What is the minimum amount of charts and books that I need for going around Scotland?

[Daydream believer]

In your circumstances you did the right thing. There are no real marinas in the area that you missed.

I would have loved to have stopped at Loch Melfort, It looked beautiful as I went by & Tayvalich sounded good as well. So, yes I missed some interesting places But I do enjoy going in & out of marinas, along with the social aspect. The locks up the canal single handed are fun. Getting tourists to help at fort Augustus was memorable, as was meeting with some German boats at Oban & passing through in company. Mooring can be very "isolated".

 

[NormanS]

I would have loved to have stopped at Loch Melfort, It looked beautiful as I went by & Tayvalich sounded good as well. So, yes I missed some interesting places But I do enjoy going in & out of marinas, along with the social aspect. The locks up the canal single handed are fun. Getting tourists to help at fort Augustus was memorable, as was meeting with some German boats at Oban & passing through in company. Mooring can be very "isolated".

We all enjoy our sailing and cruising in our own ways. I've been sailing on the West Coast for many many years, long before there were any such things as visitor's moorings or pontoon berths. The only way of staying put, when not actually sailing, was to anchor, so that's what we did. Like Minchsailor, that's what we still do. I'm still finding new ones. ?

 

[Thresher]

I would have loved to have stopped at Loch Melfort, It looked beautiful as I went by & Tayvalich sounded good as well. So, yes I missed some interesting places But I do enjoy going in & out of marinas, along with the social aspect. The locks up the canal single handed are fun. Getting tourists to help at fort Augustus was memorable, as was meeting with some German boats at Oban & passing through in company. Mooring can be very "isolated".

You've given me something to think about there.
Beautiful anchorages are fine if you are in the company of someone to enjoy them with but after a long single handed sail I do like to arrive somewhere where there are people.

 

[Kelpie]

I'm sorry to hear that sea sickness had such a profound effect on you- and fair play for not just finding an alternative past time!
I'd have thought that some of the really snug and protected anchorages would be indistinguishable from being tied alongside. But I suppose you can't guarantee that the wind won't get up in the night
Personally I sleep terribly when in a marina- I hate the noise, and a strong wind on the beam makes the boat lean over, with fenders squeaking and ropes creaking. And of course I get nervous about hiring something when manoeuvring in a tight spaces.
I've only had a couple of bad nights at anchor when we ended up beam on to the swell, and one awful night on a mooring in Canna where the waves were bouncing off rocks behind us and seeing up a confused jabble.

 

[Daydream believer]

How do you go round Scotland without going round England and Wales?

Easy, Turn left after leaving Tolesbury (no, not up the Colne!!) head north, to Inverness Through the canal. Go down to oban & then start cruising the west coast. Then round the top & back down the east coast. I know several who have done that from theThamest. Most have done the south coast so want something different

 

[wully1]

There’s a few more places with alongside of pontoon berthing so next time you should have more options.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Under way I sleep on deck in the cockpit hatch area where I have a specially made hammock with my feet in the cockpit area & my head just below the cabin top
View attachment 106427

I love that hammock and plan to pinch the idea.

Commiserations on the seasickness.

 

[Alicatt]

As I posted in another thread, I came across the MBY Youtube channel and have been watching Mr Boyle's trip round the UK, really made me homesick, seeing the pier end of Wick harbour and instantly knowing where I was, and to hear that Malky is still the harbour master there was great too, though the harbour pontoons were not there the last time I motored out of the harbour almost 25 years ago or so.
In the videos they struck it lucky in the Pentland Firth catching it at the last of the ebb, the following on episode shows how it can be when they catch the tide wrong.
Link to the post I made in the 4M Avon Rib thread:
Going round Britain in a 4M Avon RIB

How it changes from marina to the Firth

 

[Daydream believer]

I love that hammock and plan to pinch the idea.

Commiserations on the seasickness.

Mine was mde to my dimensions by Lonton & Gray. I had eyelets put in, in case i got it wrong but the big mistake was it needs to be longer. I wrote 4ft 8 inches on the drawing & it was made 48 inches. It is a bit short so I tend to be a bit upright. However, lounging in a marina like Ostend in the sun reading a book watching others come & go is really good. The bottom tube fits tight in the groove for the vertical board. The cloth is deliberately stiff.

 

[NormanS]

There’s a few more places with alongside of pontoon berthing so next time you should have more options.

Yes, there a pontoons, but not many that are safe to use in all conditions.

 

[Babylon]

I take my hat off to you DDB for being solution-driven and not put off!

I also get a bit seasick (I'm sure most of us do from time to time!) but not so badly that I can't sleep through the night in any usual anchorage.