Just returned from Orkney where I was training some sailors from the club there on Brian Kynocks yacht "Catherine J" an Etap 43. All went well apart from one of the Yachtmaster Offshore candidates anchoring on a leeshore!! Bit the equivalent of running down an old lady on your driving test!!!
Still the weather was good with plenty of wind although a bit wet at the start. Today Sunday 23rd I'm back at Dunstaffnage marina readying the yacht for sea - a day skipper course (the last) before my cruising season starts with an early May trip to St Kilda. All looking good for the summer - even some time scheduled for me to have some personal time offshore!!
Sunday 22 April 2012
Friday 13 April 2012
Early Season shakedown cruise
After the beautiful weather earlier in the month, with temperatures in Oban in the twenties, it came as a bit of a shock to find we were back in snow and icy winds for our cruise. Every year I take the yacht out with friends to make sure everything is OK for the forthcoming season, usually there are some faults that have not been picked up and fixed over the winter refit. Most things were alright apart from as you might expect, the central heating system failed and I am now awaiting the arrival of a new unit to fit next weekend when I get back from Orkney. Fortunately we have other sources of heating available on board!
Otherwise the boat was in fine fettle as we left Dunstaffnage.
The weather, though cold, was fantastic for our first sail, we went south around the bottom of Mull into a lovely small isolated anchorage where we rarely see other yachts. It has a wonderful white sand beach, and during our evening walk we came across the remains of a bottle - nosed dolphin that had expired over the winter and been driven ashore into a pile of rocks by the gales.
Meanwhile the yacht was safely on anchor and we were able to get some work done on her in the peace and quiet away from the marina. Fortunately we have lots of sources of power on board, a new 240v generator, the ships engine of course and a very efficient 24v wind generator which is the one we use whenever possible. Being pretty Eco-friendly we also have solar panels but need the Sun to appear more regularly to be really useful up here!
In this image you can see how wonderful the evening light was, and perhaps pick out the Paps of Jura in the distance. We have the mizzen sail up, when on anchor, which really stabilizes the yacht and makes overnight anchoring far more pleasant for all aboard. This sail is brand new; Gypsy was fitted with an "in-mast" reefing system for the mizzen but as with most sails of this type, it was only a compromise and I am much happier with a fully battened "real" sail. It also improves her actual sailing performance and makes beating into wind a real pleasure.
We went on through the sound of Iona to Ulva, a small island off the west coast of Mull and anchored there for a full day while the rain descended and we did some interior varnishing!
However already there was another yacht there on anchor but still it was quiet enough and we had yet another fabulous walk over the hill to Ulva Ferry as the evening came on and the rain stopped. We saw a female hen harrier, shelduck, teal, greenshank, herons, eider and loads of other birds and perhaps a peregrine as we went for a quick look at the cemetery in Crachaig Bay.
Unfortunately within six weeks, exploring Ulva will become very restricted due to the really extensive (and high) growth of bracken which gets worse every year.
Next morning we sailed across to Lunga (one of the Treshnish Isles) to say hello to the Auks and other birds. The weather was hopeless, very wet and misty but there were loads of puffins, some already busy getting their nests ready. The other Auks - razorbills and Guillemots - were there in big numbers but as yet they were staying on the water. We did see a lot of remains of puffins so some raptor must be doing very well feeding on them.. I used to think the large numbers of visitors to Lunga would be disadvantageous to the bird colony, but now I think it is the presence of so many people that gives some element of protection to the nesting birds and is overall a good thing.
Next across to Coll for the night - the new mizzen sail proving its worth on the beat into wind in a big way. Apart from when we tacked, after initial adjustment of the course, the yacht sailed a lovely tight course into wind without altering the helm one jot - or using the autohelm - brilliant!! Makes an improvement on speed too and were were mostly making 7 knots hard to wind which is pretty good.
The return home was made via Dorlin (Loch Sunart - where we spoke to Norman, skipper of the yacht "Curlew") then Loch Aline - and another good walk. We found a new trail through the woods which I'm looking forward to sharing with this year's guests and once again lots of interesting birds. The flowers are as yet sparse with only violas, celandine's, wood anemones and a few wood sorrel in bloom although plenty of catkins etc on the trees. The only real colour was on the cultivated plants and escapees!
So now I'm back on Skye doing a few jobs around the house!! This afternoon I fly from Inverness to Kirkwall in the Orkney's to ready some Yachtmaster candidates for their exams later next week. Then back to Dunstaffnage - a week of Day Skipper training and then my cruising season starts - thank heavens!! Kilda is, as usual, the first destination and I'll put news about this up when I have any as well as something about the training courses if anything exciting happens!
Otherwise the boat was in fine fettle as we left Dunstaffnage.
The weather, though cold, was fantastic for our first sail, we went south around the bottom of Mull into a lovely small isolated anchorage where we rarely see other yachts. It has a wonderful white sand beach, and during our evening walk we came across the remains of a bottle - nosed dolphin that had expired over the winter and been driven ashore into a pile of rocks by the gales.
In this image you can see how wonderful the evening light was, and perhaps pick out the Paps of Jura in the distance. We have the mizzen sail up, when on anchor, which really stabilizes the yacht and makes overnight anchoring far more pleasant for all aboard. This sail is brand new; Gypsy was fitted with an "in-mast" reefing system for the mizzen but as with most sails of this type, it was only a compromise and I am much happier with a fully battened "real" sail. It also improves her actual sailing performance and makes beating into wind a real pleasure.
We went on through the sound of Iona to Ulva, a small island off the west coast of Mull and anchored there for a full day while the rain descended and we did some interior varnishing!
However already there was another yacht there on anchor but still it was quiet enough and we had yet another fabulous walk over the hill to Ulva Ferry as the evening came on and the rain stopped. We saw a female hen harrier, shelduck, teal, greenshank, herons, eider and loads of other birds and perhaps a peregrine as we went for a quick look at the cemetery in Crachaig Bay.
Unfortunately within six weeks, exploring Ulva will become very restricted due to the really extensive (and high) growth of bracken which gets worse every year.
Next morning we sailed across to Lunga (one of the Treshnish Isles) to say hello to the Auks and other birds. The weather was hopeless, very wet and misty but there were loads of puffins, some already busy getting their nests ready. The other Auks - razorbills and Guillemots - were there in big numbers but as yet they were staying on the water. We did see a lot of remains of puffins so some raptor must be doing very well feeding on them.. I used to think the large numbers of visitors to Lunga would be disadvantageous to the bird colony, but now I think it is the presence of so many people that gives some element of protection to the nesting birds and is overall a good thing.
Next across to Coll for the night - the new mizzen sail proving its worth on the beat into wind in a big way. Apart from when we tacked, after initial adjustment of the course, the yacht sailed a lovely tight course into wind without altering the helm one jot - or using the autohelm - brilliant!! Makes an improvement on speed too and were were mostly making 7 knots hard to wind which is pretty good.
The return home was made via Dorlin (Loch Sunart - where we spoke to Norman, skipper of the yacht "Curlew") then Loch Aline - and another good walk. We found a new trail through the woods which I'm looking forward to sharing with this year's guests and once again lots of interesting birds. The flowers are as yet sparse with only violas, celandine's, wood anemones and a few wood sorrel in bloom although plenty of catkins etc on the trees. The only real colour was on the cultivated plants and escapees!
So now I'm back on Skye doing a few jobs around the house!! This afternoon I fly from Inverness to Kirkwall in the Orkney's to ready some Yachtmaster candidates for their exams later next week. Then back to Dunstaffnage - a week of Day Skipper training and then my cruising season starts - thank heavens!! Kilda is, as usual, the first destination and I'll put news about this up when I have any as well as something about the training courses if anything exciting happens!
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