Round Britain for the RNLI Blog

This morning I reported that the sea state was forecast moderate and that the wind might get up later… it wasn’t and it didn’t!

Packing up the boat for the 1130hrs departure I decided that with the flat sea and light winds I should be out on the water rather than in the marina waiting for 1130 so I left an hour early. This was both a blessing and a bit of a curse… more on that later.

Leaving the marina I said goodbye to a nice group on a motor sailer that arrived the day before. They were going by Glenarm when they had an engine failure and had to call out the RNLI to tow them away from rocks in the strong current. Needless to say, they appreciate the work of the RNLI first hand. It appears that they had a timing belt failure - I hope that they managed to get it repaired so they can continue their holiday.

Outside the sea was flat… completely flat and that is pretty much how it remained all the way to Oban - and for once I had great views of the Northern Ireland and Scottish coastline. I decided to stay closer to the Ireland coast as the tide would help me that side and when I turned towards the Mull of Kintyre it was clear and looking a lot closer than the 10 miles. The sea was pretty flat all the way across but a couple of miles from the Mull the sea did get up a bit and I had to slow from my 20kts cruise. I was warned about the water there so it came as no surprise. After about 5 miles, the tide had turned and the sea calmed again to its flat state.

When almost abeam Port Askaig I turned west and crossed towards Islay. From even 5 miles I could not see any sign of there being a sound and Islay and Jura looked like one until I was about 2 miles away… then it was clearly an inlet and there was the entrance to the sound of Islay.

At 20kts it isn’t easy to notice the tide but passing a buoy I noticed a huge wake as the tide roared by. I say roared and it almost seemed that and putting my engine into neutral I still had 5 kts on the GPS. The tide made the entry into the small harbour at Port Askaig interesting but once inside all was sheltered. Tieing up to the wall I met the cox and mechanic of the Port Askaig Lifeboat and they welcomed me. I explained that I might have to stay a few days given the weather coming in and they informed me that the weather meant that there could be many fishing boats taking shelter and they suggested, as the weather was so good today, that I went on to Oban immediately. I checked the fuel state and with the smooth conditions I hadn’t used anything like the fuel I had allowed for and so I agreed that it was sensible.

So, I loaded up the chartplotter with the next leg and departed just 30 mins or so after arriving. A flying visit and I was a little sad that I couldn’t spend a day or two on Islay and perhaps visit a distillery or two (!) but when weather like this presents itself I have to use it.

The trip north was to take me to the west of Jura and past the infamous Gulf of Coryvreckan. I knew from the chart that there was a race to the west of the gulf but the general feeling at Port Askaig was that it would not be a problem today. I wish that were true! Planning along at 20kts in flat, glassy sea I spotted ahead breaking waves! Strange given that there was no wind but I knew immediately that it was the Great Race. Once closer it was clear that I wasn’t going to be able to go through so I turned west to find a route round. Eventually I found a safe and not too uncomfortable route through and after about 20 mins of rough water it smoothed out again and it stayed smooth until Oban.

20kts through the islands was great fun and often I could not see the gap in the islands that I was heading for until I was almost upon it which felt a bit weird at times but the trip was exciting, fun and with stunning scenery all the way.

What a day!

The plan is to stay here until Monday. The weather is getting up a bit tomorrow and I want to do some collecting so Monday seems right.

Watch out for the photos for this leg by returning to this blog entry. I will put up a link when I have uploaded them… probably tomorrow now as I am tired.

PS Sally noticed that the Google Maps didn’t work at all today but Google Earth did so once again it is worth installing Google Earth if you can.

Click here for Pics…

It’s been a bitty day. I had some candle orders to do first and then spent some time watching Paul get underway and sending out the emails and updating the website. The Google Maps tracking doesn’t seem to happen at all now until hours afterwards, so I hope you’ve all got Google Earth working for you. Then it was off to Physio to get knurdled and kneaded - thanks Fiona

When I got home I had a message to tell me that my new wrist watch was ready for collection in Plymouth, so I left Cornwall and crossed the bridge into Devon. I have to say it’s a pretty nice trip to the shops to have to cross the river alongside Brunel’s wonderful bridge and see the River Tamar in full flow. The wrist watch is beautiful.

On the way home, Paul rang me from Islay saying he was continuing to Oban, so once home I sent out the emails and updated the website again! Now relaxing after a shower, watching Wimbledon. Ahhhh.

Paul has reached Oban after a long but lovely trip from Northern Ireland. In Paul’s own words "it was about as perfect a day as you can get". More  soon - he has wifi.

Paul has reached Port Askaig safely, and had a chat with the RNLI crew there. It’s a small harbour and their feeling was that with the weather forecast for tomorrow, many fishing vessels would be seeking sanctuary in there tonight and tomorrow, making it a rather crowded place to be. Given the good conditions today, Paul has therefore decided to continue on to Oban and will be there this evening.

NB added 26th July - Port Askaig marks the most Westerly point of the journey.

The weather here at 9am is mostly sunny, F3 westerly with some clouds brewing up already… I wouldn’t be surprised if we have some heavy showers again today.

For the trip the weather looks good. It isn’t perfect… the sea looks completely flat here but the inshore forecast is saying that the wind will get up to a F4-5 later and the sea, which is currently forecast as slight to moderate, is getting up to moderate later. I won’t want to hang around on this leg and the earlier I get going the quicker the leg is likely to be. The problem though is the tide… it is not high water until about 12.50 and I really wanted to pass the Mull of Kintyre at about that time to reduce the chances of overfalls. Also, the wind is forecast as mostly southerly and so I northly tide would increase the chances of a fast run (no wind against tide). So it is a typical dilemma that has to be decided upon.

My decision is to go with what I know for certain and that is the tide and so I am timing my departure to pass the Mull at or near HW or a little before. Leaving here at 11.30 will give me 1.5hrs to get to the Mull and I can slow a bit if I want to . The leg is over 60 miles so it could take 4-5 hrs.

I am preparing the boat ready for an 11.30 departure so more when I arrive at Port Askaig.

BTW… I am unsure of the mobile coverage I will have in the islands of Scotland so if I can’t post immediately I apologise. You can see if I have arrived from Google Earth!

I am glad to be on my way again and hope to be in Inverness by the end of next week.