ENDURANCE 40
CLASSIC WAVE
A Yacht with Power Style & Grace
Voyages of Classic Wave 3
Scotland Scottish Cruise and return to ‘Home Port’
Oban to Preston. 6th. August to l3th. August 2000.
CREW:
BOB Skipper/Owner
BARRIE
DAVE
Dunstaffnage to Tobermory
Departed Dunstaffnage I2.45pm, weather fine, wind 4 to 5, for Ladys Rock Lighthouse. Wind just off the nose so motor sailed. Rounded Lighthouse at 2pm and cut the engine. Tacked across the sound close hauled attaining speeds of 7.6 knots (port decking awash). Tide running against our course and wind not ideal we decided about 4.45pm to use the engine in order to reach Tobermory during licensing hours.
Barry went for a kip (what’s new ?).
Decided to cut the engine and enjoy a bit more tacking as wind and tide now in our favour. It gave me the chance (between tacks) to apply my literary skills to this little piece. Barry gets up and decides to make cottage pie for tea, with spotted dick for pud at the Captains request. 6.40 pm engine back on, progress not rapid enough so we’re motor sailing. Arrived in Tobermory at 7.20pm. Night in Mishnish.
Tobermory to Scalasaig
Departed Tobermory 9.l5am to sail round the top of Mull, bound for Colonsay. Saw a pair of dolphins swimming in Bloody Bay. Weather dense drizzle, very poor visibility, wind on the nose. 10.50am raised main sail & mizzen. 11.30 raised foresail and by 12.20 we even raised the staysail. 1.30pm Staffa, lots of tourists ashore to view Fingals Cave.
Sailed through the Sound of lona and Barry decided to catch some Mackerel for tea. 8 fish caught in all. Visibility down to 300 yards and sailing through Torran Rocks, very dodgy.Once through the danger area visibility improved and a good motor sail down to Scalasaig on Colonsay.
Made fast alongside an Irish boat, dined well and had an amble to the local hotel for refreshment.
Scalasaig to Port Ellen (Islay)
Departed Colonsay 9.30am bound for Rathlin Island. Swept well eastward by the tide and arrived Sound Of Islay 2 hours later.Nice day developing, Colonsay in brilliant sunshine but still an odd shower. Wind from the South funneling through the sound so we decided to enjoy the sail and tack across. It’s like sailing along the ‘Top Shelf’ of a pub, distilleries with familiar sounding names every where!
We’ve abandoned the hope of reaching Rathlin Island and decided to put into Port Ellen for the night, passing even more whiskey manufacturers; Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laprohaig. Picked up a mooring 4.lOpm; it’s a dinghy night for us all. Did a bit more fishing off the mooring but with no success.
Took the dinghy into the harbour and went ashore for a walk and a pint. Found a garage selling LRP at 103.9 PENCE A LITRE (£4.69 PER GALLON).
First pub, WHITE HART HOTEL too noisy, full of kids, so settled for the only other bar in town. 1am pub’s shut and it’s just a small matter of getting back aboard. Least said the better about the return trip, but it made the previous days ‘Rocks in the Fog’ episode a pleasant memory. The wind was chopping up the sea and all 3 of us were well lubricated, but we managed to find Classic Wave and gratefully climbed aboard. WET THROUGH BUT SAFE!
Port Ellen to Rathlin Isle (Northern Ireland)
Barry had suffered a sleepless night due to the boat snatching at the mooring all night. Took the boat into the harbour and made fast alongside a fishing boat. Went ashore for supplies. Departed Port Ellen 1.l0 pm bound for Rathlin. Weather wet 6-7, forecast possible 8. Ran along the South Coast of Islay in lumpy seas until 3pm. At 3pm we made a tack which was to take us right into Rathlin Sound.
Spotted an Irish lighthouse, Rathlin West, where the light is at the bottom !!!
Put into Rathlin (Church Bay), made fast alongside the quay only to be told the Ferry was due in and we were parked in his overnight berth. A tangle of lines and three quarters of an hour later (with help from other visiting yachtsmen & women) we made fast alongside a fishing boat. No dinghy tonight thank God.
A short trip to the pub later and a good nights sleep was enjoyed by all.
Rathlin to Donaghadee
After a hearty breakfast skipper and crew went for a walk around the village. Plenty of redevelopment going on, probably for tourists, much to the dismay of the locals. Back aboard we edged forward and made fast in front of the Fishing Vessel, in order to keep a promise to replace another small boat alongside her. ‘Two metres minimum inside the harbour’ the pilot book says, within minutes we were aground!
Our progress was delayed for an hour waiting for more water. We finally re-floated Classic Wave with a great deal of effort from Barry. At one stage he did a creditable impersonation of Tarzan, swinging on the main halyard and, having rocked us into deeper water, catapulted himself aboard as athletically as his aerodynamic frame would allow.We sailed South and headed for Donaghadee Sound. The wind had got up and the water was a bit choppy. To make things more hazardous local fishermen had set lobster pots at random all over the Sound.
We made fast on the South East harbour wall and dashed up town for the last hour in the ‘oldest pub in Ireland’ (that was the claim to fame over the door, but then again every town in Ireland claims to have either the oldest or the smallest pub).
After the mandatory few pints of Guinness we returned to Classic Wave and retired for the night.
Donaghadee to Peel (I.O.M.)
We set sail for Peel. The weather was calm so we motored and made breakfast underway.The passage was not uneventful, however, as we encountered no less than three banks of fog along the way. The foghorn was put into good use, as was the radar.
Later in the day the wind got up and we had a good sail into Peel. We made fast on the outer breakwater, had our evening meal and went into town for a few bevvies.
Our first visit was to The White Horse, a pub straight out of the CAMRA guide book. No Guinness tonight, just a few pints of Timothy Taylors and Dave had a pint of Kangaroo Brew (which kicked more like a mule!).Late drinks were then had at a bar on the harbour side where we witnessed a talented but noisy band. Well, the musicians were good ; shame about the singer.
Peel to Preston
It was a bleary eyed crew who set sail early this morning to make the long haul back to Preston.Just out of the harbour, heading South, the engine began to miss a beat. This made for a change of plan, Bob decided not to risk going through the Calf Sound and take the long way round Chicken Rock. The Calf Sound is no place to be with a suspect engine. Even more disconcerting was the sight of a shark following us, as though he knew we had a problem! As we rounded Chicken Rock we saw three rather adventurous young men riding around on Jet Ski’s. ‘If only they knew about the shark’ we said.The wind steadily increased and a good passage was made with speeds of 8 knots and over, achieved for long spells.
A disaster was narrowly avoided at the mouth of the River Ribble when we nearly ran down a small angling boat which was fishing without any lights.
A safe entry was made into the Ribble to the backdrop of a rather spectacular fireworks display taking part somewhere in Lytham.
Up the Ribble we made fast on the bullnose, just too late to make it to the pub. A few cans from the ships bar were dispensed and the three of us settled down for a well deserved kip.
The passage from Peel was 94.3 miles and took 17.5 hours.
Preston
After a leisurely breakfast we called up, requested entry into the marina and a top up for the fuel tank.
Making fast alongside the pontoon we collected our gear and retired to the Waterfront for a final pint.
The cruise had lasted 17 days for Bob and Barry, with Kevin having 9 nights aboard and Dave spending 8 days afloat. During that time 14 different ports were visited and no less than 643 mile covered.
Dave
28th .July Preston to Whithaven 71.1 nmls
29th. July Whithaven to Isle of Whithorn 24.5 nmls
30th. July Isle of Whithorn to Portpatrick 41.0 nmls
31st. July Portpatric to Cambletown 34.6 nmls
1st. Aug Cambletown to Craighouse 37.3 nmls
2nd. Aug Craighouse to Scalasaig 26.7 nmls
3rd. Aug Scalasaig to Craignure 40.8 nmls
4th. Aug Craignure to Tobermory 15.3 nmls
5th. Aug Tobermory to Oban 22.0 nmls
5th. Aug Oban to Dunstaffnage 4.1 nmls
6th. Aug Dunstaffnage to Tobermory 36.6 nmls
7th. Aug Tobermory to Scalasaig 46.7 nmls
8th. Aug Scalasaig to Port Ellen (Islay) 35.2 nmls
9th. Aug Port Ellen to Rathlin Is. 26.5 nmls
10th. Aug Rathlin Is. to Donagadee (N. Ireland) 39.8 nmls
11th. Aug Donagadee to Peel (I.O.M.) 44.8 nmls
12th. Aug Peel to Preston 94.3 nmls
13th. Aug Preston
Totals.............. 643.3 nmls
