Paul & John’s Round Britain Log.
July 2008.

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We tried to convince them that we had been sailing for almost 12 hours, but to no avail.  We had earlier phoned the Royal Tay Yacht Club to see whether we could moor up on one of their visitors buoys the next night and we now phoned them again to see whether or not we could go in there tonight, although it was unfortunately another 25 miles, i.e. 5 or 6 hours sailing.  The Commodore whom we got hold of was incredibly helpful and went down to check that the buoys were free and then phoned us back, gave us directions as to where they were and really made the whole thing, when we finally got there, relatively stress free.  So we carried on for another 4 or 5 hours by which time the wind had picked up again to something like 20 knots from the east.  

Now the pilot books say that when you have got a strong easterly wind and an ebbing tide coming out of the river the entrance can be very dangerous.  Unfortunately, we had no choice and so by the time we got there those were exactly the conditions we had and there was a three or four mile stretch at the mouth of the River Tay with very steep and confused seas.  After about half a mile of this, however, our spirits were lifted by a large pod of about 10 dolphins which came along and were playing in the waves and playing with the boat.  They stayed with us for about 3 miles.  They were leaping out of the water and rushing around in front of the boat.  It really was quite fantastic.  Unfortunately, it was pouring with rain and the boat was bucking around so wildly that we really could not take any pictures of them.  

We finally arrived at the Royal Tay Yacht Club mooring buoy at about 20.00 that evening, having been sailing for 14 hours and done some 80 miles.   Dinner that night, as you can imagine, was not that lavish, spaghetti bolognaise and then some fruit, but I must say that making the spaghetti bolognaise in the quite rough seas as we were on the passage was probably more difficult than many of the better meals we’ve eaten!

We proceeded west along the coast until we got to Rattray Head.  We then went off down the coast towards Peterhead and when we arrived we called up Peterhead Harbour, as you have to in order to get permission to enter, came in and moored up in a very nice little marina on the side of the major port. 

Dinner tonight will be the dressed crab as a starter, which I am about to do now, followed by roast sirloin of beef, probably with Yorkshire pudding and bits and pieces, and then raspberry or strawberry (depending on what they get from the shop) pavlova with whipped cream.

It was a lovely little marina in an old fishing port, but it had a very tight entrance and was really quite shallow.  The weather was nice for a change and we had really quite warm sun.  Shortly after we had docked a little fishing boat pulled up on the other harbour wall and he had obviously got some lobsters on board and so we shouted across to see if he wanted to sell any, which he did.  We went over and managed to buy three very nice lobsters.  He was very apologetic that he had not got any crabs to give us because he normally gave them to people who bought lobsters.  Anyway we took those back and, therefore, for dinner this evening we had cold lobster with homemade mayonnaise and a tomato, onion and apple salad, followed by lamb curry and then cheese and biscuits.

Day 62.  Sunday 27th July.

We woke relatively early in East Weddell Sound which had been a very comfortable anchorage for the night.  The fog was reducing visibility to something in the region of 100 yards.  We discussed whether or not we would sit it out and wait but the weather forecast was for at least two more days of fog and so at 11.00, an hour later than we intended to leave, we decided that we would make the passage south to Wick.  We turned on the radar and overlaid it over the chart plotter which gives you the best chance of distinguishing between ships and land!  We motored out of the Sound and then down the coast of South Ronaldsay and out across the Pentland Firth leaving the Pentland Skerries to starboard.  We then turned in for Wick.  On the way through the Pentland Firth we were visited by three killer whales which was absolutely fantastic.  We took lots and lots of pictures of them and quite forgot about the poor visibility and the difficulty of spotting lobster pots, etc. 

Shortly after then everything cleared somewhat and, although the visibility was still poor, we could now see the best part of a mile which made life far, far easier.  The wind never got above 6 or 7 knots and, therefore, although we had the main up we had to motor for the whole journey.  We arrived in Wick at 16.20 and rafted up alongside a Dutch couple who had been in Kirkwall with us and had travelled the day before.  We went ashore for a pint in the pub.  Wick is an unusual place! and obviously in its heyday as a fishing port would have been quite something.  There are now a lot of very attractive but derelict buildings.

For dinner we had fish pie followed by blackberry and apple crumble and cheese and biscuits. 

We are now sitting down with a glass of wine and some snacks and will have chicken, raspberries, meringues and cream and cheese and biscuits in the not too distant future.

Day 60.  Friday 25th July. 

Was again spent with the family on shore.

Days 54 to 58.

These were spent firstly storm bound in Kirkwall with a force 8 blowing through straight into the Marina for the first two days.  This necessitated doubling up of mooring warps and using more than the normal cleats on the pontoons as they seemed to be not that secure!  

All the family arrived on the Saturday and John and I secured the boat and then left to spend a few days ashore with the family.  The apartment was really very beautiful and very well appointed, although it is fair to say that almost anything would appear beautiful after seven weeks on board a 42 foot yacht.  It really was rather pleasant to have a shower and a full sized toilet for use everyday, any time you wanted!  

The Islands are very rugged and pretty when the weather is nice but quite dour when it is wet and stormy.  We have been round a number of Iron Age settlements which are in Orkney and have taken the children to the beach a couple of times.

Day 54.  Saturday 19th July.

We were woken at about 05.00 by very strong winds and significant rocking, even though we were in the Marina.  When we looked out the conditions were really atrocious with winds up to 40 knots in gusts and consistently in the early 30s.   We were a bit apprehensive about the moorings and mooring cleats as the boat has a lot of windage and was pulling away from the pontoon.   We rigged secondary lines to additional cleats and felt a lot better.   The forecast is really quite bad for the next two days with storm force 8 winds coming through so we almost certainly will be staying put and not going out for any of the day sails that we will be doing next week.   All of the family are joining us this week, some arriving today and some arriving tomorrow and Monday, and they will be staying at three converted cottages not far away from Kirkwall, so we will certainly be spending some time ashore and probably only doing a small amount of sailing during the next week.   It almost certainly means a weeks rest from the cooking as well!

Day 53.  Friday 18th July.

There was some quite bad weather coming and if we were going to go to Kirkwall we needed to go today.   We worked out the tidal gates which were quite complicated as there was one to leave Kirkwall and one to come into Eyn Hallow Sound.   We left Stromness at about 13.45 and proceeded out through Hoy Sound with quite a lot of tide behind us so at one stage we were doing over 10 knots through the water.   The weather looked as though it was going to be fairly appalling but the wind was not too bad at only about 15 – 17  knots.   The first hour was good as we sailed north up the coast of the mainland in order to cut back in through Eyn Hallow Sound towards Kirkwall.   The weather gradually deteriorated so that by the time we reached the Sound the rain was absolutely torrential and visibility was down to about half a mile to a mile.   Thank goodness for chart plotters.   We made our way up the Sound which is relatively tortuous with a  number of rocks which have to be avoided, gradually getting wetter and wetter as time proceeded.   The wind of course by now was  absolutely on the nose so we had to motor.   The good thing was because the Sound is relatively sheltered the sea was very slight.   We finally arrived at Kirkwall Marina at about 19.45 and took one of the last remaining berths which was right on the end and, therefore, a little bit exposed but that did not seem to matter at the time.   Having tied up we went ashore and found a Chinese and had a bottle of wine and a Chinese meal before going back to the boat to sleep.

Day 51.  Wednesday 16th July.

This was going to be a big day for us depending on whether we thought it was possible, given the weather forecast, to round Cape Wrath.  We woke quite early in the morning about 05.00 relatively apprehensive having had the wind whistling through the rigging all night in our mooring in Kinlochbervie.  We got another early morning weather forecast from the internet and, although the sea state was rough or very rough, the wind looked pretty good for the journey round Cape Wrath and maybe all the way to the Orkneys.  If we left it to the next day the wind was dying and the chances were that the sea would still be relatively rough.  We decided that we would go and left our mooring in Kinlochbervie at 06.00.  

We soon got used to the large waves and heavy swirl and the boat handled beautifully and we sailed very quickly up towards Cape Wrath averaging over 7 knots for the 14 miles up to the Cape.  When we got there the weather improved slightly and there was some sun coming through and we had some wonderful views of it as we passed. 

We then turned to the east and decided that since the wind was so good and was not going to be good the next day we would head all the way over to the Orkneys, some 75 miles in total.  Since the wind was now behind the beam, and in some instances almost completely behind, we left the small amount of main up but put the whole genoa out.  We got some wonderful boat speeds of up to 8 knots and were making the journey much more quickly than we had at first thought possible.  At 15.30, by which time the sun was out and it was a lovely blue sky, we were visited by two dolphins who spent at least five minutes playing with the boat and playing chicken by swimming as quickly as they could in front and as close as they could to the bow.  We got some reasonable pictures.  The weather continued good, although the swell didn’t die down for the whole period to the Orkneys.  We hit the tidal gate for Hoy Sound, which can run at up to 8 knots, just about perfectly and proceeded up the Sound and then turned into Stromness where we moored up in a lovely little marina at 18.00 hours having done 74 nautical miles with no more than one hour of motoring.  We went ashore and had a quick pint in the local pub and then came back on board and, as we were tired, just had a quick supper of cauliflower cheese topped with crispy bacon, coffee and a few chocolates and then off to an early bed, both very much relieved that probably the most difficult passage of the journey had gone so wonderfully well.

Day 48.  Sunday 13th July.

Sally and  Lisa and Andy and Ruth left this morning and John and I have now got all of the shopping done and done a few bits and pieces around the boat.  We got some washing done and done the passage planning for the next bit of the trip which is going up towards Cape Wrath and then rounding it and going onto the Orkneys.

Dinner tonight will be fillet steak with new potatoes and asparagus followed Scottish strawberries and cream that we were able to buy this morning.

We decided we would eat out in the evening and so when we arrived we had an all day breakfast, egg, sausages, bacon and tomatoes, and then went out in the evening to a very nice pub which served excellent seafood.

We then returned to the boat and left that part of Loch Ewe at 17.30 and proceeded further up the Loch to Aultbea where we arrived at 19.00 hours and anchored in a reasonably sheltered spot, thank goodness!

Dinner tonight was breast of chicken curry and cheese and biscuits.

Since we were going to be late into our destination we had a large lunch of roast pork with all the trimmings followed by cheese and biscuits.  We then slept for a few hours until about 17.30 when we left to go up through the Kyles with the tide. 

Going under the Skye Bridge was quite exciting and we then proceeded from there up towards Plockton where we arrived at 21.00.  We launched the dinghy and went into the local pub, who served us a snack at 22.00 which was remarkable, and had a couple of pints of Guinness before returning to the boat.

Day 41.  Sunday 6th July.

We left Tobermory at 09.30 in the morning and started off on our way to Rhum.   The wind was a 5 or 6 and, as usual, mostly on the nose.   We tried to sail for quite some time but would have been out at sea for hours so in the end had to do a fair amount of motoring.   We arrived in Loch Scresort on Rhum at shortly after 15.30  and managed to find a reasonably sheltered anchorage from the strong northerly winds that were blowing.   We then took the dinghy ashore and had a look round the castle, which still has most of its original furnishings.   We then discovered that the hostel, which is attached, has a bar open from 17.00 so went in and had a drink with a few of the locals (there are only about 25 people living on the island).   It was a very pleasant experience and quite unexpected.    We returned to the boat and then cooked the dinner which was chicken and cheese and biscuits.   Unfortunately the gas was running out, although we did not realize it, so the chicken took 2½ hours!

Day 40.  Saturday 5th July.

We spent this day provisioning the boat and cleaning it, having said goodbye to Richard and Jenny who left at about 11.00.   We got all the provisioning and cleaning done by the middle of the afternoon and had a relaxing afternoon before going out for a very fine dinner to Café Fish, which is just above the fish pier in Tobermory. 

Day 39.  Friday 4th July.

We left our anchorage relatively late at 11.30 and travelled up the west hand north side of Mull.   The wind was pretty much on the nose to begin with but when we turned the corner we were able to sail for a while.   We saw a number of basking sharks and there was still a reasonable amount of sun around.   We arrived in Tobermory at 16.45 and moored up again on the marina.   We went out that evening for dinner in the restaurant above the pub.

Day 38.  Thursday 3rd July.

We left the anchor at Bunnesan at 07.00 and motored out towards Staffa where we arrived at 08.30.  We anchored and took the dinghy ashore and went into Fingals Cave which was quite fantastic.  We then went to the top of the Island which had the most wonderful views.  The weather was nice hot sun with relatively clear skies as had been forecast.  There was little or no wind.

We left Staffa at 11.30 and headed out to the Treshnish Islands.  We arrived there at 13.00 having got through the difficult entry into the anchorage without mishap.  We again went ashore and spent some three hours looking at and photographing the puffins and the guillemots, but mainly the puffins.  It was quite wonderful.  We left Treshnish at 17.00 hours and set sail for Cragaig Bay which is on the Island of Ulva.  We had a wonderfully peaceful anchorage with the uninhabited Island of Ulva behind us.

Dinner tonight, pork with potatoes and vegetables, and the crackling was superbly crispy, followed by the remains of the treacle tart and four individual plum and nectarine crumbles.

This is a long passage but to begin with we had strong winds of 20 to 25 knots and, therefore, did some very fast sailing in lumpy and quite rough conditions. 

We arrived in Iona Sound which is some 41 nautical miles at 14.00 hours.  We moored and most of the party went ashore, although I stayed on to check that the anchor didn’t drag.  We left Iona at 16.30 and headed off to a place called Bunnesan in Loch Nalathaich.  When we got close we put away the sails and started the engine but it didn’t sound quite right and so we went down to have a look and it smelt very hot.  We, therefore, put the sails up and did some engine checks but could not find a particular problem, started it again and it was obviously over heating.  We, therefore, had to sail into the anchorage which took us until 19.30.  We then decided that there was no water coming out of the cooling system and the probable cause was the impellor.  We got out the manuals, stripped down the front of the engine in order to replace the impellor which indeed was completely shredded.  It all went quite well and when we tested the engine everything seemed to be fine.  This meant somebody else had to do the dinner, although I had managed to do a treacle tart in the afternoon while the others were ashore.

Dinner was very superior, sausages and onion gravy.

Day 36.  Tuesday 1st July.

The day started very stormy, as was expected, and so we stayed on the buoy until 17.00 hours when the wind was beginning to ease.  We then left and headed the 12 miles down to Dunstaffnage Marina.  This was a real welcome break for the girls as there was a bar and, most importantly, nice new hot showers.  We all freshened up, had some drinks in the bar and then had dinner which was roast leg of lamb with red current jelly and, because of lack of time, no pudding.  Sorry if this wrecks the general ambience of the log!