Trip report: Craobh Haven, Slate Islands, Corryvreckan, Jura, Islay

[rbmatthews]

Yes, great read again RB.

The Honda does a good job moving the "rig" around those highland roads!

I recently missed out on a RIB ride from Plockton to the Shiant Islands, just a couple of weeks before you were there, due to a combination of unsuitable weather and time restraints.

Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments.

Yes the Honda is pretty good for towing the boat on the road. Where it isn't quite so good is retrieving it on a sandy or slippery beach or slipway - not having a low ratio gearbox and engagement into 4x4 being automatic rather than manual, there have been one or two times when it hasn't been able to get the boat out and we have had to resort to getting another tow or using the boat winch to pull the trailer up. Not so good.

Shiants are spectacular, with sheer cliffs and literally thousands of puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and kittiwakes. Well worth a visit, but you need to get the tides, winds and currents right. We made it out and back OK, but it was pretty rough on the way back because the tide had changed.

 

[rbmatthews]

Another great read RB
Our thoughts have been to maybe get a trailer sailer i.e. a yacht so that we can do a bit of sailing as well as cruising places we would struggle to get the bigger boat to. Something traditional like a Cornish crabber or Norfolk Gypsy type appeals, or maybe a Macgregor with planing capability Only thing is the open cockpit with this type of boat and whilst rigging a canopy is possible wouldn't be as effective as a small mobo.

I would quite like a trailer-sailer too, but the First Mate prefers a motor boat, and I like them too, so it does us fine. It's just good being out on the sea regardless of what type of boat. I suppose the range is the only thing with the Shetland - we can do between 160 NM and 240 NM depending on how we use the engine, which is not too bad, whereas theoretically it is unlimited with a saily boat.

I don't know much about them, but don't the MacGregors have cabins as well? But they don't seem to be too well thought of in the UK, I think? But good luck in your quest to find something.

 

[Siochair]

Thankyou, thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog.
:encouragement: