31st August – 4th September, Fort William – Loch Aline – Croabh Haven – Gigha Island – Bangor – Howth

Leaving Loch Linnie from Fort William

Hi bloggers – we’re sailing again!  A lot to catch up on this time.  Jackie got on board at 0800 with Geoff on Monday and we immediately set sail for Jura.  As we dropped in to Dunstaffanage for fuel we also checked the weather forecast and tides – they were no longer favourable so we diverted to Loch Aline which was a resonable sail as the weather closed down with squalls.  To keep us fit we did three drills for man overboard, which was a good exercise under sail in the wind and squally showers that we had.

The anchorage at Loch Aline

The anchorage was heading towards dark when we arrived, but we managed to pick up a buoy as the moon came up; and that was after we managed to pick up another fishing boat.  They had a diver on board who had been harvesting scallops – we bought 40 for £10! and they were fresh and made a delicious meal.

The silvery moon on the water of Loch Aline

As people went to bed, I cleared the meal and washed up the cluttery, before going on deck and saw the most peaceful scene in pitch black – if you can imagine that.  My camera could not quite pick it all out, but the moon was as alluring as ever.  The whole scene was crossing magical boundaries and gazing down to the reflections on the water you felt you could dive for light years to find the true reflections of the stars.  Up above the clouds paraded slowly across the moon.  The night was silent, time had stopped and the moon was still.

Leaving Duart Castle on the Sound of Mull

The next day we picked up our plans again to go to Jura and left the Sound of Mull to go into the Firth of Lorn.  Despite the  encouraging weather forecast, it deteriorated rapidly with F7 squalls and one crew member got rather sea sick, so judiciously we diverted to Crinan which meant going through the Sound of Luing.  This is a milder version of the Gulf of Corryvreckan (check it out on Google – “awesome!”), yet with wind and tide against us we were only making 2-3 knots and to do so we had to increase engine rpm – everything was fine and dandy.  I was helming happily, keeping an eye on transits etc, then Geoff poked his head up from the companionway and said very calmly that he had called the coastguard because we might have an engine fire.  He had poured some water from the kettle onto the smoking casing around the back of the engine compartment which was smoking – there was burning wood, but the engine was running well.  He spoke again with Clyde Coastguard and the Oban lifeboat was launched.

Geoff showed his metal with the regular sequence of precautions he then set in motion.  Engine rpm was taken to a minimum to maintain steerage way.  Everything was set up for abandoning the yacht (a very last resort!), and he ensured that everyone knew what they had to do, so there would be no confusion or panic.  All gas was isolated, fire extinguishers set up, valuables in the grab bag.   The confined waters of the Sound of Luing is not the best place to have this sort of difficulty.  Geoff and I set up a towing bridle and we ferry glided the boat in the tidal race to maintain station in mid channel as we slowly went backwards heading between the two lighthouses. 

The Oban lifeboat very swift and capable with a stunning crew.

Then the lifeboat came along with a crew that oozed confidence and professionalism.  Aistair, the Deputy Coxwain came on board and checked out the situation and the Coxwain on the lifeboat decided to tow us to Croabh Haven.  They tied the hawser to the bridle and off we went with Alistair remaining on board.  We got out of the tide race in the Gulf of Luing and as we turned up the Firth of Lorne the bridal failed on the port side – I had put a locking turn on the port bow cleat which then failed to transmit the considerable towing forces through the rope to the other two cleats along the length of our boat – lesson learned!  We repaired the bridle and tow then we were off again. 

Picking up speed again with the new tow line - photo Alistair.

This time the length of tow was slightly shorter and we were riding on a different part of the transverse wave system of the lifeboat.  I was still on the helm and found that we were slightly surfing and I had to be careful that we did not start yawing and sliding off sideways from being directly in line behind the lifeboat – we only once started to slew sideways, but the Coxwains was very much aware of this and slowed down until we were back in line.  In a very short while we were berthed alongside in Croabh Marina and we paid a very grateful thank you to the crew of the lifeboat.

We looked into the cause of the smoke after the engine had cooled down and found burnt wood still glowing within the box casing of the exhaust piping as it left the engine compartment heading for its route to the stern.  The lagging on the exhaust had suffered paint or glue dripping on to it which had ignited and the flame had tracked along the inside and reached the steps into the after cabin.  This was a fault inherited with the boat which had only been purchased seven weeks previously.  Geoff had certainly made the right call to Clyde coastguard.  If we had waited until we were sure we had a real fire then it would have been too late!  A Marine & Coastguard Agency surveyor visited us late that night and corroborated our view of the situation and we hoped to sort it out the next day, Wednesday, 2nd September.

This blog gives a short account which gives insufficient justice for the professionalism of the RNLI and also to Geoff and the way he handled the situation.  Also note that this account does not give sufficient detail to allow a full view of the situation to be considered, but I can say that we were all glad we had Geoff running the show and, funnily enough, we all felt very safe throughout the ordeal.  We all knew how the boat was equipped and how to use the liferaft and each of us had something to do which kept us occupied rather than worried, because Geoff manages people very well and he knew the drills we might have to go through – if you’re reading this, Geoff, that’s a compliment!

The Doris Mor on a calm day.

On Wednesday, we recovered the situation and cleaned up the exhaust line and removed the casing so as to ensure we would be able to monitor it. Once Geoff had completed some extensive work for the procedural administration in the wake of a lifeboat call-out and surveyor’s inspection, we set off again in the direction south, but instead of going for Jura, we decided on the smaller, adjacent island of Gigha.  We had westerly winds F2-3 and sailed through the Doris Mor with its whirlpools and strong tide, whilst we kept a close eye on transits to ensure we weren’t being swept towards the Gulf of Corryvreckan (please check it out on Google – it really has a story to tell!). 

A bigge basking shark - can you see its mouth under its nose, left?

Along the way we saw another, bigger basking shark! (this one is for you Ben!).  As we tacked south into the Sound of Jura against the tide, we cautiously turned on the engine and eventually arrived at Ardmirgh Bay on Gigha 9.5 hours after leaving Croabh.  After everyone went to bed I knocked up a passage plan, went to bed at 0030 for three hours sleep and then got things going so that we could leave at 0400 to catch the tide for Ireland.

Early morning, passing the Mull of Kintyre

Thursday gave us much better winds, rising to a steady F5, south westerly, which meant we had a broad reach and the favourable tides had us cracking along.  Geoff won the bet for when we would pass the lighthouse on the Mull of Kintyre and we sailed briskly across the North Channel to Bangor in Belfast Lough with an average speed of over 8 knots for the passage. 

Black Head lighthouse welcoming us to Bangor in Belfast Lough

Jackie excelled herself helming in a moderate sea with a swell passing through, yet she left a wake as straight as a die.  The logbook entry for 0700 notes that after a violent knocking was heard from the bows of the boat, Duncan was found to have been locked in the forward heads … locked from the outside!  The sea is full of mysteries! 

Dawn over Belfast Lough

Friday 0600 we left for the 100 miles to Dublin Bay.  This was a trip to relish.   We had a better wind forecast, westerly, F5-7.  Duncan was skipper for the day and was quite brisk with his navigation plans, having been deprived of the opportunity to prepare the night before, because of other pressing engagements in Belfast.  In fact he tumbled into bed at about 0245 and was up at 0530!  Geoff helped get us on course and by 0900 I noticed the barometer had fallen by 5 millibars in less than two hours; we put in a couple of reefs and carried on as the wind picked up with some solid showery squalls coming in at Force 7-8, which gave us a terrific ride; lots of salty foam, wind in your hair and buckets of water bouncing over us: it was very refreshing.

On the way to Dublin Bay with North Westerly Force 5

At times we had clear skies with the breeze coming aff the land, so the waves were not too bad and you could see the clouds getting ready for any squally rain they wanted to unload, and the sailing was a roller coaster. As we approached Howth we settled down after all the excitement, as the wind quietened in the lee of the coast and we got ready to arrive after several days with not a lot of sleep.

Approaching the Ben of Howth, near Dublin Bay

Our port of Howth and a fine resort for Dubliners

 

The view of Howth from our cockpit.The moon over Howth

And here’s another moonshot.

Another – moonshot

As you can probably guess from this blog, I can confirm that the sea really is the last refuge of the incurable romantic!