Meanwhile we have locked up the house and moved to our boat for the summer months. Arielle will be our home and we will to have a look on the bright side of sailinglife. Mind, this does’t mean a life totally carefree, but the cares for a sailor mostly have to do with simple things, like the weather, which can be bad for those in a hurry. We for our part have time. Meaning that we have already postponed our…
It has been high time for Arielle to get back into the water. But before she can return to her natural element, some preparation are still needed. And a whole trunkfull of stuff has to be loaded back on board. This regularly takes us several days of work, leaving us a bit exhausted but highly satisfied in the end. Alex is pleased with the result of his polishing I am pleased with the hull after having applied a new layer…
https://syarielle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/exportvideo-2-1-1.mov From Hindeloopen to Brittany and back We are in urgent need for a leave from this mad world, rumbling and groaning with politics, pestering us with false propaganda and pointless rancor and leaving us panicking for an anarchic future. Our getaway plan for this year is to sail to Brittany, which it is said to be the closest you can get to a Caribbean feeling here in Europe. We will take our time, maybe up to three months, to…
We found Scotland to be a fabulous cruising ground for many reasons. There are the endless options for exploring remote islands and lochs, in view of the wild Highland landscapes. Stunning anchorages, friendly harbours, moorings and marinas are plentiful. The good news about the weather: it is changeable!! So dull and soggy periods don’t stay for long and by the evening the mountains appear again crystal clear. Then there is a lot of wildlife around, in and above the sea….
When planning a longer passage across unprotected water a careful preparation is essential. The first thing is certainly checking the weather forecast. To precook some hearty food for the time of the passage is advisable, just as preparing the appropriate warm clothes for cold nights, and everything else that needs to be at hand. To cook and to extract things from the cupboards is highly strenuous on a swaying boat. For the next day a fair, later decreasing wind from…
Unlike the indented west coast, the east coast of Britain is straight and shallow. It does not offer natural shelteres in bays or lochs and harbours are usually built in the mouth of rivers with a tendency to silt. Some are protected by huge breakwaters, and are accessable at all states of tide, like Newcastle or Sunderland, others are tidal harbours that can be entered only around highwater, challenging the sailor to reach harbour at the right tide without hitting…
Edinburgh is a magnificant city and can hold its ground in comparison with any major European capital. Spreading out over several volcanous hills, it impresses with stunning views and its homogenous archicture and towering above all is Edinburgh Castle. The streets were flooded with huge crowds of people, who had come to the city to experience the Fringe Festival, this celebration of creative energy. Artist were performing throughout the city, on the streets and in all kinds of event locations….
The rate of tidal streams in the notorious Pentland Firth is higher than that in any other part of the seas around Britain, especially at spring tide. We had waited for the currently exeptionally long and high spring tide to end. The pilot books and almanacs we consulted say, that passage should only be attempted in moderate winds and with a fair tide. The weather forecast predicted a fine breeze from west and we calculated 6 hours before HW Dover…
With approaching the Hoy Sound leading ships to Stromness harbour on the Orkney mainland, we entered these extreme tidal waters for the first time. It gave us a foretaste of the Pentland Firth. Also here it is important to get the tide right, as a spring tide will run with up to 8 kts. Sound of Hoy Entrance Old Man of Hoy Stromness typical grey stone houses down to the waterfront We liked the Orkneys a lot right from the…
We left Stornoway at about 10:30 a.m. for Scrabster, lying on the Scottish mainland opposite of the Orkneys. For the passage of about 120 nm, we calculated arriving the following day in the early morning. We had given up the original plan of intercepting the passage by anchoring in beautifull Loch Eribol, which lies quite conveniently half way on the north coast of Scotland. In the course of the next day as on the following days, sharp north-easterly winds were…
We ventured further North, Stornoway being our next destination. Once again Dolphins and all kinds of sea birds kept us company for a long stretch of the way. In the distance we could make out the Shiant Islands, the so called miniature St. Kilda, these westernmost islands of the Hebrides having a mystic appeal to all sailing in this region. The Outer Hebrides can supply for enough islands, islets, lochs and bays for a hole summer of sailing. We wanted…
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…