A Meander to Mull and a Saunter down Sunart

Not having sailed since we sold Blue Spurr eight years ago, we missed being afloat, so cast our eyes around various boats. We finally decided to buy a Trailer-sailer, so we could tow it to different harbours and have a variety o cruising options.

Ananahi is a 18ft Swift. We equipped her with log, echo sounder, G.P.S. Autohelm, 240v generator for charging batteries and a 4hp Yamaha outboard. Our first sea trial was to be in Scotland. We waited through June and July for good weather but decided in August that we had to take potluck, before the end of summer.

We set off for Oban arriving at 19.00hrs on the 10th August. The commodore of the sailing club told us of various slips in the area where we could launch. We decided on Port Gallanach, two miles south. It was a dive centre, with a car park for the van and trailer. The slip was very narrow, only 8 ft wide and really shallow, but we duly launched the boat. Unfortunately it was pouring with rain and there was no wind, so we decided to move to Oban under motor and took up a mooring at the sailing club.

12th August. A very rainy day with a force four to five south-west and an overcast sky. We decided it was a good opportunity to try the boat in a choppy sea and sailed out past the north end of Kerrera into the sound, beating into the swell and feeling happy with the way that the boat handled in these conditions. After an hour or so we headed back to the mooring and then into town to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Thursday 14th August. We decided to head south around Kerrera to Loch Spelve on Mull. Dave woke me at 05.00hrs to a lovely morning. Our first anchorage was to be little Horseshoe bay on Kerrera, so we sailed slowly south, enjoying the respite from the rain. We dropped anchor in 15ft and went ashore to walk two miles to Gylen castle on the south end of the island. On the way back the weather slowly got worse and the 17.50 forecast gave south-west 5 becoming west 5 to 6 occasionally 7. The wind arrived at 01.00hrs and the anchor held well in the sandy bottom.

Friday 14th August. Still bad weather, rain and wind, we put up the cockpit tent and decided to relax for the day.

Saturday 15th August Still very windy from the direction we want to go. We went ashore to get water from a burn and then Dave went trolling round the bay in the dinghy, he caught two mackerel for tea, he baited the lobster pot with the heads and put it out on the reef for the night.

Sunday 16th August. It rained all day and the wind kept blowing. We didn’t see any yachts sailing by in the sound.

Monday 17th August. A much better day, but wind still from the west. We revised our plans and decided to head North. We sailed back to Port Gallanach and took a mooring so that we could go to a launderette and supermarket.

Tuesday 18th August. A lovely day, sunny and with a nice south westerly to speed us on our way. We reached the top of Kerrera and noticed that the cabin floor was awash so we picked up a mooring at the Oban sailing club and Dave took off the keel box cover and discovered a leak at the top of the keel bracket. He tightened it up and we set off once more for Mull. There was a lovely south-west 3 or 4 and we sailed past Lismore and picked up an H.I.E. mooring in Craignure Bay. We went ashore to explore and ended up in the pub for the night.

Wednesday 19th August. We spent the day relaxing on the boat and went ashore to the pub for the night.

Thursday 20th August. Now we want to sail North the wind has shifted to north-west 5 and the Sound of Mull is very choppy with white horses and grey skies so instead of sailing Dave went fishing and caught 6 mackerel.

Friday 21st August. Wind is still north-west 5 to 6 but we decided to take the tide and beat up to Loch Aline. A very wet and bumpy sail with a nasty wind over tide in the sound. The sun finally came out as we sailed through the narrow pass into the loch. We sailed to the head of the loch, where someone pointed out a mooring and told us that we can use it.

Saturday 22nd August. Still northwest so we went ashore to explore a nearby castle.

Sunday 23rd August. A good forecast at last. We left at low tide with nine feet of water in the pass and a lovely south-east wind. We used the whisker pole and goose winged north. The wind dropped and a slow rain began to fall so we sailed to the Mull shore and into Salen Bay, where we took a H.I.E. mooring . We went to the local pub and the barman told us that Salen Mull is a friendly place with free moorings, its namesake Salen. Loch Sunart, has very expensive moorings and if you anchor you are charged to land at the jetty. As we were heading that way it proved useful information.

Monday 24th August. The wind shifted in the night to north-west 4 or 5 making the bay very rolly. We decided that instead of beating up to Tobermory, we would have a nice brisk sail back to Loch Aline. It was a great sail and we picked up the same mooring as before and retired to bed.

Tuesday 25th August. A lovely sunny day with the wind behind us, we goose-winged all the way to Tobermory, tacking to a H.I.E. mooring and picking up under sail. All in all a great sail, with porpoises and seals escorting us down the sound and an evening in the Mishnish pub to round off the day perfectly.

We spent 2 days exploring Tobermory and its surroundings.

Friday 28th August. Rain, rain, rain, we can’t even see the shore, so we put up the cockpit tent, ran the generator to charge the battery and watched TV and videos in the cockpit all day.

Saturday 29th August. Sun, sun, sun, and a westerly 3 . We goose winged out of Tobermory and across the sound towards Loch Drumby, at the entrance to Loch Sunart. The pass was about 50 metres wide and very pretty with great boulders covered in purple heather raising straight out of the water. We anchored in 10ft in a small bay on the north side and went ashore for a walk on Oronsay Island, which forms the north side of this loch. Dave picked a bucket full of mussels and they made a tasty supper.

Sunday 30th August. A strong south-east wind and choppy seas awaited us as we sailed out of the pass, but we headed around the island to a small anchorage on the north shore of Oronsay Island, dropping the hook in 10ft of mud.

Monday 31st August. We were enjoying having this little anchorage to ourselves and went ashore to explore some derelict cottages. We decided as there were no other boats, to run the generator and charge the battery, as well as watching another video. Knowing the unpredictable weather we had recorded lots of films and plays before leaving home so that if we were stuck anywhere for a long time we would have our own entertainment.

Tuesday 1st September. It is raining, but we decided to be optimistic and set sail up Loch Sunart towards Salen. We decided to sail south of Risna Island and look at the anchorages along that coast; however the wind decreased so we sailed slowly to Salen. We went straight to the head of the bay, lifted the keel, and anchored in 5 ft. A dinghy rowed past cracking the old joke “Ahoy there, you’ve got Hull on your hull do you have mast on your mast?” We asked where we could get water and said that you had to pay at the jetty, but took us back to their house and filled our carriers. They also told us that we could use the mooring association slip so that we did not have to pay the boatyard to land at the jetty.

Wednesday 2nd September. Rain, rain, rain. We put up the cockpit tent and decided to catch up on some reading. Ron and Rene, who we met yesterday, returned from their prawn fishing and gave us a bucket full of prawns and crayfish. We had them for lunch.

Thursday 3rd September. We set off for Tobermory, taking the northern channel past Risna Island and with a south-west 3 slowly moving us west we picked up a mooring in Tobermory and went ashore for showers,.

Friday 4th September. A lovely day We spent it ashore, ending up in the pub for the night.

Saturday 5th September Set off south-east for Loch Aline, but the wind dropped so we ended up motoring to the head of the loch and anchored in 4 ft with the keel up.

Sunday6th and Monday 7th September South-west gales forecast, so we stayed put. Tuesday 8th September. Still more gales so we decided to walk around the loch and get petrol. We asked at a nearby boathouse/holiday cottage for directions and he kindly offered to drive us as the weather was so bad. He had been holidaying in Loch Aline for the last 15 years and told us the whole area belonged to a landowner who made his fortune with a tea plantation in India. The son is an MP. In London and is restoring the castle as a home for himself. It was a very interesting and informative day.

Wednesday 9th September. A much better day. We set sail for Oban but there was not much wind. Luckily the tide was with us and we made slow progress. On the south shore of Lismore the tide proved too strong in the light winds and we were taken close to the rocks surrounding Lady Rock light and had to start the engine to make sure that we cleared them. We had an otherwise pleasant sail to Oban, listening to music and watching porpoises frolicking around us. We picked up a mooring at the sailing club and went ashore for fish and chips.

Thursday 10th September. The wind was still on the nose as we tacked to Port Gallanach to retrieve the boat, but the sun was shining and the sea was calm, so it was a good end to our holiday.

Total distance logged 267 N.M