diamonds" permit and how unambiguous the interpolation between them is so in this part of the world especially it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt in places but this should be a reasonable plan (times UTC) |
WIP
Having given up on Loch Mariveg I decided to head for the mainland, the alternatives of heading back to Stornoway or further south did not appeal, both would have been a relatively late arrival with further to go next day. The question then was where to go so I set course to clear the Shiant Islands and gave it some thought.
Lochs Ewe, Gairloch or Torridon were all possibilities and easy to get to and into but I could then get stuck there and end up moving anchorages as the wind was likely to be coming from different directions in quite short order. I dismissed Loch Ewe, not for it's anchorages but the need thereafter to go round Ruba Reidh when moving out.
The wind was forecast to back so I hedged my bets a bit and opted to aim for west of Rona, if the wind backed I could go for Torridon, if it didn't, or didn't much, I could go down the Sound of Rassay, preferred as there are anchorages there and Portree although that is an uncomfortable anchorage / mooring in a strong wind, especially from the SW. or down the Inner Sound. Once well south I would have options to suite all winds from Broadford to Plockton to Loch Alsh.
Facebook post a short while later:
Pleasant sailing at the mo in W F5, sea smooth but that’s likely to change when I get past the Shiant Isles. I suspect the wind will be less by then which may help as long as it doesn’t go completely and I end up motoring.As expected the wind did drop but not by that much and as I past the Shiant Islands the sea was benign. I got the main up and was reaching at 5 - 6 knots under full sail and was lucky when a very large cloud and heavy rain past just to the north of me. I was working quite hard for much of the night as the wind went up and down requiring frequent rolling in and out of the headsail and adjustments to sheeting as the direction changed a bit.
Another post [expanded a bit and with a few edits for language etc.] at 02:42:
At quick and comfortable passage so far except for a squall at about 01:00, I saw the cloud but no rain coming my way so put a few more rolls in the headsail, to smaller than a working jib, and the 2nd slab in the main.
it was a good job I did, a few minutes later there was torrential rain and for a few minutes the wind veered 30 degrees and was above 30 knots. I was making > 7 knots (I'm not sure the of the top speed or wind as I was keeping my head down to try and stay dry), I was on a beam reach before the wind veer, then over sheeted, and with perhaps only 10 degrees of heal, Sancerre went dead straight and the autopilot had little work to do. This boat still surprises me at times 🙂
02:42 and Rona Light House will be abeam in half an hour, making 5 knots in 10 knots of wind, should be back to 5.5 knots shortly as the wind will surely come back.
Although I have seen them all in daylight I had not really appreciated how well supplied with light houses the Minch is, previously I have only crossed in daylight or with visibility restricted. Although so far north and a few weeks from the longest day it was never darker than Nautical Twilight (when you can see the brightest stars and have a clear horizon) I could see lights from multiple directions.
The wind had not yet backed so I went down the Sound of Raasay and was able to sail until Portree, albeit somewhat slower as the wind dropped. The question now was where to go? The available forecasts still showed strong winds from various directions, the best option was Plockton and a relatively cheap mooring rather than risk having the anchor screwed out by the changing winds.
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| Under engine for an hour to get through the Raasay narrows then running in light winds until just before Plockton. |
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| Approaching the turn into Plockton |
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| Some care is required going in especially close to the anchorage at close to high water as some of the rocks are hidden but lurking. The infamous Plockton Rocks are marked close to the edge and are reasonably steep too but are close to the mooring buoys people keep bumping into them. In bad weather I would probably go north of Sgeir Golach but in decent weather this track is safe but don't run into Dogha Dubh Sgeir that could be difficult to see in poor visibility when the light is not on. |
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| The disused light house |
Slide show of Plockton to follow
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| Stornoway to Plockton via Witches Pool. 75 NM in total in 18.5 hours |
