Kinlochbervie

58 27.48N 005 03.01W
Kinlochbervie. Large remote empty fishing harbour. Awaiting suitable conditions for notorious Cape Wrath. Showers from Fishermen's Mission.

Dolphins

58 19.25N 005 28.51W
Hooray! In answer to prayer, dolphins have just come to visit us and swim in our bow wave. We are all happy now.

Summer Isles

58 00.65N 005 24.11W
Tanera Mor, Summer Isles. Jeremy steers us through murky drizzle & strong wind to fish farm anchorage. Tea & Becky's chocolate cake.

Episcopalians

Sat- Jeremy & Becky arrive after 12 hours on train from Exeter & taxi. Tim mends things. We go 4 walk. Sun- Off to Episcopalian church in someone's front room.

Ullapool

57 53.71N 005 09.10W
Arrived in friendly Ullapool. Sorry about previous blob, hope today's is in the right place. Lucy & Sean have left on a bus. Awaiting next.

another Loch

57 52.38N 005 07.53W
Loch Broom. Tense sail in a force hooley gusting 8. Ashore in afternoon to see 2 brochs (iron age forts) so Lucy heaven. Windy outlook.

Loch Ewe

58 46.17N 005 37.24W
Anchored in Loch Ewe. Confusing unpredicted weather, motoring instead of force 7. Discussions of sonic boom & hull speed. Late stew.

Through the Shiant Isles

57 53.89N 006 21.03W
Through uninhabited Shiant Isles. No little blue kelpie men as offered by guide book, but lots of puffins and basaltic columns.

Surviving Stormy Stornaway Sabbath.

Sunday- Surviving Stormy Stornaway Sabbath.

midsummer stones

Today is the longest day of the year. We visited Callanish stone circle, repeating a jouney that we made by tandem 8 years ago, also on midsummer's day. This time we went by bus, much more pleasant. Callanish was fantastic, most beautiful stones I've seen and also most ancient.

It doesn't get dark much. We spent yesterday evening touring the pubs of Stornaway in an attempt to find local Hebridean beer, which we eventually achieved in the arts centre. Have said goodbye to previous crew and are awaiting next (although previous keep reappearing) and waiting for gales to abate.

My step father will be pleased to know that Stornaway is still dominated by the co-op, once run by his father, but alas evil Tescos are on their way.

Lucy

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Stornoway

58 12.48N 006 23.55W
Stornaway, Lewis. Rafted alongside Plymouth yacht. Resident seals. Despotic cleaning session. Crew off to their hostel, desperate 4 showers

Scalpay

57 52.00N 006 41.71W
Scalpay. Scenic tour of Harris's East coast, Lesley steering. Off to investigate the delights of the shore. Maybe a shop! And a tree!

Loch Eport

57 33.03N 007 10.19W
Loch Eport, North Uist. Fast sail across Little Minch. Giles lighting fire to dry us all out. All rock & water & clouds around us. Scrabble

Stormbound in Canna

57 19.93N 006 48.67W
Tues- stormbound (& am boatbound) in Canna. No mob recep. Wed- heading for Outer Hebrides. Rain, hail, sun. Lumpy. Skye to the right.

Chart shopping and Couscous

57 03.4N 006 29.61W
Tues- Canna. Slow sail 2 Tobermory 2 throw L off to buy yet more charts. Fast lumpy sail around Ardnamurchan 2 Small Isles. Raining.Couscous

Ireland to tandems

Adrian writes on Tuesday 10th~Today was a bit epic for me. First we cycled 53 miles, the first decent cycling we have done since New Year. The first 27 miles were covered at hard pace because we were late for a hot chocolate appointment in Tobermory. Plus it was into a strong headwind and there were some large Mullish hills in the way. On return from the long hard bike ride we had to row each of the tandems out to the boat, made more entertaining by a fresh wind and some waves. Then the tandems had to be partially dismantled and stowed below. After that there were 40 metres of chain to haul up, a mainsail and a staysail and then there was a quantity of hanging on to be done as we thrashed our way the 6 miles to windward to gain the wonderful peace of Loch Aline on the North side of the Sound of Mull.

Lucy writes on Wed 11th~We would like to say more than our 160 characters a day allows. Last week from Ireland to Oban was one of our best so far, mostly because Jura was so fantastic. We stayed for two days sheltering from strong winds in a spectacular loch with no habitation (and no phone reception). Catherine was with us and is enthusiastic and knowledgable on flora and fauna, which was great, we found orchids and butterflies and plants that eat insects. Alas, no longed for eagles. We took both dinghies up an extraordinary rocky channel with a strong tidal stream into an inner loch. If we timed it right we did not have to row at all, just whoosh magically along (we didn't time it right on the way back and had to wait in the rain with Catherine telling stories). Week ended windless and wetly and we didn't make Oban in time for Julian's early morning train.

This week is a cycling week. Our friends the Hairies (aka Clive and Sarah) arrved in Oban with their tandem, our tandem (previously sent to them in a large box) and vast amounts of luggage. They were shipped aboard via the helpful Oban marina shuttle boat. We have since managed 3 days cycling, despite Sarah's bad back.

Adrian again~ Oban marina is a very friendly and relaxed place by marina standards. It is perhaps partly due to this that it seems to have more than its fair share of good looking boats. The enormous 30s yacht Halcyon was the most eye-catching. But the most interesting for me was the brand new replica of Bill Tilman's Mischief, a pilot cutter which made venturesome Antarctic mountaneering voyages in the 1950s which put our current venture hopelessly in the shade. The new replica is too shiny and new to even be recognised by Tilman but given a
few years bouncing off icebergs it should look better. Another classic boat was friendly to us when we had an onion crisis on curry night. Refreshingly traditional, the skipper instructed me to go and find his wife in the laundrette and ask her where the onions were kept.

Ardnamurchan. Now there's a good Scottish word.

56 42.51N 006 14.11W
Rounding most westerly point on mainland.

Jam disaster

56 33.20N 005 45.72W
Loch Aline again. Yest cleaning lockers, stone circle, food shopping, dinner party inc dog. Today 4 new crew. Mark's bag has jam disaster.

Lismore

Have enjoyed a sunny day off & visited Lismore, an island with a lovely broch, by ferry. Stunning mountain views. Fitting new guardrails & A working up mast.

Red Nose day

Back in Oban after a grand couple of days anchored in Loch Aline cycling with the hairies. Most un-Scottish weather. Nose now even redder than before. A

Cairns, Clearances, Curry

Non gruelling bike ride in Morvern, chambered cairn, ruined clearance village, black pudding burgers, medieval tombstones. Sun! Stunning scenery. A cooks curry.

It's a long way to Tobermory

56 33.20N 005 45.71W
50mile windward bike ride to Tobermory to meet Fleecy Sarah & Cath in choc shop. Eve sail to Loch Aline for shelter. Exhausting day.

the mighty midge

A man walked into a bar with a box of dead midges...

Away with the Hairies

A joy to ride a proper bike again. Rained all day tho. Stone circle for L, and we gave a motorist a puncture. Windy windy and likely to stay that way.

Asparagus for pudding?? Sounds revolting.

56 28.39N 005 42.44W
Craignure, Mull. Church in unfinished cathed'l this am, St Colomba's day. Squeeze 2 tandems on board & sail to Mull. Asparagus for pudding.

On the toon

Day Enjoying the bright lights & retail opportunities of Oban. Catherine left on 1st train. Awaiting Hairies & tandems, but they've bad back. A tests mozzy hat.

Less smelly

56.25.11N 005 29.77W
Kerrera. Julian left am. Rest of us visited castle & Charming tea room reminiscent of The Bridge Inn. Now marina, 1st shower since Ireland.

Rain? Western Scotland? Surely not.

56 23.25N 005 32.03W
Anchored in rain, in dark, off Kerrera, near Oban. AM-Jura walk to waterfalls. Miserable wet pm & eve motoring. Saw a mystery fin & Puffin.

In the islands

55 57.87N 005 54.93W
Tues-Exciting sail between Islay & Jura. Anchor in isolated Loch Tarbert, Jura, awaiting gale. Spectacular scenery & rock-strewn navigation

I think she means Tarbert

Weds spent explorin loch tarbat,includin inner sanctum by dinghy&flubber in perfect tidal conditions allowin max swoosh on narrows.Caves,butrflys&birds of preyC

Och hoots. A wee dram anyone?

55 37.74N 006 12.09W
Port Ellen, Islay. Distilleries all around, but moored a mile from shore. Will have drop of Farmer Ian's Laphroaig, brought from Devon.

Loglines and Topsails

55 12.47N 006 56.83W
Motoring into Lough Foyle at last. Threw logline overboard & broke topsail, tried to rescue lost divers, but another boat did. Long day.