LOCHMADDY & SCALPAY

 LOCHMADDY & SCALPAY

Well since I have good web here ( LOWESTOFT ) I guess it’s time to give you the next episode of my antics. Lots going on here at the minute and it’s the first I’ve got sitting down. So we leave south Uist and head to north Uist to a place known as Lochmaddy. Well let’s first start with the sail up it was uneventful peaceful run we even seen some dolphins. When we pulled into Lochmaddy we were glad to see room on the pontoon as we knew heavy wind was coming ...the run into the pontoons is straight forward. The marina itself had nothing when we were there as it is undergoing a big overhaul no showers toilets all the things you would associate with a marina we did get cal macs free WiFi tho. There is shop fuel and hotel here all close by so you can get what you need... it’s a small place So we get a break in the wind so we make a dash for island of Scalpay just of the the Isle of Harris we were for going west out to St Kilda and the beautiful west coast of Harris but weather wouldn’t allow and we would of waited ages...so Scalpay it was... the south anchorage here is very beautiful and that’s where we dropped the hook....no great hazards here and the holding is great in about 9meters you will stick out a blow. Anyway I’m of for a shower here at our new location so folks have an awesome weekend and get out there and have yourselves some adventures

Back Ground

"Scalpay of Harris" to distinguish it from Scalpay off Skye) is an island in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland

The island of Scalpay is a 2.5 sq mile island and is connected to Harris via a single track bridge.

Scalpay is a popular location for fishing, diving, walking and relaxing, has a population of around 300 and the majority of islanders speak Gaelic.

Eilean Glas, which can be found on a small peninsula to the eastern shore of the island, is home to the first lighthouse to be built in the Outer Hebrides. The island has quite a number of lochans, the largest of these being Loch an Duin, which has a small island with the remains of a fort.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 2

 

SEA OF HEBRIDES

SEA OF HEBRIDES

well here we are ready to leave the Isle of Canna and head across the cold sea of the Hebrides in Scotland...it can be a wicked place. On this run it wasn’t so bad just wind on the nose and a little bumpy. We left Canna a day earlier to sail over to the Isle of Skye it was a move that was meant to give us a better angle the next morning at the wind but that sure didn’t work out don’t get me wrong the sail to Skye was absolutely brilliant. The next morning of we went across the sea of Hebrides to the outer Hebrides the wild barren Hebrides were you seem to just go of radar mobile signal was not so good but it adds to that remoteness. I was aiming for a place known as the Wizards Pool this was a little anchorage I’d always wanted to visit as I’d planned to go to this place a few years back but that fell through ..a personal one there that not many will know but I wanted to get there. There was a boat in the pool when we arrived but no big deal there was a nice and much better anchorage just beside it so down went the hook there and I will say supper holding here. The backdrop to this anchorage was stunning you know your in the real wild Scotland .. ok don’t want to spoil things to much so I will let you get watching. Hope you enjoy the video and if you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask in the comments below....

Quote of the Week - New Feature

" The Inbetweeners "

Greeting to all those on the sea, at home or seeking adventure. In some of my videos I talked about have a Positive Mental Atitude and Motivation which is specially important at sea when you may spend a lot of time with yourself , so I thought it would be a good idea , when things quiet down for winter or  inbetween videos and not being at the helm to keep the blog active by putting up  an inspirational Quote  Once a week . To start the ball rolling here is quote of the Week 1

LOOK OF HORROR FUN ON THE HIGH SEAS

FUN ON THE HIGH SEAS

Just a little funny one for you all from today.....When the wind dies your tired bored and all that you got to have a little fun...just before bucket head went for a kip he was seeing lots of pots out there... so I let him nod of with Doubt in his head saying we got to be very careful mate...........watch the horror

Moral of the Tale - Be Vigilante on the Sea at all times

 Doh    !!!!!!!!

 

RUM TO CANNA

We leave the isle of Rum for an uneventful sail to Canna another one of the small isles. Nothing hard about this short 10mile passage and no hazards we did come across a ship wreck stuck on the side of Rum tho. Canna itself can have awful holding so we took up a mooring ball the harbour is well enough sheltered here the little village store has good WiFi and the people around it are super friendly. This little island has a lot to offer in the ways of walks and wildlife it’s absolutely beautiful and my videos will do it no justice. It has little hidden beaches which are a great place to kickstart your head again...there is many eagles and puffins so if you like birds ..... the islanders themselves are very nice people all 16 of them. So think I should shut up now and let you watch the video ...hope you enjoy.

ULVA TO RUM

ULVA TO RUM

Well we leave a sleepy little place called Ulva and head for anchorage on Gometra just beside Ulva but it just was not to be due to wind and swell direction....so a quick look at the charts and it was of to the isle of Rum one of the small islands in the sea of the Hebrides. The sail up was pretty nice until we got past Ardnamurchan point this is where the wind picked up and rain was soon to follow. As we came round the side of Muck and into the sound of Eigg it got a little messy but all was well and we had the leg near done. Once into the sound of Rum the rain got heavier by now we where soaked turning into the anchorage and dam 40kts of wind not nice I can tell you..but the sails had to come down anyway. So time to drop the hook well the two of them in that wind. Once we got in the good old faithful stove was lit and it was an early night while we swung about in the wind. I found the holding ok here. The next day the wind was still with us and we couldn’t get ashore as rowing was a bit dangerous so it was another boat day ....exciting stuff aye. When we finally did get ashore it was amazing as once before I tried to land here but couldn’t due to wind woo hoo I made it this time tho but only for a quick visit as we where for moving that day. Rum is a beautiful place and well worth a visit it has vhf,phone and 3G signal. There is nice glamping pods a beautiful castle plus many walking routes from easy to hard you may also see sea eagles and golden eagles so keep the eyes peeled. Hope you enjoy the video.

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