From Mallaig we started at 07:00 a.m. down the Sound of Sleat towards the narrows of Kyle Rhea, two hours after highwater Dover, as we would then have a favourable tide. There is a warning in every mariners handbook about the dangers of tidal turbulenzes when passing through this chasm between Skye and the mainland, in strong winds. As there was no wind at all, we were quite relaxed motoring through the narrows, but still we could strongly feel the…
We reached Mallaig in time to drop off our bord guests, Juda and Avigail, who are on their way back to Israel now. We enjoyed their company a lot, likewise all the fish Juda caught for us. Being used to a mediterranean climate, it was tough how he put up with the Scottish weather, standing in the rain on the pier of Tobermory fishing. We ate a lot of mackerel the last days, usually wraped in aluminium with onions and…
After having rounded Ardnamurchan Point the Small Isles lay ahead of us. Muck, Rhum, Egg and Canna. No four could be more different: Rhum rising tall, its flanks falling like green curtains, its peaks like miniture Cullins, Muck flat and fertile, farmed to its edges, Eigg of volcanic origin but flat topped and Canna mountainous with white sandy beaches. All have their appeal, but we had to decide on two, as we had Talisker Bay on Skye on our agenda…
We had heard before of the notable history of the Highland Games of Scotland. And as we had learned from the harbour master in Tobermory, that they will be taking place here on Thursday, there was no way for us to miss the chance out to see for ourselves. As the event was still 2 days away, we decided to sail over to the island of Coll. Here we hoped to see something of the wildlife of the Hebridies. Coll…
A sailboat is a high maintance means of transport. A lot of parts can possibly quit service, in our case it is the windlass. We will have to deal with that today. But first things first: We arrived at Oban in time to drop off Chanan, who had to catch a bus on Friday morning. We took our time to clear up the boat a bit, to do the laundry and to stock up on our supplies, and we had…
It took 24 hours to get the Swing Bridge working again. This we were told, is the usual time needed for repairs, still we were sooo relieved. We could move on to climb the 4 steps of the Muirtown looks. 25 more were to follow, all in all 29 locks and 11 swing bridges. From Clachnaharry lock where we entered into the canal up to Corpach it’s a stretch of 50 nm, a scenic trip from coast-to-coast through the Scottish…
River Ness Inverness was the last bastion held by the Jacobites in the days of Bonnie Prince Charly in 1745. The site of his final defeat in this last Jacobite uprising, the battlefield of Culloden, we wanted to have a look at. Recently the Netflix series Outlander has made the Jacobite cause more commonly known. But only here we understood in full the complexity of this conflict, which was more than Highlanders against the British. It was more like a…
The last 100 nm on our way to Inverness we devided into 3 legs. After rounding Rattray Head we made out for the Firth of Moray changing our course to west. How lucky for us that the wind now came from south. This meant a very comfortable sail, fast and upright and with a flat sea. The favourable wind and the sunny skies would stay with us for the next three days. Rattray Head Whitehills The coast of the Firth…
We had waited for another day for the wind to decrease before departing from our safe haven in the river Tyne. We used the hold-up to take a nice long walk to Tynemouth, located at the mouth of the river Tyne Sailing from the Tyne to Peterhead in Sotland meant crossing the Firth of Forth, where westerly winds accelerate and also stirr up higher seas. The weather was still not totally settled but the forcast was favourable. With two reefs…
Newcastle upon Tyne The North Sea is currently in uproar caused by a gale of 9 Bft. We are stormbound in the marina of Newcastle for the past two days, which is perfectly ok with us, as we had planed to take our time to explore Newcastle and Durham, both English cities with a rich history since Roman and Medival times. Newcastle upon Tyne The foundation of Newcastle dates back to Roman times – the castle was errected by the…