#Dolphins – 4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg

Day 93 July 30th Campbeltown to Maryport.

Aug 1, 2022luffin24 Comments

An early start of 6am for a long passage of 63 miles. The day started wet as we motored out from the marina waving good morning to the chaps on the Border Control Vessel moored nearby. Out round Island Davaar with it’s lighthouse winking goodbye, we turned south and soon had the sails up with the wind on a close reach. As we made our way south the wind slowly backed, (it should have been veering) and after 20 miles we were heading, off course, toward Lock Ryan and Stranraer. Reluctantly we lowered the sails, the wind was dying anyway, and motored, now headed in the right direction. We passed a couple of pods of dolphins, which paid no interest in us and just passed by.

There were very few boats about other than when we passed Port Patrick, where we saw a yacht go in to Port Patrick and another passed us going the opposite way. The tide by now was against us in a big way, inevitable on a 12 hour journey. Passing Crammag Lighthouse the sea got rough, surprising as there had been no wind for the last 2 hours. We were being tossed around all over the place, and it got worse as we headed for the Mull of Galloway. Then the engine coughed, I knew what it was straight away, the rough conditions had stirred the tanks and the filter had water and muck in it. Cleaning the filter, brought back memories of my first hip dislocation which happened in similar conditions and doing the very same task. I was very careful!

Once done and the engine restarted, we continued on round into Luce Bay where there was a short patch of very fast flowing water, 5 knots against us, reminiscent of going round St Aldhelms point on a spring tide.

Then all of a sudden it was calm and protected from the Irish sea swell, we motored up to Maryport and anchored off the beach there in the lea of a sandbank.

We went to bed soon after supper, the boat rocking a bit from a slight swell. It had been a long day and would be another long one tomorrow.

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Day 39/40 June 6th, A day in Lossiemouth, then on to Inverness.

Jun 8, 2022luffin23 Comments

We had sailed for 5 days in a row, so decided to take a rest day on Monday. Just a leisurely day with lunch out and a walk on the beach & do a few jobs on the boat including topping up on fuel and water.

Unfortunately Monday night was a bit disturbed as the constant East wind had built up a swell that permeated it’s way into the marina. This meant the boat was lurching around snatching at the mooring lines, with lots of creaking and bumping noises and we had only a few hours sleep.

Still it wasn’t an early start on Tuesday and we eventually set off about 930, our destination Inverness. The swell was about 2 metres which made the boat roll uncomfortably but a steady F4 easterly wind pushed us along, with a tickle of help from the engine to get us to Chanonry Narrows by about 1530 just after the flood tide starts.

Now Chanonry Narrows is the only place in Britain you are virtually guaranteed to see dolphins and we were all psyched up to see them. Loads of people on the shoreline with big telephoto lenses…..NO DOLPHINS, gutted.

Well with only a hour left to run we took pictures of the countryside instead, berthing in Inverness Marina at 1630.

Caledonian Canal tomorrow.

Day 38 June 5th Whitehills to Lossiemouth

Jun 6, 2022luffin23 Comments

I was a bit nervous about going to Lossiemouth for a number of reasons. Firstly was we couldn’t contact them to ask about availability, (they don’t work weekends), and the almanac specifically says catamarans should phone ahead. Secondly the weather was due to build in the afternoon from the east and there are warnings against entering Lossiemouth in strong east winds. Thirdly there wasn’t an alternative plan that didn’t involve 4 more hours at sea.

A chat with Bertie the harbourmaster at Whitehills, allayed most of my worries, quote, “aye, tell them Bertie said it was ok”, plus I found a webcam showing a number of empty berths. So off we went.

There were no major hazards to watch for and the sun was shining and after an hour enough wind to hoist a sail.

We went past Logie Head, then the town of Cullen, home of cullen skink which sounds like a smelly animal, but is actually a delicious hearty fish soup dish made with smoked haddock and mashed potatoes. Then onwards past some fantastic rock formations, one called “Bow Fiddle Rock” see photo, “Durdle Door” eat your heart out

As we entered Spey Bay the exiciment began. I was watching the seabirds congregating as they do when there’s food scraps, when I saw a splash, grabbing the binoculars I could see dolphins. These are the first we’ve come across in 800 miles of sailing, and what’s more they came to play around the boat, staying with us for about 15 minutes. I’m not sure what kind they were, but they were big.

Spey Bay is about 10 miles of glorious golden beach and we could see our destination at the end of it for what seemed like hours. About a mile out from Lossiemouth and directly in front of us was another conglomeration of seagulls. As we passed them there was a huge surge of water as a whale, from the fin shape probably a minke of which there have been several sightings in the area, surged though the flock of birds scattering them in all directions. This was no more than 30 meters from the boat. My only regret was I didn’t have the camera to hand.

Soon after we were on final approach to the harbour, and before long we were nosing into the marina. We found a berth without problem and were soon moored up.

We quickly tidied up and went exploring and found a street party which we joined for an hour before wandering up to look at the beach then to the shops for a few provisions. Back to the boat and Gin and Tonic in the conservatory before dinner.

With five straight days sailing every day we’ve gone from being behind schedule, to a little ahead, tomorrow’s a rest day.