Common (or Harbour) Seal at Doirlinn, Loch Sunart
Sailing through the Sound of Mull, towards Ardnamurchan
Fladda Lighthouse in the Sound of Luing
Easdale
Ellenabeich, isle of Seil
Duart Castle, Mull-home of the Macleans
Bottlenose Dolphins in Duart Bay (video on YouTube!!)
Doirlinn Cottage, Loch Sunart
Departing Dunstaffnage Marina on EasterI had a wonderful week sailing around the Hebrides once again. The weather was variable, but made the sailing all the more interesting (sailing without wind is a bit tricky). On this trip I returned to some familiar places, like Tobermory and Loch Aline. But I also got to see some new sights, such as Loch Spelve, Mull and Ellenabeich, Seil and the isle of Easdale. And the highlight of the week was when we were practicing man overboard manuevers and some intrigued bottlenose dolphins came to investigate and play. It was absolutely fabulous!
The final night of the trip was quite the experience as well. We anchored off the isle of Jura, near the Corryvreckan whirlpool and had the evening meal. Once it was dark, instead of climbing into our sleeping bags for the night, we were getting all bundled up (I have never worn so many layers in my life and still been so cold!) and pulled up the anchor. We were doing a night sail back to Dunstaffnage! It was truly a spectacular experience sailing through the dark, not being able to see a thing, expect the lights from navigation buoys and lighthouses. We were all hoping the navigational planning was spot on! I was at the helm for about 1 1/2 hour as we sailed past Fladda Lighthouse and I kept the bow pointed towards a red navigational buoy for what seemed like an eternity! Eventually we passed it on our port side, but then I had nothing on the dark horizon to focus on! The steering gets really zig-zag when you try to steer by looking at the compass. Luckily the sky above began to clear a little bit and I was able to focus on a bright star and keep the correct bearing. We continued up the Firth of Lorne, eventually seeing the lights of Oban.....and at 3 am we arrived back at Dunstaffnage. Armed with flashlight I went to the bow and when a mooring was spotted I grabbed it with the boat hook and secured the yacht for the few hours til sunrise. Below decks we all had a celebratory dram (Slainte!), oatcakes and cheese, then it was off to bed.
Hebrides=magic
YouTube Video of Dolphins!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8r9B-V9Cis
Great photos. Practicing man overboard manuevers?! My word, you are having adventures.
ReplyDeleteI was doing a RYA Competent Crew course, while the others onboard were going for their Day Skipper tickets. Practicing man overboard manuevers is just part of the syllabus. I was ready to volunteer for practice when the dolphins showed up!
ReplyDeleteI used to work for RYA when I first moved here. I never got to go out on a boat though - I just shuffled papers in the office.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your note on my blog. Someday I'm going to have cave in and get my license, but I think that will be a few years yet. :)
I highly recommend getting out on a boat, especially on the west coast of Scotland. It is absolutly fabulous! It is great having a car now and being able to explore (minus the high fuel prices!). I do need to think about getting my UK licence, but there are just not enough hours in the day, at the moment!
ReplyDeletewonderful photo of the castle!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks, it had the glimmer of dolphins around it :)
ReplyDelete