St Peter Port Guernsey

 Blue Velvet’s forward stanchions and pulpit were badly damaged, her rig was bashed and she also got some scratches on her topsides when the marina pontoon that she was moored to broke up during Storm Cieran, 1-2 November 2023.  The 80 knot gusts of winds snapped the hinges on one of the hammerhead finger pontoons she was tied to and the remaining pontoon cleats that she was attached to were ripped out, allowing her to bump into some other yachts in the marina.  Not great news as it has turned our pre-departure minor refit plans into a pretty major refit and repair session.

Blue Velvet has hauled out on Tuesday 30 January for the start of that repair and refit work.  It will take a couple of weeks to get the first stage of that work completed and then we will need to sail over to England for the next stage.  Photos of the work and an update will appear shortly but it will be a very busy 2 months if we are to hit our planned set off date of 1 May.

St Peter Port, Guernsey

Loch Spelve Mull Scotland

When we had returned to BV the previous evening we had kicked ourselves for forgetting to take to the barbecue with us an OCC burgee for John (at that point the newest member of the OCC).  So we hatched a cunning plan to hand one over as we left Craobh Haven Marina.

Nicky handing over an OCC burgee to John Blair (Ballyhoo).  It was a windy and drizzly morning so she tied it
onto a boathook to give a little more reach and to reduce the risk of that fender actually being needed!

Sunday 7 August dawned drizzly and wind, and the wind was now blowing directly into the bay where John was anchored, not ideal conditions for doing a slow ‘drive past’ an anchored yacht to hand over a burgee!  But with the aid of a boathook to add reach, and large fender to hand, Nicky managed to pass the burgee across whilst I got BV as close as I dared and held her there a short time until the wind necessitated I back out.

A brisk sail towards the south tip of Luing

We had debated whether to go into the Firth of Lorne via the Sound of Luing (to the west of Luing), which would necessitate a short leg south from Craobh Haven or whether to route through the Cuan Sound to the north of Luing.  The pilot book’s description of the Cuan Sound, featured dire warnings about the speed of the tidal flow, the imperative need for accuracy in your course, and concerns about a couple of rocks at a steep turn in the passage.  Plus we certainly wouldn’t be sailing through Cuan Sound (too narrow, too ‘dire’) but with the wind direction we should have a good sail taking the longer route.  We opted to go south to go north.

Smoky McSmokeboat

We had a brisk sail, hard on the wind down to the south tip of Luing and as we prepared to turn north up the Sound of Luing a small vintage fishing boat appeared from the south heading up the Sound.  Periodically, the funnel pushed out clouds of evil, black smoke for a good 5 mins, before the effluent became a more reasonable grey for a short while…. And then reverting to deepest black again.  Presumably, the black smoke was generated by the crew throwing a few shovels of coke into the boiler but, boy, did it look unpleasant.  In fact it looked so bad that one large motoryacht called up the vintage fishing boat to ask if there was a problem, to which a broad Scots voice replied laconically that everything was fine and that the fuel with which they were feeding the boiler was ‘a wee bit smoky’!  Understatement of the century!

11.9 knots SOG (speed over ground) with only about 6 knots boat speed as we headed through the top end of the Sound of Luing and into the Firth of Lorne

Towards the top end of the Sound of Luing, the channel narrows and the large volume of water flowing through the narrow gap results in a huge increase in speed.  As we passed through we saw 11.9 knots over the ground – a tidal flow of around 5 knots – not bad given that we were going through not long before slack water.

Entering Loch Spelve

Our destination was Loch Spelve, a large, deep loch on Mull, with a narrow entrance and good number of mussel and fish farms along the shoreline.

Anchored in the northwestern arm of Loch Spelve

Once through the entrance we headed up to the northwest arm which the pilot book recommends as the best anchorage and which the Cruising Association’s CAptain’s Mate reports recommend, due to the presence of the mussel farm HQ and an honesty box system for buying mussels.

John anchored by the mussel dock

We anchored as far up to the west as we could, John on Ballyhoo (who’d come the shorter route via Cuan Sound and had caught up with us at the entrance to Loch Spelve) anchored a little closer to the mussel farm pier.

There’s a huge mussel farming operation in Loch Spelve

John had his dinghy on davits which made it easy to launch; ours was rolled up on the deck and a half hour evolution to launch.  So he picked us up and we all went ashore for a look-see and to find out if there were any mussels left to buy.

The sign says it all – and the mussels were delicious!

Being a Sunday we didn’t expect the that the cool-boxes would have been replenished but there were plenty of bags available so we splashed out on 5kg of mussels, had a chat with a couple of other yachties doing the same thing, and returned to BV.

View out to the anchorage.  Ballyhoo in the middle BV somewhere behind

Toasting the Queen with a tot

Our last meeting before this year had been in Antigua in 2019 where we had drunk a tot (or more) of rum at gatherings of the Tot Club.  So it seemed appropriate to have a tot together under the Tot Club pennant…..

A mussel feast

…..as well as a slap-up moules feast – and, no, we didn’t cook all 5kg but we all probably ate more than we should have!

John’s present to us – a replacement GPS antenna for the AIS

As he left John said that he had a present for us.  It turned out to be the exact AIS GPS aerial we had been trying unsuccessfully to find in Scotland.  He had a couple of spares on board Ballyhoo and very kindly gave us one so that we could get our AIS working properly again.  It was a very thoughtful and much appreciated gift and one that, every time we switch on our AIS, will have us remembering a lovely day with John eating mussels in Loch Spelve.

Loch Spelve, Mull, Scotland

Craobh Haven Argyll Scotland

BV entering Simon and Sally’s bay from the north (photo by Simon Currin)

We left Achanarnich Bay early on the morning of Saturday 6 August, partly to ensure we had fair tide up to Craobh Haven Marina and partly because we wanted to arrive early enough to get a space.  Even flying just the genoa, we made good time, but when Nicky called the marina ‘first thing’ as previously directed (ie at about 0830), she was told that the staff do a check of berths at 0900 and that we should call back once that was complete.  So we took a bit of a sail around, looking into Lock Melfort and returning to ‘Simon and Sally’s Bay’.

BV approaching Craobh Haven Marina (photo by Simon Currin)

We rang the marina again at 0930, probably a little earlier than they were likely to be expecting us to call but……  Happily, the lady I spoke to said that we could have a berth on A pontoon, which saved us another half hour’s circling.

Moored at Craobh Haven Marina.  We found Westward, the newest Rustler 42, berthed just forward and to
starboard of us (right, stern towards us with beige canvaswork)

With the wind blowing from the south, it was rather tight to get into our berth if expecting to make the approach directly from the marina entrance.  However, by going past the berth and turning in a pool to the north of the pontoon run, I was able to make a nice accurate approach to the finger pontoon so that Nicky could step off and neatly side-step the dog (from the next-door boat) that was pacing up and down on the finger.

Views behind our berth at Craobh Haven Marina.  Top: the rocky point which hampered our swinging room
to turn directly into our berth. Bottom: the pool in which I turned BV and from which I made the
approach to our allocated berth

Westward.  Commissioned only 18 months ago she has carbon fibre spars,
lithium batteries, a large inverter, 2x 160Ah alternators on the main engine
and a Watt and Sea generator.  Her interior is also significantly reconfigured
compared to the standard layout and includes a bow deck locker, no forward
heads, no pilot berth, a large aft heads with separate shower and a
reconfigured wet locker/machinery space area.  
See https://www.rustleryachts.com/rustler-42-owner-review-sketchley/

Ahead of us in the marina we saw Westward the newest Rustler 42, which was Rustler’s display yacht at last year’s Southampton Boat Show and, we found out, will be displayed this year too.  We popped across to say hello to David and Michaela and ended up having a full tour of the boat with David showing us all the changes made from the standard layout.  He’s incredibly happy with his yacht (as the article linked above will testify) and we have no doubt that many new prospective owners will be specifying similar changes.

Not the warmest of days for a barbecue but at least it dried out nicely!

Simon and Sally Currin had invited OCC members to join them at their house for a barbecue from early afternoon.  We walked up from the marina – a nice stroll through the woods along the shoreline followed by a half kilometre dash along a surprisingly busy road.  It was a lovely afternoon with a good turn-out of around 30 OCC members.  Our friend, John Blair, whom we had met in the Caribbean in 2018 and with whom we shared Net-controller duties in 2020 as we crossed back across the Atlantic became the newest member of the OCC at the event.

The survivors’ photo.  Taken rather late in the day because we were all enjoying ourselves too much to remember
 to take any photos so several people had already gone home by this point.  [Ed:  Reg looks surprised that he
made it to the survivors’ photo!]

As is always the case at OCC gatherings, we met lots of interesting people who have undertaken fascinating passages.  In comparison, our travels seem remarkably tame.  The conversation flowed and with the distraction of talking sailing the barbecue was left rather later than might have originally been planned. However, I helped out with the cooking, the potluck supper theme worked well and we all enjoyed a lovely meal.  We could have stayed all evening talking and, indeed, as the rain set in again we did extend our stay to let it pass.  As ever, the day was over far too soon and we’re sure that there are people we didn’t get to speak to or with whom we would like to speak at greater length to pick their brains on routes and countries and passage-making ideas.  But we’re all members of the same club and so, worst case, can get in touch via email or phone.  Best case, we’ll meet again out on the water somewhere.

Craobh Haven, Argyll, Scotland

Achanarnich Bay Scotland

The pilot book gave dire warnings of the strength of the tidal streams from the top of Jura to the Firth of Lorne so we left Lussa Bay on Jura at 1530hrs, at the start of the north-going flood for the short 13nm sail to Achanarnich Bay on the mainland shore close to the tip of the Craignish Peninsula.

Approaching Achanarnich Bay

Again, we had a good northwesterly breeze and had a lovely close reach up the Sound of Jura.

Achanarnich Bay is a wild place and feels very remote though, in truth, it is only 4nm from Crinan.  However, there are no roads down this side of the Craignish Peninsula, no houses on the shores of the bay and more distant signs of human habitation are difficult, if not impossible, to see.  The mouth of Achanarnich Bay is open to the southwest but inside boats are apparently surprisingly well sheltered from southwesterly winds by the strong tidal flows outside.

After only two and a half hours underway, we arrived as the light was fading and the sky became more overcast which added to the sense of wilderness.  There are 2 possible entrances, both of which are narrow with strong tidal cross-currents.  We nosed in carefully, paying close attention to the Antares charts running on a plotter on my phone.  Though the space is quite restricted, the depths are good and entry was straightforward.

We dropped anchor on the east side of the long rock which runs down the length of the bay, a little to the west of the bay’s centre.  The anchor dug in well first time and we were happy we had good swinging room for the forecast wind overnight.  We had a prompt start planned for the following morning with the OCC BBQ in the afternoon.  But, for now, we could enjoy the solitude of the area and the beauty of our wild surroundings.

Achanarnich Bay, Scotland

Lussa Bay Jura Scotland

Great sailing conditions heading up to Lussa Bay

After a fun morning ashore, we left Craighouse Bay on Jura at 1210hrs.  With 15-20 knots of wind from the northwest we had great sailing conditions and beautiful sunny weather as well.

The Paps of Jura

As we sailed north we enjoyed great views of Jura’s coastline bathed in sunlight and then shadow as cumulus clouds tracked serenely overhead.

Hard on the wind in great sailing conditions

Anchored in Lussa Bay.  Bottom:  the northern inlet

It only took us a couple of hours to reach Lussa Bay.  There was already one yacht anchored at the entrance to the northern arm and a smaller boat further inside that reach, so we anchored outside, fairly close to the western beach.  We contemplated pumping up the dinghy and then walking the 2 miles or so to the Lussa Gin distillery but reckoned that they would likely have closed up shop for the day by the time that we got there.  Instead we enjoyed the weather, read our books and watched the seals when the tide dropped and exposed a rocky reef to the west of us.

New, clean watermaker filters.  And, with the wet locker empty it’s an ideal time to exercise the stopcocks that
are under the locker’s floor

We spent Friday morning doing technical jobs – there seems to be a never-ending list of these!  First up was the routine check of the main engine, followed by a check of the generator (which usually entails topping up the oil a fraction).  Then it was onto the watermaker and a change of the salt water intake filters – a good job for getting water everywhere but a useful opportunity to also exercise some of the stopcocks which live under the floor of the wet locker where the filters are located.  Finally, I got right into the generator/machinery space and made some small adjustments to the DuoGen regulator to try to ensure that the DuoGen would fully charge the batteries but would not over-charge them.

Grey seals enjoying the sun

With the jobs complete we enjoyed coffee on deck.  The seals had returned and were obviously enjoying their equivalent of a coffee break in the sun on the warm rocks.

A stag on the headland which protects the northern arm of Lussa Bay

In the opposite direction a stag appeared on the headland to the east of the northern arm.  It was the only deer we saw in the area but, like the seals (and us), it too seemed to be enjoying the warm sunshine.

Rustler 42 Cruachan

Just before we left, the Rustler 42 that had been in the anchorage the previous day returned.  This time we could see her name and port of registry (Cruachan, Glasgow) and we waved and called hello as we motored past to catch the start of the flood tide northwards.

Lussa Bay, Jura, Scotland

Craighouse Bay Jura Scotland

We had an OCC Open House BBQ to attend on Sat 6 Aug so we decided to keep progressing gently up towards Craobh Haven and made an easy lunchtime start from Gigha on Wednesday 3 August.

Approaching Craighouse Bay with the Paps of Jura in and out of the cloud

The breeze was much less than the day before, only around 7 knots, but it was from the northwest so we had some civilised upwind sailing.  Again the scenery was lovely, albeit a bit greyer than the previous day with more cloud around, but when the sun broke through the hills just glowed!

Goat welcoming committee

At the entrance to Craighouse is a modern light structure, rather reminiscent of Marvin the Paranoid Android from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  As we got closer we saw that there was a goat sitting at its base. Not what we would have expected in Scotland but we subsequently saw a fair number of goats on our travels around the islands.

On a mooring in Craighouse Bay with the Jura distillery dominating the scene to our left

Craighouse Bay, like a lot of the anchorages in western Scotland, suffers from kelp which can make it difficult to get the anchor dug in and secure.  Consequently, the Jura Development Trust has laid a number of moorings in the bay and, with the gift of a 4G internet connection, you can pay the £12 per day charge by BACS transfer or you can pay the more traditional way, by cash, in the village shop, at the Jura Hotel or at the Antlers café. 

The Paps of Jura

From our mooring we had a great view of the village (including, importantly, of the distillery) and of the Paps of Jura.  But we were at the beginning of The Barkers’ West Scotland Malt Trail and so we pumped up the dinghy and high-tailed it ashore to recce the distillery.

Nothing is very far in Craighouse village but by the time we got ashore the shop, café and distillery had closed up for the day.  We took a good stroll around and then repaired to the surprisingly busy Jura Hotel for a local beer.  The bartender told us that the Jura Brewery had not yet formally set up on the island but was awaiting planning permission to build.  Meanwhile, the company is based on the mainland just across the Sound of Jura.

View across Craighouse Bay towards Jura…..

…..and towards the mainland (and BV!)

We drank our beers, enjoyed the fab views from the hotel and plotted for the next day.

One of the other visiting yachts on a Jura Development Trust mooring with a view of the Mariners’ Cottages
 behind.  According to a tourist signboard, at one time (the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the
20th century, we can't remember which) there were 10 Master Mariners living in these cottages

Thursday 4 August dawned bright and generally sunny and it was time for another run ashore.

Seafood shed

We’d been told that fresh seafood was available at the village shop but this is no longer the case.  However, the shop does sell excellent, locally produced sourdough bread, so we bought a loaf and were directed across the road to a shed for our seafood.  The shed was firmly closed so Nicky rang the number on the door.  The call went through to answerphone but the fisherman rang back a few minutes later.  Unfortunately, he was ill and unable to go fishing and so had nothing to sell.  Maybe next time…..

Back to the Jura Distillery – open this time!

We headed to the distillery.  When we arrived the visitors’ centre was already quite full with a party of about 20 visitors from a mini cruise boat that had arrived in the bay late the previous evening, but there was space for us to join and listen to the explanations.

Renovations – the old stills waiting to be scrapped

It turned out that only the visitors’ centre was open as the distillery was undergoing major renovation work, hugely held up by Covid and its subsequent ramifications.  Outside the building were the tops of 3 stills, awaiting disposal.  The stills had been replaced in toto and there was clearly significant other work going on, not least a full redecoration.

Jura Distillery tasting room

We tasted a couple of the whiskies on offer and marvelled at the wide selection and high price of some.  £300 for a bottle anyone?  [Ed: despite everything apparently many of the higher priced whiskies have a good market]  Having purchased one of the more reasonably priced whiskies, one we had tried, we made our way to the newest distillery in Craighouse, Deer Island Rum Distillery.

Deer Island Rum Distillery

We’d not known about the rum distillery before our walk around Craighouse the previous evening and afterwards in the Jura Hotel bar we had also found out about Jura’s Lussa Bay Gin, another island spirits company start-up.  Like the Jura Brewery (and probably Lussa Bay Gin), Deer Island Rum does not yet produce alcohol on Jura.  Instead the distilled alcohol is imported from mainland Scotland and the spices are added and the liquor aged in barrels in the warehouse we visited.  The company hasn’t been going too long but the rum is excellent, very spiced and perfect to drink neat on ice or with a splash of soda water.  We were able to taste a sample, both neat and with their preferred mixer, a grapefruit tonic.  We were also given a taster of their coffee liqueur and a sample of the rum-soaked raisins which are a by-product of the spicing process.  All were excellent, but the rum was the winner by a country mile.

Sunny views along the shore of the bay and of the beach enclosed by the pier

Traditional rowing boats

Local fishing boats

As we wandered back to the dinghy the sun came out, lighting up the scenery yet again, so we took full advantage and snapped more photos.

Two distilleries before 11am…. what’s not to like!

Then it was back to BV to prepare for a ‘huge’ voyage, 15nm up the coast to Lussa Bay, close to the gin distillery and a convenient stop for the evening, well-positioned to take advantage of the next day’s tide north through the top of the Sound of Jura.  The question was, having visited 2 distilleries on Jura, did we need to ‘do’ the third?

Craighouse Bay, Jura, Scotland