Go!

After some try-sailing and try-anchoring, on May 22nd (AD 2023 Ed.) we started our trip, voyage, cruise, vacation, quest, journey, expedition, or whatever you want to call it. Let’s go through what we have done in the first month.

Isle of Bute & Tarbert

From Ardrossan, where we prepared our boat, we headed to the Island of Bute. We set anchor in Glencallum Bay. Due to lack of communication, unsure location, anchor not holding, and fear of drifting towards rocks, we had to reanchor four times until we were happy. From the isle of Bute we went to Tarbert, planning to spend two nights in the marina to do laundry, buy groceries, play Yaniv in a pub, fill up Diesel, and throw away garbage.

Unfortunately, when we arrived we were told that in the coming days there would be the big regatta with lots of boats coming in and therefore we would have to leave the marina early in the morning. The next day we went to an anchorage a mile away and I tried my fishing skills. I have none. Ok, not completely true, a couple of days before I caught a small crab with our cage. I was aiming for a lobster but when life gives you crab, what do you make with it? No idea, so I released it.

Campbeltown

After a couple of days in Tarbert we went towards Campbeltown, spending 2 nights at anchor in between. In Campbeltown we ended up staying 3 nights, finally doing our laundry, buying groceries, going for a run, small boat fixes, and enjoying the nice weather.

I find it strange that wherever we are, as soon as we go down in the saloon, our home is right there, untouched, the same as it was 50 miles before. We then decided to go anchoring at Sanda Island. As we planned our passage poorly (or not at all), we ended with 3 knots of current against us, making it impossible to reach our anchorage. Until then, we sailed in waters with up to 1 knot of current, which we could ignore, that’s why we stupidly didn’t take it into account. We then had two options, wait for the right tidal currents or moving on. We decided to continue and do a night passage to Northern Ireland. There was not much wind during the night so we sailed under engine most of the time. Luckily, towards 3 o’clock the wind came and I opened the genoa an cut the engine, it was a fantastic sensation, I love night sailing!

Northern Ireland

As we anchored in Red Bay the next morning, we realised that there was a lot of swell (we didn’t take that into account in our planning either yet, another lesson learnt). Every couple of seconds the boat was rocking about 30 degree to either side, opening drawers, making lots of noises, and making stomaches go rooowr. Fortunately, I managed to sleep like a baby since I stayed up all night. As we wanted to go to shore, we realised that the floor of our inflatable dinghy was coming loose. We quickly fixed it with the best method at hand: duct tape (It just held for a couple of minutes).

After a second night at Red Bay, this time not as bad as the previous one, we went to Rathlin, the only Island in Northern Ireland with 3 lighthouses. Not that I would care, since every place has an unique feature as long as you add the right specifiers.

Port Ellen

In Port Ellen we spent 2 nights in the marina and one at anchor nearby. We were finally able to fill up the diesel tank since we almost emptied it during the night crossing to Northern Ireland. I assumed the tank to be 42 l since that’s what the boat ad said, but after filling in 50 l the tank was about 75% full. Either I got scammed at the petrol station or my tank is bigger, I’ll have to investigate that.

We try to stay two nights at the same location. This way, we have a whole day to enjoy, it’s worth to set up the dinghy to go ashore, have time to clean the boat, visit the place and so on. My original naive idea was to sail 4-5 days a week, but now I see that’s not feasible, one needs time to replenish energies, go for a run, write blogposts, relax, read, be lazy (actively), cook and eat properly. That’s why we won’t manage to reach Norway this summer. Sad. I know. But Scotland, at least the west coast, has so much to offer, so many islands to discover and places to visit, nice people and weather (Yes, I’m still trying to convince myself that it’s Ok not to be in control of my plans).

Crinan

On the way to Crinan we first stopped between Islay and the Isle of Jura. A couple of minutes after setting anchor, we drifted with 1 knot towards rocks. Fortunately, Saskia was smoking outside and noticed that the house nearby was moving. After a second attempt, putting down more chain, checking its holding by pulling the chain with even more engine power and for a longer period of time, we securely anchored for the night.

I find it interesting to see how the boat behaves at anchor when there are different forces acting on it. The boat wants to put itself perpendicular to the wind, the current (and wind) push the boat to the opposing side of the anchor, and since it’s attached on the front, the boat wants to be in the wind. Eventually it will find a stable position, until the conditions change.

In Crinan we stayed three nights at anchor. The engine made strange noises at low revolutions so I had to investigate the issue. The problem was that the nuts on one support foot were lose. After levelling the engine again into its correct position and tightening the nuts, the vibrations were normal again. I was already thinking that the problem lied deeper, cylinder issue, oil pressure or the like. I love when problems are easy to solve. Another issue I looked at was our outboard engine. We could not regulate the speed anymore and no cooling water came out. I opened the carburetor, cleaned it, changed the sparking plug, drained the gas (which was milky) and it worked again. I love when problems are easy to solve.

We then did a 2 night stay in Craobh, where I glued the floor of the inflatable dinghy. Water is still coming in, less than before, sometimes good enough is good enough (for non safety-related things!!).

Oban

In Oban we stayed 2 nights to buy groceries, fill up water, charge our batteries (from the boat and ours), the usual. I had a deeper look at our windwane, somehow it did not steer to the set course. I noticed that there was a lot of play between the windwane and the rudder. I opened it as much as needed, tightened two grub screws and the play was gone. I love when problems are easy to solve.

I’m happy with the size of the battery I choose. With the help of solar and the engine (while using it for sailing), from a fully charged battery after 9 days we had 60% left. On cloudy days it will be another story, I will let you know when I have data.

What’s next

We don’t know.

Love

Mirco