Ever since I had decided to fulfill this dream and actually sail to Scotland, my mental image of the successful completion has been seeing Castle Stalker from the water. I had hoped to photograph the castle from that vantage point; a perspective I have never seen. Having arrived at Linnhe Marina yesterday, my plan was […]
Castle Stalker Read More ... »
I departed Oban. I am intending to go north to Loch Linnhe. There is a castle there I wanted to photograph. I found a marina that was close. For this trip I’ll have to negotiate a very tight narrow section with strong tidal currents. Actually, there are two very tight narrow sections. Only the first
Kerrera has a storied history starting in the 16th century when, Duncan McDougall the 16th Chief of the McDougall clan built Glyen Castle. The castle was completed in 1582. Glyen Castle By the mid 17th century, the civil war was breaking out in England. The McDougall’s were on the wrong side of that war. It
Oban was originally going to be my Port of Call. However, this spring I learned that the UK has gone all electronic for border control. So there actually are no more Port of Calls anymore. Once approved electronically, I have been free to go anywhere. No more mandatory port visits. I took the Kerrera Marina
Yesterday, I landed in Scotland. Yes, I arrived several days ago. However, Yesterday was the first day I set foot on Scottish soil. I landed at Kerrera Marina on the island Kerrera. It is just across a small bay from Oban, Scotland. Oban was my planned port-of-call. These days, the UK has no port-of-call. All
I finally Landed Read More ... »
This morning a cruise ship anchored outside the Bangor Harbor. The ship was too big to come into the harbor. Viking Cruise Ship at Anchor Outside the Bangor Harbor To get the 900-1000 passengers ashore, they had to ferry them using their lifeboats as tenders. Those boats would land at the fuel dock. Ship’s Lifeboat
I had sailed Distant Horizon to Bangor, Northern Ireland with no engine. The winds and sailing were good… Until I reached the outer limits of Belfast Lough. It was 9:30pm. I could see the lighthouse on Mew Island ahead. It guards the south east corner of the Belfast Lough. Mew Island Lighthouse As I rounded
Bangor, Northern Ireland Read More ... »
Obviously with so many days with light to no wind, and more recently no engine to motor along; this passage was taking longer than expected. Dan and I spoke over the course of several days, trying to decide which would be the better path to reach Oban, Scotland. Time and distance were important, but weather
Ocean Passage – Week #3 Read More ... »
To start the second week at sea, I was woken up from a very sound sleep by a thumping sound. I went around the boat several times and could not find the source of the sound. I checked the bilge. It did not have any more water than I would have expected. So, I didn’t
Ocean Passage – Week #2 Read More ... »
The Passage started out with light winds, mostly from behind the boat. Initially, we started sailing west. The forecast was for the Azores High to establish north and east of the islands. It was predicted that I would have to motor in excess of 5 days. I do not have enough fuel to motor that
Ocean Passage Start – Week #1 Read More ... »
