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Leg 8b/9 Glenarm to Oban (via Port Askaig) - Great weather at last!
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.
Hi Paul! So ,having been past one my favourite areas of Scotland, have you now seen the Paps of Jura? And if so, I take it you now know what ‘Paps’ are!