Mike and Christine arrived on Wednesday afternoon and by 10am Thursday we had left our berth in Dunstaffnage ( Dunbeg ) north west coast of Scotland…. and headed for Tobermory on the island of Mull.
Despite weather warnings and despite heavy overnight rain… we chose to travel the 25 n.miles or so across the Firth of Lorn and into the Sound of Mull. Conditions were not perfect… strong F5 winds, white horses everywhere, wind over tide for the early part of the trip and short, choppy waves.
Photo above …Poli Poli passing Duart Castle on the Isle of Mull about 11.15am. The other yacht in the photo is exiting the Sound of Mull going the other way.
Once we had come under the lee of the huge island of Mull, the sea state moderated and the winds eased. We admired Duart Castle on our port side and then the tide turned in our favour ( this was planned ) and Poli Poli made excellent progress up the Sound of Mull all the way to the little port and harbour of Tobermory. We berthed in the very nice community marina at 1.45pm.
Christine on Poli Poli, a CalMac inter island ferry going past …possibly heading for Oban.
This was only a short sail…. some 25 n.miles but psychologically a very important one. After a long stay in Dunstaffnage…. falling further behind our schedule with the onset of long periods of severe weather and storm bound…. to be on the move again, to start building momentum back into our circumnavigation was absolutely essential. We have made a start and achieved good progress against very iffy weather conditions. Mike and Christine have made a great difference…. their sailing knowledge and expert crewing abilities have contributed immensely to todays success.
Mike and Christine putting the fenders and mooring lines out as we are about to round Calve Island and enter Tobermory Bay.
Poli Poli – bottom right in Tobermory Marina facing the waterfront.
Distance sailed today: 25.9 n. miles.
Duration: 3 hours and 35 minutes.
Distance sailed from Eastbourne: 1,585.1 n.miles.
Toby's sailing boat Poli Poli 