Round GB 2021, Days 47- 51 Port Ellen.

The forecast has been changing several times a day, when I arrived on Sunday the UK met office were forecasting 45 knot gusts on Wednesday, to day (Wednesday) the forecast is for winds overnight and through tomorrow topping out at c 34 knots early evening. Hopefully I'll get away on Friday or more likely Saturday to explore the Sound of Jura then to go through the Crinan Canal on Monday.

The UK met office forecast this morning.

When I arrived there were only 3 or 4 other visitors, one of them "Reliance" a Cornish Lugger that I think is FY59 built in 1903 by Dick Pill at Gorran Haven. She fished the waters of St. Austell Bay, operating out of Mevagissey for several skippers and owners, including Joe Chesterfield in the 1920s.

Reliance

Another boat there when I arrived was this little 25ft Folkboat with
three hardy soles packed in. They were spending a lot of time
drying out cloths.

On Monday Chris Collinson, a fellow Jester Sailor came in with his Halmatic 30 "Drifter" and we spent a pleasant couple of hours in the pub where I discoverd that Chris's crew lives within sight of Sancerres mooring, no picture as he left earlier than planned on Tuesday morning. His place in the marina being taken by this cracking Yawl.

A German made yawl c 1960 in lovely condition.

Slide show of all my pictures whilst at Port Ellen, page through by clicking the arrows or click in the centre of the pic to view from Flickr in a new window or full screen:

Click her for the leg to Gigha.

Round GB 2021, Day 46. Sound of Islay to Port Ellen.

The Sound of Islay is another of those places in this part of the world with tides strong enough that you can't go though against the tide in most small (or many big) yachts, but it is one of the easier ones with straightforward pilotage and no serious over-falls. 

I arrived with a couple of hours of the favourable spring tide remaining and went through very easily despite the wind increasing to more than 15 knots.

The "Paps of Jura", the 85 metre coaster was heading to
Port Ellen with grain (barley) for the malt whiskey distilleries.

Bunnahabhain Distillery, Islay.

Ardnahoe Distillery, Islay.

Caol Ila Distillery, Islay.

The CalMac ferry berthing at Port Askaig, going into 5 knots
of tide in the channel with >15 knots of wind behind.

Making 4.8 knots through the water and 10 over the ground:

McAuther's Head, at the southern end of the Sound.

Naturally as I came out of the sound expecting a nice reach along to Port Ellen but the wind died then came round to the southwest until I was only a coupe of miles from the offing so I did not get much sailing 😒 but I did get a good lift from the tide for over an hour.

Port Ellen from the offing. The factory looking building is a malt
house for those distilleries that don't do their own malting.

Port Ellen ferry terminal and berth for the grain ships.

Ardalanish to Port Ellen, 51.8 miles over the ground in a little over 11 hours.

Slide show of all my pictures through the Sound of Islay to Port Ellen, page through by clicking the arrows or click in the centre of the pic to view from Flickr in a new window or full screen:

Click here for time in Port Ellen and plans for the next legs.

Round GB 2021, Day 46. Ardalanish to the Sound of Islay.

An early start (04:50) was rewarded with a great sunrise over Ardalanish.

 

I had left so early because on waking there was a nice north easterly breeze and the tide was due to turn favourable in an hour or so, both turned out to be false hopes but that was not really a surprise. On leaving I had four possible destinations in mind, Loch Spelve, Oban, Port Ellen on the south of Islay or an anchorage in Glenbatric bay (where I anchored last year) on the north side of Jura as an overnight anchorage before going to Port Ellen to get there before strong winds arrived.

The obvious thing to do was take a long port tack to position for a dash to any one of the above depending on what the wind did, very quickly the wind veered to the east and I was heading to clear the north end of Colonsay and making 3 - 4 knots but without the help of the hoped a lea bow tide.

A couple of miles north of Colonsay the wind veered a bit more and I tacked thinking  I would clear Colonsay but the tide and further shifts in the dropping wind required a  second tack.

It was touch and go whether I would make it without another but the tide finally turned and I cleared the steep too shore by 50 yards.

Colonsay

Colonsay

Getting close.

Made it!

With the wind in the east Loch Spelve and Oban did not seem attractive so I pressed on to the south in the fading wind, as can be seen on the plot above the wind was also variable in direction until it finally died completely, I gave it half an hour and then switched on the engine, by doing so then I would be able to make the tide at the northern end of the Sound of Islay, to delay much longer I would have had to anchor off and wait till next morning to move further south. 

A couple of miles off the wind started to fill in from the south at 5 - 8 knots but I kept the engine on as I would not have made the tide beating to windward.

Rubh a  Mhail Light House at the entrance to the Sound of Islay.

Slide show of all my pictures from Ardalanish to the Sound of Islay, page through by clicking the arrows or click in the centre of the pic to view from Flickr in a new window or full screen:

Click here for the onward trip to Port Ellen.

 

Round GB 2021, Day 45. Ardalanish.

They are reckoned by one source to be the most shelter anchorages in the area but the pilot warns they should be avoided in unsettled conditions. It is clearly very well sheltered from the wind so I suspect that the warning is because of the entrance, some "surge" coming in if there is a big sea outside or perhaps because the is very limited swinging room so if the anchor should drag you will be on the shore very quickly

The entrance is not easy to find or navigate by eye but the chart plotter and, further inside, the Antares charts on the iPad make it much easier.

Approaching the anchorages, there are several in there, none
of them large.

There are anchorages in most of the inlets but the best are in
the north east corner, especially the right hand branch

Passing the Islets of Sgeir an Fheidh that guard the entrance.

Past the islets picking out the two channels is not
straightforward. the right hand channel is almost dead centre.

The right hand channel opening up. Its 80 yards wide.

In we go.

The anchorage is small, from Sancerre's position,
the red circle, its about 60 yards to the land to the
NW, E and south.

Like most anchorages in the area the water was clear enough
that in 5 metres of water I could drop the anchor clear of weed.

I was just settling down to dinner and in came another boat that
anchored close by. It has a long keel so there was a possibility
that she would swing at a different rate to Sancerre was a bit of
a concern, but in the shelter of the cliffs there was little wind
and nothing untoward happened.

The Russler 36 (actually a tad over 35ft) is a much desired boat
built to high standards and you would be pushed to find an old
one for less than £70k and at the end of the day you would
probably need to be spending at least £100k

Tobermory to Ardalanish, 38.2 miles over the ground in just under nine hours.

Slide show of all my pictures in and around Ardalanish, page through by clicking the arrows or click in the centre of the pic to view from Flickr in a new window or full screen:

Click here for the first part of the next leg.

Round GB 2021, Day 45. Iona Sound.

The wind, ever contrary, was on the nose and quite light so I motored to and through the Sound of Iona arriving with a favourable south going tide but quite close to low water so care was going to be needed as the channel is narrow and winding.

My track through Iona, this one is plotted every
 10 minutes so it smooth's out some of the turns,

The Antares chart covers a channel 100 yards wide and the centre of it is within 100 yards of the steep too Island of Eilean Dubh.

Iona from the offing.

The Mainland Shore.

 

En Gainmheinich.

En Liath (Island)

Almost at the closest point of approach to Eilean Dubh, a
sharp right turn came shortly after to avoid hitting the mainland.

The "Bull Hole" anchorage behind Eilean Dubh. It can be
uncomfortable and is quite shallow so I had other ideas.

Fionnphort where the Iona Ferry and lots of tripper boats leave.

Iona

Like Staffa anchoring off Iona is problematic and there is no jetty so again I could not go ashore.

Approaching the Cathedral, with the low tide I had to take
the channel on the mainland side to the Cathedral was about
threequarters of a mile away.

The Cathedral

Martyrs' Bay (left), the ferry terminal and the Cathedral

Having past through the sound there were two anchorages I had in mind, the first was Tinker's Hole, a very narrow but secure area as the southern end of the sound on the mainland side. It is a very popular place and can get very crowded with not many boats, there is also a lot of tide through much of it. I could already see a couple of boats there and AIS showed others probably heading there, probably local boats out for the long weekend. I therefore decided to move on to my alternate about six miles down the coast at Ardalanish.

The trip is interesting going through a channel half a mile wide between the rocky coast and the Torran Rocks, an area of 16 square miles littered with islets and rocks covering at high water or close enough to the surface to cause the raves to break. They are open to the Atlantic swell so smooth seas are rare.

Bogha nan Ramfhear (Torran rocks) North Cardinal buoy.

Slide show of all my pictures of the Sound of Iona, page through by clicking the arrows or click in the centre of the pic to view from Flickr in a new window or full screen:

Click here for that nights anchorage at Ardalanish.