Most of you will know by now that I was made redundant at the end of October and that I have no intentions of returning to any sort of serious paid employment for at least a year. Many of you are also probably aware that I am planning to take off in Scorpio in mid April when the summer school term starts and not return until the end of August. I have started to put an initial plan together for the trip, outlined below, including some relevant links.

You can see a rough map of the intended cruise in Google Maps by following this link or see maps of the individual passages/cruising areas by clicking the week numbers below - the maps have some indication of possible spots to visit but these are only ideas and are wide open for discussion in the next stage of planning with the crew of each leg.

So on to the overall trip itself...

Saturday 17th April to Friday 30th April - Weeks 1 & 2 - Southampton to the Clyde

I plan to move the Scorpio nonstop from Southampton to the Clyde using the trip as the necessary 500NM (nautical mile) two-handed qualifier for the Azores and Back (AZAB) race in 2011 which I plan to do with a mate from Yateley Offshore Sailing Club. He and I have already had a brief discussion on our plan for this delivery leg.

Saturday 1st to Friday 7th May - Week 3 - Cruising Firth of Clyde starting and ending in Rhu

During this week I propose to cruise the Firth of Clyde including the Kyles of Bute. In theory this will be the most sheltered sailing of the entire trip. This week will have more of a cruising flavour probably with some nights alongside, something which will become increasingly rare as Scorpio moves further north.

Saturday 8th to Friday 14th May - Week 4 - Clyde to Oban

This will be a one way passage from Rhu via the Crinan Canal (across the Mull of Kintyre) to Oban. Rhu to Adrishaig at the inner end of the Crinan Canal is 48NM (about the distance from Cowes to Weymouth) with several places to stop. The canal is nine miles long and has 15 locks and 7 opening bridges - it will probably take a full day on its own and will likely be quite hard work as most of the locks need to be self operated. From Crinan to Oban is 25NM also with plenty of renowned anchorages along the way and the challenge of avoiding the UK's most famous tidal whirlpool in the Gulf of Corryvreckan! This week will have more of a passage making feel than the cruising weeks before and after it.

Saturday 15th to Friday 21st May - Week 5 - Oban to Oban (Mull etc.)

This will be the first full week on the proper west coast of Scotland. It will be a week of exploring and cruising in and around the Island of Mull and Tobermory, Loch Sunart and, weather permitting, the west side of Mull including Staffa, Fingal's Cave and Iona

Saturday 22nd to Friday 28th May - Week 6 - Oban to Kyle of Lochalsh

A mixture of cruising and passage making this week - Oban to Kyle of Lochalsh is 77NM in total which can be broken down into a series of day sails via Tobermory, Eigg and Muck. This passage involves rounding Ardnamurchan Point the most westerly point of the UK mainland - by tradition a yacht can tie a sprig of heather to the pulpit after going north of Ardnamurchan. North of Ardnamurchan is much more remote and exposed - a yacht needs to be self sufficient once leaving Tobermory going north.

Saturday 29th May to Friday 4th June - Week 7 - Kyle to Kyle

This week is half term and Karen will hopefully be joining me for a cruise in and around Skye and the channels and lochs between Skye and the mainland.

Saturday 5th to Friday 18th June - Weeks 8 and 9 - Destination Outer Hebrides starting and ending in Kyle of Lochalsh

This two week trip is the turning point. My intention is to go out to the Outer Hebrides weather permitting. A crossing to Stornoway would be 62NM (about the same as a crossing from the Solent to Cherbourg). There are numerous options for anchorages along the way but little in the way of towns and villages once Portree is astern. In the lead up to mid Summer's day that far north the days will be long affording lots of time to admire the scenery and removing the need for passage making in the dark. We will have to plan to be self sufficient for much of the time although I hear tell of some excellent remote pubs and restaurants! If the weather gods do not smile on us we may need to fall back to cruising between Skye and Mull. Ideally I'd like to cruise down the entire eastern side of the Outer Hebrides from Stornoway to Barra (about 90NM). Barra could be interesting as it is the second of the four stop over ports in the Round Britain and Ireland race which starts from Plymouth on 4th June.

Saturday 19th to Friday 25th June - Week 10 - Turning South: Kyle to Oban

A reverse of Week 6 exploring new places and possibly returning to the best of previously visited spots.

Saturday 26th June to Friday 2nd July - Week 11 - Oban to Belfast

A total distance of around 140NM this will be a week of day sails down the west coast of the Mull of Kintyre where there are numerous possibilities for overnight stops including Port Ellen on Islay. Fortified by a final wee dram this is likely to be the casting off point for Northern Ireland which also has a number of options for stops before finishing up the week in Carrickfergus or Bangor in Belfast Lough.

Saturday 3rd to Friday 16th July - Weeks 12 and 13 - Belfast to Cork

A total distance of 250NM this two week trip along the east and south coasts of Ireland will probably be a series of the longish day sails. Weather and time permitting I intend to stop for at least a couple of days in both Dublin and Waterford. It is possible to berth right in the city centre in both these places. Other possibilities for stops include Strangford Lough, Carlingford Lough and Arklow amongst others. The week ending 16th July is the Biennial Cork Week regatta which is reported as being like Cowes Week on steroids. Hopefully we will arrive in time and find some space to join in the craic for a few days at the end.

Saturday 17th to Friday 23rd July - Week 14 - Cork

After 3 months of sailing I reckon I'll feel like a week off!

Saturday 24th July to Friday 27th August - Weeks 15 to 19 - Cork to Southampton

Hopefully Karen and possibly even some of the kids will join me for a family cruise in SW Ireland, a passage across the Irish Sea to the Scillies or Falmouth and a gentle trip home to Southampton along the south coast.

I have tried to pick start and end points for each leg that make the journeys from the South East easy and/or interesting and also to allow for the vagaries of the weather, as follows:

• Clyde changeovers are likely to happen at Rhu Marina. Rhu Marina is about two miles from Helensburgh which is about 25 miles west of Glasgow at the end of a half hourly rail service. Glasgow is easily accessible by air or train.

• Oban is on the west coast at the end of one branch of the West Highland Railway line (which ranks as one of the most beautiful railway journeys in the world). There are four trains per day from Glasgow - the journey is 3 hours. There is also an overnight sleeper service direct from London Euston leaving about 21:00 and getting in to Oban mid morning the following day.

• Kyle of Lochalsh is further north on the west coast at the end of another fabulous rail journey, this time 2.5 hours from Inverness. Inverness is accessible by air and rail (including overnight sleeper). An alternative for these changeovers is Mallaig at the end of the other branch of the West Highland Railway, five hours from Glasgow and also served by direct overnight sleeper from London.

• Belfast is probably best reached direct by air from London

• Cork is probably best reached direct by air from London

Ed Essery

Scorpio - GBR9824T

Hanse 342 - Solent Based

Scorpio's Blog: http://blog.mailasail.com/scorpio

~~~~_/)~~~~

Thursday 18th March 2010 00:06
Scorpio ready…

After delay due to the snow and ice Scorpio came out of the water for her annual maintenance in mid January. Following a coat of antifouling, two coats of polish and a new saildrive fairing (the old one had come unstuck) she went back in the water 10 days ago. In view of her anticipated travels in 2010 I had the local riggers give the mast and rigging a once over - all clear. The engine and mechanics were also serviced revealing that at some point in 2009 we had had a dose of diesel bug. Using a vacuum pump we sucked about 15l of mucky diesel out of the bottom of the tank so hopefully she should be OK. We'll see when we've run a tank of fuel through and changed the filters. Much thanks are due to Julian C for his help in the winter maintenance.

On the road to Scotland...

...well across the boatyard to the lift dock...

As of today, the list of winter jobs is complete!! The bathing platform has gone off for a GRP repair courtesy of Hanse - we'll see how it bears up on return sometime next week.

All that remains is a trial sail this weekend to double check the sails have been rerigged properly and that everything is working when actually out sailing.

After that it'll be a matter of loading the growing pile of crates on the landing at home, stowing the stuff that was brought home to the garage for the winter (dinghy etc.) and, if she's still floating, some clothes for myself and we'll be ready for the off!

The navigation planning is largely done. The planned route is pretty much as was described in the 16th November post with the exception that I'll use Arisaig (just south of Mallaig) as the base and crew change point when north of Ardnamurchan Point. The overall plan can be seen in Google Maps here.

The plan is to try and go non-stop from the Solent to Campbeltown on the eastern tip of the Mull of Kintyre in order to maximise the time in the Clyde - it should take about four days. That said, we'll stop if the weather blows up or we don't get a clear four days of suitable weather. Possible stops along the south coast are Weymouth, Dartmouth, Plymouth, Falmouth and Newlyn - all places Scorpio has been before (except Newlyn). Once round Land's End and into pastures new, possibilities are Milford Haven, Arklow (Ireland), Dublin, Holyhead, Ardglass (N. Ireland) and Glenarm (N. Ireland). Unless we are feeling very fresh and the tides are right it is quite likely we'll stop in Ardglass or Glenarm to get some sleep and wait for suitable weather and tides. The last stretch across the North Channel from N. Ireland to the Clyde estuary is short but it is very busy with shipping and the tides are ferocious (the whole north part of the Irish Sea fills and empties through this relatively narrow strip of water) and this can also make it rough. We shall see....

More news and thoughts as we get closer to departure day.

Fair winds and smooth seas to all.

Friday 19^th March 16:47
Shakedown – so far so good…

In Newtown Creek (50 43.45N 001 24.075W) after a first shakedown. It's completely deserted - just one other boat. I've never seen it so empty. Starting to rain now as first of expected fronts arrive.

Motored down Southampton Water in murky/foggy conditions listening to one of the Isle of Wight ferries doing a full emergency fire/abandon ship exercise involving lifeboats and everything. Couldn't see them though due to poor visibility.

At Calshot visibility improved and we sailed over to Newtown in 15 knots.

Spending time sorting things on board. Back to Southampton tomorrow.

Sunday 21^st March 21:40
Shaken not stirred…

Came back from Newtown Creek in a Force 5/6 gusting 7 from SW yesterday morning in intermittent heavy rain showers. The boat was creaming along at 7 or 7.5 knots with the main and one reef and no headsail. If we have conditions like that going to Scotland we'll be there in no time!

Everything on the boat was OK except a seal on the loo which needs changing.

This week's activity is loading up all the stuff that is stacked up at home. Just hope that she doesn't sink!

Not long to go now...

Monday 29^th March 21:56
Now where is the Blue Peter…

Here we are at the end of March - it barely seems like five minutes let alone five months since I was made redundant, stopped work and commenced my "gap" year/sabbatical. I am pleased to say that I don't think there has been a single day when I have sat around twiddling my thumbs wondering what to do! Nor, contrary to the belief of some members of my family, have I succumbed to the lure of daytime TV - thankfully I have been gainfully, if not remuneratively, employed elsewhere. November and December were taken up with some long overdue decorating. Since January most of my time has been taken up with preparing for my impending trip.

Scorpio had been due to come out of the water for winter maintenance in the first week of January but that was delayed by two weeks due to the arrival of the snow. We have been in our house 29 years this Easter and in all that time have never seen snow like what we had in January. Karen and I went for a walk on the nearby heath on the second day of snow and wondered what the noises were before realising it was large branches breaking off trees due to the weight of snow on them!

It wasn't until the first week of March that we had a day where the temperature got above 10C - I know - I was waiting for one to do some gluing on Scorpio. In between days of being frozen working on the boat I warmed up at home doing some navigational preparations. Scorpio has now been back in the water three weeks and we have had one shakedown sail which was both windy and wet! She is loaded up and ready to go - all that remains to go on are fresh food and clothes. Every nook and cranny has been used. At Karen's suggestion I have gone as far as making a stowage plan - I'm not sure if this is because Karen thinks I am getting forgetful or whether I am developing OCD or a combination of the two. Hopefully it will mean that in weeks to come we won't have to turn the boat upside down looking for the new bottle of washing up liquid which I know is somewhere!!

It is now under three weeks before I set off on my long anticipated summer of sailing. I will be joined along the way by friends, family and colleagues for a week or two at a time. Originally I had thought of making the trip to the Clyde non-stop but the temptations of pasties and Guinness has proved too much to resist and we have decided to make short stops in Falmouth, Howth (near Dublin) and somewhere in Northern Ireland along the way. Our first planned Scottish port of call is Campbeltown on the tip of the Mull of Kintyre. That said, I read yesterday that Sanda has just been sold to a Swiss businessman and that the pub may close - we may need to stop for a pint before it does!! If you wish to find out if we make it to Sanda or, more generally, follow Scorpio's progress through the summer you may do so at http://blog.mailasail.com/scorpio where I intend to keep a record of progress, thoughts and observations as the trip progresses. The site does have an RSS feed so if you have an RSS compatible e-mail programme you should be able to get my occasional ramblings direct in your inbox.

So that's about all my news. May I take this opportunity to wish you a happy and relaxing Easter. Let's hope the summer to come is as warm as the past winter has been cold!

Keep well and have fun...

Friday 16^th April 19:42
Code Flag P is flying…

Code Flag P - the Blue Peter - is truly flying. Scorpio is loaded and ready - she didn't sink under the weight of what I suspect are far too many clothes and far too much M&S tinned food. Need to help their profitability somehow!

I've had well over three months to prepare yet, here, on the last evening at home there still seem a mass of loose ends to tie up. Will Karen manage to use Skype without the training session? Probably she's a clever and supportive lady, if a bit of a luddite!

Tomorrow morning (Sat 17th) we'll be slipping our lines from Shamrock Quay and heading west on the F4 easterly that is bringing clouds of ash to the UK from Iceland. It may be disrupting air travel all over Europe but it is perfect for Ken and I as we go down Channel to Falmouth and we are hopeful that it will continue through the weekend as forecast.

"All ashore who's going ashore..."

Saturday 17^th April 12:09
Underway and sailing!

50 48.2N 001 18.3W

Slipped from Shamrock Quay at 10.30 and motored down Southampton Water in fairly light airs. Saw our friends on "Cat's Paw" who took some photos of us as we left the River Itchen.

Started sailing at Calshot Spit in 7.5 knots of wind from SE. Making just over 5 knots boat speed against last of flood tide. Tide turns in our favour in 90 minutes. Our plan is to use the six hours of fair tide to get round Portland Bill even if it means motoring to keep the boat speed up.

Meanwhile we are sailing peacefully along in glorious sunshine even if the wind is a bit cold.

More later...

Saturday 17^th April 15:33
Westward Ho!

50 36.1N 001 47.2W - Christchurch Bay. 15:15

The wind has been, as forecast, light and variable. For a while we were reaching down the Solent with the asymmetric (coloured sail) up. In the Needles channel we were close hauled on port tack. In between times it has been so light we have been motoring.

The Needles (western tip of Isle of Wight) are now falling astern and starting to disappear in haze. We can see Bournemouth on horizon to north (hello Christine!). We are motor sailing SW to get round Portland before the tide turns against us.

There is one other yacht about a mile behind us which looks like it is doing the same as us. Other than that, there is no one else out here.

Sun still shining but wind (what there is of it) is cold. Ken off watch and dozing.

Saturday 17^th April 18:26
Altering course…

50 26.7N 002 26.5W

18:15 - Still motoring and making good progress on spring tides.

5 miles south of Portland Bill. Just altered course to ease into Lyme Bay to avoid worst of tide when it turns against us in an hour or two.

Just done the fuel calculations and we reckon we have enough to get to Falmouth. If we continue to make this progress we should be in for a lunchtime pint.

To quote Ken "It's as quiet as a box of quiet things out here".

More tomorrow or possibly in early hours.

Sunday 18^th April 01:44
Give me a ship and a star to steer her by…

50 21.12N 003 25..22W

Sunday 01:00. Just on watch in 5 layers on top and three on my legs. It's clear but cold.

Here we are slipping down the South Devon coast. Berry Head and Brixham 5 miles to the west of us. Start Point, the next major headland after Portland Bill, 11.5 miles dead ahead; its light house blinking three times every 10 seconds.. The tide is turning with us to sweep us round the corner, past Salcombe and on to Eddystone Light House in 36 miles and Falmouth 21 beyond that. The GPS is saying we will be in at 11:30 but it does not know we are about to be accelerated by another 6 hours of tides so, all being well, it will be earlier than that.

About 6pm yesterday I went through a low patch faced with the long haul across Lyme Bay under power. I was cold and had a headache. Then we had some pasta and I put on warm clothes for my watch from 7pm to 10pm. My spirits lifted as the sun set like a flaming orange leaving behind a beautiful star lit night, the seas calmed down from Slight to Smooth as we got into the weaker tide. All through yesterday afternoon the 6.5 knots we were doing through the water was increased by up to 50% by the tides sweeping along. Our strategy of cutting into Lyme Bay has paid as in the six hours of foul tide we have seen no more than 1.5 knots of tide against us and we are perfectly positioned to pick up the strongest tides in our favour. Yes, as all sailors are, I am obsessed by tides.

Therein lies some of my anxiety. Ken and I both know these waters and their foibles well; once we get past Falmouth and into the Irish Sea this is not the case and we will need to take extra care and do more paper planning. Which in many respects is the whole point - the challenge is what it is all about and I am blessed to have the opportunity. It will be interesting to see how I feel when we turn the corner at Land's End...

Sunday 18^th April 02:48
Start Point abeam…

50 11.9N 003 36.3W

Is it called Start Point because it is the beginning of the West Country? It always feels like that to me...

Sunday 18^th April 16:49
Falmouth for orders…

Falmouth 16:00 Sunday 18th April. 50 08.15N 005 01.34W

In the days of sailing ships both merchant and naval it was common for Captains to be told to "Proceed to Falmouth and await orders" which was usually shortened to "Falmouth for orders". This is because Falmouth is the most westerly deep water sheltered port on the south coast. Even today merchant ships are laid up in the Fal Estuary when there is no work for them.

We arrived in Falmouth this morning at 11:45 with some orders of our own. These are/were in priority order:

A Pint
A Sunday Roast in a good Pub
A Shower
85 litres of Diesel
Some more fresh food for the next leg.

We arrived having pretty much motored the whole way through a beautifully clear but cold night. On arrival we found someone trying to tempt us with an alternative vessel:

Whoever you are, it is tempting but she is a bit big for double handed sailing, she's a bit faded and the rig looks a bit small to me for her to have a decent sailing performance. So thanks, but no thanks - I think we'll stick with Scorpio.

On the subject of pictures here are some from yesterday - "Farewell to the Needles and home waters":

The flaming ball of yesterday's sunset in Lyme Bay - for those interested that is a "smooth" sea state!

At 9.20 this morning midway between Eddystone Rocks and Falmouth entrance we had some visitors - a pod of four or five dolphins. I don't have a photo but I do have a video - my son and his wife gave me a small video camera and me the challenge of videoing five different items during the trip - first challenge done!! The Loch Ness monster may be a touch tougher to catch, especially as we have no plans to go anywhere neat Loch Ness.

Whilst having a few minutes I should also introduce the other two permanent members of the crew, one of whom steered the whole way from the Needles - Pilot Pete. He is Scorpio's autopilot and really is like another pair of hands. He will do three things and do them without moaning, getting cold or needing feeding (other than amps) - his three specialities are 1) Keep steering in the straight line you are now, 2) Keep sailing with the wind at the same angle to the boat as it is now, 3) Go the way the GPS Navigator tells you. Because he is so vital (neither Ken nor I would have wanted to hand steer the boat under power for the duration of our watches), when the opportunity came up on eBay to buy a spare at a bargain price I went for it. We tested this backup autopilot on the way down the Solent and found it does 1) and 2) above but when told to go a specific way by the GPS it sheers off at a different angle by about 10 or 20 degrees. So this new autopilot will go its own way, blow with the wind but not follow directions from others, I hereby christen it (in the knowledge that there are no women who know me within hundreds of miles) - Co-pilot Petra.

The weather looks settled for days to come and if we sit here waiting for wind, we'll probably still be here on Thursday so we intend to press on under engine tomorrow. Unfortunately we don't have a big enough fuel tank to get all the way to Dublin/Howth so we are going to go to Milford Haven to re-fuel and take stock. We plan to leave tomorrow at about 11.00. It's 140NM to Milford Haven compared to the it was 170NM from Southampton to here.

On passage we can only make blog entries when we have mobile phone coverage and the time/inclination to send an e-mail to the blog. The Lat/Long position I put in this e-mail is used by the Blog software to update the map. It is not updated in an automated from the instruments on the boat.

We'll probably blog a couple of times between here and Land's End and then there will be silence until we get to Milford Haven.

If you have comments and/or questions for us you can e-mail scorpio@essery.net

Now it's time for Ken and I to stretch our legs. TTFN

Monday 19^th April 11:19
Outbound from Falmouth

Was woken at 4am by moan of fog horn at St. Anthony's Head. Went back to sleep and woke at 7am to heavy morning mist but a bit of a breeze.

By the time we had showered and gone to town for a full English the mist had cleared and the breeze had died :-( . Fuelled up and we are now on our way to either Howth or Milford Haven if we need to stop for fuel.

More later...

Monday 19^th April 13:24
The Lizard and we're finally sailing!

13:15 Glorious sunshine.

Here we are at the Lizard Point the most southerly point on the mainland (50N 54.56N 005 12.10W) and we're finally sailing. Just turning NW by W for Land's End which is 25 miles away across Mount's Bay.

More later...

Monday 19^th April 16:40
Land's End – Dublin bound...

16:30 Monday.

50 00.0N 005 45.0W

At Land's End in good breeze. Planning to go straight to Dublin unless breeze dies completely overnight.

Probably no more posts until we arrive in Dublin on Wednesday morning.

Tuesday 20^th April 06:52
That Tuesday morning feeling...

04:15 Tuesday 20th April

Somewhere in the Bristol Channel about 30 miles west of Croyde (for M & C)

More precisely 51 04N 005 28W

Just come on watch. Ken tells me the last three hours have been black as pitch with only one merchant vessel passing about a mile ahead of us now - outbound from somewhere up the Bristol Channel.

We are presently under engine motoring towards Milford Haven with an ETA of late morning - but I'm getting ahead of myself...

Day 3 - Monday 19th April - a recap...

As we motored out of Falmouth mid morning in glorious sunshine we thought of our friends and family having their first coffee of the working week and, yet again, reflected on how lucky we were by comparison. Our Monday morning feeling this week was very different.

As we passed the Manacles Rocks marked by their East Cardinal Mark it suddenly seemed all very familiar. When I did my navigation training at night school in London, in the late 1970s, the training chart we used was Falmouth Approaches. I understand the UK Hydrographic Office and the RYA now use a chart of fictional places that encompass every possible feature for training purposes - a sensible approach I suppose but one that denies future navigators the feeling I had earlier.

I'm not sure whether it was my earlier comments about his new partner Co-Pilot Petra or just that Monday morning feeling but Pilot Peter had a spat this morning. We were passing close to a pot buoy and Ken punched in the command to dodge around it, Pete ignored him so Ken disconnected him from the tiller and hand steered. At this point Pete stuck his tongue fully out (his steering ram arm) and wouldn't put it away again despite much cajoling and punching of buttons. As with most naughty children removing privileges (in this case - amps) and sending them to the naughty step to cool/calm down works. Half an hour later he was fine. I could say something about computers, logic and bugs but I won't!

As we approached the Lizard the wind swung round and filled in and we started sailing - fairly hard on the wind on starboard tack. We fairly quickly had to put in a first reef followed within 15 minutes by the second - Scorpio always goes better if you reef early. The breeze held all the way to Land's End and we had a fabulous sail for some six hours.

As we rounded Land's End full of hope of being able to sail direct to Dublin the gods of the weather and the sea imposed their views. The wind was on the nose and we had little room between the Traffic Separation Zone (which we are encouraged to keep out of) and the rocks in which to short tack. We decided to furl the jib and motor. It was blowing about 20 knots across the deck directly from the direction in which we were travelling and we had two to three knots of tide pushing us in the direction we wanted to go. This situation of the wind blowing in the opposite direction to the tide always causes the sea to kick up - in this case it was particularly unpleasant partially because the bottom is very uneven in those parts and partially because of the wind acceleration effect around the headland. The waves were not big but the interval between them was short.

Longships Light House & Land's End - England's most westerly point (not the UK's - that comes later!). Doesn't look that rough but I can you assure it was!!

Burying the bow pulpit in a trough with the resulting green water washing back down the deck (we fairly quickly put back up the spray hood which we had taken down earlier) was alternated with crashing off the top of a wave and landing with a shuddering crash on the other side. In these conditions the engine revs. which had us going at 6.5 knots in the calm conditions of the trip down to Falmouth could only keep us moving through the water at 3 or 3.5 knots. These unpleasant conditions continued into the evening with the sea slowly calming down as we left Cape Cornwall and the north Cornish coast behind.

About 10pm we had a fairly close encounter with the MV Tequila who we had been watching closely on our AIS Receiver (AIS = [Ship] Automatic Identification System). It looked like it was going to be close and as it was our right of way, I called him on the radio and asked him what his intentions were - he said he had had a solid echo of us on his radar from more than six miles away and it was telling him that the CPA (closest point of approach) was going to be half a mile. And so it proved - he passed 0.6 of a mile in front of us. At least I now know that the new Active Radar Target Enhancer (RTE) I fitted for this trip is generating solid echoes of us at a good distance out. Plastic boats do not show up very well on radar, especially in rough seas, as demonstrated by the tragic case of the Ouzo.

About an hour later we ran through a fleet of about 10 fishing boats spread over about a five mile area - none came very close to us and we didn't need to alter course. But they all had to be watched. It all made for an interesting watch.

Ken and I are working on a 3 hours on, 3 hours off watch pattern which seems to work well. We swapped the slots over for this passage from the ones we used coming down to Falmouth. This avoids one person always having the graveyard watch from 01:00 to 04:00.

As I finish writing this, it is just getting light. The sea is as calm as a mill pond and there is barely a breath of wind. There is nothing to be seen on the horizon and there are no targets on the AIS. But somebody is out there and watching - the flickering green light on the RTE tells me it is responding to the sweep of some unseen radar out there. It's comforting to know the RTE and AIS are constantly watching our back for us. I wonder if the radar operators on seeing our echo are wondering who we are and what we are doing.

If only they knew the plans for the weeks ahead, they'd probably have a Tuesday morning feeling...

Sunrise over the Bristol Channel

We should be in Milford Haven about midday so will post again when we've tidied up, showered, eaten etc.

Have a good Tuesday one and all.

Tuesday 20^th April 14:24
Dolphins, Pasties and Milford Haven

Here's a video of the dolphins we saw going into Falmouth. We saw a further dolphin yesterday off the Lizard it wasn't interested in us - it looked like it was looking for fish. It was lunchtime! Ken reports that a pod of dolphins visited us between 01:00 and 02:00 when I was off watch. They played in the bow wave for a while creating a lot of phosphorescence.

Talking of lunch, we got some proper Cornish Pasties in Falmouth and warmed them up for lunch. Delicious - for a fleeting moment I thought about turning back for more.

We got into Milford Haven at 11:45 having to come through a ship sized lock that opened just for us! We had a sandwich whilst waiting for the fuelling berth attendant, fuelled up, cleaned the boat up and have had showers. As soon as this is done we're off up the town.

The plan is to leave here at 08:30 and go to Howth (just north of Dublin) - it will probably be another 18 to 24 hours if the weather allows. We're going to investigate that now.

More later...

Wednesday 21^st April 12:11
Kindness, coincidences and flexibility...

Wednesday 21st April, Milford Haven

As we came into the estuary yesterday morning we were struck how pretty it was, if it were not for all the oil terminal jetties. The marina in Milford Haven has been built in an old disused dock and has excellent showers (a very important metric for cruising sailors). The town itself is an old commercial place that has not had much regeneration. We decided to eat in the Bar/Restaurant above the marina office. A place called "Martha's Vineyard". The food was really good, the atmosphere convivial and the prices very reasonable. A highly recommended establishment if you are ever in the area.

Over dinner we reviewed the weather forecast and our options. We have decided to stay here today and leave on the evening tide. This should give us a less lumpy ride through the rocks and islands off St. David's Head and will also mean we arrive in Howth in daylight early on Thursday evening. We then plan to have the day off in Dublin on Friday and push on to Bangor in Northern Ireland on Saturday. Today we're going to lock out of here shortly and go up the estuary and anchor under Benton Castle for lunch before returning to Dale and anchoring for a couple of hours kip before leaving for Ireland around 8pm.

When Ken was in the showers this morning he fell into conversation with a chap who turns out to be skipper of the beautiful 90' Edwardian Gentlemen's Ketch called Halcyon which we had noticed at anchor in the Haven when we arrived yesterday. Apparently they were doing a photo shoot for Musto. Turns out this skipper used to work for Hanse and when Ken told him our plans but said we were going to be extra cautious as we have no paper charts for the estuary. He said he had a spare set he could give us. Halcyon is also going to Scotland and we have agreed to give the charts back up there if and when we see them. That's the sort of thing I love about cruising under sail...

Coincidence? The boat I learned to sail on in the Clyde as a teenager was called.... Halcyone

Wednesday 21^st April 19:40
Editor's note...

It has been pointed out to me that there have been a number of spilling, tYPografical and grammatical errors in wot I have wrote. For these I apologise - both for past and, inevitable, future errors.

In my defence I must point out that I am writing these posts on my Netbook which has a smaller than normal keyboard - when I am using this it is on the chart table with both me and it sometimes heeled over at crazy angles and sometimes when the boat pitches the keys come up and press my fingers. Alternatively I am using my phone which although it has a slide out keyboard has keys about the size of grains of rice and it has no spill checker.

Please forgive me - the quality of my written work will improve when it is homework rather than boatwork.

Wednesday 21^st April 19:58
You can't have enough castles...

We've had a lovely day. We locked out of Milford Haven shortly after 10.30 and proceeded up the harbour under power with Petra at the helm. We had hoped to give her some training and swing her compass - unfortunately it was not to be as there was too much wind to motor the boat in the required slow wide circles.

Our destination for a lunch stop at anchor was a castle which was pictured in one of the articles on Milford Haven. We looked at the chart saw a castle and pointed Petra in the right direction. As we approached we thought it not as pretty as the picture in the Yachting Monthly article, indeed perhaps it wasn't even the same castle. A quick reference back to the chart confirmed that the castle pictured was another one up a drying creek which is totally inaccessible to Scorpio and most of the boats owned by the target readership of Yachting Monthly.

We proceeded up the river past a number of delightful villages and creeks and one particularly stunning barn conversion no doubt owned by some overpaid banker (managed to correct that typo).

We picked up a vacant mooring and sat and ate our sandwiches. I then learned something. At Ken's suggestion we came back down the river under self tacking headsail alone. The boat was creaming along at up to 5 knots and far safer through the inevitable gybes at bends in the river than it would have been under the sail plan I would have normally used - main alone. Thanks Ken - I'll use that sail plan again. Remember children - the boom on a yacht has one and only one mission in life: to kill you.

We are now in Dale bay just inside the entrance to Milford Haven on another vacant mooring. We had a cup of tea when we got here at 16:45 then got our heads down for a couple of hours kip but are now up again.

The tea is in the oven. The Nav. is done. We leave for Howth at 9pm.

Wednesday 21^st April 20:18
What's in a name?

In Scorpio's home waters we have the Shingles Bank, the Bramble Bank and Calshot Spit. We have some friends who rename things because the standard names are so boring - Egypt Point becomes Egg Whipped Point.

Here in south west Wales the rocks and islands have far better names. Skokholm Island (sounds like it should be in the Baltic), Skomer Island and Ramsey Island (missing in action from the Isle of Man or Australia?). The rocks also have interesting names - the Bishops & Clerks, the Smalls, the Hats, the Barrels. There's even a Wild Goose Race. I think whomever names things around here should be given Advanced Skills status and encouraged to pass on their expertise to others in their profession.

We leave Milford Haven at 9pm to pick our way through these on our way to Howth where we expect to arrive in 24 hours. Let's hope Pilot Pete is up to the job.

There will probably be no more postings from us until we are in Ireland and then they may be short due to mobile data charges.

Have a fun Thursday...

Thursday 22^nd April 15:34
The Lonely (Irish) Sea and the Sky

Thursday 22nd April 08:15

52 36.0N 005 34.5W

Ken sleeps, Pilot Pete continues his long watch on the helm. John Humphrys (on Long Wave out here) is telling me what is happening out in the world. We are sailing and have been sailing since Milford Haven entrance - if this carries on we won't need green diesel in Howth. (The engine is fuelled by red diesel which is apparently green in Ireland!) We're sailing along at 5.0 to 5.5 knots in 10 knots of wind on the beam (i.e. from the side - the direction that gives the fastest sailing for a particular strength of wind)

We're in Irish territorial waters. The Irish courtesy flag will have to wait until Ken is awake. Ship's Rule No. 1 - You don't leave the cockpit to go forward on deck unless the other crew member is awake or, preferably, on deck.

We are all alone. To our mild surprise we have seen very little shipping. Two Fishguard - Rosslare ferries crossed each other about 8 miles behind us, some sort of merchant vessel passed south about six miles to the west of us and Ken had a coastal oiler pass about half a mile ahead. That's all we have seen since leaving Milford Haven. No fishing boats and certainly not other yachts. At present the horizon is clear all around with nothing in sight. There is a high layer of cloud typical of the high pressure we are sitting under. The lonely sea and the sky - we could be in the middle of an endless ocean. Two things disabuse me of that possibility - the GPS position with the resulting plot on the chart and the presence of John Humphrys.

More later. Now where is that Dubliner's CD?

Thursday 22^nd April 15:47
Ship's Rules...

Just for the record...

Do not leave the cockpit unless somebody else is awake and, preferably, on deck.
Lifejackets to be worn at all time with harness lines clipped on in hours of darkness
Pump out the heads (toilet) at least 20 times - if you block it, you clear it
The maker of the meal does not wash up
No criticisms - only suggestions for improvement
There is no Rule 6

Thursday 22^nd April 15:47
A bird that thinks it's a fish...

Approaching Dublin Thursday 15:30

53 16.25N 005 53.50W

As the early part of the morning progressed the wind died away to the point where we were making less than 4 knots through the water and, as the tide was against us at that point, the GPS was predicting an arrival sometime in 2011. Anybody who has sailed on her will tell you Scorpio needs 10 knots across the deck to make her go. At 10.00 we fired up the engine and have been motoring ever since. We should be in in about 90 minutes all being well.

During the day the sea has calmed down so that is now as flat and still as a millpond. We have still seen no other boats of any type. Where is everybody? Booking a seat for tonight's bun fight?

We have seen dozens of a particular species of bird that has the strange habit of diving under the water rather than flying away as the boat approaches. Neither Ken nor I are good on ornithology. I do have a book on board from which we have determined these submarine birds (they stay under for about two minutes) are either Manx Shearwaters or Guillemots.

Friday 23^rd April 09:28
Refreshed and ready to be a tourist…

Howth Yacht Club Marina (53 23.36N 006 03.99W)

Just as I finished the writing the last post Ken called me up on deck to see more commercial shipping ranged out in front of us than we have seen the entire time since we left Southampton Water. Dublin and its docks are at the western end of a large semi circular bay. Right in the middle of the middle of a bay is a "safe water" mark that is used as a marine roundabout. There are four dual carriageway shipping lanes leading to the roundabout one, west into Dublin, was of no concern to us. The other three we had to cross in quick succession about two miles east of "roundabout" buoy. The first lane, south east towards the southern end of the Irish Sea, was empty, the second eastwards to Liverpool had a ferry in it which altered course slightly for us (the RTE paid off again) and the third north eastwards to the northern end of the Irish Sea had a few ships in it but nothing problematical. Talk about feast or famine!

We got into Howth at about 17:45, fuelled up, paid for two nights and then went to get a drink to recover. The drink made us feel worse. This place is expensive!! We paid the equivalent of £30.50 a night for berthing and nearly £4 for a pint. It would be quite hard to find somewhere on the south coast on a high summer weekend that charges that much, leave alone on an April midweek night. We had high hopes for the facilities but they turn out to be communal club style changing rooms. The water was warm enough last night, this morning it was distinctly on the chilly side. At least they provide free Wi-Fi so we can moan about them without incurring mobile phone data charges.

In the UK you would expect a club marina like this to be cheaper than the "high street" - if that model continues to Ireland, today is not going to be cheap. We shall see. More later.

Friday 23^rd April 21:58
Reflections on Dublin...

Dublin has changed little since I was a regular visitor in my student days - members of the public can still walk into the tranquillity of Trinity College (try that in Oxford or Cambridge and see what happens); Bewleys Oriental Cafe is still the same as it was in the 70's (and it was like a step back in time then) the smell of the coffee is equally overpowering now as it was then - Starbucks eat your heart out; the Post Office in O'Connell street complete with bullet holes from the Easter uprising in the colonnades is an equally impressive time warp; the beggars are still there on O'Connell Street Bridge and at the bottom of Grafton Street.

We spent a few a couple of hours in Temple Bar drinking and people watching. Some of the street theatre was entertaining

The spike in O'Connell Street is an interesting addition. We asked a Gardai about it to be told it was a Millennium project but was four years late and that he could think of several people to put on it. Temple Bar has been rejuvenated but did feel like a bit of a pastiche of what I know is the true Ireland, cooked up for tourists and visiting stag and hen parties who appeared in increasing numbers as the day progressed. Rather than spend the evening there we have returned to Howth in the hope of finding something a bit more genuine and local.

Ireland is expensive but perhaps not as much as the inflated prices of Howth Yacht Club led us to fear.

Meanwhile the wind has swung round to the south and increased a bit. If it stays like this we should have a good sail to Ardglass in Northern Ireland tomorrow. We changed our destination from Bangor not because I got our tidal calculations wrong but because we are led to believe it is a beautiful place. We leave about 9am tomorrow to see how the boat stems the tide in Irish territorial waters ;-).

More tomorrow.

Saturday 24^th April 08:26
Advice required...

Howth, Friday 10pm

We asked staff at the marina for a recommendation of a good pub with live traditional Irish music. On arrival at the door it says "Friday nights - Traditional Irish Music". So far, so good. We go inside, the menu seems fine - Fish & Chips 10 Euros, so place our order for food and drink and ask about the music. "It's Neil Young night, it'll be starting shortly", I asked if Neil Young was traditional Irish, the waitress said "He played here once you know - we have the pressing cuttings, his Dad lived around the corner" My esteemed crew thought she had a wicked sense of humour but was slightly surprised when she came back with the press cuttings from 1996.

The food was very good, as was the Guinness. Then a young lad picked up a guitar and started on a Bob Dylan number (or so he said). The people at the table next and in front of us got up and left! We were deep in discussion on the topic music appreciation when the landlord came over and said "Do you play the guitar, lads?, do you want to do a number?"

Advice please. What would you do?

We decided to go to Ardglass. Maybe we'll find a ceilidh there...

Saturday 24^th April 16:34
Back in UK waters...

54 00.0N 005 43.0W

...and on UK mobile network.

Left Howth at 09:00 into a distinctly lumpy sea and solid Force 5 gusting 6. Quite different to the forecast 3/4 gusting 5 and sea state slight. Seems like the low in the Atlantic and the high over the UK are squeezing up.

Hoisted the main alone with two reefs and found ourselves charging along at up to 8 knots with Pete barely able to cope with the helm in the quartering sea (coming from behind at an angle, lifting the stern up and slewing it round). We fairly quickly dropped the third reef in which slowed us down, made the motion better and Pete happier.

As the day has progressed the sea has gone down and the wind dropped. We have been progressively shaking out reefs and, now with just over 12NM to go to Ardglass, are rolling along at under 4 knots with a full main and jib. It may be time to put the donk on.

More later...

Sunday 25^th April 06:30
Ardglass...

Arrived Ardglass 18:45 Saturday 24th April

Departing Ardglass 06:30 Sunday 25th April

On arrival there was no answer on phone or VHF from Harbour Master or Marina. We found ourselves an empty berth and tied up. A chap on another boat took a line and gave us the gate code.

Ken went ashore in search of options for eating. Phoned to say there was a Spar with half empty shelves and a Chinese take away doing brisk business. Apparently pubs hereabouts don't do food. We opted for Chinese.

Whilst Ken was away a cheerful enough Harbour Master came and relieved us of £19. When I asked him to recommend a pub his response was "There's a pub by the old castle called the Old Commercial - it's quiet and where the retired people go - you'd probably be most comfortable there"

Ken arrived back to report he had asked somebody else in the marina the same question to be answered "You'd have to have learning difficulties not to be able to find a pub, just follow all the drunks". Nice!

There are Sinn Fein posters everywhere and apparently there was an ad for the upcoming marching season on the radio station that was on in the Chinese Take Away. You could probably get yourself in a lot of hot water in Ardglass. Fortunately the only hot water we got in was in the shower and that was very welcome.

Welcome to Ardglass, Co Armagh, Northern Ireland. You are.

Written at 21:30 on Saturday evening shortly before going to bed. Probably won't post it until Sunday when we are at sea and out of hand gun range.

Off to Campbeltown tomorrow. We'll see if it's more convivial and if Paul & Linda were right.

Sunday 25^th April 09:17
It's Sunday, it's a Roman Catholic country – time for a confession

54 18.63N 005 28.62W

This is the position of a waypoint on our route today. It is also the position of Strangford Lough Fairway Buoy.

It was a murky morning with very poor visibility (less than quarter of a mile) when we left Ardglass. Ken and I were deep in conversation about Ardglass and how happy Ken was to get up at 05:30 on a murky Sunday morning when we were greeted by the sight of a very large Trinity House buoy (complete with Glass Fibre attracting paint) slip by down the side boat about ten metres away. A real "Oh sh1t" moment.

A miss is as good a mile...

Sunday 25^th April 09:22
Final leg – north bound...

South Rock Lanby 09:00 Sunday 25th

54 24.5W 005 22.0W

The visibility has improved markedly and the sun is trying to come out.

We have now turned the corner into the North Channel. We have timed the passage so we have a full six hours of tide with us. We hope that, being Sunday, the notoriously heavy shipping will be on the light side. We shall see...

ETA Campbeltown about 20:00. More later....

Sunday 25^th April 13:05
Scorpio and the mystery of the half pie...

North Channel 13:00

54 51.35N 005 21.85W

The visibility is now good. We can plainly see the Mull of Galloway (Scotland) to the east and Northern Ireland to the west. Shipping is light - we've seen three ferries (one from Belfast to Liverpool) and a coastal container ship.

We've just had Sunday lunch - Half a minced beef and onion pie and beans. Not half each, a half between us! When Ken was bravely shopping in Spar in Ardglass yesterday evening there were few appetising options but these pies were one.

There were no whole pies, just half pies. About 8" in diameter cut in half (foil tray and all) then sealed and labelled and priced as a half pie. It was clear from the packaging/labelling this was not a shop initiative - it was clearly done in a factory somewhere. What product planner had the brilliant thought "I know, we'll sell half pies"? Why would you do that rather than sell smaller whole pies?

That said, it was very nice. Thanks Ken for acquiring it and cooking it.

The mystery is - who had the other half of our pie?

Sunday 25^th April 21:42
The confessional addendum...

We realise that our confessional earlier in the day may not be obvious to non sailors. The point was that I had used an actual buoy position as a waypoint and then neither of us paid attention as we approached it (despite an alarm which goes when you get within half a mile of the waypoint). With the accuracy of GPS the way it is, we came within metres of hitting the buoy. Had we done so, the rest of the summer's sailing would have been over and we would have quite possibly been picked up out of the liferaft by the RNLI....

I'm sure they would welcome your donations

Sunday 25^th April 21:46
The Haswell-Smiths

Hamish Haswell-Smith's book "The Scottish Islands" is the seminal work on the topic. It documents all 162 "islands". He takes a unique perspective of what qualifies as an island. An Island is a piece of land or group of pieces of land which is entirely surrounded by seawater at Lowest Astronomic Tide and to which there is no permanent means of dry access and they must be over forty hectares (100 acres). This make Harris & Lewis one island as are North Uist, South Uist and Benbecula, it rules out Skye (bridge) and Staffa (size).

People make it an objective to do the "Haswell-Smiths", i.e. visit all 162 islands in the same way as others bag "Munros" (climbing every Scottish mountain over 3000 feet). I cannot hope to do the Haswell-Smiths in the time available especially as we are going nowhere near the Orkneys or Shetland.

That said, it is my intention to visit as many as possible in the areas we travel through and to photograph even more.

Today, on our approach to the Firth of Clyde, I made a start. Here are pictures of Ailsa Craig:

and Sanda (the larger island on the left in this photo):

Also in this photograph on the right you can see the tip of the Mull of Kintyre and between them in the far distance Rathlin Island off the coast of Northern Ireland across the other side of the North Channel.

There are eight islands to "do" in the Firth of Clyde over the next two weeks:

1. Ailsa Craig (done!)

2. Sanda (done!)

3. Holy Island (off Arran)

4. Arran

5. Little Cumbrae

6. Great Cumbrae

7. Inchmarnock

8. Bute

I hope this doesn't become too boring for you...!

Sunday 25^th April 21:51
Campbeltown, Scotland - Aye...

55 25.5N 005 36.1W

After 600 miles over the ground, 556 miles through the water, 8 days 7 hours, 45 minutes and 69 engine hours we have arrived in Campbeltown and our cruising grounds for 2010 at 18:10.

It's been an interesting passage - dolphins, gannets, some other bird that thought it was a submarine, visits to Milford Haven estuary and Dublin and the mystery of the half pies. Stops in fairly familiar Falmouth, Milford Haven (we had an e-mail from a friend of Ken's who's boat got stuck there for the winter - he said there were only two decent places: Martha's Vineyard and Tesco both of which we did in a couple of hours), Howth (expensive) and Ardglass ('nuff said). We made it through all that in one piece.

We're now off to the Ardshiel Hotel for a pub meal as recommended by the Rough Guide to the Scottish Highlands & Islands.

We'll report back on that and Campbeltown in general tomorrow whilst waiting for a washing machine to do it's stuff (hopefully).

Ed, Ken, Pete & Petra

Monday 26^th April 12:41
A complaint and a message for all South Coast sailors

Message for all South Coast sailors

Forget Scotland - it's a long way away, it's cold, it's wet, there are very few marinas, the natives are difficult to understand and there's certainly nowhere to practice your rafting skills. Stay away...

A complaint

On our way into Campbeltown Loch, we saw another yacht at sea. (The first since the two we passed that were going south round Land's End as we headed north.) Go away. These are our waters. Go and play somewhere else - there's an empty marina in a village in Northern Ireland that has a good Chinese and plenty of pubs. It's called Ardglass...

Monday 26^th April 13:11
Two seasons (a reflection on Campbeltown)...

What a glorious place and what friendly people - a real contrast to our last port of call.

After tidying up we went to the Ardshiel Hotel and found a converted distillery owner's mansion with a bar full of whiskies (I may need to take up drinking the stuff) and a very friendly staff. Ken had a classic Roast Beef Sunday dinner, I tried breast of chicken stuffed with haggis. Yummy.

This morning we got up to a glorious morning and went in search of the shower which is in the nearby (and modern) sports centre. I said to the guy on reception what a beautiful morning it was (fluffy clouds in a blue sky, crisp and with crystal clear visibility) and that I hoped it would remain good - his response was (Scottish accent required) "Aye, it's getting on that way - there's two seasons up here May and winter".

Went back to the boat, collecting bacon rolls for breakfast on the way. After this I went off to do my washing in what turned out to be a brand new and clean laundrette. Ken, who has been suffering withdrawal symptoms, went back to the Ardshiel Hotel in search of toast, marmalade and tea in a china cup. Despite the fact they had finished breakfast his desires were satisfied for the princely sum of £3.

Campbeltown Loch

We've now been to the local Tesco (the largest Tesco Metro I have ever seen) and stocked up for the rest of the week and are about to have sausage rolls for lunch. Domestics done for the week we are then going to head off to Lamlash bay on Arran.

More later (if there's a mobile signal)....

Monday 26^th April 13:16
Campbeltown – Birds of Passage...

There were three other visiting yachts here overnight, all of whom left early to round the Mull of Kintyre.

Two of them were charter yachts from Kip Marina crewed by a bunch of Scots guys who live down south and come up here to do charters a couple of times a year. They were off to Port Ellen on Islay. One of these was the yacht we saw in the loch on arrival. They demonstrated "interesting" berthing techniques.

The other, Pixie, was crewed by a live aboard couple who had been over wintering in Kip Marina and were now bound round the Mull for Oban by way of Craighouse on Jura. We'll probably see them again in Oban as they are basing themselves there for the summer. They said Kerrera marina (where we are planning to go) is much nicer than Dunstaffnage.

Monday 26^th April 20:26
The calm before the storm?

Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran

55 31.96N 005 07.18W

We left Campbeltown around 2pm and sailed across Kilbrannan Sound (the water between the west side of Arran and the Mull of Kintyre), along the south coast of Arran and up the east coast to Lamlash bay which is protected on its east side by Holy Island. We are on an Arran Yacht Club visitor's mooring. Got here about 7pm following a mix of sailing in light winds and motoring. It's been about 25NM. Ken rustled up a very tasty sweet and sour chicken stir fry for tea. Weather permitting we plan to blow the dinghy up and make a run ashore in the morning.

Today's trip enabled me to photographically "bag" two more Haswell-Smiths:

Arran - it's west side from the bottom of Kilbrannan Sound

Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde - about the same size as the Isle of Wight but with a population of only 5000. 40% of the properties are holiday homes! Arran is the second highest of Haswell-Smith's islands and the seventh largest.

Holy Island protects the east side of Lamlash Bay. It is owned by the Scottish Buddhists and run by them as a sanctuary.

It's a beautiful calm evening. We are in sea area Malin for which a southerly gale force 8 is forecast tomorrow so this may be the calm before the storm. We should be OK as we are in the Clyde estuary and it's fairly sheltered, furthermore we are going to be running north to East Loch Tarbert before the weather tomorrow. It's about the same distance as we have done today.

More tomorrow.

Tuesday 27^th April 16:37
Fishing Boats, caring Coastguards and Puffers...

Tarbert, Loch Fyne - Tuesday 27th 15:30

55 51.99N 005 24.61W

Yesterday evening turned out to be beautiful in Lamlash with a clear moonlit sky.

We left there at 9:00 and arrived here at about 14:30 after a fantastic sail. We didn't even need to start the engine to leave; just hoisted the main with one reef whilst still on the mooring, dropped the mooring and off we went.

On the way we "bagged" another Haswell-Smith, Inchmarnock:

and saw our first CalMac ferry. Caledonian MacBrayne run all the ferries between and to the islands up the entire west coast. I expect to see lots. This one is the one from Adrossan (on the Ayrshire coast) to Broddick on Arran.

Pete and Petra had the whole morning off it was such fun helming the boat in a good solid Force 4/5 gusting 6 with flat seas - we were screaming along.

The weather is a bit overcast, the hills of Arran which we could clearly see yesterday evening (still with some snow on them) were shrouded in cloud today. We have had a couple of showers but Mr Musto's finest have been working a treat.

As we were approaching the entrance to East Loch Tarbert we could see a fishing boat that was clearly fishing and moving very slowly - he was obviously out catching the menu for tonight's/tomorrow's customers in the Loch Fyne Restaurants (the original branch is at the head of the loch). We couldn't make out exactly what the fishing boat was doing but were concerned it might have a drift net out as we could see a marker buoy a couple of hundred metres away on its starboard side. I decided to call him up on the radio and ask him which side he would like us to pass. As he was less than a mile away and I didn't want to broadcast to every fishing boat in the Clyde Estuary I switched the radio to low transmitting power (1 Watt instead of the usual 25 Watts) and called "Fishing Vessel 1 mile to the south of East Loch Tarbert this is Yacht Scorpio". I made two calls and got no response from him and went back on deck to have another look at him through the binoculars when I heard "Yacht Scorpio this is Clyde Coastguard"... They wanted to check that we didn't have a problem and to suggest calling the fishing boat on Channel 10. Amazing on two counts. Firstly that Clyde CG heard us at all when transmitting on low power - the range on this power is only a couple of mile and secondly to care enough to check we were OK etc. Can't see Solent CG ever doing the same. We never did talk to the Fishing Boat because by this time we were close enough to see he had a deep trawl over the stern so were able to stay clear easily enough.

When we arrived in Tarbert and went to pay our dues, the girl in the office asked if we had managed to speak to him - she too had heard my call on VHF and said she was about to call and suggest channel 10 when she heard Clyde CG do it. I love this place.

On our final run in to the harbour here we noticed what appeared to be a lot of smoke further up the loch. As the wind had blown up to 28 knots and we were getting the main down we didn't have time to pay too much attention. The answer to the question of what it was has just steamed (quite literally) into the harbour as I write this, an old steam Clyde Puffer. Real Para Handy stuff...:

These Clyde puffers used to be used to take supplies out to all the islands and to bring produce back. None are still in commercial operation and very few are still operational. Clearly this one is. What a joy to behold.

More later...

Tuesday 27^th April 22:11
Scorpio goes off net...?

It's now raining in Tarbert and the wind howling in the rigging. The first serious rain since leaving Southampton 10 days ago. The weather up here is going to be mixed for the next few days. Enjoy the nice weather whilst you can down south because Julian Carter is bringing it up with him on Saturday when he comes up to join me and when I get it I'm keeping it.

Tomorrow we plan to go to the Burnt Isles in the Kyles of Bute and anchor overnight. It is quite possible we will not have a mobile signal. If this is the case, you may not hear from us again until we are in Rothesay on Thursday.

Meanwhile here's some pictures of Tarbert - another lovely place:

Be good whilst we're gone...

Wednesday 28^th April 09:08
Surprises in the toilets...

Good morning! After a wet night it's dawned bright and clear in Tarbert if a little overcast and now there's even some patches of blue.

Went for a shower this morning and was surprised on two counts. Firstly there were flowers in the men's showers - clearly the place is run by a woman. A man might arrange flowers for the ladies facilities but never for the gents.

Secondly when I fell into conversation with anther chap also having a shave, it turned out he was a Geordie who had come in on the Puffer (see yesterday's post). Apparently she's for charter and an eclectic bunch of blokes from Northumberland Yacht Club have chartered her for five days. Way Ay lads! If you fancy a week shovelling coal and seeing the west coast or Clyde, see http://www.savethepuffer.co.uk/. Sounds like it's great fun.

Just washing down the croissants with a cup of tea before heading off for a few provisions and then we are off up the Kyles of Bute.

Have a great day!

Wednesday 28^th April 13:12
Today is "Big Grin" day...

55 49.0N 005 12.3W

Ardlamont Point, bottom of Loch Fyne.

Left Tarbert at 11:00. We could tell from the white horses we could see out in Loch Fyne that it was blowing out there so we pottered about in the relative confines but shelter of East Loch Tarbert stowing fenders and mooring lines and hoisting the main with two reefs. Then we went out into the main Loch set the jib with three rolls, quickly added the third reef in the main and set off down the loch close hauled on starboard with 25-30 knots across the deck (top end of Force 6, gusting 7).

Scorpio was screaming along making up to 8.25 knots, never less than 6.5.

Big grins all round!

We've now rounded Ardlamont Point, the wind has dropped, we've shaken some reefs out and are gently running up the West Kyle with the water babbling under the bow.

What a morning...

Wednesday 28^th April 20:42
Today's dilemma – which way do I look?

55 55.96N 005 10.82W

We ran up the West Kyle (of Bute) with the main only, in a decreasing wind. It was very peaceful, wild and beautiful. We anchored for lunch at Caladh Harbour - a natural harbour at the junction of the west and east Kyles.

As we sat and ate our quiche (there's a confession - we can't be real men), we faced a real dilemma. Which side of the cockpit do we sit and which way do we look - it was just too beautiful everywhere.

Tell you what - you decide (although these photos do not do this anchorage justice):

Sunday 18th April 16:49 Falmouth for orders…

Sunday 25th April 06:30 Ardglass...

Sunday 25th April 21:46 The Haswell-Smiths

Sunday 25th April 21:51 Campbeltown, Scotland - Aye...

Monday 26th April 13:11 Two seasons (a reflection on Campbeltown)...

Monday 26th April 13:16 Campbeltown – Birds of Passage...

Sunday 18^th April 16:49
Falmouth for orders…

Sunday 25^th April 06:30
Ardglass...

Sunday 25^th April 21:46
The Haswell-Smiths

Sunday 25^th April 21:51
Campbeltown, Scotland - Aye...

Monday 26^th April 13:11
Two seasons (a reflection on Campbeltown)...

Monday 26^th April 13:16
Campbeltown – Birds of Passage...