SKIPPER JAMES ADVENTURES

    Welcome to my blog and I hope you will join me on the seas in the hills and on the mountains  for fun and adventure !!

Join me , James  , otherwise known as , Skipper James ,  as I sail around the British Isles form my home port in Northern Ireland or walk the hills and mountains. My little Yacht is called " Just because " and she's a Sigma 33 Class . Its all about being on the waves and learning from the Sea . Hope you enjoy the Voyages , Entertainment , Walking  , Survival  and Wild Cooking Videos . If you liked the videos pop over to the YOU TUBE  Channel and please SUBSCRIBE or help me on the way to bring you more Stories , Content or entertainment by clicking on the Funding Buttons Above to help us bring these stories and treasures to life.   in these ventures follow us Circumnavigating the British Isles savouring the Scottish Islands  and showing ordinary folk that it can be done well and professionally on a shoestring. Use the Interactive Map  to link and explore and find  the Journey Videos on Tube 

I've put the blog together to bring the social media and videos all together to make life easy for you get involved, interact  and see were we are sailing on the Voyages Map . Visit the My Map button and you'll see the Just Because Journey Maps , Pictures and Links back to Videos which are growing by the day !! I hope also to develop some of the pages as useful Marine Resources for useful information on the Sea such as Safety , VHF Frequencies and other useful bits so that there is something for everyone from serious sailor to budget adventurers. You can read more About me and How & Why  I started from grass roots up , by clicking on the Sigma 33 Link opposite. whilst the language may be a bit colourful in places the passion comes from the heart so please bear with it and set sail with me.

 

"  Respect The Coast , Respect the Sea,  One Life Live It  "

ZOOM TO FIND SHIPPING VESSELS AROUND THE UK COAST & WORLD

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MOUNTAIN BIKING IN ROSTREVOR - NORTHERN IRELAND - MEGA MISSION + THE PULSE

 MOUNTAIN BIKING IN ROSTREVOR - NORTHERN IRELAND - MEGA MISSION + THE PULSE

So here I am in Rostrevor at the MTB trails and some say it’s the best in Ireland as a whole. I want you to first to remember that I’m only a beginner and secondly just a guy loving life and trying to learn a new skill. So the up here you can hire bike lifts to the top there is also showers,bike wash,camping and a little cafe. So it’s great if you want to spend some time shredding the dirt. So we cycled to the top for the mega mission. This mega mission is a fast downhill trail with many jumps some pretty big. You will have no problem getting air time. I will tell you to be cautious on the first run because you could get badly hurt here are stuck orbiting the moon. The berms here are good big solid ones and you can really Chuck the bike round them. The track surface is really good it’s smooth and I promise it’s fast. If you can’t jump a bike are have no skill at all I would advise learning skills before you hit this beast. Anyway let me know what you think of the first run. So the next downhill run was On the Pulse. Totally different animal altogether and again this one will hurt you if you mess up. Little half man found that one out on his hard tail. This trail offers it all from drop offs,jumps rough ground. Sounds okay but it’s downhill and fast and a full suspension is a must along with good skills and a giant set of balls to go fast. Hope you enjoy this video. If anyone out there in this MTB world is out all the time and wants to help pull a reasonably fast learner along and help him build his skills please give me a shout as I’d like to get into the scene kind of thing. Anyway happy shredding folks

THE HEBRIDES - TIREE TO LOCH NA KEAL

TIREE TO LOCH NA KEAL   

Ok after a quick stop on Tiree I decided to go across to Loch Na Keal on the west side of the Isle of Mull. I call this the wild side. The leg across from Tiree was very uneventful with very little wind it was just a long slow very early morning sail. So why have I can to Loch Na Keal? Well it’s to climb the biggest mountain on the Isle of Mull known as Ben More. I anchored almost at the start of the path to head up into the mountain trail. I personally found that the anchorage had very good holding and I dug her in well in about 8 meters. The bottom was a thick mud which was visible on my anchor. I would have no problem going back there to climb the mountain. The hike up Ben more was pretty easy and well marked. I won’t bore you with all the hiking details but it was a beautiful day and trust me your in for a treat the further up I go. Tell me if you like me walking into heaven because it felt like that’s where I was. I don’t like to bum and brag here but Yano what my weather reading skills has become pretty good for the ocean and the mountains as this years I have successfully timed everything right to get the views. That gives me a lot of satisfaction knowing that’s becoming much better at what i do. Anyway guys not many videos left of this years sailing adventure. So I really hope your enjoying what’s been going on. Guys I put out all my videos for free I give out the best advice I can when I’m asked by folk that follow what I do. I just ask one favour from you all. Please could you recommend the channel to some one you may know get them to hit the subscribe button. Get watching all those videos and help me build this Channel. It’s all real adventure from me and I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not I don’t edit my videos to they are nothing like what it was really like. Just raw adventure.

THE HEBRIDES - SALEM TO TIREE

 THE HEBRIDES - SALEM TO TIREE

Well I leave Salen and head back up Loch Sunart and what a beautiful day for it. The calm loch the smell of pine it was just heave. When I leave the loch I head out towards Coll but is that where I’m for? The wind was light but I get sailing most of the way. I get a brilliant surprise about the half way point. Your going to see me smile a lot because I got another we goal I’ve always wanted. I have dailies past this way a lot but never called in. The evening I sailed past this place when returning from the Faroe Islands a couple of years back was just stunning. We had a big swell and an amazing sunset and I remember saying you have escaped me once again. Well this time just like st kilda I nailed her solo. I’m happy about this one.

Shoreline, small boat hire or sea going charter provide a full range of sea fishing, covering around 20 species and including mackerel, cod, pollock and wrasse. Shoreline fishing from the rocks along Loch Sunart is free as is fishing from Kilchoan pier. Fishing is not permitted from the fish farm jetties.

THE HEBRIDES - ARDNAMURCHAN (highest mountain)

ARDNAMURCHAN (highest mountain)

Well I jump forward a little here and I end up in a beautiful little place know as Salen. Salen is down into Loch Sunart and offers some beautiful views on the way down plus you will always find an anchorage. The little marina has a few berths and some mooring balls with decent showers and a shop. So why am I here? Well it’s to climb the biggest mountain on Ardnamurchan. I wanted to do this as I’ve sailed the notorious Ardnamurchan point now many times I’ve anchored round here a lot to. I’ve just wanted to really explore the life out of this place. It’s all really for a reason tho as I remember many years back when I first started sailing a guy kept niggling at me about how I couldn’t sail and had never rounded the point. The guy belonged to a Facebook drinking club know as sailing and cruising Scotland and the sister group sailing and cruising Northern Ireland. These guys use to think I made up the bad weather I’d encountered over time and wind speeds I’d seen but all was documented so I don’t know what these strange jealous people were thinking. I later left these groups and their drama behind. Thought I’d share that. These videos I share are as honest as I can be they are not edited to the point where it’s not as it was and I am me I’m not pretending to be someone I’m not. As I left plockton to head down here I just had a bad day are two so I had to set the camera down and let the wind and tides take away my bad days. So that’s why the video has jumped forward tho it’s an area you have cruised a lot with me. Sometimes I get some abuse about my videos but these videos are put out for free for all to watch they are done on a very small scale editing with very little equipment. You get to see every single day of a voyage and I’m not talking one clip a day they are in-depth look at real cruising and adventure. I don’t really get any backing on my go fund me page are my sailing PayPal so please keep that in mind. I have people that won’t subscribe to the channel but will watch everything and it’s they just don’t want to add to the channel as it would be seen to be helping you out. I also get so many that will not be seen in public as in Facebook are Instagram speaking to me. They will send me private messages about posts are videos and the reason they won’t is because they belong to the Facebook groups known as sailing and cruising Scotland and sailing and cruising Northern Ireland. Why? Well because the admin was removing everyone from their groups that was friends with me.How childish.Anyway had to share that with you all. This channel really is about loving life doing your best with what you have and staying positive. It’s also you seeing a guy living his life by his rules a free spirit a nomad an adventurer an explorer ......

THE HEBRIDES - TARANSAY TO PLOCKTON (one stop)

 THE HEBRIDES -  TARANSAY TO PLOCKTON (one stop)

I leave a beautiful stunning anchorage an anchorage which I will return to. I head down through the Sound of Harris. Remember the sound is fine if you stay out in the main channels and remember like any narrow tidal channel watch weather and the wind against tide. Avoid if the weather is bad. As I head out into the little Minch I was surprised just how calm it was. Never seen it like this but it was peace of mind as I knew the blue men of the Minch would be down in the depths. As I got over by Skye I spotted a few anchorages to try in the future . Heading down to Portree I got some creepy looking sky’s and heavy rain. I’m glad I made it in before dark as there are lots of pots. Portree is pretty nice and you can get fuel food and water here tho your not allowed to stay on the pontoon. After a couple of days here I move on I had a place in mind but that went tits up and a change of plan was in order but it worked in my favour for the wind. I explain something here and to me it makes perfect sense and I won’t change my mind on this nor will I have you beef up silly apps I’m sorry real marine gear for real marine situations. I get a great sail into Plockton. Plockton is beautiful tho if your cruising make sure your stocked up before going if your not one for eating out. I cruise so every penny counts that’s why I don’t eat out a lot when on my voyages. I hope you enjoy the video and I’d like to hear your comments on the safety chat I have. Have a great week ahead and attack everything with a positive vibe ⛵️