11.8 knots SOG off Fladda!?
Cruising in Scotland is about contrasts! On Monday it was lashing with rain as we called in for a lunch stop on the MacCormaig isles on our way from the Isle of Gigha up Loch Sween, to Tayvallich. The dinghy filled up with water as we spent the afternoon below at anchor.
The next morning, breakfast in the cockpit in bright sunshine. A gentle breeze and all the hatches open and soon we were all dry again below.
A broad reach back down Loch Sween on a perfectly flat sea, past seals basking on the rocks.
We hardened up in the freshening breeze and navigated our way across the Sound of Jura. We tacked on to port halfway across the sound and were able to hold this tack all the way up the Sound of Jura and past the entrance to the notorious Gulf of the Corryvrechan.
We put a reef in the main and rolled in the yankee and kept the staysail out as the wind picked up to force 4 or 5. No swell but plenty of white horses where the following tide met the wind that was on our port bow. Interspersed with the white horses, there were perfectly flat areas where the current bubbled up and SOG could drop by 2 knots in 50 yards, to pick up again in another 100 yards! We were now in the Sound of Luing with Scarba on out port side. We glimpsed the Grey Mare, a standing wave in the Little Corryvreckan. That’s as close an acquaintance as you want with it!!
The wind freed up and our speed increased. As we approached the light on Fladda, we spotted a pink pot a boat length away, 3 feet under water!? Our SOG increased to hit a max of 11.8 knots !?! The log only read 8.1! Because of the flat sea conditions, you only appreciated the speed when you were looking at the land, not the sea.
As we sailed up past the old state quarries on Easdale, the wind backed and we were soon easing sheets, shaking out the reef and unfurled the yankee. We were now racing. Sorry, cruising in company, holding off a Rustler 42 and Oyster 42! Plenty of boats on the water up here, compared to West Cork or Kerry.
We called into an old favourite anchorage of 30 years ago, Puildrobhain but now too well known for our liking, so we found a peaceful spot outside to enjoy a peaceful evening, with no swell, no midges but plenty of bird life and the odd seal.
It’s great to be back sailing in Scotland again. The scenery is huge. The colours and shades incredible. There are so many anchorages and nooks and crannies to explore, you couldn’t see them all in a life time! The seas are flat. But it is colder!!
