I left home at 4.30 Sunday morning for the 550 miles to Plockton. The Polo is about to clock its first 100,000 and is starting to get expensive to run. However, you can't make omeletes without cracking eggs. As I got further north the skies started to fill in and I drove through some pretty stiff rainshowers. The first five hours is dead easy motorway driving to Glasgow - ideal for listening to audio-books. After Glasgow the route takes me along the banks of Loch Lomond, across the great Glen and then to the Cairngorms - all round it is a real stinker of a drive because the roads are pretty bendy and I also get to follow a lot of campervans at this time of year.
I am usually feeling pretty ragged by the time I get to Plockton in the late afternoon on Sunday. I have yet to arrive there in any conditions other than overcast but if I stick at this long enough eventually things will come right. The dinghy is being left in the long grass by the sailing club slip so I had to put her upright and then enlist the help of a passing fit man to help me carry it down to the water. Then I loaded her up
Once I am aboard and everything is stowed away then I can put the kettle on and have a nice cup of tea.
The next morning I dropped the mooring at about 5.30 and headed out into the early morning gloomy start of a grey day.
Light winds to start off with coming from the south so I headed up towards the gap between Raasay and Rona. But by the time I got there it had started blowing a good 20 mph from the south west. I decided to be a bit cautious so I dropped the sails and motored against the wind towards Portree on the Isle of Skye where I spent the night. The next morning the rain was coming in a series of squalls - about one every hour or so being blown down off the peaks of Skye. The island is a real rainmaker and soaks everything everywhere downwind of the place.
I left protree on the back end of one of the squalls and dodged them the rest of the day. It rained for 15 minutes and was then dry for 45. When the squalls came through I reduced sail, put the boat close hauled, raised the spray hood and just stood in the companionway waiting for the rain to stop. As soon as it did I rollwed out some more sail and carried on Northwards. I soon reliased that getting to Stornoway would require a wet frustrating sail so I brough the boat onto a reach and aimed for Loch Torredon where I spent the night - the next day was still bit dodgy so I just sailed when I could and eventually found my way to a lovely lttle anchorage right at the top of upper Loch Torredon. I was doing a lot of reading though.
The following day was still bringing wet southerlies so I sailed around to Loch Cairloch for the following night. I sailed around the top of Rona - back through the sound between the islands and then hugged the coast in gentle breezes down the Eastern Shore of Raasay.
Back on the mooring by about eight on Friday night ready for an early drive home Saturday morning.
After Portree I spent two nights in Torredon
On Thursday I sailed around to Gairloch - which is very posh and has some lovely wooden yachts - and some that are gently rotting away
Finally back through the gap and then following the Raasay coast to Plockton
How are you and the mast-furling main sail getting-along??
I know the shape is horrible for light airs, but what’s you’re impressions so-far as to heavier conditions and the perceived/real “safety” of not having to go-forwards on the deck? Especially when single-handing?
I see a curve in Flat Eric!
What’s the midge situation?
Re: the petrol pump photo, I was in Glasgow yesterday and I was surprised how cheap petrol was up there 1.06 rather than 1.12 down here in Hampshire. We have just been racing on Belfast Lough – well worth a visit when you come south. An easy day sail from Scotland.
I’ve just fitted dual line main sail reefing which is brilliant as I have the shape of slab reefing but don’t have to leave the cockpit to put them in.
I now have a bright red mainsail as I was so taken with your red genoa that I thought why not a red mainsail. It makes quite a talking point and gets people chatting to me on the dock.
Just done over 1000 Nm over the last couple of months. High point was anchoring under La Coupee on Sark and otter in Treguier river and dolphins at dawn off the Runnel Stone having motored back across the Channel in no wind.
I may get to Scotland or Ireland next year but, Dylan, the weather doesn’t look too appealing!
Keep it up Dylan. You are an inspiration to us all.
The other thing I’ve got is a yellow, red and blue uv strip on the genoa which not only is very pretty but makes reefing easy as you can tell how much you’ve rolled in. Brilliant.
Really pleased with my Ullmans mainsail.
J
Before I moved to Portugal my face used to look like that first thing in the morning….
Is the sun ever visible in Scotland sometimes? Get back south D, and hurry up. No reason to spend more time in the grey dull north.
If the wind is from the SW and blowing over Skye, you are in the rain shadow by Raasey so should be drier. Air is descending from the hills, warming and thus less likely to rain. Thats why east coast of Scotland a lot drier than west coast – and sunnier. I used to teach geography.
You need to crack on a bit Dylan, the further south you get the easier and cheaper the car journeys become, you seem to have stalled a bit on the west coast of Scotland. I can’t wait to see your Cornish cruises but looks like that will be many years away yet.
Once went aground on Mersey Flats. Told a crew member to head for the green buoy marking the edge of the channel to Brightlingsea whilst I popped below to put the kettle on. The green buoy turned out to be a small green sailed dinghy.
Dangerous these coloured sails…
Junk rig ;-)
Rate you’re going, you will be too by the time you see Cornwall ;-)
Hi Dylan,
Really looking forward to the videos, but the blogs and photos are an excellent stopgap!
Hope you nip into the Solway Firth before heading south. Lots and lots of mud and more seabirds than you can believe.
Are you planning on visiting the Outer Hebrides while on the west coast?
Cheers,
Paul
I’m astonished that no one else has commented on your reading choice. Someone once said something like the novel is the great lie that tells the great truth. Your blogs, photos, and videos have helped bring to life those parts of the books that take place around the British Isles.
I’m on about my third read through the Patrick O’Brian series and it is new every time. I’m in “The Commodore” now, so it is soon to come once again to an end. Fortunately O’Brian wrote many other books in addition to the Aubrey-Maturin series, so there are treasures I have yet unearthed. .
Those Aubrey-Maturin books are wonderful. I’ve taken to the audio versions lately and have enjoyed them too – like a radio play. Finished Desolation Island not long ago. BILLINGS! Billings there! Do you have access to an MP3 player Dylan?
Nice pictures, Loch Lomond can be beautiful but not when you are behind a caravan. The Balahulish Bridge, Portree and quite highland beaches where old cars tractors and boats go to die.
Again many memories