Sunday - Inverness to Findhorn

And home ...

Saturday - Fort Augustus to Inverness

Penultimate (?!) leg.

We were able to tie up alongside the wharf in Seaport Marina and unload things into the car. Final hop back to Findhorn tomorrow.

Friday - Down the Fort Augustus Flight

And I seem to be slowing down ... I rafted up with "Cracklin' Rosy" to go down the flight because there were a lot of boats, and I was single handed. This worked well.

Carrie and Edan arrived on Friday, but we decided to defer the loch until Saturday.



Baby ducks in Fort Augustus. A reason for hanging around ...

Thursday - Loch Oich to Fort Augustus

I'm taking a more leisurely trip up the canal, having rushed my journey down it ...

Wednesday - Gairlochy to Loch Oich

I thought I might be able to sail a bit on Loch Lochy, but spent a lot of time chasing breezes ...

After a brief stop a the Well of the Seven Heads I anchored off the Invergarry River. This is a very peaceful spot, more or less out of earshot of traffic, and I've often had it to myself (despite it being one of the few easy marked anchorages in the Great Glen).

Monday and Tuesday - Corpach to Gairlochy

On Monday morning I got fuel in Corpach and then climbed Neptune's ladder. I sat in the basin for a while waiting to be told to enter the double lock before realising I'd left the VHF switched off ...

On Tuesday I went to Gairlochy - the GPS got a bit confused and has me taking an unlikely shortcut, but the real route of the canal is clear.

Sunday - Kerrera to Corpach

A long morning of motoring in a variety of conditions, all flat calm. Heavy rain as I came out of the Lynn of Lorne, and hot sunshine as I came out of the Corran Narrows and headed up the Loch. No wind at any time until I had taken the mainsail down and was trying to safely enter the Sea Lock.

But here I am! Nearly home...

Saturday - Craighouse to Horseshoe Bay, Kerrera

Picked up a huge ball of weed on the anchor in the Bay of Small  Isles. I wonder how well it would have held in a blow:

It responded quickly to the breadknife, though. The chart shows weed in the bay, but not where I anchored.

A weedy day followed: wind appearing and disappearing, poling out the jib and taking it in, starting and stopping the engine. Without the tide I'd still be in Craighouse.

Friday Afternoon - Port Ellen to Craighouse

Quite a lot of fiddling with sails in a dying and changeable wind. Interesting boat in Craighouse:

It's a trimaran, but fairly squat, not beamy, and with limited clearance under the bridgedeck. There is a raised and protected steering position at the stern. It has bulbous bows on the amas, but not (apparently?) on the main hull.  Would love to know more ...

Friday Morning - Red Bay to Port Ellen

This was a tiring crossing with a very early start - 4am - to catch the tide. Tiring because the beam swell made the boat roll and corkscrew in a way that made moving around difficult. I spent a lot of  time sitting in the companionway looking out through the sprayhood windows.

It was fairly fast, though - down wind and down tide. I was on the Pontoon in Port Ellen by about 10am.

Two visits to a petrol station to get 45 litres of diesel, some grocery shopping, and an hour of sleep before the tide called again - 3pm departure for a very gentle northwards lift from about 4. Or so I thought - it was a bit hard to detect.

Thursday - Peel to Belfast Lough (yes, I know this is out of order ...)

Leaving Peel:

Dull variables replaced by a lively south-westerly 5, made this a fairly quick passage. Becalmed for an hour near the end, mysteriously, and I motored through Donaghadee Sound. The wind returned to make a blustery anchoring in Ballyholme Bay, where I am now, writing this.

I'm heading north to Red Bay tonight and will make the hop to Scotland - probably Port Ellen - tomorrow morning.