Round Britain day 64

[Concerto]

After pottering on board too long this morning, I finally slipped the berth in Ardfern at 11.55. However, I did not leave straight away as I knew Wully1 was on his boat, so I slowly motored over to say goodbye. This deviation probably took 20 minutes, and he wished me a safe passages for the rest of the trip.

The wind was very light and on the bow, so I raised full main in the hope it might add a little extra drive to old faithful. Going down Loch Craignish, I had the tide with me, but from then on I stayed close to the land on the east side to try and cheat the tide. At times this was very effective as I found some nice back eddies. It did mean I was close to a rock wall a lot of the way, by close I mean one and a half boat lengths away or less than 50ft. Most of the time I had 10 to 14 metres under the keel. The lowest I saw it drop to was 3.0m, a little bit too close for comfort, so eased out a bit. The rock formations were spectacular and amongst some were grazing sheep. Near any promontory, the water could have a cross current that could swing the bow quite violently, but luckily this turbulence showed on the surface of the water.

Motor sailing away from the shore became boring, so I started a new book. Every few minutes I always had a gander round to check for the occasional fishing float or another vessel. Very little course correction was need for the tide as they do not run hard. Late in the afternoon I spied "precipitation in sight", but luckily it passed by without a drop on the boat but I noticed the wind increased for a few minutes. It made no difference to me as I had already dropped the mainsail as the wind was now directly ahead and the mainsail would not fill.

As I arrive at Gigha, I tried with the binoculars to see if there was any space on the pontoon, it looked like it. Charging across from the mainland was the local ferry, so I slowed down to ensure he passed ahead of me. Once all the fenders were in place, I motored to the pontoon. A couple of gentlemen came to give assistance even though I did not need it.

So, overall, it was a bit of a boring day. In a way I was missing some of the stronger winds I have been experiencing as there was always something to do. This motoring lark really is not for me, even though the sun was out for most of the day, and I did not wear oil skins or boots.


Leaving Ardfern


The rock formations were quite varied








Sheep go everywhere


Near Isle of Dannia


Near Isle of Dannia


The distant peaks of Islay and Jura



For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1

 

[capnsensible]

Guess you may be due to service your engine soon? These trips always rack up a lot of engine hours. Something for a rainy day alongside?

 

[Concerto]

Guess you may be due to service your engine soon? These trips always rack up a lot of engine hours. Something for a rainy day alongside?

It is due, but I do not want a rainy day. There are all the parts I need aboard, including an empty oil can to dispose of the old oil. It will be a full service including cleaning the heat exchanger, new 'O' rings, fuel filters, oil filter, check the alternator belt tension, check the gearbox oil, etc.

 

[capnsensible]

It is due, but I do not want a rainy day. There are all the parts I need aboard, including an empty oil can to dispose of the old oil. It will be a full service including cleaning the heat exchanger, new 'O' rings, fuel filters, oil filter, check the alternator belt tension, check the gearbox oil, etc.

Understood. On my boats I used to spread out oil+ filter, fuel filters and impellor over a period of time (logged) so if I hit a snag I wasn't trying to do loads at once. But that's just me!

 

[Concerto]

Last night I had noisy neighbours on the pontoon. 2 large yachts full of Irish men were drinking in the cockpit of an Oceanis 50 and there was lots of loud talking, belly laughs and singing. To cap it all at midnight and 12.30 they thought it was fun to play bag pipes.

This morning I decided to fly the drone close to their boat, but they did not care. Thankfully they left soon after. I made sure to keep the drone camera away from the sun as I find it causes a bloom on the photographs. So I flew it backwards towards the sun so the lighting was almost perfect and the video and photos are crystal clear. During the flight I got a wind warning when at 120m above the water.

Then I got the bike out and cycled to the northern part of Gigha. The ride was fairly easy as there are just some gentle slopes, not hills, to ascend. Nearly there I saw a sign for ice cream outside a farm and decided I would buy one on the way back as it was so warm. The road was a single track and you do not expect to find some cows on the road. The top of the island was stunning and there were several wild campers there. I chatted with a couple on conventional racing bikes. When they left I thought the wind had increased slightly, but decided to fly the drone again. Glad I did as the shots were great and I got still more wind warnings.

Cycling south was harder as the wind was getting brisk. Stopping at the farm to buy a salted caramel ice cream, just one of the 12 flavours available. Just as I had finished a man was walking towards me carrying a small milk churn. He stopped to ask what I thought of the ice cream. Chatting was interesting as John makes the ice cream at the farm. It all started because of Putin. When he invaded Crimea, he banned all dairy products from the EU in retaliation to the sanctions imposed by the EU. This occured at the same time as the EU had removed all quotas on milk and every dairy farmer had increased their number of milking cows. There was a glut of milk and the wholesale price dropped from 30p per litre to 12p. His wife is the farmer, not John as he comes from non farming N American stock. They needed to find a product to use their excess milk production. His wife hates the smell of cheese, so they settled on ice cream. He has over a 100 shops that stock it, mainly on the mainland. Oh, the cows on the road were his wife's and they were supposed to be there.

Heading to the south of the island, there was more arible land than I expected and a few clusters of wind turbines. At the southern point there is a pier which had lots of fishing gear dotted over it. There was a sign, no overnight berthing between 1700 and 0800 as it is the berth for the ferry. The wind had certainly strengthened and I decided not to fly the drone. As I went along the pier, I saw the cyclists I had chatted to. They had stopped for some lunch, hence how I had passed them.

On my return journey I decided to look at the Achamore Gardens, a well established 50 acre garden with a number of specimum trees that hold records for either the UK or Europe. It was interesting talking to some of the gardeners and they pointed out some special areas to visit. Bumped into the cyclists yet again. Once I was near the harbour, I stopped at the village shop and bought some supplies. As I came out I saw to the side they had a fish and chip shop. Great I will come back and get fish and chips a little later. I went back at 6.45 and they were closed, it seems they cater for day trippers and when the last ferry leaves, they close.

Gigha is well worth a visit and if you want, you can hire a bike at the ferry terminal. Berthing on the pontoon is £20 per night or £15 on a mooring. There is no electricity and water is available from a tap ashore.


Gigha harbour with moorings and pontoon


The pontoon with Concerto in the middle of the near side of the pontoon. The big yacht was the noisy one.


The shoreside of the pontoon with the Boathouse bar resturant. The shop is at the top of the road.


View of the moorings from outside the Gigha Hotel


The top of Gigha with Islay and Jura in the distance


View towards the Kintyre Penninsula


John with his roadside ice cream stall outside the farm where it is made


Some of John's wife's cows


Sandy beach at the south of the island


Part of the walled garden at Achamore Gardens


Wild grasses and flowering shrubs


The drive approaching Achamore House (private)

 

[Concerto]

The next report is here.
Round Britain day 66

 

[Blueboatman]

The photography is just jaw dropping..
Beautiful.
And sunshine for the trip ???
A nice little NE 3 would be handy perhaps?

 

[Concerto]

The photography is just jaw dropping..
Beautiful.

Thank you for the compliment.

It is all just point and shoot. There is no editing or cropping of the images, just reducing the resolution for the forum.

Having an eye for what to photograph is the key to taking good photographs. All I use is an iPhone SE and my drone. Nothing highly technical. It is the same for my videos.

The craze for selfies amazes me as it ruins a beautiful scene just to prove they were there. Today I was at the Giants Causeway and virtually everyone was taking selfies. Will post some of the Giants Causeway in the day 66 thread later tonight, they are stunning as it was bright sunlight and even the water looked inviting.