WEST COAST OF MULL

WEST COAST OF MULL

Here we go again...we leave Glenbatrick bay Jura and head for the tinkers hole on the the Isle of Mull basically the SW corner. The sail over was very uneventful and calm with very little wind but never the less a nice day. The tinkers hole anchorage itself is a beautiful place but needs caution entering it as there is a few hazards. The anchorage itself has decent holding but you won’t get many boats in here as it’s a tight little spot it looks like you have anchored in a quarry hole. If you just take time to explore here you will get some cracking views out over the sound of Iona and you will even get good signal on the phone. After spending a few days here it was time to move on so we headed for the north side of the Ross of Mull to an anchorage in loch Lathaich in the SW corner. Beware going up the sound of Iona as it has a sand bar about mid channel you may hit the bottom so have good look at pilot books are charts. The Lathaich anchorage has very good holding...we then took a quick walk into Bunessan to get supplies from the local village store before heading across to Ulva on the west coast of Mull a wild baron place with stunning cliffs coming down into the cold atlantic waters. Ulva has a shelf as you approach on low tide so it’s worth waiting for a bit before going in as you could bottom out but it’s soft ground so all should be ok if your coming in on a rising tide always better to enter anywhere on a rising tide...hope you enjoy the video⛵️

HIGHEST MOUNTAIN ON JURA

HIGHEST MOUNTAIN ON JURA

 

Finally the weather eased and we could anchor in Glenbatrick bay which left us in a great position to climb the biggest mountain on Jura ...one of the paps as they are known. We couldn’t wait much longer for perfect weather so if we went leaving the sunny shore to head into the mist and rain....it was a pretty straight forward walk so I will let you watch and see if the weather cleared for a view from the top...

MOUNTAINS AND WATERFALL LOCH TARBERT , JURA

 MOUNTAINS AND WATERFALL LOCH TARBERT , JURA

Let’s look a bit more at west loch Tarbert Jura. So again in this wild place we await the heavy wind and get the anchors well dug in more sever gale 8s. I think Darren has brought this wind with him. Anyway all turns out well as we are getting use to heavy winds on the anchor just keep all your gear up to scratch that is the secret. Plans are made onboard and it’s not long to we are off exploring and I can assure you it turns out really worth the hike as we come across another top waterfall and yes it had to be done...swim time. We also climb up the mountains to give you stunning views from the bottom of the loch. I hope you enjoy the video and get a better understanding of west loch Tarbert Jura ....it really is a magical place

QUICK STOP AT HOME PORT ISLAY TO BALLYCASTLE

 QUICK STOP AT HOME PORT - ISLAY TO BALLYCASTLE

So we leave a great anchorage and head for Islay to get ourselves back to our home port to get some repairs since lock down eased. We had a new throttle cable to fit and fit a new charcoal stove for more comfort. We get a wicked sail past the sound of Islay some good wind and a fun sail. The sail back to Ballycastle the next morning was uneventful with very little wind. We came cross a navy convoy north of Rathlin which was an awesome sight.... anyway enough chat from me I will let the video show you the rest of the adventure...

ANCHORAGES WEST LOCH TARBERT JURA

ANCHORAGES WEST LOCH TARBERT JURA

Ok so we left my home port again with new cables and a stove ready for action. The sail to west loch Tarbert we decided not to video and just to enjoy the ride. The sail over was uneventful no wind and foggy so nothing much to see. In this loch we show you some of the anchorages and a little bit about them... so hopefully it will help If you ever go there...this place is full of wildlife and it can be a wild place

GOAT ISLAND TO EILEAN TRAIGHE

 GOAT ISLAND TO EILEAN TRAIGHE

So we leave the beautiful goat island where we spent over 2 weeks exploring and head down the sound of Jura towards an anchorage south of Carsaig bay Eilean Traighe ..this was a great Anchorage with good holding you just don’t want southerly winds here. We explored this place well as you will see on the video. One of the most amazing things was watching a dear swim between the islands just nature at its best.... hope you enjoy the video....

Latest Voyages - Goat island - Hebrides

GOAT ISLAND HEBRIDES

GOAT ISLAND

So we leave the beautiful little anchorage of Gallanach bay and head of to get some supplies at Craobh marine. Very helpful people even in these crazy times. Nice fast sail up and we anchored to the south of the marina which has awful holding and there has been fishing trawl lines dumped that you may catch I can assure you it’s no fun freeing your anchor. Soon as we arrived we got straight to it and got everything ready for the next mornings run for supplies. We carried two drums of water back to boat and lots of shopping..all I can say is a big thanks to the staff at the marina for a couple of things they done for us. We also met up with a charter skipper who went out of his way to bring us fishing bait and whisky and even asked did we need anything else .. so big thanks Davy. After a good stock up we made of again and headed for goat island an anchorage just of loch Craignish. Goat island offered us very good shelter and brilliant holding and we stayed here two weeks with some strong wind. There is so much to explore here very stunning indeed you have sea otters,eagles, Canadian geese and the odd big fat seal...fishing off season is very slow indeed. There is also a beauty of a waterfall we’re you can get fresh water and a dam good wash/shower. Just go explore as it’s to much to explain all the things worth doing... While having some down time we decided to do a bit of a beach clean and give something back to the ocean and beaches we love so much it was very rewarding for the soul. So things got a little strange here and we decided to show people just how easy it is to survive from the junk you can find and what nature can give...living like true castaways for a few days...brings man back to his roots I guess. Anyway I hope you enjoy the video.⛵️

THE WEATHER EASED - OBAN TO N. ORONSAY

 THE WEATHER EASED - OBAN TO  N. ORONSAY

So after a few days of bad weather on Jura we it was time to make are break to another anchorage but first we had to stop of ESSENTIAL supplies in Oban before heading on back up the sound of Mull again to an anchorage known as Oronsay North of the very north side of the sound of Mull. When we left west loch Tarbert it was a little windy but we had to wait in Glenbatrick bay for the tide and the wind eased while we were waiting ...it was a foggy old morning. We set off with a good sea and not a big pile of wind as we passed the gulf of Corryvreckan the sea got big very fast so again I will tell you be careful round there as that place will eat you up. We make it into Oban that evening and anchored of the coast keeping our distance keeping the boat free from other contact and keeping ourselves safe as possible because of this virus. The next morning we came along side a jetty that we were told we could use to get food so we moored up run yes run into town got ESSENTIAL supplies and straight back aboard ..now as for Oban we ended up in a paper with a bit of bullshit press and bad mouthing then we had someone else give the press a story on our behalf. I wasn’t a bit amused if I’m honest they sounded like we were half starved and ready to die...I’m sure you guys that know and follow me knows we could survive ..kind of use to be part of my job living in the wild in very extreme conditions. The day sailors and part time sailors here in Oban the majority are ok but there is a small group of folk from here that belong to a certain fb page that seemed to have a problem with me people up there own ass and the type of people that is exactly wrong with sailing today. One guy took money of us at the pontoon even tho they were closed for business this guy a nobody may I say tried to lecture us on this covid but all his advice after being round my boat taking money of us and talking to us in close contact for over 30mins went out the window. He had the cheek to say to me you didn’t pick a very good boat to be cruising and living in the cheeky stuck up toffee nose. What do you think of my sigma and her cruising to date?? Please comment. Anyway we got out of there and headed to the anchorage for Darrens birthday in Oronsay north. Great holding in there sheltered in all directions bar north . We explored a bit here before we had to move fast due to wind change strong wind from the north. We just made a quick dart into loch Droma Buie just basically to the other side of Oronsay . Great holding in there to we didn’t leave the boat as we had lots of work to do here and some planning. After staying here again the months had moved on and the covid situation seemed to be holding the same so we started heading south ... we aimed for an anchorage called Gallanach bay just across from the Crinan basin ..the Crinan canal is a very beautiful place I went through it many years ago on “just because” as a novice sailor. Gallanach bay has great holding I’d just be worried if the wind had any strong south in it. Here we enjoyed some swimming and cleaned the bottom of the boat. Enough talk from me so I hope you enjoy the video.

STRONG WIND AT ANCHOR - JURA

 STRONG WIND AT ANCHOR (JURA)

We are still on West loch Tarbert Jura waiting for the bad weather that was forecast. We still get a good adventure around and head to a beautiful little waterfall and pool for two reasons to get fresh water for the tanks onboard and to get ourselves a wash. We actually spent a decent bit of time here it was kind of good as we were totally cut off from the real world as there is no VHF signal in here nor can you get internet unless you go high up in the hills so if things go wrong in here your in trouble fast and the water isn’t warm at all early in the season. When we were anchored here there was two anchors put down as we knew there was serious wind to come. I stick one out one side Darren puts the other out the other... I have boat pointed into wind get the anchors on the bottom then feed out the chain and rope letting the wind push us Back once we have what we need out I will come back watch to see if they have gripped then I engage reverse gear and hold it for maybe 8 10 seconds at about 1700 rpm if she holds then all is well if not you begin the whole process again. We have an anchor on to each cleat so if one breaks at what ever point we still have another. Some will say this is all wrong but it’s how I do it it was held in some very bad weather in the past so it works for me.I see lots of people dropping there hook and have boat in reverse before the anchor even hits the bottom and are racing back ways...awww give it a chance I scream to myself. Remember take your time set it right get lots of rope out if you have the room and you should sit out hard weather. I use the old CQR anchors and they hold very well if set right. If things are bad out there and you have done your checks on the anchor before bed keep everyone inside and the hatches closed stay warm and enjoy the ride the storm always passes I will tell you this don’t be having idiot crew getting pissed thinking they are above the weather if it gets dangerous everyone needs to be on the ball Watch how Darren saves the day big time in this video as I was a complete knob.

BUIE TO JURA

 BUIE TO JURA

So from the beautiful loch Buie on the Isle of Mull down the west coast of Jura into the anchorage at west loch Tarbert. We made this move as bad weather was soon to blow from the south and you really don’t want to be in Buie in southerlies. When we left Buie we had a lot of wind so it was a 3rd reef day and to deal with the gusts...after all we are cruisers not racers. Heading down the west coast of Jura we had a few sail configurations from 3rd reef to full sails back to 2nd reef. One place I will tell anyone to be careful is passing the gulf of the corryvreckan “the great race” this place can be very dangerous and will in the wrong conditions swallow you up.it extends miles out into the sea so be very careful here and give her a wide berth. Anyway we had a nice fast sail down the Wild West coast of Jura and into west loch Tarbert. The sea got a little bumpy as we were just turning in but that was due to the water getting shallower. As we moved through loch Tarbert and past the raised beaches into the narrow channels to get to the anchorage I was waiting for a difficult entrance as I was told it was tricky but to be honest it was straight forward. Remember tho always do your homework on a place your going. This place is remote no mobile signal are vhf so keep it in mind. It’s a beautiful place here and super holding as you will see in coming video. Anyway enough talking from me hope you enjoy the video and any questions feel free to ask.