Story 11/2

LOCHMADDY TO STORNOWAY.
       After again retrieving an empty Lobster Pot we made our way out of Lochmaddy. The wind was from the west at about eighteen knots. We reefed down the main and turned north doing around seven knots, we were soon past the entrance to the Sound of Harris. The weather was again cool and damp with drizzle turning occasionally to rain. Passing East Loch Tarbet the faxed chart came in very useful. We sailed between the Isle of Lewis and the Shiant Islands and up to the headland Gob na Milaid. The wind disappeared and the fishing rods came out. The wind soon returned and on a close reach we raced up towards Stornoway heeled over with water often over the scuppers. On entering the Stornoway harbour we talked to the Harbourmaster on the radio and were given berthing instructions. We were soon moored up to the pontoon in the Marina. It has very few facilities available, no power and remote toilets and showers, but at least we could refill our water tank. There are Maps available on the Pontoon which show where the Harbourmasters office is and many other things of use to visiting Yachties, such as the location of Supermarkets, Gas supplies etc.
       Paying our Harbour dues of £10.00 per night and collecting the gate access cards, we were then on the prowl looking for the local brew, Hebridian Ale. Four pubs and the British Legion Club later; still no luck. We just managed to get a last pint in a Hotel Bar. The following day was a day off from sailing; the battery charging problem, which had plagued us since Northern Ireland came under scrutiny again. I had phoned a friend called Charles, an Auto-Electrician at Corry’s of Blackpool. He had advised me that the fault symptoms I described were indicative of one or more of the diodes in the Alternator being defective. We asked at one garage who were not helpful, but another gave us the name of a man, Donald, who could repair anything on Alternators. He did not have an address or phone number but said “ask any Taxi driver in Stornoway and he /she will take you straight to him”. To say we were a bit sceptical is an understatement but as usual in these situations we were wrong. The first call to a Taxi Company produced a “Certainly Sir no problem”. The Alternator was removed, the Taxi arrived and off Bob H. went.
         Bop P. and myself went off to do some shopping and a Gas refill. We tried desperately to dodge Barrie and John, and succeeded, or so we thought. We bought the refill and then visited the Hebridian Brewery (the address is in the Good Beer Guide), the owner and his staff were helpful and suggested we try the “The Whalers Rest”. I asked why was it not in the G.B.G. and was assured that it will be next year. They seemed amused that we were touring their region on a Yacht using the G.B.G. as a reference document. When deciding where to go next, we hit the Supermarket and had just started putting things in the Trolley when Barrie and John turned up, they had found us. Despite a shopping list of only about twenty-five items; £169.00 later we manage to get out of the Supermarket. We had to get a Taxi back to the Marina. Bob H. had arrived back; the Alternator would be ready by seven that evening. He had also purchased a Nautical Chart, so we were no longer reliant on the Fax.
          After paying our mooring fees for the second night we went and had a look around the Local History Museum. An hour later and our education over for another day we tried out the Whalers Rest and the Hebrdian Ale. We returned to Classic Wave and at seven Bob H. went to collect the Alternator. To his surprize, it was ready, complete with a new diode pack. All for £20. A ridiculous price and Bob gave him £25; still a bargan. After fitting and checking it (working perfectly) we returned to the Whalers Rest for the evening. Barrie and John played pool while I struck up a conversation with a lady originally from Liverpool who now lives in Stornoway. She and her partner were renovating a house and I ended up explaining how to wire up three switches to operate one light. The things you get involved with in pubs. She thought we were having her on about Classic Wave being made of concrete (Ferro-Cement) “Concrete can’t float” she told us to which I replied, neither can steel. A couple from London joined us and the conversation got round to politics, which is one of my favourite subjects. For me, debating Political Philosophy after several pints is not easy.

STORNOWAY TO LOCHINVER
        It was again light drizzle when we arose and prepared Classic Wave for sea. The forecast was that this should clear with winds from the North, force 3 or 4. Once clear of the harbour it became apparent that the wind was from the north-east, we could only just manage to hold our course for Lochinver. The wind was force three and the visibility still poor. We held about five and a half knots as

we left the Outer Hebrides behind and headed for the mainland. Visibility improved and as we approached our destination, by the time we were ten miles off we were sailing in bright sunshine, a rarity on this voyage. We entered Lochinver and moored up to the Council Pontoon.
The sign told us to report to the Harbourmaster’s Office. Barrie and myself went over and paid our Harbour fees of seventeen pounds and seven pence for forty-eight hours. He told us that the fee would cover us for the following night at any of the pontoons operated by the Highland Council. We asked about Gairloch, as this was our intended stop the following day, he said that we were covered. Barrie asked him about the very large fish docks and he told us that it had been built using European and Local Council money and then gave us the general figures of tonnage of fish which goes through and the fuel used by these massive fishing boats. The figures are staggering; we could sail round the world and use less fuel than these boats use every fifteen days. All the fish landed goes straight in to wagons and is moved to the Continent, as we do not eat it, but is considered a delicacy elsewhere. Showers are available free in the Harbourmasters building. After food on board Barrie and John tried their hand out at fishing from the breakwater, while the rest of us tried out the Hotel Bar, which was nothing to shout about. We had been told about another Bar and took a walk along the shore to find it. The Bar was small and had about twenty people in it, two German Gentlemen called Jens and Dieter were on the next table and we struck up a conversation about everything from The European Union to Sailing. They had two young men (teenagers) with them who were at the local youth disco. Jens had done some Sailing and Bob H. invited them to come sailing with us for the day. John offered to drive their car round to Gairloch. We wondered if it was just the beer talking but they said they would like to and we said that we would see them in the morning.
LOCHINVER TO GAIRLOCH
As we were preparing Classic Wave for sea, just before ten, our guests arrived with six bottles of wine and some food. John took their car and we put to sea with Jens and Dieter, together with the young men Robin and Felix. We had an attempt at sailing and managed to sail out of the harbour, the wind was light from the north-west and the weather overcast, but dry. Once clear of the bay

the Mizzen sail. After trying every possible angle of sail without success the anchor was dropped by the harbour entrance and Bob H. was winched up the Mizzen Mast. A clip connecting the slider with the sail had twisted round and jammed up, Bob H. turned it back and both were down in no time at all. The anchor was lifted and John took our lines as we reached the Pontoon.
           Our guests told us that they had a problem! They had a very large tin of stew which was too big for them, the food was put on the stove and the wine opened. It was a bit cramped to say the least with trying to serve nine people at the same time. Brockvurst ‘German’ Sausages were also on the menu. After the meal our guests went off to find a campsite while we checked out the pub. The Old Inn (Good Beer Guide) Six different beers were available on hand pumps and the Inn has an extensive Seafood restaurant. Barrie and John joined us an hour later proudly talking about the Sea Bass they had caught. We tried each of the beers on offer; most were from a local Brewery.
         The following morning we decided to stay put and carry out repairs to the Mizzen Sail and the 240volt generator which did not appear to be working properly. By lunchtime a temporary repair had been carried out on the Mizzen Sail, which would at least mean that we could use it until we had the opportunity to take it to a sailmakers and have it repaired properly. The spark slug on the 240volt Generator was removed, cleaned and refitted, from the colour of the Spark Plug it was obviously running rich. So the Air Filter was removed and found to be choked. An attempt to clean it was unsuccessful. A new one was required. We would run the Generator without an Air Filter until a new one could be purchased. The afternoon was spent Walking, Fishing, Sleeping and Drinking. We spent another evening at the Old Inn sampling the Local Brew. The Good Beer Guide was consulted and a decision made to sail down the west side of Skye, as there were more G.B.G. pubs on the west coast than the east.

GAIRLOCH TO LOCH BAY (SKYE)
         Visibility had improved dramatically when we pulled out of Gairloch and headed for The Aird, which is the most northerly headland on Skye. Sailing conditions were good and the Outer Hebrides could be seen distinctly from horizon to horizon. We were sailing at five to seven knots as we approached the Aird headland. The tidal effects are strange as the tidal eddies creates lively seas mixed with flat sea conditions, within feet of each other. We sailed on to Waternish Head and turned south down the Waternish peninsula in almost perfect sailing conditions. After turning in to Admore Loch we entered Loch Bay.
  We were warned off one mooring and picked up a visitors mooring before prepared our evening meal.

course fresh Mackerel and Colefish. It was then off to the Old Inn to try it out. They had two Hebridian Ales on, one was the Clansman which we had tried before and the other was Islander at 4.8% was a bit powerful to drink all evening. The Landlord was talkative and showed us a photograph of about Eighty Yachts rafted together in a circle in Loch Harport. He talked about plans to install more moorings and possibly a Pontoon in the future. He also told us that he hopes to be in the Good Beer Guide next year.
CARBOST (SKYE) TO RHUM
         A trip to the shop first thing (still no sausages) then made ready for sea. The sun was again shining (we could get used to this) and the wind light. We motored up Loch Harport and picked up the Lobster pot, again nothing of interest. The Sails were hoisted and after three gybes we were in open water. The sea was slight and the visibility good. We had a gentle sail past Lochs Talisker, Eynot and Brittle on the south-west of Skye with tremendous views of the Cuillin Mountains. Summer had arrived with sunbathing on deck. We were about five miles off Rhum when the wind died and we motored in to Loch Scresort.
           After anchoring and launching the dinghy Bob H. and myself headed for the shop, sausages at last. We all returned in the evening to the shop which doubles as Post Office, meeting place, and sells cans of beer. This is run by the community and is staffed on a rota basis by volunteers. A young couple were serving when we arrived and we soon struck up a conversation about aeroplanes which is or was the profession of all on board Classic Wave. Rhum is now owned by the Scottish Environment Agency. We were give a potted history of The Island of Rhum (sometimes spelt Rum). It has a population of thirty three at the moment and one thousand two hundred Deer. The Island was owned by the Bullough family who made their money in Engineering. They had Kinloch Castle built out of red sandstone imported from Annan. The soil was not good enough so they imported three hundred thousand tons of topsoil, and employed at the peak forty gardeners. Another interesting fact was that the island was the second place in Scotland to have an electricity supply, after Glasgow. The Hydro-Electric plant is still operating today. Every one from the Deer Stalker to the Gardener called in, an interesting and enjoyable evening except for the Midge bites.
         The following morning we had a look at Kinloch Castle from the outside; the tour was not until 2.00pm. The Bullough Family had just abandoned the place and the back is now used as a hostel. All internal furnishing are as it was when the Bulloughs lived there.

RHUM TO INVERIE
         On our return the dinghy was stowed and the anchor raised. We made our way out of Loch Scresort and headed for the Sound of Sleat. As the wind exceeded twenty knots, we were considering putting a reef in, when the wind dropped and for an hour we tried to sail with what little wind we had. We gave up and went back to the engine and made our way passed Mallaig to Loch Nevis, which is off the Sound of Sleat south of Skye. We pulled in to Inverie and went to pick up a mooring; a sign on it said “Do Not Use”; after moving off we dropped the anchor. Once ashore,the pub we were looking for was easy to find, it’s called the "Old Forge” and is listed in the Good Beer Guide. Its description in the Guide reads “Dress Code :- Wellies, Oilies and Midge Cream” we in fact found a very pleasant Seafood Restaurant with Atlas Brewery, Three Sisters Ale, behind the bar. We considered having a meal there until we overheard a member of staff inform someone that they could book the last table. We returned that evening just as the food service was ending,and settled down for a few beers. The owner, called Ian, came over and sat with us. While we were chatting a party of Yachtsmen from Harrogate struck up a conversation and did not quite understand why we laughed when they asked Ian, “have you been here before”. We talked to Ian about his moorings, the Restaurant and the new Ferry Terminal being built and of course Real Ale. A lady called Fliss (I presume Felicity) we had met on Rhum had ask us,when we told her our intended next stopover “If you met the owner remember me to him”, this of course we did. Ian also gave us a recording of a “Jam Session” which was recorded in the Restaurant.

INVERIE TO TOBERMORY
         It was time to head back towards Oban as our two weeks were coming to an end. We departed Inverie and motored out of Loch Nevis. The wind was fifteen to twenty knots from the north . The sea was a bit lumpy (a bit like Bob P’s Custard) and this pushed us a little way from the coast. We gybed to get ourselves back on course for Ardnamurchan Point. After rounding the Lighthouse in the company of a Whale Watching boat we turned into the Sound of Mull and across to Tobermory. A Yacht was just leaving one of the visitor’s moorings as we arrived, so we picked it up. The cost was twelve pounds per night. After a final shopping trip, thankfully without Barrie and John, we had a meal on board and headed out for the evening. Our first port of call was McGochens Bar where we tried out the Isle of Mull Brewery’s McNoggles Folly. It was then back to the Mishnish for the rest of the evening. The Summer Hog had been replaced with Moorlands Old Speckled Hen, which was quite acceptable.

TOBERMORY TO DUNSTAFFNAGE
         The final leg of our voyage was back to Dunstaffnage Marina. It was midday before we dropped our mooring and made our way out of the harbour and back in to the Sound of Mull. The wind was zero, so it was as we had started two weeks earlier on the engine through the Sound. We crossed the Lynn of Lorne and entered Dunstaffnage Marina. We were given berthing instructions by radio and after tying up, connected shore power for the first time in a fortnight. The water tank was filled and a general clean up carried out. John went to his car to collect his wallet I’m sure he thought he had got away with that and I would not mention it but he had been borrowing from Barrie for the last two weeks. We had a table booked at the Wide Mouthed Frog for eight, excellent as ever. The Highlander Ale was again on form and we got back to Classic Wave at around one.
         The following morning Johns car was loaded and we left at ten o’clock to make our way home. Bob H. stayed with Classic Wave to await some friends from Europe, later in the week. We arrived home mid afternoon..

                                         Kev