The 2009 Log of Lady Grey
The 2009 Log of Lady Grey
Lady Grey
Lady Grey is a 50 year old cutter rigged wooden cruising yacht, built for comfort not for speed. Linda and I have been cruising the West of Scotland with Lady Grey for 16 years.
Last year I noticed a slight oil burning smell from the engine, the original 12 horse power Petters oil engine.
During March 2009 I decide to investigate and so off with the cylinder heads. The bores are a bit worn so the barrels are removed in order to examine the pistons.
New pistons and liners are obtained along with some new gaskets and four valve guides.
I fit the pistons and liners, OD Cars look after the heads, Gary Wishart in Ballymena sorts out the injector pumps, the injectors are ok, and soon the engine is going again complete with a new coat of paint.
I get a new pair of sailing wellies from Caters and during the first week of May all stores are brought aboard The grass is cut and we board Lady Grey on Saturday 9th May. After a couple of pints in the club we settle down for the night aiming for a 0330 start, planning to anchor off at Glenarm for three hours and take the next tide for Gigha.
Sunday 10th May. As it happens the alarm on my new mobile phone fails and I wake at 0400. We hastily dress and are away by 0415. Cloghan Jetty slips by in daylight and we encounter foul tide at Muck due to the delay. We carry on past Glenarm and proceed Northwards down to three Knots as we tuck into bacon butties. By 1245 (HW Dover) we are making four and a half knots abeam Rathlin. The sea is smooth and it is a beautiful sunny day, we see several porpoises. Off the Mull we are at mid tide and the GPS indicates nine knots, great stuff!
The sky remains cloudless as we pick up a mooring in Ardminish Bay at 1815, fourteen hours out of Carrickfergus.
It has been a long day so we dine on board and turn in early.
Linda at the Helm
Monday 11th May It is a glorious morning and although there was some wind coming into the bay during the night, by morning it has eased and the bay is calm.
After breakfast we go ashore, first a visit to the shop. Paul left in February and the new owners are a Dutch couple, Rudi and Ali. They are not used to Norn Irn accents yet and my request for a Daily Telegraph produces nil response!
Next off to visit our good friend John Martin at Burnside. As usual his door is unlocked and we go on in, he emerges from the shower, dons his dressing gown and greets us in his usual hearty manner. It is agreed that John will dine with us on board Lady Grey this evening, also Vi Tulloch, the island sculptress, if we can locate her. Anyway, meanwhile we go off to visit the Achamore Gardens, this is the first time we have been here in May and the Rhododendrons are magnificent. I take a few photos.
By the time we get back to the shop the papers are in, even a Daily Telegraph.
We proceed to the Hotel for a pint and a look at the crossword. This sailing lark is all very strenuous!
Johns Wee Boat
We call with Vi, however she is out so we go back on board to get the cottage pie ready. As we have some time in hand we dinghy to the beach by the old boathouse to sunbathe. Linda has the misfortune to be attacked by a mad collie dog, fortunately it is muzzled and no blood is drawn but it is a scary moment, the dog could have been seriously injured.
Back on board the coastguard is predicting Easterly 5 to 7 for Wednesday so we decide we will move to Craobh Haven tomorrow.
I go ashore to meet up with John and call with Vi, she is delighted to be asked out for dinner and we meet John in the hotel.
Vi is now in her ninetieth year and her sight is failing but she is a rare and gutsy character, getting her on board is made easier as we have brought the boarding ladder this year. Dinner is excellent as usual, Vi enjoys the red wine and reckons it is just the right temperature, the craic is mighty. Vi cruised some years ago with a friend in his Clyde Cruiser Racer and has many exciting tales to tell. Anyway, by 2230 I dinghy the visitors ashore. There is a little concern regarding the two sailors on a nearby yacht who motored off in their dinghy this morning, they have not yet returned, John will inform the coastguard.
Tuesday 12th May After a quick foray ashore for a paper we cast off and head North, the wind is Easterly in the Sound of Jura, quite fresh at times and we make good progress, passing Corrievreckan the eddies are spectacular. A call to Craobh is made and we slip into berth B28 at 1750, journey time seven hours and 36 miles covered. In spite of the rather strong wind at times it has been a pleasant sunny day and on our pontoon at Craobh we can barely feel a breeze.
Linda is soon busy in the galley and before you know it John’s razor clams are served with garlic butter. The remainder of yesterday’s mince is turned into patties and goes down well with fresh veg.
It is a beautiful settled evening as we call up Sandy & Rhona, our friends who live nearby at Ardfern, we arrange to see them tomorrow at lunchtime.
Wednesday 13th May After breakfast we put on the walking gear and proceed over the hill to Ardfern. Sandy is busy concreting-in some posts to form a retaining wall, he is just finishing as we arrive and is washing out the mixer.
Soon the wine is opened and we enjoy a bit of chat over a glass or two then lunch of Rhona’s delicious panninis.
We later make a risky decision to visit the yacht haven shop where, sure enough, Linda finds a very nice Joules top. Lady Grey is treated to a new engine battery and Sandy kindly returns us to Craobh in his Volvo.
This evening we dine in “Lord Of The Islesâ€, Linda enjoyed her salmon and my pork loin was excellent. If only they would heat the plates!
Anyway, we enjoyed another settled night in Craobh. Tomorrow the Cuan Sound is fair from around 1500 so there is no rush in the morning.
Thursday 14th May The forecast from the Craobh office gives nothing over force four and Easterly for the most part for the next three days. Clyde coastguard however mentions up to force seven! We will have a dander this morning so we head off round the shore of Loch Shuna and over the hill back to the Oban Road, about five miles and nothing strenuous.
Back to Craobh we pick up some groceries, pay the marina and Linda makes up some tasty baps for lunch.
The easterly wind pipes up fresh at times and we cast off at 1350, arriving at Cuan Sound at 1500 just at the start of the flood. We have the option of Puiladobhrain or on to Oban depending on conditions, however we continue North in Lynn of Lorne, abeam Lady’s Rock at 1730. It has been a bit bumpy but as we enter the sound of Mull all is transformed and we enjoy a most pleasant sail to Loch Aline where we anchor in eight metres at the head of the Loch.
Dinner is already in the oven and soon we are tucking into a feast of pigs in blankets with roast tatties, delish!!
It is well sheltered in here and we enjoy a good night’s sleep while the hurricane lamp hangs from the boom end.
Friday 15th May Up early and it is still quite fresh. Breakfast is from the pan, eggs, bacon, fried tatties and a bit of loaf bread. I had the duck egg which was fine, pretty much the same as a hen egg. Anyhow it was all good.
Ashore we land at the slip by the old boathouse. A friend of my brother has a daughter, Catriona, who is now running the market garden here and we plan to visit her. We walk along the shore path to Ardtornish House and discover that the market garden here closed two years ago but there is a new one just opened at Loch Aline village, OH WELL.
Back to the dinghy we motor over to the west side of the loch and go ashore where we can walk to the village, past the silica sand works which appears to have closed down.
There is a ferry service from here to Mull and I obtain a timetable to enable us to avoid ferry traffic when leaving the loch.
We find Catriona and her little market garden cum garden centre. This is her first season and she is busy developing things. Next season there should be plenty of produce.
Back to Lady Grey the easterly wind is still quite fresh however we weigh anchor at 1515 and enjoy a fine broad reach to Tobermory where we take a harbour mooring at 1815.
No sooner have we tied up and cracked a bottle of house red when a noisy rib arrives alongside and demands thirteen quid!
We hope the wind veers a little as the easterly is coming straight into the harbour causing a little chop. Anyway the dinner is on and we are soon tucking into a delicious feast of mince, carrots and onions with new totties.
The wind later veers south easterly and the harbour becomes tranquil allowing us a peaceful night’s sleep.
Sunset in Loch Aline
Saturday 16th May The forecast for today gives south-east five to seven occasionally eight, becoming easterly four or five later. We will go for a walk and think about sailing later.
The old church is now a Spar shop, the ironmongers is a veritable Alladin’s cave, stocking everything you could possibly think of and more.
We are invited to visit “Reaper†a Scottish east coast herring drifter, built in 1902, seventy feet long and sporting a dipping lug mainsail and standing lug mizzen. She is the flagship of the Scottish Fisheries Museum and is crewed by volunteer members of the Scottish Fisheries Museum Boat Club who take her on visits to various ports around Scotland and Northern England. The skipper is an ex fisherman and a right old sea dog with suitably weathered appearance.
Reapers home port is Anstruther. Anyway we have a look round. The masts are substantial with rope rigging. Inside we see through the museum display in the fish hold, lots of photographs, leaflets, nick-nacks to buy etc, then the accommodation, the galley and the engine room. The volunteers are made up of three ex fishermen and a handful of academics, all totally dedicated to the preservation of this interesting piece of history.
We have now decided to forego another thirteen pound night here and so after a pleasant lunch at McGoughans we are off. Dropping the mooring at 1310 we motor out against the easterly wind and steer for Loch Drumbuie, passing the Stirk Rocks to port. It is only six nautical miles to our destination and just over an hour later we drop anchor in eight metres just off the burn on the south shore of the loch.
It is nicely settled here and we spend a relaxing afternoon on board. Busy doing nothing!
Later in the cockpit we enjoy a glass of wine or two over a tasty salmon salad as we watch the sun disappear over Ardnamurchan. How romantic!
Loch Drumbuie
Sunday 17th May We rise to a fine morning with occasional fresh south-easterly wind.
Breakfast is fresh fruit and toast. The dinghy is launched and we go ashore to stretch the legs. There is a track which takes us in an easterly direction, past a croft where we hear the drone of a diesel engine in an outhouse, I expect they generate their own electricity. It is extremely remote here. The track to the west would eventually join up with the road to Loch Aline.
We walk for an hour or two and return to Lady Grey for a cup of coffee before weighing anchor at noon. The plan is to spend the night at Salen in Loch Sunart and so as we leave Drumbuie and I have a signal, I call up Salen Jetty to arrange a mooring. They ask us to arrive after 1500 so keeping the speed down we relax, enjoy the stunning scenery of Loch Sunart and arrive at Salen at 1508 where we are met by David who meets us in his wee boat to lead us to the mooring and assist with tying up. David gives us all the local info, the weather forecast, takes our rubbish and is generally attentive and helpful. Never have we been so pampered!
The hotel here has been recommended and we wander along for a pint, they are booked up tonight and so we reserve a table for tomorrow night. The premises are basic but the family run atmosphere is reassuring. Back to the jetty, David has filled our fuel and water containers and we return on board to settle down for the evening. The pork chops for dinner are excellent however Linda is beating herself up about the veg which she thinks are overdone. Anyway I enjoyed mine and we opened a second bottle of wine to repair the situation.
Monday 18th May The night is settled and we wake to a bright and sunny morning.
David appears after breakfast to pamper us with another forecast and again takes away the rubbish. There are divers on a nearby boat preparing to leave, I ask David to find out if they have time to give Lady Grey’s bottom a scrub, however they are a man short today and unable to help. I think David was more disappointed than me.
Today we plan to walk to Acharacle then dine later in Salen Hotel. The planned shower in the hotel is out due to a wonky geyser, so off to Acharacle, it is only three miles. We make a few purchases there, a pack of “Happy Families†for the grandchildren, of course, a pair of walking socks in the outdoor shop, two scotch pies and later a pint in the hotel.
As we return to Salen it rains and we go aboard to clean up for dinner.
A we go ashore again we meet Phil & Sandy from the very nice Najad yacht, “Hot Toddieâ€. He has sailed a bit but this is their first cruising yacht and they are finding the weather a bit fresh! So what, so are we!
Dinner turns out to be excellent, I have game sausage followed by duck, Linda has asparagus with hollandaise sauce followed by a steak and the vegetables on the side were perfect, oh shouldn’t have mentioned that.
Strontian, Loch Sunart
Tuesday 19th May Today we plan to visit Strontian at the head of the loch and cast off at 1050. There is negligible tide although we gain a knot at Laudale narrows and arrive at Strontian at 1330. The pilot book warns that local boats have gone aground due to a spit where depths have been decreasing in recent years.
However we avoid this and anchor in eight metres outside the local moorings.
It is particularly scenic here and I take some photos as Linda makes a few calls home.
Ashore we go for a walk, we eventually arrive at a craft shop-cum bunkhouse-cum-restaurant where we have a cup of tea and natter with the lady proprietor. There is more to the catering business than meets the eye, Linda knows this only too well and we wish the caterer well as we depart.
Back to Lady Grey where our in-house caterer does a splendid job of the pork and vegetable stir-fry, while I successfully uncork a very nice red.
The anchor light is set as we enjoy one more sun-downer in the cockpit.
Wednesday 20th May It is south west three or four and we plan to leave here today and spend the night somewhere in the sound of Mull, so up with the anchor and off we go. Now you remember what I said about the pilot book, well, hands up, the putty is encountered and after a quick look at the tide table it is decided to put the kettle on. I reckon we could be here for a couple of hours and since the breeze is onshore the fisherman is loaded into the dinghy and set as far as possible into deeper water. Linda is not happy!
Well sooner than we expect, we are upright and under way. (silly B--------)
By 1400 we are in the sound of Mull heading South and by 1800 we are anchored in Fishnish Bay in eight metres. The wind is south west making this a snug anchorage and before you could say Jack Robinson, Linda has the dinner on the table, what service!
A phone call from Dad reports the death of my aunt in Canada, well she was 94 after all. On a happier note, I called my son to wish him a happy birthday.
Looking at the chart and tides we contemplate making for Loch Shuna tomorrow, perhaps Fearnoch Bay which is well sheltered from the south, we will see.
Thursday 21st May Weigh anchor at 1130 and motor sail south, the Firth of Lorne is a bit lumpy and we agree to turn left for Oban rather than punch our way on. This is one of the attractions of cruising, you never know where you will end up. Someone once said, “Tis better to travel hopefully than to arriveâ€
I don’t know if I really understand what it means!!!!
We enter Kerrera Sound from the south and pick up a visitor mooring at 1620. A new trot of moorings has been laid with a landing pontoon just off the Northern Lights Pier. We take a jaunt ashore and enjoy magnificent fish and chips at the “Waterfront†bar. The staff are friendly and the place is very efficiently run. Full marks. We dander along the bustling waterfront, passing a Ceilidh House, where a doorman tries to hijack us inside. Maybe tomorrow night if we are still here!!
For now back to Lady Grey .
Oban is a busy tourist centre and it is interesting to observe the various comings and goings of water traffic.
Hebridean Princess, the very expensive cruise vessel recently chartered by Her Majesty, is tied up at the Northern Lights pier. Arriving passengers are welcomed by the skirl of the pipes.
Later on, “Pharos†the Northern Lights vessel takes her place at the pier and the company helicopter makes frequent jaunts around the harbour. It could almost be Monaco!
Mind you, any yachts heading out are going north!
Friday 22nd May By morning we appear to be tide rode and the mooring buoy is bumping the bow in an irritating fashion. A blast astern helps but not for long!
Later as the tide turns, things improve.
Anyway after breakfast, a quick clean up and ashore we go for a walkabout. Oban is unusually busy with tourists for the month of May. The ferries are busy, there are lots of people in the shops, the pier is awash with food sellers of various kinds and there is a wedding on in the Episcopalian Church. We have a look around the Cathedral also.
I manage to pick up a waterproof kit bag at Nancy Blacks for fifteen quid, while Linda gets a wash and blow dry at the nearby hairdressers, also fifteen quid.
Hope my kitbag outlasts Linda’s haircut!
The “Waterfront†was so good yesterday we decide to return for lunch today, haddock, chips, peas, tea bread and butter, all for six ninety five, where would you get it.
A visit to Tescos is required to stock up the ships larder, we also get a paper, for the crossword you understand, and then back to Lady Grey for a look at the puzzle.
The weather remains southerly so we could be here for a day or two.
OK so the Skippinish entertainment is on tonight, we get tarted up and venture ashore at 1915. What are we letting ourselves in for!!!!
The pipers we have been hearing are the two teenagers practising at the entrance to the Skippinish. The sound is pretty good but we are a tad early, anyway the tall fellow invites us upstairs and shows us to the bar. I am slightly concerned, he seems a bit keen as he boasts about their display of malts. The display turns out to be a few classic malts plus a couple of standards, oh and by the way the carpet is a bit sticky!!! On top of that the place is deserted. Linda chooses a table in front of the empty stage and I get in a drink from the deserted bar. There is no draught beer so it is a bottle of Tobermory Special for me and a small bottle of wine for Linda.
The waiter says, six-fifty, I ask him how he manages to do it for the price, he misses the point and blethers on about how dear the drink is in Ireland!!!!
The show is due to start at eight. At ten to eight, the accordion player, the same guy who showed us in, starts tuning up. A roadie is footering about with a maze of wires and at five past eight a piper appears. The same one we saw at the wedding earlier in the day.
By the way, the wedding was actually a funeral, a teenage lad who was killed in a motor accident. Just shows how easily you can get the wrong end of the stick!!!!
By a quarter past eight the show is under way, the accordionist, Angus McPhail sounds pretty fair, as does the piper Angus McColl. A girl from the isle of Barra sings a few songs in Scots gallic and a young lad does some highland dancing.
There is a session of square dancing and the night is now looking quite promising.
We take part in the square dancing during the second half and after a series of lively numbers the whole thing reaches a crescendo with a rendition of “Auld Lang Syneâ€
The playing and piping has been wonderful and we enjoy a bit of craic with all the performers afterwards. Linda purchases a couple of CD’s and we perform a glissando back to Lady Grey, having agreed it was a great night.
Now, the forecast hasn’t been all that promising but as we board Lady Grey things look quite settled. The tide runs south from about four in the morning so if it remains settled we will get up early and go.
Oban
Saturday 23rd May I wake with a start at 0430, it is still settled and ten minutes later we are away, motoring south. It remains decent until abeam Easdale when the wind gets up a hooley. We enter the Cuan Sound at mid tide, when the flow is strongest. As we approach the ferry slip a school of dolphins approach from the east. Now this is interesting and I would love to take some photos but the tidal stream is in full flow and the Cleit Rock is approaching at some nine knots and we would like to avoid it. The dolphins turn and follow us through the sound as I attempt to ignore them and navigate past Cleit. It is all very exciting, what with the dolphins and the intricate pilotage, however we manage to emerge from the Cuan sound unscathed and make our way south as the dolphins gradually lose interest in Lady Grey. What a sight!!!!
We proceed south and tie up in Craobh at 0850 in good time for breakfast. As I return from the paper shop, is that bacon I smell?
After breakfast we pull on the walking gear and head for Ardfern. It has been a bit damp and Linda’s gear is nylon so we call in at the Ardfern Yacht Haven shop where Linda manages to pick up a decent breathable waterproof light jacket. It is difficult to visit Ardfern without suffering a wallet assault.
Anyway after a pint in the Galley, it’s back to Craobh for a shower and a load of washing. The tokens for the tumble dryer cost seventy five pence and this is for five minutes. It seems we have been hung up to dry!!!
Tonight is Indian night on Lady Grey. Chicken biriyani and jalfrezi hit the spot complete with peshwari naan and of course a decent house red.
The halyard on the very large yacht nearby is making an irritating racket and I threaten to find some bailer twine to sort it out. Another boat owner appears, obviously irritated by the racket, he twiddles a few bits of string without success and wanders off.
Apparently there is music on tonight in the pub so we set off at 2100. The place is heaving but Linda manages to hijack a table. Three young guitarists eventually start up, I thought they were ok but Duncan the charter boatman was decidedly unimpressed. There is no accounting for taste!!!
On returning to Lady Grey, we notice someone on the pontoon, giving her the eye, Lady Grey that is, now this is not unusual but this turns out to be Roger, the owner of “Letina†the nine ton Hillyard which we used to see at Ardfern. He joins us on board and a bottle of red is opened. Linda notices how he clambers about the boat like he has lived there all his life. I suppose all nine tonners are similar. He hails from Manchester and they were just not able to give the time necessary to their beloved Hillyard. It turned out that five or six planks each side were rotten and so the boat was sold.
It is now in Lochgilphead being fixed up by new owners with lots of new enthusiasm and a few bob to spend.
Sunday 24th May We are staying here another day as it continues to growl from the south. A telegraph is bought and we have a look around the wee gift-cum-coffee shop. It is quite cold today and we opt to have a lazy day on board.
The little “Fiord 28†heads Northwards along with a few others.
Ian in the marina office is a good sort, he stays in one of the caravans at Lunga and helps out part time now at the marina. He also has a house at Edinburgh and has done a bit of flying, including six hours floatplane so we have a good old blether about that.
By late afternoon we start to prepare dinner. Chicken, bacon, stuffing, cauliflower cheese and roast totties, can’t wait. If ever you go cruising, make sure there is an oven on board.
Tomorrow, perhaps a short stop at the north end of Jura. Port-an Tairbart we can anchor there and walk to view the gulf of Corrievreckan from aloft.
I see there is a missed call from John Martin on Gigha. His wee clinker boat, Colmcille, is launched and he has a mast and sail to rig.
Monday 25th May By 0850 we are away. Dover HW is 1215 so we have about three hours fair tide. As we approach Port an Tairbart the weather is dreech so we abandon that idea and continue South. The wind is on the nose and we are motoring against it although the water is smooth. If we get beaten by the tide there are a few possible anchorages in the sound where we can wait it out.
As it happens we motor on, encountering the worst of the foul tide at Skervuile where we are down to two and a half knots. However we plug on and pick up a mooring at Craighouse at 1530. The moorings here appear to have been renewed, there are sixteen, each with a pick-up on a light line.
The weather is improving although the paps are still blanketed in mist and cloud.
Linda makes a welcome hot toddy while I sort out the mooring line.
Ashore at 1730 we visit the hotel, imagine, we order a drink but the menu is not due out until 1845. I was sure this was the twenty first century!!!! Anyway, we are going nowhere and we chat with the other patient customers. The campsite is bulging at the seams, there are thirty two boy scouts plus various others. One couple who are going to the north end where there is a bunkhouse, a combination of Paps walkers, whiskey tasters and so on has swelled the numbers on Jura.
At 1850 the menu appears and in the stampede, Linda orders chicken goujons for her and burger and chips for me, I suspect we will eat on board tomorrow night.
Craighouse, Jura
Thursday 26th May We wake up to a fair amount of wind, so after breakfast we go ashore. The papers are not in yet, this could be one of the advantages of island life? Anyway we order a paper and walk to the distillery shop, nothing has changed, even the staff
We walk along the road South to Jura House and Gardens at Ardfin. We enjoy a cuppa at the tea tent and then a walk around the gardens, it is interesting to see things at this early time of the year. The chaffinches are cheeky and plentiful and like to pinch crumbs from the plate.
Visiting the distillery shop on our return we partake of the free dram and purchase a bottle of “Superstitionâ€. The grocery shop still has no eggs but the shop is for sale!
Back to Lady Grey the wind has got up again and we are ranging round the buoy
Tonight’s menu is pasta Bolognese, sounds good, a bottle of red is placed in the kettle!
Wednesday 27th May The wind has eased a bit, however the sound of Jura looks a bit lumpy so we breakfast and go ashore.
First a look at the old church, upstairs there is an interesting display of old photographs of Jura and its people. Then we walk to Keills where there are derelict crofts and one or two still inhabited. There are some deer on the path as we return to the road and a large number of Greylag and Canada geese in a nearby field. By the shore there are swans, geese, oystercatcher, heron, plover and a lark.
Oh and a few midges are about also!
As we return, VIC 32, the clyde puffer is leaving the pier amid clouds of dense black smoke, she leaves the bay and heads north.
By now the sound looks better and we cast off bound for Gigha at 1300, there is little wind and we motor into Ardminish Bay at 1600 to lift a mooring.
Billy Mann of “Green Velvet†a colvic motor-sailer calls over as we tie up, he has a badly bruised arm, the result of bad seas off the Mull!
The forecast is now predicting south easterly five for tomorrow so we may move in the morning as this bay is open to the south east. Meanwhile dinner is taken in the pub followed by a nightcap in the cockpit.
Thursday 28th May No sign of the south easterly yet and we go ashore, we have arranged to see John Martin. As we arrive John makes a cup of tea and we are invited for lunch. The mast and rigging for the wee boat are in the garden. We lash the mast to John’s garden fence and study the sails and rigging, there is a forestay and shrouds, no backstay. The sail is three sided but has a small gaff boom, I think it may be gunter rig.
John has been given a salmon and lunch is tasty with some fresh salad and lasts well into the afternoon.
Back on board it is a beautiful settled afternoon and evening and we while away the time idly, sometimes sitting and thinking, and sometimes just sitting. The strain of it all.
Friday 29th May By morning the wind is up and we are facing south. The prospects for Ardminish Bay are poor so we’re away to West Loch Tarbert.
As we enter the loch the ferry is leaving and we give way by keeping to the south shore. It is a pleasant morning in the shelter of West Loch and we drop anchor in four metres just south of the pier. Later we go ashore and walk the two miles to East Loch Tarbert. A sign in the newsagents says, “only two MPs allowed in the shop at any one timeâ€
The showers are now free to customers of Tarbert Harbour Authority, I was a customer five years ago so help myself to a shower.
Dandering along the prom we partake of fish and chips at the Italian owned chippy.
The girl proprietor was friendly and told us how her daughter had made friends with Blaize during Tarbert week. You’ve guessed, Blaize Lambert!!
Stopping at the West Loch Hotel on the way back we meet six chaps who have come in on a stormforce rib from Cushendall, they have ordered a taxi to take them the one mile to Tarbert, imagine.
Anyway back on board for a snack tea and an early night.
Saturday 30th May The wind remains fresh to strong south east and the forecast is much the same.
A relaxing day is spent on board reading, doing crosswords, sunbathing, mending fender lines etc. High pressure dominates and the sky is blue and sunny, we are comfy enough in here for now. There are sausages on board, the carrots go over the side but the little white turnips from the garden and cauli are ok. The potatoes are to be roasted.
The news continues to be dominated by the scandal of MPs expenses claims. Disgraceful!
I have decided that John’s rig is gunter. What a strenuous day!!!!!
Dinner is served with the customary house red.
Sunday 31st May The wind has eased through the night and we are up and away by 0530.
Motoring south in West Loch Tarbert we are early enough to avoid the ferry traffic.
It is a glorious morning and we lift a mooring in Ardminish Bay at 0900.
Morning service is at 1100. Rev Ann McIvor, the new vicar on Gigha is pleased to see us and we have a bite of lunch with her at the boathouse afterwards. She tells us of her plans for the manse and glebe as a sort of retreat.
John has been given some halibut and we are invited for tea. Sunday night is music night in the pub and we have arranged to meet up at “the back end of sixâ€.
The music has started, Graham on the box, Henri, Mickey and a couple of others on guitar. Ali and Rudi the new shopkeepers are there, Rudi with his guitar and Ali brings out of all things, a brand new fiddle! The music is lively and each take their turn with a song or two.
John orders chips from the hotel and off we go to Burnside where Linda cooks the halibut. John arrives with Vi and a bottle of scotch. The halibut is to die for and we dinghy back to Lady Grey in the wee sma’ hours.
Sing along at the Gigha Hotel
Monday 1st June It is a glorious morning, high pressure over Iceland dominating the weather providing a light north-easterly breeze. We are tempted to enjoy another day at Gigha, however the day looks perfect for a smooth channel crossing. High water Dover is 1915 so we plan to leave hear at 0930.
I take a quick jaunt ashore to give John some bits of chandlery for his new mast, he swops this for a salmon from his freezer in typical generosity and we say our goodbyes for another year.
Back on board we cast off at 0940 and motor sail south. The water is oil like, the sort of day you might see a whale or dolphins. Off the Mull there is a slight freshening and we motor sedately to Glenarm where we are welcomed by Billy as we tie up at 1800.
I make a dash to the shop to find the butcher has just left, however a girl assistant manages to provide a couple of steaks. They look a bit fresh but turn out to be perfect, tasty and tender.
The owner of the old wooden ketch opposite calls by, he is interested in old wooden boats and recognises Lady Grey as a Hillyard, we are invited to visit him tomorrow.
Glenarm: Glenarm
Tuesday 2nd June It is another glorious morning and today we will return to Carrickfergus, there is no rush as the flood tide starts around lunchtime.
The forest walk in Glenarm is normally pleasant however today the midges are out in force.
The ketch “Sereneta†is a solidly built old boat, a bit like “Ribbonâ€. All very nicely tarted up inside and comfy.
It is well equipped with electrical gear, television, microwave, fridge, oh and two laptops for chart-plotting, I hope he doesn’t suffer a power failure!
Anyway, we cast off at 1230 and motor home, again the water is oil like.
The rebuilt engine has performed well, starting easily and running smoothly.
We tie up in our marina berth at 1715 and notice a few visitors have arrived for this weekend’s Classic Sail. Oh well, that gives us a day or two to dry out!
Total Cruise 365 miles
Brian McGregor