Rapid Retreat

 The wind forecast is now 25 gusting 40 miles per hour and that is out of our comfort zone. We take an unprecedented second rest day and both catch up on work. Unfortunately, the harbour wifi only works well if you are next to the harbour office, so we end up doing parts of our work requiring online activity in the drizzle-proof bus shelter provided for boat tour customers. Fortunately, boat tours are cancelled due to the weather. The wind gradually picks up and the Tobermory harbour reveals its weak point, that waves created by northerly winds get refracted in and cause a somewhat dynamic situation on the pontoons and moorings. There are yachts bouncing about all over the place. We deployed our spare fenders and set them at different heights on the side of the boat because there was so much movement up and down. We also doubled up the mooring lines, they were taking big hits each time a set of larger waves came in. The previous night we had been treated to a flat calm and the Tobermory waterfront reflected in the mirror-like surface, tonight could not have been more different. Our planned circumnavigation of Mull, including a sail past Staffa, was cancelled and we considered that simply escaping down the Sound of Mull back to Oban would be the most we might achieve. It is 22nd June 2021.

In the morning the wind was still lively and even the Sound had a forecast of 20 to 30 miles per hour winds. No-one else on the pontoons was moving, many perhaps waiting for a chance to sail north, but we had Mark’s classic breakfast, poached eggs on toasted crumpets, dressed in full waterproofs and prepared to set out for a ‘lively’ sail. 

We slipped the mooring and rather tentatively motored out directly against a strong and gusting wind and some impressive waves. A fishing boat powered past and a ferry was arriving, but we were struggling to make 3 knots as we rounded the point out of the harbour. We initially just unfurled the Jib sail about half-way and even with this small foresail were making up to 6 knots but rolling quite a bit. Now the wind and tide were in the same direction and with us and so everything settled down a bit. Although it was blowing a steady 20 with gusts of 30 miles per hour. We decided that our Hunter 30 boat likes 20 mile per hour winds. We turned into the wind and raised the mainsail but fully reefed, so forming our smallest size of mainsail. 

 The fully reefed mainsail

Turning back downwind we gathered speed and the boat was much happier in terms of getting into the groove (a technical term meaning it felt right). We settled down to a steady 7 to 8 knots humming along on a broad reach, meaning that wind was coming over the back but to one side of the boat. The boat was happy, we were happy. Great sailing and our doubts about leaving the relative safety of harbour dissolved.

After an hour we raised the sail to the next reefing point and continued to fly down the Sound of Mull. At the narrow point of the sound we swerved round the buoys of a fish farm and raised the sail by another reef. The hills and forests along the sound were affecting the wind available but we had the tidal flow in our favour and kept up our speed. Eventually, as we reached the Lynne of Morvern, we raised the full mainsail and sailed pleasantly on the gradually diminishing winds, now only blowing 15 to 20 mph. We decided to stop over in Oban before heading up towards Forth William and the Caledonian Canal tomorrow.

As we crossed towards Oban we looked west towards the islands...

Then east towards the highlands...

and considered the north of Scotland, the highlands and islands, to be blessed by its richness of beautiful and relatively unspoilt landscapes. Its great that its reputation for rain and midges keeps most UK tourists away. We have met a few stray midges in the bus stop in Tobermory, perhaps their mates are waiting in ambush along the canal?

Over dinner we reflected on our visit to the Scottish Islands, now that this phase of our journey around the UK is coming to an end. In particular we noted that our previous adventures in a Wayfarer dinghy had perhaps involved a more intimate exploration, Partly, this might be because you tend to hit the beach and drag the boat up, or sail into small inlets with less fear of hitting rocks. We remember seeing loads of seals when sailing in the dinghy, but have seen few during our trip in the gin palace. On balance however, the gin palace seems more of a draw for porpoises, and it is nice to have a cup of tea during a wet and windy day of sailing. We have had a great time visiting the islands and are looking forward to, sort of, visiting or at least viewing the highlands as we cut across northern Scotland on the canal, which leads from Fort William to Inverness.

We have been flying a small flag of Scotland on the boat. This flag is known as the Banner of Scotland, St Andrew’s Cross or the Saltire. In sailing circles this is known as a ‘courtesy flag’. A Scottish sailor on the boat next door muttered that flying this flag is currently like voting for independence, we gathered the impression that he is not in favour of such a move. However, we remember when the fascists and racists tried to ‘own’ the Union Jack in the 1970s and how important it is not to let such a national symbol become partisan. So, we are flying the flag anyway, as a courtesy to all Scots, whatever their position on independence and ending the union. That is one thing that seems unclear to me, what does a ‘nationalist’ party actually stand for politically? Presumably after independence it will have finished its main purpose and become divided between members with different perspectives on jobs with dignity, housing, inequality, health and education? Oops, getting a bit political, I hope I have not offended anyone by the way I have described all this flag stuff, except maybe those 1970s fascists and racists and their pathetic contemporaries?

Tomorrow looks like very light winds and a motor sail up the Forth of Lorn and Loch Linnhe, past Fort William to the sea loch at Corpach that will admit us to the Caledonian Canal. On the canal we will join families on boating holidays, you rent a motorboat and usually travel from Inverness to Corpach and back again. It is perhaps the only canal in the UK that offers views of big mountains from the generally horizontal surface of a canal. Apart from messing up in a lock, or getting stuck on a sand bank in one of the lochs, it should be a relatively risk free and relaxing three or four days of our trip. Leaving Tobermory felt like a retreat from the north, but in fact a glance at the map showed us that Inverness is further north than Tobermory, so we are still heading northwards, just at a slight tangent.