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if you do get a chance and the weather is kind this is wonderful place to stop the following morning we headed further south just as the first yacht of the day arrived sadly for them to a silent bay bracadale arrival back in vatersay briefly before heading north up the islands but opting to get a better sail by freeing off for skye and arriving late at night in loch bracadale a slow day followed as we made our way down to canna intending to use the boat hbr on the south of the island but stiffening winds and a foul tide saw us head into the crowded main harbour poor holding really although the anchor held us we had a look at the boat harbour the following morning good for one boat with easterly winds drumbuie welcomed us again as we sailed in through the narrow entrance i d suggested we might sail in with both main and boomed out genny but then i would as it wasn t up to me to get pole and genny down before tackling the main inside the anchorage and bee made it clear that was not going to happen so we swept rightly in under main alone it was here we helped another boat try and retrieve its lost chain and anchor they d dropped in 17 metres the clutch and slipped and the chain and heavy anchor had roared out with the speed and weight snapping the line attached to the butter end it s interesting relating this tale subsequently how i can see dawning on the listeners face as it did with me i must check the quality of line i m using in the end we spent several days trawling the depths to no avail a 23 metre yacht was approached to see if they might have a diver and gear aboard but nothing and they left the next day the lost anchor crew had already contacted a local diving company about recovery but were told it would cost 1200 we decided on one more sweep the two dingies rowing in opposite directions when a power boat swept at speed through the entrance i was getting ready to scream slow down when it abruptly swung hard toward us throttled back and motored over a guy stood on the foredeck i bet you could use a diver he said and it seems the 23m yacht had mentioned it to them four farmers on holiday slightly bored and one a qualified diver with gear on board he found it after half an hour the whole lot winched aboard and the question of payment dismissed with a make a 20 donation to this charity we covered the half mile back to hannah propelled by an umbrella the weeks went by a great anchorage east of gometra a brilliant few days spent at lunga in the tresnish isles lying on the ground ashore watching the puffins watching us and slowly worked our way to oban to collect jemma bee s mate from cafe ab she had a week which coincided with high pressure so the sailing was never going to be exhilarating but we circumnavigated mull where at anchor in traigh gheal ardalanish where we met mark on who sails out of iona on birthe maithe a converted danish fishing boat amazing story and if you re looking for a trip with a difference he could be the one for you we left together for the sound of iona after he assured us we d get through no problems he for home and us to l caol on the northern side fingals s cave looking out to hannah we headed up to staffa in the morning and while i drifted offshore bee and jemma rowed in to visit fingal s cave with j a keen sea swimmer even swimming in the cave itself despite the jelly fish that seemed to be everywhere a beat up to lunga to anchor for a day or so and let her experience the puffins first hand before heading back over to mull and the beat back down to oban jemma headed for home and we turned hannah south to begin our journey a night in ardencaple bay preceded a tidal swept jaunt through the sound of luing skirting the corryvrecken before fetching up at l na cille a long day saw us anchored off bangor ni and then a 50nm took us down to dundrum a wide open bay a local came out to visit and welcome us assured us the gusty wind was normal as the town sat beneath a mountain but holding was good and we d be welcome at the bar i m sure we would but the strong gusts made life a little tense or perhaps we were just wanting to get this next bit over so we headed out intending to keep as much as possible to the irish coast progress was ok and we were looking forward to getting through the narrows between rosslare and st david s head which we ve always felt to be a bind with 20nm to go came the forecast that the next sea area down it starts at the narrows we were lusting to get through would experience gusts 50k whereas where we currently were would have much less we hove to dumping the main in favour of the try sl and spent 36 hours warm dry and comfortable as the current moved us 13nm up and then back as our gusts rarely exceeded mid 30 s the last part took us around the corner and back into the english channel mousehole coverack and goran haven gave us shelter over the next few days before we arrived back at cawsand rolly and uncomfortable we headed further up river into the lynher anchoring west of jupiter point for a few days until the big tides allowed us back onto our berth the river is more like a lake here and for the most part shallow so we re limited on how close to the land we can get but the fetch was ok even if the wind over tide situation wasn t heh ho back down river to await the tide into millbrook the wind picked up and white caps focused the mind on manoeuvring into our berth a text message to a friend back on the quay about the state of the wind there elicited a puzzled what wind response and so it was true to form i managed to put us an the mud again and daz came out to haul us off so by 7pm and about 2500nm later we were tied up since then we ve got a bit of work done and the mizzen will be started in the new year when we ve kindly been given access to the big shed that sits on the quay the wood is ordered and ready as we work on the mizzen we also need to repair the mizzen boom which was badly damaged by the fall and scarf a piece onto the main boom the radar has been regularly tested and seems to work fine the main and bowsprit have been checked for rot and repairs made to the latter which had some punky bits with the winter approaching we decided to make some changes to our stove which involved removing and then dismantling to strip the rust out luckily bee had found someone obsessed with morso stoves not far away who proved very helpful over the phone he agreed to reassemble while we waited and we borrowed a van to take it out there he did it within a couple of hours although we d inadvertently stumbled across a fully paid up member of the conspiracy brigade covid is a gates plot assisted by soros and whoever and on and on nothing we could say would or could dent their belief and really there is little point in saying much at all other than we didn t agree and surely not everything they d seen on the internet has to be true still he made a good job of our stove and it works now as it did when we first installed it many years ago so that s it we made the update before the end of the year a year in which the pandemic continued to wreck lives and which makes a dismasting insignificant a year in which toots reached 19 and continues to show thankfully no signs of slowing down and we started on our 21st year aboard look after yourselves live the best life you can cos you re dead a long time we ll leave you with this take note of the words mbt millbrook posted by mbt at 19 37 2 comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest saturday 10 july 2021 oh dear if we have thought about loch tarbet over the break it has invariably been coupled to another wild loch to the ne of the sound of jura known as drumbuie it s narrow entrance helps break up any big westerlies and we had only used it last time when heading south we wanted to get there and were up early again to pick up the north going tide up the sound i don t think we ve ever sailed this sound non stop usually having to motor to get the gate at either end but this time we stopped just short of loch aline and anchored for a few hours before moving on the bay is fine decent holding etc but the swell from the calmac ferries can cause havoc so perhaps a night there was never really on the cards we beat motored up the sound rounded the headland and sailed toward the entrance ahead we could see the mast of a boat at anchor but we were the only two in that night the following day when they left we moved up into the vacated spot and were rewarded by the shore side sighting of a large fox hunting amongst the kelp we should have stayed there but with no internet and the forecast promising ne3 4 the breeze seemed ideal for a passage to the hebs exiting the anchorage a sea eagle flew across our bow and the phone signal came back but the forecasted breeze wouldn t come in until late evening with a promise of very strong easterlies soon go back plug on in the end the latter prevailed although we changed our destination from the hebs where winds might be a lot stronger to somewhere around skye perhaps loch scavaig as we motored on past muck eigg and rum the destination nagged away at me it has a reputation for fearsome squalls coming down from the nearby cuillin mountains and it might not be the sanest berth for a couple of days exciting perhaps but we ll leave that to others checking the antares there looked to be a possible shelter in a nearby loch that had hills rather than mountains surrounding it and trees as a bonus no mention in any pilot book and a entrance that involved having to slalom through rocks to gain entry to a less than inspiring loch caused mostly by the huge mussel farms that seem to be everywhere the approach was made worse by a hard running ebb though luckily at neaps and the shoreline looked distinctly rocky at the head of the chosen bay there is sufficient room between shore and farm to get good swinging room the shore looked to be less rocky but that may have been wishful thinking on my behalf the anchor went down and silence no rumbling or grating and hannah swung sharply to lie behind the anchor might be kelp of course but reversed as ever hard down so remain reasonably confident the blow is expected this evening and tomorrow although the gribs suggest gusts of 30k rather than 40 monday 24 th we spent a couple of days in eishort with strong gusts keeping us aware but the bonus of an eagle and four otters to observe despite its initial uninspiring impression on us we came to appreciate its qualities not least the excellent holding in thick mud but we wanted to get on and with a short lived quiet spell forecast we wanted to try scavaig a short 15nm sail found us entering at low water with the to be avoided patches clearly visible with basking seals atop the anchorage proved bigger than we d imagined and surrounded on three sides by high walled peaks in the corner sat a white washed climbers hut and the afternoon had a series of punter boats arriving to collect or deposit various groups of sightseers to be honest anchorages such as this leave me on edge as the escape route is not straightforward and the surrounding land is going to substantially increase any wind but all was quiet but we were up for another early start the following day with the destination of barra on our mind the forecast was for s or se 6 7 so a blowy day but if it came in se a fairly comfortable one passing soay we experienced the lumpy seas at the western end followed by the increase in winds off nearby rum off canna both wind and seas began to build although the boat remained comfortable jib stays l and a reefed main pushing along at 7k plus with 20nm to go however things had begun to deteriorate to the point the jib had been dumped and a second reef put in as we completed the job bee asked if i wanted the vang a line that controls the end of the gaff there s one for each side easing as it was tight but it was keeping the gaff off the shroud so i said leave it stan coped well but in an effort to keep to windward of our waypoint i had begun steering but as seas increased and we were shipping far more water we knew we needed to think of saner options and opted for skipport some 18nm to the north with the main out and a preventer rigged the stay l sheeted hard in we settled down for a fast if nervous run the headland we needed to clear was proving to be on the cusp of being cleared but was still 10 or more miles away we could gybe but would then need to gybe back again for the entrance and the seas were growing starting to roll and breaking making the manoeuvre a potentially fraught one but the downside was we were treading a fine line that required a lot of attention we re were stbd tack but sometimes a sea would hit us on stbd and shove the boat over causing the main to flutter dangerously the weather was pretty bad with heavy rain and a cold wind so the coffee bee produced was very welcome but stupidly i took my eye off the job in hand and in seconds we gybed the preventer stops the boom smashing over but the gaff of course doesn t have that restriction so comes over much further all hell was let loose with seas and wind seeming to up their game to take advantage we have had involuntary gybes before and with luck we re able to persuade hannah to come back onto the right tack by keeping the tiller over and that s what happened back came the boom with huge force the coffee was still just in the cups and as we took a welcome sip i happened to glance aloft and there hanging forlornly was the end metre or so of gaff finally down and lashed it had snapped in two heaving to and the struggle to get the main down in big seas took some time and was a hairy moment we had to get the boom tied down to stop it knocking one of us over the gaff was now a couple of lethal jagged spears and either hands or sail could suffer serious damage but it was finally under control and lashed down we were able to free the stays l and head on still managing 6k in the stronger gusts down below bee reported that our home was a mess and toots indignant that a couple of light cushions had fallen on her sea berth where she had been sleeping onwards we ran the headland disappearing in the rain and mist but getting closer the big advantage with no main is the gybe risk implication disappear and made us think again of a square sail benefits we finally rounded the headland and shaped toward the entrance where shelter from the waves was assured down the channel we raced in driving rain and down to where we d anchored many years previously sadly not to be as fish farm operations now take up most of the available room we went back to the first anchorage we d passed and eventually dropped there getting the stove lit as a priority the morning brings more rain and continuing strong winds though not yet talking it through we think the vang that bee mentioned was tight enough to cause the spar to snap and it s something we ll ensure we never do again is it repair...
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