Poli Poli began Friday, moored safely on an otherwise empty side on pontoon in the Caledonian Canal not 500 yards from the bottom of Neptune’s Staircase… a series of eight  individual locks, built in 1811… the longest staircase lock in Great Britain. Over the course of the eight locks, it lifts boats 64 feet/ 20 metres. It can take nearly two hours to ascend the staircase. Designed and built by the master himself… Thomas Telford.

Photo above, Toby on Neptune’s Staircase the evening before. You can see the actual Caledonian Canal below the staircase… that is Poli Poli in the distance moored up to a pontoon . Note the big white mooring hooks.

We… that is Margaret, Chris and myself were up at seven after a night of rain. Mountains and hills on all sides covered in cloud and mist…. a silvery greyness enveloping the landscape. Certainly no view of the highest mountain in Great Britain… ie Ben Nevis away to the east.

Following a quick breakfast of cereals, fruit, bread rolls and various jams, we then got the boat ready to move off. The Sea Lock office at Corpach, where we had entered the Caledonian Canal asked us to be ready to move by 9am’sh. We  contacted the Neptune’s Staircase lock office at Banavie by VHF radio and advised them we were ready to move and awaiting their instructions. A most pleasant female Scottish voice informed us that we had to wait until a very large motor yacht had come through, passed us and had entered the first lowest lock.

We had spied this vessel first at Oban on the waterfront…. a huge white, but not quite of ‘super yacht’ size with the name ‘Monaco’ on its sides and stern. We spied it a second time moored in the Corpach Canal Basin just after the entry into the Caledonian Canal from Loch Linnhe.

The motor yacht ‘Monaco” ….taking up nearly the full width of the canal passed us at about 9.30am and after going through both the road and rail swing bridges… entered the lowest lock of the staircase.

The swing bridges closed and we waited. The Scottish lady then told us to leave the pontoon, hold station and move to the lowest lock after the two swing bridges had opened for a second time. We entered the first lock at about 9.45am

Each of the eight locks is the same size… 180 feet ( 55m ) long and 40 feet ( 12m ) wide. They are huge…. and if you are going ‘up’ the staircase you enter with the water level at its lowest point… so much so that the lock walls appear gigantic…. black in colour but not too slimey ( unlike the Crinnan Canal ).

Photo above shows Poli Poli entering the very first lock in Neptune’s Staircase on the Caledonian Canal. You can see Monaco the big white motor yacht in lock two above.

The methodology of entry and departure from one of these enormous locks is not simple. Poli Poli goes into the lock with fenders out, fender boards in place and three sets of long mooring lines at the ready. Chris looks after the bow line and T looks after the engine, bow thrusters and stern line.

Once inside the lock, T throws up the stern line to a lock keeper who puts its eye over a big metal hook. When T,  way below tightens this line and puts the boat into gentle reverse, it brings Poli Poli, in most cases to a gentle stop. Using the bow thrusters to prevent the bow swinging away from the lock wall… the lock keeper walks forward and catches the bow line thrown up by Chris on the foredeck. The boat is now held in place, and in most cases, cannot move forward or backwards. We then tie a loose midships line to the metal ladder to pin her to the lock wall.

After the lock keeper closes the two huge gates ( each gate weighs 22 tons ) behind Poli Poli, he then starts very slowly to open the gates to the front…. firstly by sluices under the gates… then the gates themselves, so that Poli Poli slowly rises up the sides of the huge, cavernous locks. The boat’s engine has been switched off… and crew including skipper move quickly and constantly along the side deck shortening the three lines as the water level in the lock increases.

In our case it was always port side to the wall and we were the only boat going into each lock. After a while from being way way below, rainwear clad onlookers, the boat arrives above the wall and you can shake hands with large numbers of German tourists who have just arrived on a coach trip. We had our photo taken many many times over by onlookers watching the spectacle.

After the water inside our first lock has settled…. there is huge turbulence as the lock is filled with millions of gallons of water from the lock above… decisions have to be made as to which lines come off first and in what order… depending on the swell in the lock chamber. Get this wrong and you could end up with the boat straddled sideways across the lock and no way of righting her!

In most cases it is the bow line which is released first ( bow then controlled by the bow thrusters ), then stern line followed by midships. Engine is on, and Poli Poli with a gentle push from the bow thruster against the wall, moves off when the lockkeeper motions us forward, into the next lock. Each one of these manoeuvres takes about 20 minutes.

We had rain from first light, which then turned into a very annoying drizzle from the moment we departed the pontoon earlier. The cockpit tent and sprayhood had all been removed, so all boat surfaces were wet. We were all dressed in oilies.

In the second lock bad luck struck. Chris, whilst the boat was stopped and pinned with the three lines to the lock wall, taking photos on his mobile, slipped and came down heavily on his knee.

Chris was helped to the cockpit where it was soon very clear that he had done something quite serious to his knee and was in some considerable pain. We administered a cold compress of sorts out of a face flannel…. and whilst T had to get on and manage the departure from lock two solo, Margaret did her very best to comfort Chris.

By lock three it was very apparent, even to the non-medical specialist that with the swelling and a big lump which Chris said was a ‘bone in the wrong place’…. that there was a serious injury. Chris could not bend his right leg and certainly could put no weight on it.

In lock three, T informed Tommy the lockkeeper that we had a serious problem and there was a possibility that Chris had dislocated his knee. Tommy fully understood and assisted T who was now managing the boat and locks solo. By lock five, T decided that the Canal authorities needed to be informed as it was clear we would need paramedic and ambulance assistance as Chris was now in considerable pain.

This was done by VHF radio from Poli Poli. The Scottish lady mentioned earlier ( we later knew her by her name… Gillian ) then held us in lock five and attended the scene. Tommy the lockkeeper made a 999 call and an ambulance appeared at the lock side within 10 minutes. This was followed by the arrival of the Scottish Canals Harbourmaster.

Chris was attended to by one of the two Ambulance paramedics… who administered pain relief by way of a gas cylinder and conducted a thorough examination of Chris’s now swollen knee. With my help in assisting the paramedic, Chris was lifted out of the cockpit and placed on the ambulance bed trolley. The paramedics had decided that the best course of action was to transfer Chris to A & E at Fort William Belford Hospital. Margaret accompanied Chris in the ambulance to the hospital. T remained on the boat and after discussing matters with the harbourmaster, Gillian and Tommy…. T took Poli Poli through the three remaining locks to a mooring on the wharf just beyond the final lock.

Two hours later it was confirmed that Chris had suffered a serious dislocation of his knee. This was rectified in A&E in Fort William but there was concern re his x-ray and that he would be admitted overnight, then transferred to Inverness General Hospital ( 60 miles away ) the next day Saturday for further scans and a possible operation re torn tendon/possible bone splinter etc.

Margaret returned to the boat at Banavie by 4pm. Both Margaret and I then  visited Chris in hospital in Fort William at about 6.15pm where we delivered his kit bag and personal possessions. He was in good spirits after receiving excellent care and treatment plus the necessary strong pain relief drugs.

For all ….. family, friends and followers please understand why this was not published yesterday evening. Chris has now been transferred to Inverness General Hospital where he will undergo an operation for a torn tendon. Chris anticipates being discharged from hospital by Tuesday. He will then be collected and taken home to Northamptonshire by close family.

Both the NHS at Fort William Belford Hospital, the Ambulance Service and Scottish Canals represented by Gillian and Tommy plus the Harbourmaster all assisted Chris plus Margaret and myself in both a professional. kind and reassuring manner. We cannot speak highly enough of their care and consideration and in the calm way they dealt with a difficult situation.

We have decided to remain at Banavie ( top of Neptune’s Staircase ) for the next few days. We have a good berth on the wharf here, the showers, toilets and laundry plus access to water and shore power are close at hand. We have a new crew member joining Poli Poli next Thursday the 9th August. I am sure everybody will wish Chris a speedy recovery and safe return to his home for recuperation in Northamptonshire.

 

 

 

The song mentioned above is for all “us” beige wearing wrinklies of the 60’s and 70’s music scene…

Anyway ….we got up at 4am today in the marina on Kerrera Island after a night of more rain and a slightly lower decibel screaming banshees through the rigging…again a Met Office fairly negative Inshore Waters strong wind warning…but decreasing. So the cockpit tent was removed, the shore power 240 volts supply disconnected and the port side mooring lines turned into “slips” …in the dark! We were going to leave today …come hell or high water!

And we did, slipping our lines at just gone 5am… the dawn just starting away to the east. Foggy, misty, poor visibility yes, but no wind and a very flat sea ( Margaret’s preferred sailing conditions ) …where was the Force 5 and 6 the Met Office had forecast?

Margaret likes to be upgraded to a comfy blue blanket ( actually a tarpaulin ) in premium upper class! Her role on Poli Poli is to spot “overtakers” !

From Oban we motored ( not a breath of wind ) north up the Firth of Lorn to the Port Appin “narrows” between Lismore Island and the mainland of Scotland. As it was Chris’s first “sail” on Poli Poli we demonstrated the power of our in-built foghorn scaring the local black guillemots so much so that they all dived under the water simultaneously.

These two blokes are the forward lookers as Madge covers the view aft!

On both sides of the Firth of Lorn the hills were all shrouded in low fog and dense white cloud..the waters a steely grey colour..a pretty grey landscape to look out on. But as the Firth narrowed the land adjoining the sea started to green up and little white and black settlements appeared. Margaret was oggling these through the ultra high powered Steiner Binoculars to see if the Scottish locals opened their curtains as the same time as the English ie being nosy!

We decided to go round the beautiful green island of Shuna and then out into the deeper and wider waters of Loch Linnhe which seems to be a south westerly extension of the Great Glen coming down from Inverness to Fort William.

Looking south from over the stern of Poli Poli….the swirling fog, mists and cloud of Loch Linnhe.

In this big Loch we picked up an AIS target on a parallel track as ourselves heading north east up Loch Linnhe. It turned out to a 290 foot long cargo ship destined for Corpach… the same place as we were going. Instead of racing her, we fell in behind this large vessel and tracked her through the Corran Narrows… a serious tidal gate at the top end of Loch Linnhe just six miles from Fort William and Corpach.

As we approached the Corran Narrows with flood tide behind us…we noted we had a tidal stream of 2.8 knots ..which is an exceptionally strong tide pouring through a narrow gap not 300 metres wide. As expected we both saw and felt the eddies and whirlpools created by fast moving tide waters over a shallow and irregular sea bed. Even the big cargo ship was “skewed” on its port side. We coped whilst admiring the shapes and patterns on the glassy water surface.

Fast approaching Fort William on our starboard side now …unfortunately the mountain known as Ben Nevis ( highest in Great Britain? ) was covered from top to bottom in thick horrible grey cloud. Disappointing!

After a number of radio conversations with Scottish Waterways staff at the Corpach Sea Lock Office …in which the now very well worn joke of turning The name Poli Poli into Roly Poly …caused titters of mirth their end. Ha ha

We entered the Sea Lock at 9.30am … so four and a half hours up from Oban, a distance of 30 n. miles at an average speed of 6.6 knots. Following tide all the way.

The entrance to the Caledonian Canal at Corpach ( near Fort William ) …the south western end.

We finished the day here…at the Banavie Swing Bridges just below the seven locks of Neptune’s Staircase which we tackle tomorrow Friday. Chris getting on the boat…a peaceful mooring not 100 metres from the pub “Lochy” where we had our very late lunch/ early supper at 5.30pm. Back on the boat at 7pm….the rain is currently hammering down on the cockpit tent! Reminders of Oban.

Distance sailed today : 30.5 n. miles.

Distance from Eastbourne: 1,474.0 n. miles from Eastbourne.

On the road again…..and bigger smiles.

Tuesday began as in all previous days…. grey, gloomy, chilly and the screaming banshees sound as the wind whipped through the masts and rigging of the yachts in Oban Marina ( not actually in Oban town, but across the Bay on Kerrera Island ).

We were all somewhat tired! The day before, many of the yachts and their crews taking part in the West Highland Yachting Week 2018 had arrived throughout the latter part of the day… and berthed in our marina.

Poli Poli was once moored up in West Cowes ( Isle of Wight ) during the racing season so we had an inkling of what was going to happen. Not only do the many crews race ‘hard’ and take it all very, very seriously…. not only do they dress the part, and speak the part….. but they relax and party ‘hard’ after the event. Pink trousers included!

So what happened? Well after serious debriefs and team meetings in the cockpits of the moored yachts…. then everyone piles into the few showers and toilet facilities, jams up all the washers and driers trying to dry wet oilies…. and then the parties start.

We had live music, drinking and much merriment up on the hill at the Waypoint Bar and Restaurant…up till about midnight. Then followed by pontoon parties galore… much more drinking, shouting, singing and very loud music until nearly 2am in the morning. Where does all the energy come from after the Firth of Lorn racing I ask ? So that is why we were tired. Poli Poli was not two fathoms from a cockpit plus pontoon party of merry, worse for wear racing yachties.

We are ‘cruisers’ not ‘racers’ by the way.

Sadly that morning, Mike and Christine had to depart Poli Poli for family reasons and we hope that they will return in the very near future. We are now three…. T, Madge and Chris. What a trio! But still smiling!

So we made our all too usual, ferry trip at 11am on Pamela J, to the mainland ( 10 minutes )… to continue our exploration of Oban Town ( usually in the pouring rain and howling winds ). M now wearing the Musto hat to stop her hair blowing in her face!

The visit to Oban Town usually started with a short walk to a coffee emporium…. to dry off from the rain and salty spray which had come over the bow of the ferry boat. After a somewhat aimless traipse around the shops…. never really had the time to read every headline on every national and local Scottish newspaper before…. in an ancient WH Smith…. we start thinking about luncheon…. well M does.

Today M and I had a treat…. a seafood lunch in a fish restaurant recommended by our God Daughter Abi who had visited Oban  in years previous… the Eeusk on the waterfront at North Pier. A lovely meal sitting at a window table overlooking the Bay….. shame about the grey, gloomy clouds over the mountains in the distance…. and the rain drops on the window!! Smoked haddock chowder, followed by baked hake and battered sea bass… finished off with the proverbial M style ice cream whilst T…. ever the adventurer… clootie dumpling and cream…. then guess what… a ride on the sea spray ferry back to Kerrera Island.

Chris took on the responsibility for going to Tesco’s and getting a few bits and pieces for his seafood curry…. eaten as a late supper cooked on the boat. Chris has amazing hidden talents…. a very tasty seafood curry…. cod chunks, scallops, prawns etc all bought from the local fishmonger in Oban. Chris did look at the seafood on sale in Tesco’s …. surprisingly all imported from Vietnam!!! So much for their slogan… Tesco … your local!

Our travel plans for Wednesday involved lots of working out tide times plus  wind strengths and directions… including a phone call to a John… very helpful guy at the Scottish Waterways office of the Corpach Sea Lock…. the start of the Caledonian Canal near Fort William. We had hoped to get up early on Wednesday and depart at 4.30am to sail to Corpach and make the sea lock entry into the Caledonian by 2pm.

 

Our plans depended on looking at the midnight and 5am forecast on the Met Office website. Both Chris and I did this…. somehow waking up just after it was published on the internet Met Office site. Very disappointed to see that the forecast had worsened… Force 6/7 near gale winds, heavy rain and rough seas forecast and of course, the red line. So nobody knocked on anybody’s door at 3.30am! Tremendously disappointed after forecasts had suggested an improvement.

Wednesday duly arrived with many West Highland Sailing Week sailors occupying the showers this morning…. so queues formed! The WHSW boys and girls departed for the Tobermory races off the Isle of Mull…. even though there was a red line and winds of Force 6 and 7 forecast.

So another day spent in Oban… but amazingly, a dry one. There and back on the ferry and the usual activities. Nice crayfish sandwiches for a light lunch followed by ice cream dessert! ……before the 2.10pm ferry back to the boat. Prepping boat jobs started ie filling water tank, putting dinghy back on the stern…. then the heavens opened.

Ever since 6pm we have had howling winds of at least Force 6 and 7…. plus torrential rain coming in from the south and south west. The 12 noon forecast was ok for a Thursday departure…. by 6pm it had changed and worsened. Our spirits raised… we are still smiling… but this weather issue is now becoming very wearisome! Chris cheered us up with a magnificent supper of pork steaks in cider, new potatoes and masses of greens … to ward off the scurvy… we do eat fruit as well!! We watched the cricket highlights from Edgebaston and became depressed.

Still 1,443.5 n.miles from Eastbourne…… and no further north!

Met Office Inshore Waters strong wind warning for today, Monday…. kept Poli Poli tied to her pontoon on the island of Kerrera opposite the town of Oban. Five folk living cheek by jowl on a 40 foot sailing yacht…. still smiling and still waiting for a green light to head north. Our optimism yesterday evening was dashed when certain folk, up early, had first sight of the 6am Met Office forecast…. which again predicted strong winds up to Force 7 and rough seas.

So once again, a visit to the town of Oban was planned… via the water taxi type ferry across Oban Bay. It was not unusual for rain to be forecast for the whole of Monday in Oban town… what was unusual was that it didn’t come…. until we returned on the ferry at about 5.15pm this afternoon. So we got only marginally wet.

Time in the usually wet town of Oban was spent in eateries ( especially sea food cafes and restaurants)  and a special visit to the Oban Phoenix Community cinema…. for the majority of the team to watch ‘Mama Mia Here We Go again’. The minority went to Tesco’s to do the food shopping for the boat. We have now spent six nights in Oban Bay.

It is disappointing, and very frustrating not to be moving on… tomorrow’s forecast is not good either. We badly need a ‘blocking high pressure cell’ to form over much of England and Wales… to prevent the Atlantic depressions from bringing rain and strong winds to the west and north of Britain where of course we are!

To quote one forecaster… ‘don’t for one moment think summer is over folks…. towards the end of this week another anticyclone ( high pressure ) will form over much of England… and the warm, dry weather will return”…. we hope this is correct.

So still only 1,443.5 n.miles from Eastbourne.

Terrible night experienced Saturday night into Sunday morning…. gale blew up from the south blowing directly onto the stern… boat rolling and pitching on her berth. Gale accompanied by torrential rain. Had to go out at 11.30pm to tie dinghy down, secure our mooring lines and check everything…. howling, screaming banshee winds full of little bullets called rain drops. Got drenched plus sore face!

Sunday morning broke with calmer winds but rains started again by lunchtime. After a ferry trip  to Oban town…. more rain, and then more rain, Late afternoon all cleared up, wind died and sun… yes sun, came out. Very pleasant evening…. sea surface almost glassy.

We plan to move tomorrow Monday morning subject to the Met Office inshore waters forecast…. sailing northwards to Fort William for Corpach and the start of the Caledonian Canal. Boat prep ‘ jobs have already commenced. We depart Oban at 9am. It will be good to be moving northwards again… we have spent five nights in a very wet and windy Oban. Very frustrating!

What is happening here? Raining in Oban. We knew the couple in the windows but despite hand signals they ignored us and continued to read the Sunday Times.

Sunday concluded with a lovely supper of Scottish meat pies, new potatoes, broccoli and other vegetables plus posh beef gravy.  Hope tonight the wind does not blow like last night!

We arrived in Oban on the afternoon of Wednesday 25th July in bright, warm sunshine. Ever since then the weather has deteriorated to the extent that we keep having to pay the marina £29 for an extra night’s berthing fee. Four nights so far.

So down South, the heat wave has broken and here, the Scottish drought has ended. As the ferry man said to us all yesterday morning as we made the ten minute crossing from the marina on Kerrera Island to Oban town… “normal service is resumed… that is the Scottish weather.”

Kerrera Island , rain clouds over the marina. Today,  Sunday has been a continual succession of bouts of heavy rain and strong winds. Margaret and Christine arrived from Sussex and Surrey on Friday by air and by train and have joined the boat. We have also welcomed Chris as crew… also arrived on Friday having caught five trains from Northamptonshire.

So no sailing. We monitor all the weather forecasts… we do not choose the one that we like best! Starting with the Met Office inshore waters forecast we consider wind strength and direction, sea state, weather and visibility. If the Met Office inshore waters ( 12 miles offshore ), begins with a “strong wind warning” a red line round the coast will appear…and we take a deep breath and read on. If Force 6, or 7 or 8 or more are mentioned for wind speed we do not sail. If the word “rough” or “very rough” appear in the forecast we do not sail.

As I write, the current Inshore Waters forecast for our area here in North West Scotland is as follows:

Wind: West backing southwest Force 7 to severe gale Force 9, decreasing 5 or 6 later.

Sea State: Rough or very rough, becoming moderate or rough.

Weather: Rain or thundery showers.

Visibility: Good, occasionally poor.

For the following 24 hours winds of Force 5, 6 and 7 are forecast for Sunday. Sea state is moderate or rough. Does anyone think that Margaret will get on a boat and actually sail in these conditions? So there will be a red line for Sunday. Very iffy and no sailing under these conditions.

So we have visited Oban town centre and waterfront again… and again.

ET has had a Scottish pensioners haircut for £8, M bought a travel diary and “Adrift in Caledonia”… boat hitching for the unenlightened. Chris had langoustines in garlic sauce with chips ( modest chips )…. Christine’s highlight… Oban was full of dog walkers and trekkers… Mike..the low point was getting on the ferry at 11am and the high point was getting back on the ferry at 2.10pm.

In order to shelter from the rain T and M went in the “free” Oban Town Museum. To quote from the “Rough Guide to the Scottish Highlands and Islands” …..”the charming War and Peace Exhibition is stuffed full of local ( and not so local ) memorabilia – bizarrely , even a chunk of the Berlin Wall has ended up here.” So what did we do…. well the obvious, ask to see the chunk of the Berlin Wall. That threw the volunteer staff….. who denied all knowledge of the Berlin Wall and cast serious aspersions on the credibility of the Rough Guide. We were not ejected.

From Oban, our plan is to sail to Fort William and Corpach to the start of the Caledonian Canal…. and complete a six day transit to Inverness and back again to Corpach. We wait for “safe” sailing conditions.

 

 

A breezy day Wednesday…. but dry and a hint of sunshine. We departed our berth at Craobh at 8.50am having planned a route which would first take us south in order to go north. Then out into the main channel and full speed ahead to Oban.

A view of the lighthouse called Fladda…. the tricky section of the journey.

We turned southwards out of Craobh …. breezy and enough wind to sail… but after three or so miles we were going to turn northwards up the Sound of Luing. So motoring again…!! At 9.25am we rounded the south cardinal at the southern tip of the island of Luing and headed northwards  into the Sound of Luing. So far our understanding of Scottish terms relates to the two words “Sound” and “Loch”. A “loch” is always enclosed at one or both ends, whilst a “sound” is open at one end.

It was the top or northern end of the Sound of Luing where we had to be extremely careful with our navigation. The north end is almost blocked off by a whole series of rocks and little islands. The chart shows two sets of sector lights to guide you through, with lighthouses on two of the little islands. Sector lights give you three coloured sectors…red, white and green. You try and stay in the white ( safe ) sector. This is mainly for night navigation…. but in daylight with the electronic chart plotter, you just keep the boat in the white sector.

This we did…. as well as keeping the boat in the deepest possible water and avoiding the rocks. Mike helmed Poli Poli through this section of the route in between trying to keep up with his reading… currently the Alex Ferguson biography!

As we moved northwards through the gap between the two lighthouses, a yacht past us going south…. another Southerly … a 42…. came roaring past us…lots of waving and thumbs up! Two guys with big smiles.

The photo of our chart above shows the route from Craobh  to Oban. The blue triangle is where the “tricky” navigation took place…. the triangle indicates an alternative route to passing between the two lighthouses.

 

So far in 61 days at sea and over 1,400 n.miles, we have seen only five Southerly yachts…

 

truly a rarity and unique!!! Two moored up in the Dart Marina, Dartmouth, a brand new 47 in Kilmore Quay ( Eire ), a white solo 46 in Craobh ( man and elderly dog, actually both elderly ) and the 42 yesterday at the Fladda Lighthouse in the Sound of Luing.

By 10.15am we were safely through the Fladda Lighthouse narrows and out into the Firth of Lorn, where a north easterly course would take us straight to the entrance of the Kerrera Sound… on the end of which was our destination … Oban Marina… although not actually in Oban… but on the island of Kerrera opposite.

Poli Poli heading for the Sound of Kerrera…. dead ahead. The Scottish mainland on the right and the Island of Kerrera on the left. The island is about 4.5 n.miles long and its northern tip faces the town of Oban across a big, wide bay.

Poli Poli approaching Oban Bay ahead. We will turn to port ( left ) soon to enter the marina on Kerrera Island.

As we make our entry into Oban marina on the left, all the fenders have to be put over the side ready and our six mooring lines ( 3 each side as at this stage you do not know which side of the boat you are coming in on ) have to be prepared.

This is a photo of Oban Marina on the island of Kerrera… our first view is just a mass of masts. We communicate with the marina by VHF radio or mobile phone… they tell us which pontoon we are to use…. in this case it was B pontoon and the instruction was “take any empty berth”. Finding the letter nominated pontoon can be straightforward where there are big letter signs… but in many marinas the signage can be very poor. And that is not what you want if you have just done a 10 hour passage. In this case, the signage was excellent.

We berthed next to the hammerhead and tied up using special mooring lines…. so that the boat could not move forwards or backwards ( called “springs”) and lines which held the boat bow and stern into the pontoon. A journey northwards of just over three hours…. puts us on a latitude further north than Perth and Dundee on the east coast of Scotland. Poli Poli has never been this far north!!

Poli Poli on her berth at 12 noon, Wednesday 25th July 2018 in Oban Marina on the island of Kerrera. The town of Oban is across the bay behind Poli Poli. Fenders on the starboard side ( the one you see ) have been raised from “low” ( pontoon height ) to “high”… if another boat comes in to moor up next to you, these high fenders protect your topsides!!

After a visit to the office to register and pay, we adjourned to the marina cafe… “The Waypoint Bar and Grill ” overlooking Oban Bay for a beer and “sandwich”! Then we caught the free passenger ferry to Oban town at 3pm . There were 32 persons on board.

On board the “ferry” Pamela J with 30 other folk….. leaving Kerrera Island for Oban town. The boat ride took exactly ten minutes and views of the Oban waterfront were many.

We walked the full length of the waterfront… looked at the Council run waterfront marina…. looked good, all new pontoons and lots of space but only two very small showers and you would have to use the public toilets…. so a no no.

Mike visited the Cathedral whilst T monitored the regular and often, ferry traffic in and out of Oban port. After tea and a muffin, we trekked to a big Tesco’s and bought all the necessities that we had run out of. So with four big bags of Tesco shopping we caught the 6.10pm ferry back to the island of Kerrera… which was a lot more peaceful than all the traffic and throngs of tourists in Oban.

A poem on the waterfront in Oban. The marina in the photo below the poem is where the sort of black dot is on Kerrera Island opposite. Perhaps the marina was not there when this pic was taken?

A view of Oban from the departing 6.10pm ferry.

Distance Craobh to Oban: 21 n.miles.

Duration : 3 hours and 10 minutes.

Distance travelled now from Eastbourne: 1,443.5 n.miles.

And specially for Dad in Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells…. The Scots are doing it too….

Ferry traffic in Oban Bay…. late afternoon… much commercial traffic in and out of the port.

Nearly a full moon over Oban last night…for sailors an important event. A full moon means “Springs”…very high high tides and very low, low tides with very fast moving tidal streams. The tide table shows “Springs” in 3 days ..so full moon in 3 as well.

This monster jelly fish / Portugese Man of War appeared beside Poli Poli about 11am this morning…. about 12 inches wide and pulsating as it moved. The tendrils were about two feet long. We will not be swimming here!

 

 

Tuesday was a good day…. after the rain of the Crinan Canal, Gigha Island and most of the way north to Craobh. It made a change to see the sunshine!! Certainly not a heat wave as in the southern parts of Britain… very cool by comparison … only 18 deg C at best. As they say “the sun changes everything.”

A photo of Craobh Marina..a bit different to most marinas…just a marina with a few holiday cottages to let…no village, no town behind it…no shops or even transport links to the nearest town. Very much “out in the sticks”! But still very nice in another sort of way.

The day was spent doing necessary jobs, some cleaning, some checking, some tidying up and a lot of laundry work… again back and forth from the boat to the laundry room next to Reception. It cost £2.50 per wash and then a £ for every 10 minutes in a drier. The latter were not all that effective so to dry one single load of washing could cost up to £5!! Have to get the laundry dry…. not easy to air or hang out damp washing!

Poli Poli on her berth in Craobh Marina…there were notices taped to all the shore power units to the effect that you were not allowed to wash your boat due to the water shortages. So the black slimy muck picked up in the 16 Crinan Canal locks had to stay on!

The term “rest day” is very much a misnomer… its really a “catch up” day for all the jobs that don’t get done when you are sailing.

The photo below is of Craobh..the few holiday homes and a scruffy unmade surface car park where after rain, became very muddy.

 

Craobh Marina looking to the south west…unlike many marinas…not surrounded by expensive apartment blocks and mega bucks houses…a wild landscape.

 

Whilst tied up to an orange mooring buoy in Ardminish Bay, just off the east coast of Gigha…..it rained all through the night and into most of Monday. Rain, rain plus fog plus cool temperatures but of course, no wind! In fact during Sunday night into Monday morning, it hammered on the coach roof and deck of Poli Poli…. waking even the departed in the deep brown waters below.

We only saw Gigha Island for a glimpse the evening before…. we arrived at gone 6pm from Crinan… all the berths on the very short single pontoon had been taken both sides and we had no option but to take one of the outer spare orange mooring buoys. We looked at the tiny little settlement and hotel through our binoculars but did not go ashore. Our supper on board consisted of a Scottish beef pie and baked beans washed down by chilled Peroni.

After waking to the heavy rain, we departed Gigha Island at just gone 9am. A shame really, a beautiful little island off the mainstream of the Mull of Kintyre… well worth  a visit, but as we were too tired from all the exertions of escaping from the Crinan Canal and its 16 locks… were not in the mood to spend time preparing both the dinghy and its outboard engine to go ashore to the hotel and little village late into the evening. A sad miss.

The journey back northwards was one of very poor visibility,  a lot of rain then long bouts of drizzle, but a flat Sound of Jura and of course, no wind. The 34.8 n.miles were covered in 4 and a half hours… with a strong following tide we were able to average about 8 knots with a top speed at one point of over 10 knots. All of this was as a result of the northbound tide. We motored all the way with a full set of navigation lights on… and on a couple of occasions we nearly switched our automatic fog horn on. On one side we had the Mull of Kintyre with its three big lochs… West Loch Tarbert, Loch Caolisport      and Loch Sween and on our port side, the long huge island of Jura with its magnificent mountainous landscape…. but we saw very little of this… either in thick fog or long layers of cloud and rain.

Of course our route back northwards took us past the entrance to the Crinan Canal on the west side of the Mull of Kintyre…. to which both Mike and I have very mixed feelings. We were “seriously” glad to exit that canal system. In our musings on our waterway experience I came upon the following song………

“The Crinan Canal for me,

I don’t like the wild raging sea

Them big foamin breakers

Wad gie ye the shakers,

The Crinan Canal for me….”

Wriiten and sung by a guy named Dan MacPhall in the Vital something or other… makes you smile… but we could not agree with his sentiments. The wide open sea for us please!

We navigated our way northwards past a whole string of islands and avoided going anywhere near the infamous Gulf of Corryvreckan by finding a route along a channel shielded from the Gulf by a series of small islands.

The Gulf of Corryvrecken , between Scarba and the north end of  Jura “is one of the most notorious stretches of water anywhere around the British Isles.” ( Martin Lawrence, Pilot Guide “Kintyre to Ardnamurchan “). The strength of its tide can be ferocious, there are dangerous eddies and one very famous whirlpool. So we kept as far away as possible.

View out of the saloon window looking out towards the Craobh Marina entrance…not raining!!!

At about 1.30pm we entered the sheltered marina of Craobh … a marina site which was artificially formed by linking three offshore islands together which created a very sheltered haven on the west coast of Scotland. A very pleasant experience so far… especially after our travails in the Crinan Canal. We have a nice berth on a long pontoon at the seaward side of the marina… the toilets and showers are good although as yet, untested and the local pub “The Lord of the Isles” provided a tasty late lunch. So far so good.

We put up the spray hood and cockpit tent after our lunch… simply to create a wet room for all our wet “oilies”. It looks like a laundry room. We have had no rain now since 7.30pm!

The wet room …cockpit and wet oilies.

Distance sailed today: 34.8 n.miles. Duration : 4 hours 25 minutes.

Distance from Eastbourne: 1,422 n.miles.

 

 

 

Well it rained all night! Our berth in a small basin above Lock 14 was under the shelter of lots of overhanging trees. Good in some ways…not so good in others..the rain stopped about 5am this morning but the tree drips and drops continued for hours. A very wet, grey and misty morning with a coolish southerly breeze.

Once we had moored up at Lock 14 yesterday evening..all the speculation was that we might not get out into the sea again for a while re the drought conditions and shortages of water in the canal.

The sea lock at Crinan viewed from Loch Crinan to the left.

We visited the Sea Lock Scottish Canals Office at 9am to inquire as to our future movements. We were informed that there might be an outbound sea lock event at about 1pm …which was more than we hoped for.

We adjourned to Crinan’s one coffee shop where Mike had three bacon rolls and coffee…T had two. Mobile signals were a problem in Crinan but the cafe obliged with an excellent WiFi service. So second coffees were had and the blog was duly published indicating the possibility of being trapped in the Crinan Canal!!

 

The very nice little coffee shop at Crinan…solace for the weary sailor with bacon rolls!!!

Chats to other sailors and showers in the new Crinan facilities block were taken as well as “prepping” the boat for sea ( was this wishful thinking on our part??? ).

At 12.40pm two Scottish Canal staff appeared and indicated they were going to lock us through Lock 14 and into the Crinan basin…yippee!

Thus Poli Poli left her mooring under the dripping trees and followed two smaller yachts into Lock 14. At about 1.30pm we were through and safely into the huge but very narrow sea lock..and the gates closed behind us, the water level started falling and …in no time at all, the great big reinforced sea lock gates opened… and we sped out into the wide open sea…well actually Loch Crinan. Wow… it might have been grey and horribly dull with a coolish south westerly blowing..but did we feel good…yes we did! The Crinan Canal was certainly an experience to tick off … but I don’t think, out of choice, we would want to do it again.

For the next four hours, with good tide behind us, we motored to Gigha Island..to the west of the Mull of Kintyre. Motored ..well guess what..the south westerly went southerly so we were head to wind. It was with some relief that we tied up to a mooring buoy in Ardminish Bay on Gigha Island. Relief to have escaped the Crinan Canal. So Scottish meat pies and baked beans for supper on board!

 

We are now having a rest from the above sort of experience…after doing the 16 locks on the Crinan Canal.

Distance sailed today: 28 n. Miles.

Distance from Eastbourne: 1,387.7 n. miles. Including the 9 n. miles of the Crinan Canal.