wayfarer

Wayfarers in Scotland

Sailing Trip to Mull June 2010

Getting Ready.

Getting ready for our first sailing and camping trip was quite a stressful and busy time. We had to buy a VHF radio, outboard engine, plenty of dry bags, cookers, flare kit, sleeping bags and borrow a boat tent kindly loaned by Dave and Julie Barker.

I had some practical sessions designing ways to secure the cooker onto the lid of the tin used to transport all the bits, making righting lines and a removable fixing for the holding the boom above the existing gooseneck for the tent.

A couple of practice sessions packing a pile of kit into the boat and erecting the tent in the back garden just about got us ready. Having to dismantle the grease gun and fix it in order to grease the wheel bearings on the trailer was a job I didn’t expect.

But eventually we were ready to go, Viv has already gone to Mull a week earlier and I set off with the boat to join her spending my first night under boat canvas at the Puffin Dive Centre before picking her up off the ferry the next day.

Day 1 Kerrera Sound.

Dave and Julie had already sailed out of the dive centre and were anchored up just down the coast. Viv and I launched Mihangel and motored out into the bay to pick up a buoy whilst we hoisted the sails and put in a 1st reef as it was blowing a steady 2-3 from the SW gusting to 4 at times and it’s always worth being safe rather than sorry.

We sailed down Kerrera Sound and met up with the other two and had a pleasant sail to a little bay just before Loch Foechan where we anchored for lunch. Found the first potential disaster when I discovered a leak in the rear tank. It seems when we had cleaned the boat before leaving we must have broken the old seals around the bungs as water was trickling in. Into the mobile man drawer (spares container) and a good dollop of ding stick later the leak was fixed. Great stuff as you can mould it and it will set under water. Slight problem with the anchor dragging until the crew admitted maybe she had not fully locked it open before deploying!!

After lunch we sailed into Loch Feochan, an interesting and testing sail against a strong current through a narrow entrance. Finding nowhere to anchor up safely we came back out and as the wind was dropping a little decided to shake out the reef and sail back around the north side of Kerrera dropping into Kerrera Marina for the night.

Moored up near the gangway to the marina we could not get over how much attention we drew and how many people wanted to talk to us about sailing and camping in a Wayfarer. It seemed like most people either had a Wayfarer in the past or wanted to do what we were doing or just thought us barking mad!

Day 2 Kerrera Sound.

A leisurely day sailing in winds of 2-3 dropping to 2 as the afternoon wore on in Kerrera Sound. We anchored up opposite the parrot centre and walked to the the-shop for afternoon tea and cakes. Back at the boat it was amusing to listen to the variety of phone tunes and other man made noises the parrots were imitating at top volume before we sailed back across towards the Dive Centre to meet John and Olwyn who had just set off. All three of us went back to Kerrera Marina for the night.

Once again we were the centre of attention and a tour around an ex-round the world 40-foot racer was a real treat. The contrast between it with its 95-foot mast and John’s boat moored alongside was quite funny.

Day 3 Tobermoray

Big trip today as we sailed up the Sound of Mull to Tobermoray. At first there was no wind so we motored across to Lismore Island and shot the tidal race between the island off the southern tip of Lismore under power. Once into the Lynn Of Morven the wind started to kick in so we hoisted sail and beat gently up the Sound of Mull in a steady NW 1-2. We got a good view of a Great Northern Diver at the end of Lismore Island and a Sea Eagle just north of the ferry terminal on Mull.

Lunch time we anchored up in Ardonish Bay and put in a 1st reef as the wind was building and the seas were starting to kick up around the numerous overfalls. After lunch we carried on up the sound in a steady 2-3 with odd gust of 4 in quite lumpy seas at times that got the boat quite wet at times.

There was a testing sail in through the narrows at the southern end of Calve Island into Tobermoray with the tide running and gusty winds in the entrance, the motor helped and fortunately the fuel held until just after we had cleared the narrowest part. From then on we always carried a small reserve fuel bottle and used any chance we got to fill the tank up after each time we had motored anywhere.

Once in the marina we found people very friendly and always coming up to question what we were up to and received some very nice comments on how impressive the three boats looked tacking up the channel together.

Day 4 Calgary Bay

Woke up to mist over the harbour that gradually cleared as a gentle breeze kicked in from the northeast and a very brief shower that made for a rush to get the tent packed away before it got wet.

Set off in gentle winds of about 2 from the NE and sailed north out of the harbour turning east along the north coast of Mull in glorious sunshine.

As we approached Loch a’ Chumhainn we had a wonderful encounter with a huge Basking Shark. All three boats furled the genoas and gilled about around the shark that was feeding apparently oblivious of us just below the surface. At one point Viv was videoing the beast as it swam right under our boat and we could see it was at least 10 feet longer than the boat and no more than 3-4 feet below it.

As we turned south towards Calgary Bay we had a chance to hoist the spinnaker, a first for Viv and I and sailed into Calgary Bay with it up. Earlier in the week we had met up with Allan, Mike, Doug and Duncan three chaps from Peterborough in two more Wayfarers intending to sail around Mull. They were already on the beach and said how good the three boats under spinnaker looked coming into the bay. We joined them on the beach and the ten of us made light work of rolling the five boats up the beach to the high water mark. It would have been even easier if at least three had not been videoing the use of rollers to get the boats up the beach! The other two boats camped in tents in the dunes whilst we put ours up on the boats. Then it was time to build a fire and get the wine and whisky out and my guitar that fits comfortably under the bow in its case. The fact Mike used to play in a band when younger added another musician to our happy little band and we played until nearly midnight in the northern twilight. The look on John’s face of reliving something he had wanted to do in his youth was a picture.

Day 5 Tobermoray

The next morning was a beautiful sunny one, enhanced by sights of Sea Eagles, Golden Eagles, Buzzard and a flock of Eider Duck with young dabbling at the waters edge.

We had planned to try and get over to Staffa but the forecast meant it would be difficult to go south and the trip back would have been a long hard beat so somewhat reluctantly we headed back to Tobermoray.

Once out of the bay the wind picked up to a steady 3-4 form the NE and stopping to put in a reef made for much more comfortable sailing around the headland where there was quite a bit of chop and overfalls.

As we sailed east we could see in the distance a line of rain that it was obvious we would hit. Just before we reached it the wind dropped then shifted so we carried on sailing east but instead of being on port found ourselves on starboard pointing the same direction.

The rain set in and the wind gradually dropped, relieved only by a second sighting of another Basking Shark but not as close as before, a view of a Minke whale breaching right out of the water and later sailing amongst a pod of Harbour Porpoise all around the boat.

The wind continued to drop off so we eventually resorted to motoring back into Tobermoray marina. Once in it was a case of mopping out the boat and getting the tent up then up to the marina for a long hot shower. Luckily the rain stopped later in the evening and gave us a chance to dry out more thoroughly.

Day 6 Loch Aline

We left Tobermoray lunch time with the intention of sailing south down the sound until around tea time then finding somewhere to anchor up for the night.

Sailing out through the channel at the south end of Calve Island was interesting and when John’s engine cut out we found we did not have enough room or power to turn around to go back and help. Instead I had to nip over the side to hold the boat off the rocks in the shallows.

Once out in the sound the wind had picked up to a steady 3-4 from the NE and we put in a 1st reef that made sailing more comfortable and stopped us having to hike out so much. It was a hard sail down the sound as we remained on the same tack for about 4 hours and there are only so many bottom and back positions you can adopt on one tack!

Teatime we pulled into Ardonish Bay and anchored up letting folks off ashore for a comfort break. John said we ought to wait a bit for the tide to drop and possibly the wind as most days it had dropped off late afternoon and this would make crossing the southern end of the sound where there lots of over-falls easier.

We set sail again, Dave and Julie had dropped their reef out but soon decided to put it back in again once out in the channel. As we sailed out into the Lynn of Morven the wind continued to build and was now a steady 5 with quite big seas and white capping and getting very rough. I was so glad John had suggested we wait a bit for the wind to drop off! John suggested a 2nd reef and we all promptly hove to and reduced sail. It was now too rough to carry on so we beat back and crept back up the sound under cover of the mainland to find a spot to rest up.

It was one of the moments where you ponder where the clean underpants are in the dry bag, or at least I was. Much to my surprise Viv was only worried about where the camera was so she could video Dave and Julie thrashing about in the waves!

Just before 11 PM we hove into Loch Aline and at the top end found some deserted buoys, we picked a particularly large one with name Victoria on it that looked like it would not budge in a hurricane and gratefully tied up for the night. We were too tired to cook so just mopped out the boat, put up the tent and went to bed. We were not completely alone as two Common Terns were also in residence on the buoy and spent the night chatting to each other no doubt annoyed at having visitors.

Day 7 Oban

The morning was bright and sunny with a gentle NE, what a change from the night before!

We sailed off just after 9:00 AM to get the best tide and had a pleasant sail down to Lismore Island where we again went through the tide race under motor, although Dave and Julie goose-winged it under sail!

Once through the narrows we hoisted the spinnaker but after an hour or so the wind had dropped so we motored back to the Dive Centre and took the boat out of the water back on it’s trailer.

Post script.
Would we do it again – we’ve already booked next year!

Lessons learnt.