Craighouse at Last - 9:55 PM, May. 18, 2006

Arrived at Balvicar on Friday afternoon with the intention of helping Nick with his stemhead fitting. The job got side-tracked however and the pulpit nav lights were re-wired instead, a beer was consumed and Nick and Kathy very kindly invited Gerry and I to a barbeque to round off the evening.

I didn’t make it clear in my last entry but I’ve given up my Dunstaffnage berth (poverty) and Nick has loaned me his mooring while Fairwinds is out of the water. This amazing act of generosity will not only save me a bundle but has opened up a new cruising ground by putting the tidal wonderland of the Sound of Jura on Silkie’s doorstep.

Having come tantalisingly close to it on the Chentleman’s Cruise, Craighouse was the natural destination for the weekend, going down on day one with two in hand for the return.

Saturday 13^th May

Woke for the 0520 forecast and set off at 0630 to make the most of the tide. This is something I’ll need to get used to since my fortnightly sailing schedule will coincide with spring tides for the near future.

It was a beautiful sunny day and the winds were light. Although we started to sail it soon became obvious that we would squander the best of the ebb if we didn’t motor to get us out into the Sound of Jura. Following Nick’s advice we headed straight for he north coast of Jura when we left Shuna Sound. As we crossed the eastern end of Corryvreckan the tide really got hold of us (10.3 knots over the ground) but we were still motoring since the current reduced our apparent wind to zero.

As soon as the tidal assistance was reduced to a more reasonable 2 or 3 knots we goose-winged the sails and Gerry went below to catch up on some sleep. I sailed for longer than I should have in the failing breeze (as usual) and we had to motor against the flood for the last hour or so. We hugged the coast to try to minimize it’s effect and caught a useful eddy north of Lowlandman’s Bay.

Motored in through the first gap in the Small Isles and picked up a mooring off the Distillery. These don’t have pick-ups so we captured it from the cockpit with me holding us with the boathook while Gerry threaded a line through the shackle on the top of the buoy. This was the first time I’ve done this and conditions were light so I tied on with a round turn and 2 half hitches with a slack second line as back-up. I suspect I’d want something with a shackle (maybe even a length of chain?) in a blow. I’ll need to rig up a carbine hook on a line to make a single-handed pick-up easier.

Identifying new rocks as we entered the bay also made me realise that I’d spent most of last season on Silkie in familiar waters. I blessed Nick again. Gerry went ashore to watch the second half of the Scottish Cup final and I had a wee nap. We had dinner and one (!) pint in the Jura Hotel.

Sunday 14^th May

We woke to a grey and showery day but one with the promise of a decent breeze. This wasn’t immediately fulfilled but as we crossed the Sound the wind gradually filled in from the east until we were enjoying a brisk reach under full sail in the deep water in the eastern half of the Sound. The wind was remarkably consistent until we approached Loch Crinan when it began to get a little gusty. We took in a reef and a couple of rolls and were glad of it as we crossed the mouth of the loch and the wind went over 20 knots. The sea was flat, the wind still on the beam and it was beautiful sailing despite the rain.

The wind gradually eased as we went further up into the shelter of Loch Craignish and took an outside berth on the Ardfern pontoons. After a quick wash we headed to the Galley for dinner and a few pints.

The wind had got up by the time we returned to Silkie. We were momentarily spooked by an old seadog who told us that the wind would go to F6/7 and that he had seen bigger boats than Silkie jump onto the pontoon from where we were moored and that in our shoes he would immediately move round to the leeward side. I actually considered this briefly before deciding that we would take our chances where we lay. The wind eased after a couple of hours.

Monday 15^th May

The Dorus Mor wouldn’t be open until 1215ish so we had a leisurely start but the forecast SE veering SW F4/5 was perfect for a quick run home. We motored out but had plenty of time in hand to sail down Craignish. We were overtaken by a large blue-hulled AWB (should that be ABB?) who motored straight for the gap and appeared to stop dead for a while. Our timing was better. We saw the eddy form off Craignish Point and a yacht taking advantage of it motored through the “wrong” way.

Although the wind got up to SE3 for a while we were soon left ghosting along at 3 knots or so. We gave in and fired up the engine after a couple of hours and arrived back at Balvicar in the late afternoon.

It was too late to help with Fairwinds but I’ve promised a couple of days labour next time. Good to sail with you again Gerry.

Miles this trip 75

Miles this season 196 (s/h 15)