After a nice sail over from Stornaway and into Loch Inchard, arriving in glorious sunshine and some stunning scenery, we tied up in what can best be described as a fish processing plant called Kinlochbervie – in the middle of nowhere. Accessed through a little cut and into a creek, all there is there is a huge set of sheds, an ice making plant, a dozen or so houses and an old hotel. Suspicioulsy – there were 2 Mercedes and a couple Porches parked discretely outside of the Fish Processing office. The harbor allowed Yachts to tie up on their pontoon (aka Fish Quay, complete with rank smell). There were a few fishing vessels parked up, but this was a place where the deep see fleet come back to and where fish would be packed and despatched by road across to who knows where. It literally was 60 miles from anywhere. It’s known as a stopping off place for yachts going to sail around Cape Wrath to the North – something we were about to do. Simon managed to get Tonic parked right up in a tight space making extraction for me the following day really challenging. The crew ate dinner while Barry and I tried to fix the furling head sail which had stopped working during the passage over. Within an hour we’d made the matter much worse! Now it would neither furl in or out. Tough to sail without a head sail! Another couple of hours and we managed to get things back to exactly where we’d started and by this time it was after midnight and we were the only ones awake! I sat in the cockpit and had a night cap and contemplated the world. I knew why this place existed – but couldn’t imagine what life must be like. It was desolate most of the time and then frenetic for a short period. 
We pulled out at 5.00am on the nose in order to make it to Stromness in time to get into Scapa Flow with a flood tide (because you simply can’t get in in an Ebb tide – we’re talking upto 12 knots). With an early watch we punched into the lock and out into the Minch (still sounds vaguely rude) and we headed up to Cape Wrath. This was a place I’d heard of every night as a student when I would be listening to the Shipping forecast while working (do not ask why). By 7.20am we were rounding Cape Wrath and to me it felt like rounding Cape Horn! We hot our window to get into Scapa and Then into the Harbor of Stromness.

So we had a wonderful sail up to Stornaway from the Kyle of Lochalst. The winds freshened and we had a pretty good 7.5 – 8.5 knots speed over ground (with a little push from the current). We saw all varieties of wild life, especially Dolphins, which always delight. I have to confess – I am completely useless at spotting what wild life there really is. I know very little, despite being brought up on Eye Spy books (I can easily tell the difference though between a Telephone Box and a Post Box and I also know exactly what a Police Box looks like – which not only set’s me apart from many other folks, but makes me very useful if Police Boxes are ever brought back into service). But – animals and birds – not a clue – may be the black and white drawings of the Eye Spy era just didn’t stick with me. I do know that with the engine off, the sails filled, the water flowing beneath you and a bunch of Dolphins swimming beside you – life is pretty damned good. That was a what we had for a great stretch of yesterday’s passage.

Then about 10 miles out from our destination (Stornaway) the wind veered and we got pushed off course by about 30 degrees. We’d been tracking dead on to arrive exactly at the harbor there on a nice close or beam reach (more sailing terms, but you’ve had these before – so the wind was coming over the port forward quarter or across the beam). So now we had a cockpit filled with people (did I mention there being too many people on this boat right now) and were going to have execute a simple tack to get us over to where we needed to be – about 7 miles on – all simple and basic stuff. The wind freshened further and the boat was a little over-sailed and it was now close-hauled – so healing over quite some. Not a problem – but not before the smiles turned to anxious looks and the inexperienced helm started to panic as the wheel pulled hard to weather. Nothing in this is dangerous, or unusual – but with so many people and so many semi-informed views – my job as skipper became a little tricky and involved some quite direct words – and so they were had – and so everyone sat down and so we all moved on.

We entered Stornaway Harbor with a definite chill within the crew – but we rafted up perfectly to an Irish boat sitting along the Esplanade Pier, an old woodern structure with heavy metal ladders to climb up to get to the dock itself. We put in our dock lines and then I did what all good skippers do – I got my things and headed to the showers. I returned to find a more chilled crew. I proceeded to chop veg for the evening meal, and then a few of us walked up the street to find a bar for a few pre-dinner primers. 

Well we found a corker of a bar: The Criterion! It was a simple long room, bar running along half of one side and then simple tables and chairs along the other side and a couple of snugs. Along the bar, were a string of locals, most with a half pint of bear and a whisky glass at it’s side. The place was friendly and authentically aged. The front (and I wish I had taken a picture) was just about 12 feet wide with an old shuttered window and a double door (low) occupying the space of a single door. We sat in the window minding our business, occasionally bantering with the locals whose collective age rivaled Methuselah (actual – some individual ages ay have too)! As we sat, some dribs and drabs arrived, mostly with guitar cases, one with a violin and one with a secretive wrap, possibly holding the Island”s Scrolls. Now either there was to be music here, or there was a convention of instrument case makers. The wrap contained a set of Penny Whistles, the other obviously had their intended cargo. Within 10 minutes the room was filled with music. The Barmaid explained that these folks were never invited and certainly weren’t paid, but they came every Tuesday and played. The rest of our team made a timely arrival, a table was secure and drinks bought. The earlier tension of the cockpit completely dissipated and we were united in the mission of enjoying the evening. Dinner turned to supper which turned to whenever and the music and drinks flowed. It did get a little surreal when the band struck up with “Rock me momma and rock me good” Or whatever it is – ask Catherine Bevin – she knows, it’s one of her Country Favorites – and again, a long way from Dallas I found myself listening to some of the sound track of my life there (absent of Wee Hughie this time). I videoed a little of the scene and sent it to Bernadette so she could feel part of it (although with a more sober head, it may have made her feel more not part of it). When they broke out into a Celtic version of Van the Man’s Brown Eyed Girl – I again videoed it and sent some of that and to Alice (because wedding memories came rushing back – Dad and Married Daughter’s first dance). The night went on for quite some time and I think hunger eventually drove us back to the boat to eat the Fish Pie which was sitting in the oven waiting. A midnight feast and some banter before falling up into my bunk and into sleep.

Luckily, the next morning was a leisurely affair, readying the boat for a simple passage across to a Loch about 15 miles South of the Cape of Wrath, which will be our goal tomorrow – around the Cape and over to Orkney and to Stromness (For which I have a piece of music I can play – Faiwell to Stromness, by Maxwell Davies). So it’s time to sign off and focus on getting on with some lunch and motoring a boat (the wind is very light and right behind us!

Pip pip,

N

Tonic takes on fuel in Southampton – at the end of the first leg of the journey (and this one is just for Bridget – it really does exist)!

Note the sign on the wall – the age of technology works its way through the Isle of Islay – Port Ellen!

Some sleep, some try to connect their phones and some work at preparing dinner – the salon of Tonic – and it looks quite homely like this!

Looking to the Bridge to Sky – which is on the left and the mainland on the right

Tied up on Stornaway

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I’m afraid I’m dropping a few day’s worth of posts here all at once! Sorry – no connection for the last few nights and possibly non for the next several either!

SUNDAY

Here we are with the fist passage of the 5th leg now over. We’ve only come 28 Nm today, from the Marina in Dunstaffanage (Oban) up to Tobermory. It would have been a lovely sail – if we’d had some wind – we sailed for about 30 minutes (and very nicely and very fast and then the wind dropped completely)! All was uneventful coming up the Mull with a little rain and mist to accompany us. We just tied up to a Mooring Ball in Tobermory Harbor with the prospect of probably spending the night here! The pontoons are few and they are all taken – cheek of it! With the weather being not too good (understatement), we are all inside Tonic having had a very pleasant lunch and a couple of cups of coffee and we now have the prospect of getting the itanic out (the dingy), inflating it and putting the outboard on it and heading in to take a look around the town. Tobermory is renowned for bars and local music. We’ll see. It looks very colorful from here.
A little note – not surprisingly – 9 people on this boat is too many! There is no space and too many wet clothes. I have to keep remembering that this will be only 10 days – but it may seem longer! Still, we will have the same Training Skipper (Barry) all the way home now- back to Chatham on July 27th (apparently at 11.00am in the morning – some plan that is!). There is quite a mix of people on board. A couple from Switzerland (French speaking), co-incidentally an English guy who teaches in Switzerland. We also have a very tall Anglo-Caribbean who is in business development for a bank in Jersey and we have Simon’s wife Charlotte. Finally we have John, an avid passage sailor. So far I have refrained from making any real comments about the crew and the Training Skippers – but I think I will have to start. There’s too many things going on here not to share. Dante’s Inferno comes to mind!

I’ll let you know what I think of Tobermory and how things develop here on the boat. Stay tuned!

Pip pip,

N

Tobermory without a story

So – a very pleasant afternoon stay in Tobermory. Forget the issue getting the tender inflated and ready (the inflatable boat we use to get to shore when we’re on a Mooring Ball), we resolved all and then ferried the troops over for a few hours of shore leave. I grabbed a quick pint (alright then, two) with John, who is a retired Police Officer from Bromsgrove. He is gregarious and a funny guy who retired 7 years ago when he was 58. I can imagine he was a very good officer. We pleasantly swapped stories of family and friends and activities and the like. His life is a very organized life and he avoids work of any sorts, as it gets in the way of his pleasure. He sails, he has a motor home and he wants to cycle from Lands End to John O’ Groats without any company. As he said – without anyone else he can make whatever decisions he wants and no one will be offended or left out. Smart man! I don’t think he always knows how funny he is – helped by a dead pan Brummy accent. 
On board, a curry had been prepared and so we returned feeling good, ate curry, drank wine and then some went in to watch the footie (France – Portugal) The rest of us stayed on board and drank a little more wine, listened to the Stones and looked out over the harbor to the colorful quay of houses on Tobermory. The weather cleared a little and the light was awesome. The Harbor looked wonderful. My night was made by a phone call from James in San Francisco. I couldn’t send e mails, or post anything on-line, but I could get calls and so managed to speak to all of the family during the course of the afternoon.

I can’ say Tobermory thrilled me, but it was, as I said earlier, “quaint”. There has been an unfortunate effort to modernize it (which may well make the lives of the locals more manageable, but it has left a mixture of old and new and the balance of architectural styles is yet to be reached. As a tourist, you want the old to preserve, but as a local, you want the comforts of the new (as in new buildings and new infrastructure). Some of the old pubs and shops have been modernized, and not for the aesthetic better! The new tends to look out of place and the old ones look in place and they’re more of a draw. The Fish and Chip shop now has competition from a food truck (yes, food trucks have arrived in the Western Isles) sitting not 30 years away on the fish quay. It wasn’t clear if the ownership is the same and if it’s a case of expanding their capacity, but it just jarred with the quay and the old houses that back it. I would return to Tobermory, but probably because I would like to see the Island it sits on more than the place itself. I think I would choose to come back out of the high summer season (I say that with my tongue firmly in my cheek), this entire area will be fantastic. We couldn’t quite see it because of low clouds, mist, driving rain, drizzle and other associated weather, but the photos in the book were very encouraging! Actually sitting on deck last night, the sun broke through (the sun is around for a long time each day in this area – but it hides itself very well), and all seemed well with world other then the family being away in a completely different country. 

Living in a privileged world where travel between continents is always a possibility, doesn’t make up for being separated like we are across continents. But – and here is a confession – no matter how enjoyable this adventure is (and it is, even on the bad days) – I can’t get comfortable with the distance away from the family for such an extended period. I adopted the philosophy when I left Friday’s – to enjoy the journey and I have lived that over the last 9 months. The journey through Alice and Alec’s wedding was a delight, but focusing on this journey is a little exhausting. I’m not exactly counting the days down to July 27th, but when it arrives I will be very happy!

MONDAY

So now we’re sailing up to Sky and after a 6.00am start, we can see it off our Port Bow. we’ve past some very isolated Islands, including Eigg and Rhum, sailing up the Sound of Sleat. Our eventual resting place tonight was going to be Portree, but because of strong tidal streams, we’re heading instead to the Kyle of Lochalsh. We had some great sailing until the wind just went away! Nearly 9 knots screaming along and all the time dramatic scenery and weather all around us. It was cold – but it was so very enjoyable.

Lochalsh wasn’t quite what I had hoped for – a nice looking place from off the coast, but not so nice when we walked in. We docked up and went to a bar called the New Inn: It wasn’t. There had been a death in the village and we arrived as the funeral party were settling in to a good night on the “hooch”. They had clearly had a good day on it already. So we expressed our condolences, to the barmaid (possibly bar made – as she looked like she could have done it). She’s told us the village was going to be better without the deceased! Now that left us with a dilemma – was that her personal point of view or was this the consensus. Based on the songs being payed on the Juke Box – there was clear sadness, but we couldn’t figure out if the sorrow was related the absence of the deceased or the nearing of the end of the “sesh” and the return to normal duties. Well, in the hour we were there, it seemed no-one was really chatting about the poor dead guy – more about the days they had had celebrating other things, with or without him. So one of the party, let’s call him Hughie, he was very interesting. He had the look of a man who had seen good times and was hardened to whatever might be thrown at him, including a stray punch. Wind tanned and greying hair, early 60’s and still in reasonable condition, he held himself well. Blue dress jacket, white shirt and grey trousers, the jacket had the collar turned up to illustrate his roguishness. Several people came into the bar and each tried to turn his collar down. And guess what Hughie, or “wee Hughie” as I now want to call him – did? He turned it right back up. Hughie was in control of the juke box and his chosen play list was a collection of Country and Western classics, including a large measure of Willie Nelson. There is something a little a surreal about sitting in a worn-out boozer on the West Coast of Scotland watching a bunch of locals fall about trying to dance to Country and Weston. We left the pub to head back for dinner and to safety, because there were clear rumblings of trouble to come (as Wee Hughie was holding men by their lapels and looking deep into their eyes – and I didn’t detect it was a loving move0!

TUESDAY – and on to Stornaway

So we were up bright and early this morning – some had vague heads – after a good “drink” last night on the boat. I had to do my passage plan, so I missed the “short” drinking on deck and had to settle for the wine with dinner. I did end up with 3 guys hanging around the chart table asking lots of questions about today’s passage – and none of them can remember the answers this morning, based on the repetition of their questions (or it may be a measure of my bad answers)!
The Kyle of Lochalsh sits right on the end of Loch Alsh (funny that) and the bridge over to Sky is right there. So this morning we sailed underneath it and out into the Inner Sound and up past the Island of Raasay. The bridge stands at 29 meters and our mast stands at 18 meters. Of the 5 of us that we’re on the deck as we went underneath, there wasn’t a one who wasn’t wincing at the prospect of the mast hitting. Of course it didn’t, but regardless of the 11 meters of height available to us – it still looked to the world like we would hit.

We’re now heading up to Stornaway on the Isle of Lewis, up the Inner Sound and into the North Minch (sounds vaguely rude) then crab across and into Stornaway Harbor. There is unbelievable beauty all around us and after a good rain dousing earlier on – we have blue skies and wonderful white clouds. The early watch are now down here in the salon with me – eating eggy bread and brown sauce (not me – can’t stand the two in combination) and chatting about the prospect of seeing some sun today. I think shorts will stay packed away because the weather is still sending Monkeys to look for welders (Americans may have to work on Google for that one).
2 weeks tomorrow will she us heading back down into the Thames Estuary and into Chatham. Before then we have some big miles to cover and some more adventures to experience. While there are definitely too many people on this boat for comfort, it’s a good group and there is a lot of fun to be had. We’ve had folks step up and make some great food and we’re all chipping in to make sure there is wine to be drank with it (quality varies!). So now back to skippering (my duty today) and to see if we can send the Monkeys their way and we can remove a few well chosen layers!
More to come from Stornaway later.

Pip pip,

N