Jugglers visit to the Hebridees, 2009

Part 1 Pwllheli to Skye: Roy and Maureen Ryder

May 7th Pwllheli

I arrived back at Pwllheli at 11pm after leaving the car at home in Warrington and travelling back by bus and coach. The tide is sluicing out, its dark and blowing F6/7 from the West. I’m tired and need something to eat and drink

Next day, we change the VHF aerial lead, but with no reception improvement. On inspection there is a big hole in the base of the aerial; lightning strike! We also change the lead from the mast inside the boat to the radio itself, no change either. It has to be the radio. We buy a new Standard Horizon GSX1500E radio with a CMP30 external command mike. Brilliant reception, it works!

Jonathon (JKA) has recut the new no.3 genoa he has made for us and it now fits well but sheets much further back than he suggested. This should allow us the take several turns in when the wind increases. The fuel tanks are full as are both water tanks. We have a new heavier Delta anchor, spare diesel and calor gas and Maureen has provisioned the boat with extra food and drink. All the required charts, pilots and almanacs are on board. We even have 2 folding bikes! Juggler is ready to go although floating around 10cm deeper than usual, we are ready to go but the weather just is not suitable.

May 20th  Holyhead, 56.2 m, SW6/7

We have been waiting for a decent forecast for two weeks but today the sun is shining for the first time but it’s still blowing SW6. Decide to go even though it’s going to be rough, possibly leaving Bardsey but certainly around the Stacks.

We have to motor sail up to and through Bardsey then its engine off. The wind is every bit as strong as forecast but fortunately behind us and quite warm. With the new no.3 genoa and a single reef in the main, Juggler is a handful to helm and we set the second reef in the main. Much better and we are still doing 8 knots plus.

We expected a rough passage around the Stacks but we have seen much worse. By 19.00 we have picked up an empty club buoy (not many around nowadays) and settled down for a meal and a quiet night’s sleep.

May 21st Port St. Mary IOM, 49.1 miles WbkSW4/5

We drop the mooring at 7.30 to catch the tide north. The wind has dropped slightly and allows us to use the full main with the no. 3. The sun is shining, it’s warm! No need for sailing jackets! The autopilot gives us an easy journey.

By 15.00 we are tied up against the wall in Port St Mary. This wall is huge due to the 12m tidal range. It will be necessary to tend our lines until low water. A walk up the hill to the town centre stretches our legs and builds an appetite for dinner. We spend the evening chatting with the crew of Dal Raida from Strangford who intends to cruise the Menai Straits.

He offers us the use of his moorings at Portaferry and Larne.

May 22nd Carrick Fergus, 57.7 m, S/SW4/5occ6

We have a good breakfast and leave at 08.00 to catch the north going tide through Calf Sound. It’s cloudy and cooler than yesterday. We make such good progress that we pass through Donaghadee Sound with the tide and steer for Carrick Fergus. Crossing Belfast Loch we pass close behind an anchored small tanker. 100m from the tanker the GPS looses its signal completely. It does not return for two hours

We get no response from Carrick Fergus marina on the specified channel 80. They were only listening on channel 37 due to not having staff on duty that were licensed to use channels other than 37! We tie up on the hammerheads until the berthing master tells us that we can use berth K7 which is much more sheltered

We much prefer CF marina because it is much quieter than Bangor and relatively cheap at £22 for a 12m yacht. If you stay a second night it is free. We also got a complementary free night voucher valid for a year. Pity we do not intend to visit CF on our return

The evening is spent in the yacht club which has good meals and free internet access for weather forecasts and emails

The following day, Saturday, we travel by bus into Belfast. The city centre has some fantastic buildings and architecture. Unfortunately the Town Hall is not yet open after a multi million pound interior restoration. However we find it surrounded by a large European market selling a wide variety of food and drink

May 24th Glenarm, 21.5m, Wbking SW 5/4

The sun is shining and the wind is only 12 to 15 kts true! Its very pleasant and relaxing sailing. We pass the entrance to the port of Larne without meeting any fast ferries.

Halfway to Glenarm we move close inshore to look at the impressive Victorian cliff path along the foot of the Gobbins cliff faces. Suddenly we see black lines approaching us from the cliffs. The wind goes from N 10kts to W 38kts in around 10 secs. The waves increase to 2 to 3m directly from the cliffs simultaneously. We have been struck by a strong katabatic wind. We were instantly hard pressed; Juggler was on her beam ends and out of control! We let the main fly and furl the genoa to a very small size. We sheet in the genoa and head N on a fine reach. It’s now just possible to put in 2 reefs into the main.

At last we gain control and can head for Glenarm. The wind continues right into the small harbour and we are glad of assistance to get onto a pontoon.

We have a walk around the village prior to eating dinner and doing the pilotage for the passage around the Mull of Kintyre.

May 25th Ardminish Bay, Gigha, 42m, W/SW 3/4 inc 5/6

It’s a dull gloomy and cold day and there is a possibility that the weather is about to deteriorate. Several boats decide to head for the sheltered Campbeltown and the Clyde estuary. However we judge that we can make Ardminish before the weather worsens.

En route to the Mull, the cloud comes down and visibility is less than 800m. At 14.00 we are less than 1m off the Mull and we get a brief glimpse of the lighthouse. The wind dies, the mist comes down and we motor up the Sound of Jura. In Ardminish Bay we pick up a buoy sheltered from the SW shortly after 17.00, just as the sun comes out. A walk ashore shows a shop (closed), an art gallery (closed) and a bar/hotel (open).

The following day, the wind is blowing strongly, so we walk to the Ardmore gardens about 3m away. They have an amazing display of tropical plants.

May 27th Ardfern, 26m, SW5/6 v NW

Another cold day! We leave at 11.00 to catch the tide N. We pass Craignish (our intended destination) and carry onto the pontoons at Ardfern marina.

May 28th Kilmelford, 16m, SW4/5

After a leisurely breakfast and fuelling up, we pass through the Dorus MOR tidal gate at slack water. The islands of Jura and Scarba and the Gulf of Correyvreckan between them are shining in the sunlight ahead. We reminisce about our trips through the Gulf in sea kayaks more than 30 years ago but we do not intend to make that passage today. We turn North past Craobh Haven marina and moor at Kilmelford yacht station. At £18 per night for using a buoy or the pontoon it’s cheap but a slightly odd place. There does not seem to be anyone around and when we do find someone they do not seem interested or able to give any information or want to take any fees. The area adjacent to the pontoons is a sea of mud.

May 29th Oban, 22m, SW4/5 bec SE

Another tidal gate, Cuan Sound, today. We leave the pontoon at around 09.00 and sail slowly to a bay at the N end of Shuna where we drop the anchor and have a leisurely lunch. The pilot shows that LWS is 14.36 at Cuan Sound. However I cannot find a reference to the height of the power cables over the Sound. We have passed under them before in Legend but Jugglers mast is at least 5m higher. We sail up to the east end of the Sound and notice several yachts have passed through with masts at least as tall as ours.

We take the short cut between the rocks and the island. We won’t be doing that again! There’s not much room and you only save a few hundred metres. The wind is funnelled through the Sound and picking out the transits is not helped by the main overpowering us in the gusts.

Passing the entrance to the well known anchorage of Puillaldobhrain we hear a Pan Pan from a yacht in the anchorage. It has snagged its anchor buoy around its prop and pulled the engine off its mountings. It’s not taking in any water. The skipper has phoned for a diver and tow. We feel that we cannot help and continue to Oban.

We motor the last few miles up to the old anchorage between the south end of Oban and the sailing club (where the white anchor is painted on the wall) only to find that the anchorage has been taken over by around 30 fixed moorings. These are operated by the Oban Bay Mooring Co. on an honesty basis. It is not easy to pass a rope through the buoy shackle due to its small size and the height of Jugglers bow. Maureen is successful with our Moorfast Hooker.

We use the dinghy to the pontoon and walk into the town for food for the next week. We decide not to visit the distillery as we been there at the start of the Classic malts Cruise in 2006. That evening we dined on mussels cooked in white wine with garlic, shallots and cream washed down by a good bottle of Chardonnay.

May 30th Tobermory, 29m, SE5/6

We leave Oban at 10.00 and head for the Sound of Mull. There’s a brisk wind on our starboard quarter and we make good progress.

There’s some shipping around in the Firth requiring keeping a good lookout. The Hebridean Princess diverts around us as we pass between the Rubha Fiart Eilean lighthouse on Lismore and Lady Rock. We have passed here many times but no matter whether the tide is flooding or ebbing you always seem to be set onto the Rock. Later, we read in the local papers that the owner of a well known holiday cruise company privately bought the cruise ship back (for a small sum) from his own company two weeks before the company went bust.

Since we passed Kintyre the surrounding hills have become higher and much more rugged.

The scenery on the west side of the Sound of Mull is impressive.

The southern entrance to the Sound of Mull is guarded by Duart Castle which has been used as a backdrop to many period films. It has been the ancestral home of the Maclean family for generations.

Irrespective of the predicted wind direction, it’s always blowing along the sounds. Halfway to Tobermory, the Sound of Mull opens up from around one mile wide to more than four near the village of Salen.

As we approach this area we see white water ahead even though the sea is more than 30m deep. The wind increases to more than 30kts and we settle the second reef in the main and take 5 turns in the no.3 foresail. This becomes a feature of the next months sailing.

There are plenty of sheltered moorings available in Tobermory Bay. We use the dinghy to the pontoon and walk round to the Mishnish bar for a late lunchtime drink.

May 31st Loch Drumbuie, 6.5m, var or SE4/5

We decide to move the short distance to Loch Drumbuie which is to the NE on Loch Sunart. It’s completely sheltered and there’s plenty of room to anchor. Only one other boat enters the loch and moors at least one mile away. The evening is very peaceful Jun 1st Inverie, 38m NE/N5 It looks like we will have a period of brisk N/NE winds. However, we pass Ardnamurchan Point (the most westerly point in Britain) in a flat calm. Loch Nevis just N of Mallaig has several anchorages providing shelter from every direction. We pick up a buoy off The Old Forge restaurant and bar at the village of Inverie in perfect shelter from the predicted winds. The bar is the most isolated pub in Britain. There is no metalled road into the village only an 18m rough track to the nearest road suitable only for 4x4 vehicles. Access is normally by ferry from Mallaig. The restaurant has won many awards for its food.

We remain here for 2 days as a front passes through.

Jun 3rd Kyleakin, 27m, NE4/5

We leave at 07.30 to catch the tide at Kyle Rhea. The tide is against us but we are sailing fast and arrive at Kyle Rhea just as the tide turns with us. The tide quickly pushes us into Loch Sunart and we turn into Kyleakin on the S side of the Loch. We find a berth against a 13m Legend which is undergoing a refit.

The ruined Castle Moil dates back to the 10th century when it was called Dunakin and was built as a broch or fortress to guard the sound between Skye and the mainland.

Later we walk to Saucy Mary’s hostel and bar. Saucy Mary was the viking princess who married the clan chief and castle owner in 900. It is absolutely heaving with Japanese tourists so we turn around to the King Haakon bar. This Viking gathered his armada of galleys under Dunakin before being defeated at the Battle of Largs in 1293 by Alexander, King of Scots. Entertainment was provided by the guitar and bagpipe group Sciehallion. A lively night was enjoyed by all.