Scotland 2017: Shetland - Orkney - Scotland

Our sailing tour 2017 comes now to an end. The boat is safly stored in Adrossan. In 2018 we plan to start the season End of February.

Our journey for this year is slowely coming to an end. Once again we sailed through the Crinan Canal as the weather forecast predicted strong winds and sailing around the Cape of Kintyre would be too difficult. This time of year there are only a few boats in the canal so it turned out to be a quiet and peaceful passage this time.

Today we are really lucky with the weather: after yesterday’s rainy and stormy autumn weather, today is mostly sunny during our daytrip from the Outer Hebrides back to Tobermory close to the Scottish mainland. After motoring in the beginning, we soon got some wind to put up our Parasailor and finally continued with the mainsail in combination with the Genoa. Throughout the day we had many encounters with dolphins and whales. With our camera we were able to take a spectacular under water film of the dolphins. Shortly before it got dark we arrived in Tobermory. Currently the marina is becoming more and more crowded with sailingboats, as the next deep pressure with storm is expected tomorrow morning already.

Our plan which we made a few days ago in Stornoway works: today we sailed west to the southern islands of the Outer Hebrides. With a strong northern wind we enjoyed a fast sail to the save harbor of Lochboisdale. As the weather report forecasts calm and settled weather for the next two days we decided to continue south to the Isle of Barra. We went on a cycle tour around the island and a hike to the highest mountain of the island. There is a unique airport on Barra which uses the beach as a runway – only low tide allows landing and take off. Before the next storm arrives we sailed back to the save harbour of Lochboisdale.

As the wind continues to come from the north or from the south, we had a nice sail to the islands of Rum and Canna to the west.  Both islands are a part of the so called “Smaller Islands” of Scotland; they are inhabited by only handfuls of people. The island of Rum has lots of mountains and a nice bay for anchoring with a castle at the end of the bay. On our second day in Rum we were able to climb one of the mountains which gave us a spectacular view to the islands of Sky and Canna. On our way to Canna we were sailing along the north coast of Rum and then continued to Canna Harbour, which is open to the east. We were mooring on a boje and were facing a severe storm the upcoming days. As the bay has some good protection four other sailors were also waiting for the storm to calm down. In the evening we had a great dinner with some beers in the café Canna and lots of fun with the other sailing crews.

The weather continued to be very unreliable with lots of wind and rain. From Plockton we continued sailing through the bridge to the Isle of Skye. As we still had some time for the tide to continue to Kyle Rhea, we decided spontaneously to sail the 4 nm to the castle of Eilean Donnan. The castle is one of the main tourist attractions in Scottland. As it is very busy with lots of buses and cars from the land side, we were the only boat watching the castle from the sea side. Sailing back we continued to speed down the Kyle Rhea supported by the tidal stream with over 12kn. Before we continued to Mallaig, we stayed due to lots of rain and storm two days on a mooring boje in Duisdale.

Our plan was to sail the Outer hebrides from north to south. However, the strong south wind should continue the upcoming days. So we rented again a car and did some more lops around the island to visit the remaining places which we haven’t visited so far. One day we even managed to get some golf clubs and played the 18 hole golf course of Stornoway, which is walking distance from the marina. As the south wind still continued we finally changed our plans and sailed to the south east to the Scottish mainland to Loch Gairloch and Plockton. Later, once we are more south, we will try to sail to the Outer Hebrides back from the east.

The weather forecast for the afternoon predicted strong winds from the south for the afternoon. Therefore we started very early in the morning to sail to Stornoway to the Outer Hebrides. When we arrived there at 2:00 pm after 50nm sailing, the wind had already increased to 35kn. The marina of Stornoway is very good protected from winds in all directions, so we slept  the next night well, when the storm hid Stornoway.

The next day we explored the Isle of Lewis with a rented car. On the west coast the waves were spectacular high and broke with al lot of noise and spray on the rocky coastline. No wonder, as the lighthouse of Lith Sgeir is the point in UK with the highest wind speed. A wind velocity of more than 140mph was already measured.

In Portree we fixed Noe on a mooring boje and prepared the dinghy for our transport ashore. However, the motor of the dinghy didn’t work as expected. Domi dismantled the motor very professional and cleaned the whole machine carefully. After Isaella and Christine had to row ashore because the engine died and did not want to start again we found a small black part blocking the hose for the petrol. We replaced the petrol hose and now the engine does its job better than ever. The next four days we explored the Island with a car and very unexpectedly for us, with other thousand tourists at each point of interest. Because there is no quick public transport connection from Portree to Edinburgh,  we drove Bella and Domi on their last day of vacation, to the railway station of Perth.

The weather is improving significantly. From Tobermory we sailed with only little wind but sunshine to Mallaig. In Mallaig we used the good weather conditions for a long hike through the mountains behind the village. On the last peak we could watch a spectacular sun set. On the next day we only had to leave during lunch time, because we wanted to use the tide, which should push us through the Kyle Rhea towards Kyle of Lochhalsh. Our calculation the day before was correct and we had a speed from above 11kn which were supported by a current of almost 6kn. We moored Noe in the marina of Kyle of Lochalsh very close to the bridge to the Isle of Skye.

After leaving the canal we are sailing to Oban and Tobermory. The weather turned into a lot of rain showers and wind up to 8BFt. Therefore we decide to stay one day in Tobermory and visit the local whiskey distillery.

Very shortly after Bella and Domi came on board, we left Adrossan and are heading north. We plan to sail the Crinan Canal, passing Oban and sail to the Isle of Skye. First we sail with a stopover in Tarbert to the Crinan Canal. The Canal has 14 locks, where most of them have to be operated by the boat crew. The gates are heavy and lots of man power is needed to open and close them. It turned out to be the perfect work out for Bella and Domi. The Crinan Canal is compared to the Caledonian Canal very narrow but also very scenic. The canal is 10nm long and it took us three days to pass, which included many stops along the canal.

Today we planned to sail around the Mull of Kintyre. In former times this passage was very dangerous due to strong currents and unpredictable weather conditions. Therefore the government built the Crinan Canal in AD 1800 to make sure of save travels for passengers, animals and goods from Glasgow to the north of Scotland. Nowadays good preparation is still important for a save sail around the mull. We started at 5 o’clock in the morning and were pushed by the current with up to 5kn. Overall we got a speed of up to 10 kn thanks to the right wind direction. There was a boat starting from the same location at only 11 o’clock. They had the 5 kn against them. Even with support of the engine, they managed an overall speed of 2 kn around the mull. Our destination was Campbeltown. From there we continue the next days to Lamlash and to Androssan. We are planning on keeping our boat in Adrossan during the winter. But before we do so, Isabella and Dominik are joining us for our way through the Crinan Canal to the Isle of Skye.

There are three whisky distilleries in Port Ellen. It seems we are now in the centre of the Scottish whisky production area. It was tough getting from Oban to Port Ellen. During the 51nm from Graobh Haven to Port Ellen we had strong winds with lots of gusts up to 7 BFt. Our plan was to sail to Craighouse, but the winds were too strong for us to enter the small harbor and the mooring area, so we kept on going and ended up in Port Ellen.

From the Caledonian Canal in Fort William we continued onto Oban. The marina of Oban is situated on an island separated from the city. A regular shuttle service is provided from the marina to the city. On the island Karrera we spent one day cycling on little paths around the island. Due to the heavy rain of the past couple of days, the paths are very muddy. The highlight of our cycle tour was the castle of Gylen, which is a ruin situated on a rock very close to the sea.

We are mooring in front of Neptuns Staircase, the western end of the Caledonian Canal. There are eight locks which will bring us back down to sea level. The weather in the past few days was exceptionally nice. During the last two days we had a great view on Ben Nevis, the highest mountain of the British Islands. Statistically, Ben Navis is covered with clouds in nine out of ten days, therefore there is only one day left during this month. Unfortunately, we did not get a chance to climb it, as Christine is suffering from another bad cold.

At the end of Loch Ness lies the small idyllic village Ford Augustus. In the center of the village there is a 'staircase' of locks which we climbed to get onto the level of Loch Oich. Loch Oich is the home of the monster Lizzy, which is even less seen than Nessy - we didn’t have any luck either. Instead of watching out for Lizzy, we visited a few old buildings and castles along the lake. Most impressing was the Gengarry Castle with its own pontoon. We had our afternoon coffee with scones in the castle in a very aristocratic atmosphere.

Inverness is where the Caledonien Canal, which conects the Scottish east coast with the west coast, starts. It is 60 nm long and leads through three lakes. The most famous lake is Loch Ness, which has to be crossed from one end to the other. Just after the registration and the entrance in the canal, there is a swing bridge which is followed by a few weirs upwards. Now we are already on the same level as the 20nm long Loch Ness. Despite the sharp look out which we kept during our crossing of Loch Ness, we didn’t see the famous monster. We were told that you need to drink a few glasses of whiskey before you approach the Lake and the weather should be rainy and foggy to see the Monster.

This weekend there are the Highland Games in Inverness. It is a highlight of the annual event calendar of the region. Locals but also guests compete in Scottish dance, playing the bagpipe and athletic competitions. However, the main attraction for many visitors is the competition in the Heavis Heavy event - throwing the Scots Hammer, Weight for Distance, Shot, Weight over the bar, tossing the Caber and Inverness Stone are the exercises which have to be completed. The purpose of Inverness Stone is to lift and throw a 114kg heavy stone ball over a 5ft high bar, without touching the bar. Only 8 athletes in history were successful managing this challenge. Today an athlete from Australia did the exercise twice – the first one was for the competition the second one for his camera. During the whole event there were always musicians playing the bagpipe – indeed very Scottish.

The distance from Kirkwall to Wick on the Scottish mainland is demanding for sailors. The current and the tide need to be considered during the planning of the journey. The right timing of the start and the way of sailing is essential to avoid sailing against the current and unexpected waves. South of the Orkney Islands the current can be up to 11kn strong, which can make a boat with a speed of 6kn unmanageable. The scenery and the islands is getting more flat, however, there are more castles and old buildings of interest to see.

Eine der Highlights auf den Orkneys ist sicherlich der Leuchtturm im Norden auf der Insel Westray mit seinen Vogelfelsen. Hier kommen ab April Basstölpel, verschiedene Möwenarten Papageientaucher und andere Alkvögel  her, um bis Ende Juli ihre Jungen auszubrüten und aufzuziehen. Dies ist besonders beeindruckend, wenn man sich die steilen Klippen ansieht, wo die Eier zum Teil auf den nackten Felsen gelegt werden und die Vögel dem rauen Wetter von Westen das hier herrscht ausgesetzt sind.

Fair Isle seemed to be the perfect stop over when sailing to the Orkney Islands, as it is situated in the middle between the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands. During our visit we rated Fair Isle as one of the top Islands we have visited so far. Half of the island is protected as a national park whereas the other half is farmland with lots of sheep, maintained by its 70 inhabitants. Fair Isle is one of the best places to watch birds. In all directions there are steep cliffs and the permanent stream of the Atlantic Ocean, which allows many different kind of birds to nest and settle. During a few hikes we got as close as an arm length to the puffins. We are only four boats in the north harbor, which is the only harbor of the island. Alongside of us there is Bob with his sailing yacht Tequilla and his crew. Bob is 74 years old and a sailor since his childhood. During a few drinks in the clubhouse of the bird observatory we discussed intensively the pros and cons of paper versus iPad Navigation – Bob has no electronic plotter on his boat, but maps, a compass and lots of knowledge about sailing.

We are already more than a week in Shetland and our plan for the next weeks is to continue sailing to Fair Island and to Scotland. Puffins, black terns and many other seabirds gave us a warm welcome to the islands. Seals are having a sun bath on the coast. Shetland ponies and thousands of sheep are here. However, compared to Norway, there are no trees in Shetland, because of the permanent strong wind. Only in protected areas some small bushes are growing. And, there are seals again, which we missed so much in Norway.  The capital of the Shetland Islands is Lerwick where all roads meet. It is a very lively place. Lots of cruising ships stop here for a day.  Today there is the ship from National Geographic visiting the island. We are moored safely in the main harbor right beside the towncenter - first in the Albert Wharf and now in the small boat harbor. We left our place in the Albert Wharf due to the arrival of more than 40 sailing yachts which were joining the race Bergen – Lerwick – Bergen. The harbor is protected from all directions which were proven the last days as a storm with almost 40kn of wind speed went across the Shetland Islands. There are now more other sailing yachts to see than during our last months in Norway. The origin is from many different countries:  Sweden, Norway, England, Poland France, Netherlands, Belgium,…a true European fleet. Very close to us Bert and Lena moored their sailing boat “Heimkehr” from Hamburg. They are also members of the sailing club Trans-Ocean and both are very experienced sailors. We spent some very nice hours together were we gathered lots of information about sailing across oceans from them.