On to the Crinan canal

Today we continued our journey towards Greenock where Blue Star is being stored during the winter, before we continue our voyage sailing northwards ‘over the top’ of Scotland. Today started rather grey, dull and damp with a cold breeze. Long Johns were drafted into service. We motored the first few miles out of Dunstaffnage then unfurled the headsail and sailed, later with full main too. We took a route south of the island of Kerrera, past Oban and onwards through the Firth of Lorn, weaving our way through many small islands and rocky islets. The scenery was magnificent as on the previous day – rocky headlands and grassed hills, all very remote and desolate in many cases. Here and there a single remote dwelling, and then in other places a small village at the seafront. We passed through the Sound of Luing with the islands of Lunga and Scarba on our starboard before passing the Gulf of Corryvreckan, famed for its whirlpool phenomena; there seemed to be several small whirlpools as we passed through under mainsail and engine, our speed through the water being 8 knots and speed over the ground only 1.5 knots at one point! Eventually we crossed the Sound of Jura, the island of Jura to starboard, and we reached Crinan and the entrance to the Crinan canal, which is very picturesque. The staff at the canal were very kind and gave us a reduced transit fee because of our charity fund raising efforts.

Today I reflected on things that have ‘gone wrong’ during the last few weeks. We have experienced: a scratched hull incurred during berthing in high winds at Peterhead, a broken door catch in the fore-cabin, a charred cooker lid in the galley, a damaged stanchion on starboard deck incurred in a lock during our passage of the Caledonian canal, a broken cabin light bulb which we are finding it difficult to find a spare for, and yesterday we discovered that we had lost one of our fenders. Today our electronic navigation system appeared to have gone ‘on the blink’, showing our boat orientation at about 90 degrees to its actual one; eventually we tracked the cause down to my having placed my ipod player too close to our electronic compass! All part of ‘the challenge’!

Joke:
A farmer in the field with his cows counted 196 of them, but when he rounded them up he had 200.

Entering the sea lock at Crinan

Safely tied up in the canal