This was the voyage that almost never happened; we had intended to drive up to Loch Creran on the Thursday evening. The weather forecast for Friday and Saturday was absolutely dreadful with a Met Office severe weather warning in place due to heavy rainfall. A number of e-mails were passed between us and a week’s postponement was contemplated. Barrie could not make the second week due to work commitments, so Bob (or should I say Bob’s wife Barbara) suggested that we go up to Scotland in Bob’s motorhome, so if the weather was worse than predicted then we had a bolt hole. We delayed our departure until the Sunday after the predicted rain would be over.
I left home just after nine on the Sunday morning and went through to Barrie’s house in Poulton Le Fylde; we then drove through to Preston to Bob’s. After piling all our gear and food in to Bob’s motorhome, it was just after ten when we were on the motorway heading north. We reached Scotland before midday and just after one we were clear of Glasgow. We then hit road works between Glasgow and Stirling which cost us at least half an hour. We arrived at Loch Creran before four thirty in the afternoon. After retrieving the dinghy from the boatyard and refitting the outboard, Barrie and myself together with our gear and food made our way out to Trinculo. The Seacocks were opened and the Electrics turned on, the engine started and the mooring released within half hour and we moved down Loch Creran while stowing the food. Bob drove his motorhome round to Oban while we left Loch Creran and turned in the Lyn of Lorne turning south. Just under two hours later we were entering Oban Harbour and moved straight on to the pontoon to fill the Water Tank. Bob was waiting for us after he had ‘moored’ the Motorhome at the top of the gangway from the visitors pontoon. Once full we moved out and picked up a mooring and had a meal on board, it was then out on the town. Our first port of call was the Bourne (formally in the Good Beer Guide) where the Deuchers ESB was not bad. The Disco started and we headed the Tartan Tavern where the Courage Directors was excellent. We then went back to Bob’s motorhome for supper and then back to Trinculo to sleep.
OBAN to TOBERMORY
After paying our mooring fee of twelve pounds, our mooring was slipped and we left Oban harbour. The sails were quickly out and the engine stopped as we sailed sedately across the Lynn of Lorne and passed Lady’s Rock in to the Lynn of Morvern where we were becalmed. It was then back on to the engine until we entered the Sound of Mull in bright sunshine. The sails were again in use as we tacked up the Sound moving quickly at times and sometimes barely moving at all. Barrie used this as the opportunity to get the fishing rod out and a very pleasant evening meal starter of Mackerel were soon onboard. It was just after six in the evening when we entered Tobermory Harbour and picked up a mooring buoy. After a meal onboard (including the Mackerel) we went ashore and as always when visiting Tobermory we called in at the “Mishnish” for a couple of pints. We sampled the beer brewed for the pub called The Mishnish. I’m not sure who brews it for them and the bar staff did not know either. We then walked through to McGoonans where we tried the Tobermory Dark which was very Fruity. It was then back to Trinculo for supper and sleep.
TOBERMORY to MALLAIG.
It was a bit of a late start at eleven in the morning before we left Tobermory and turned west with just the foresail out. The wind was southerly force five and the regular showers made things a bit damp. We left the Sound of Mull and turned North East doing seven knots as we were going round the Lighthouse at Ardnanmurchan point. Once clear, we were able to set a direct course for Mallaig. The sea was calm and with only the foresail out we made good time across to Mallaig. Three hours later Bob phoned to ask “where are you” as we approached the harbour. He thought we were going to go in to Arisaig, which by road is just a short run away from Mallaig. He still made it to watch us enter the harbour and pick up a mooring buoy. The dinghy was launched and we headed ashore to Bob’s moterhome for food and a night out in Mallaig. After our meal the first port of call was a pub called the Marine where a football match between Glasgow Celtic and Arsenal was coming to an end. Unfortunately Celtic lost 2.0, so the atmosphere was subdued and the pub became very quiet once the match ended. We chatted to two men who were moving a Tug called “Fiona” to Cambletown. We were told that Fiona burns twenty five gallons of fuel per hour, and we moan about our fuel bills. We moved on to a pub called the Chalachain, pronounced Crackan and then called it a night.
MALLAIG to TOBERMORY
It was our intention to move on to Inverie on the Knoydart peninsular that day but the weather forecast gave out a Southerly Gale warning later and little improvement over the next few days. Bob, in the Motorhome, had already decided to hed inland looking for better weather.We decided to cut and run back to the shelter of Tobermory despite the wind still being from the South and the tide about to turn against us. We left Mallaig and turned south which meant we had to tack through the wind for the next few hours. The island of Muck was passed and we were approaching Eigg when as the batteries seemed a bit low, the motor was started and the foresail put away as we motor sailed, it was while we were doing this that a basking shark was spotted close to us (the first I have seen in years). An hour later the engine was stopped and we sailed towards Ardnamurchan Point. It was evening when we finally tacked in towards the Sound of Mull, a little too soon (my fault) so the engine was again started and we moved in to the Sound of Mull. The Tobermory lighthouse appeared after we entered the Sound and the sun set. At least it was not raining, emm spoke to soon. It was dark and wet when we entered Tobermory harbour and picked up the same mooring we had left the day before. It had taken us just over five hours to get to Mallaig and over nine hours to get back. We stayed on board, had a couple of beers and then sleep.
TOBERMORY to OBAN
We awoke and had a discussion as to where to go next and settled on going back to Oban. It would then be easily get back to Loch Creran the following day and then have a leisurely journey south in Bob’s motorhome back to England. After dropping our mooring and motoring towards the entrance, the sails were hoisted in light winds and we turned back in to the Sound of Mull and headed east towards Oban. We sailed well for around two hours and then slowed almost to a stop close to Loch Arline. Barrie got the Fishing Rod out again but this time failed to catch anything. We were just about becalmed as we were in the lee of a large hill, so the engine was again called upon to get us moving. Twenty minutes later the engine was off and we were sailing once more. As we approached the Lynn of Morvern we knew that we would be exposed to the strong southerly wind, so both the foresail and the main were reefed down. The wind increased dramatically when we left the Sound of Mull and entered the Lynn of Morvern. The sea became quite rough as we crossed the Lynn and our intention was to pass between Lady Rock and Lishmore Island. The tidal overfalls were clearly visible at a distance as a mass of very confused white water. The engine was stared as a precaution as we approached and Trinculo was being thrown around a bit in the rough seas. We maintained our course and passed through to the Lynn of Lorne where we set course for the entrance to Oban Harbour. The sea settled and we left the engine on, as much to charge the Batteries as to hold our course. As we approached the harbour entrance the engine exhaust alarm went off (which means it is overheating). The engine was stopped immediately and we turned out to sea again while Barrie checked the filter which was dry (it should not be dry) the filter was refitted and we turned under sail and set course again for Oban’s harbour entrance. The mainsail was furled and we went in on the reefed foresail only. Once inside the inevitable happened, a ferry decided to leave which forced us to stay to the North of the Harbour. Once the ferry was clear we tacked a total of three times (carefully avoiding the large rock in the middle of the harbour) and were on course for the moorings. When we were around one hundred yards off the engine was started (no alarm this time) and we picked up a mooring. The filter was again checked (now wet) and the impeller checked all seemed absolutely fine, so the engine was started and the temperature gauge watched, all appeared to be working perfectly. We can only presume that the inlet seacock had been blocked by seaweed or a plastic bag or something and it had cleared when the engine was stopped. That evening we headed in to town and called at the Caledonian Hotel for one (Belhaven) and then it was back to the Lorne for the XPA and settled for a couple pints. It was raining when we were ready to leave so we stopped for another. When we did leave we still got caught in a shower so we called in to the Waterfront by the railway (Belhaven again), it was then back to Trinculo and sleep.
OBAN to LOCH CRERAN
The following morning the wind was still from the south and still a force six. We dropped the mooring and headed across to Oban Marina on Kerrera Island for fuel after first checking the price (95p per litre) by phone. This was in preparation for the voyage home in mid September which I will not be able to make. We made contact by radio as we approached and were given instructions to move on to the Fuel Berth. We pulled in as instructed and waited and waited, we then took the opportunity to fill the water tank and we were still waiting. Eventually a man turned up and the tank was full at 164.45 Litres. As usual the calculator came out, we had last filled up in the Spring at Douglas on the Isle of Man, since then the engine hours indicator had clocked up a further 62 hours so that is 2.65 Litres per hour. Not bad compared with the Tug Fiona’s consumption of twenty five Gallons per hour. We replaced one of our Gas cylinders while paying for the fuel and it was time to be on our way. We left Oban and made our way out in to the Lynn of Lorne and turned north with the strong winds behind us. We turned in to Loch Creran with the tide flowing in strongly and our speed over the ground doubled almost instantly from five to ten and a half knots. The wind being funnelled round the hills increased to twenty eight knots as we moved in to Loch Creran. We passed the fish farms and mussel beds and made our way up to the moorings. The wind was still over twenty knots and we missed picking up the mooring the first time, but made it on our second attempt. Bob had arrived and had watched us. We waited for his comment, but none came. We started to clear up things on the boat and get our gear together. We then received the comments over the radio, the Ensign is still up, the foresail wants taking in a bit more and it is starting to rain. Well rain it did and we were very wet by the time we had all our gear ashore and put the dinghy away. It was then load everything aboard Bob’s Motor home and off to the pub, unfortunately there was no room to park anywhere near the pub so we ended up in a lay-by on a very quiet road at the top of Loch Creran.
