We decided last night that today was going to be a day for relaxation, well not doing any significant work or chores ……. so how did it pan out?

A leisurely start to the day, reading the electronic paper in bed, followed by porridge for breakfast at 10am …. good start, in the water around the boat were loads of jelly fish, this is a mutant moon jelly fish as it should only have 4 rings:

This is a Lion’s Mane jelly fish, which can grow up to 2m bell size, and is the most venomous jelly fish found in Northern European waters!

A load of washing was put in the machine and then off we went to do a bit of shopping ….. Co-op didn’t open until 12, and the weather isn’t that bad here just yet, so we’ll go for a stroll around the point ….. the signs then said 2km to the lighthouse. We could see various yachts entering and leaving the harbour and wondered if we had been a little too cautious in deciding to sit out the weather, but we’ve not regretted the decision one bit!

The weather on the surrounding hills looked pretty atrocious,

some boats were just motoring, some sailing nicely with reefed sails and some on their ear, with too much sail up …… but who’s being a critic?

The lighthouse sits out a little from the headland, as you would expect, and not accessible to us the general public, but it looked fairly good.

The old keepers cottage is now used as a holiday let.

Once back in the village we ventured into the local hardware shop …… what an Aladdin’s cave? Literally everything you could want, apart from a metal exhaust pipe step up, although Ruth purchased a sock drying whirly gig….. that’s been put to immediate use

Got some essentials from the now open Co-op and returned to SW, just as the rain started, thankfully we’d put the repaired cockpit enclosure up last evening …… good decision, it stops wet from getting into the saloon! After a leisurely lunch and afternoon, Barry listening to the F1 on-line and then the cricket, it was off to Nightowl for drinks, we met Derek (Cruising Association Celtic rep) & Jean from Nightsong and John & Jenny from Shaka a Moody 39, who are permanent live-aboards.

A very pleasant and convivial evening, we’re now back on SW, had dinner and enjoying a glass of red, plotting what needs doing tomorrow before we head off towards Isleornsay on SE Skye on Tuesday (40Nm passage), the weather will still be a bit blowy and from the West, but once past Ardmuchan Point circa 10Nm it should be a beam reach, and with the tide with us hopefully a fairly pleasant sail, if not then we can bail out onto Muck or Eigg and try again on Wednesday!

Last evening was absolutely idyllic; warm, great sunset, peaceful, stunning scenery ….. just magic, another yacht arrived around 8pm and there was another one anchored this morning, that had obviously arrived after we’d turned in, but who’s bothered they were well away from us!

Today’s aim was to get up to Tobermory and on to a pontoon ahead of the forecasted bad weather, so we weighed anchor around 10.30 and headed up the Sound of Mull, it was a rather overcast & misty morning with low cloud shrouding the surrounding hills and sea like a millpond again.

We saw only 6 other boats on the transit to Tobermory, so a fairly quiet morning ….. well 2hrs, we called up Tobermory Harbour Association Mooring Officer to enquire of a berth for 3 nights, about 30mins before arriving, fortunately he had one available that could accommodate our size.

So, we’re now berthed in Tobermory for the next few days ……. the latest weather forecast isn’t as bad as a few days ago, but we’re happy with our decision to stay.

This afternoon we had a good clean of the boat inside and out, which took virtually all afternoon, we also tried the outboard on the dinghy ….. working like a dream again, quickly on the plane and stable throughout rev range. Also refuelled with diesel as there’s a garage just outside marina entrance, canal transit and since we’ve only been using 1.8ltr/hr ….. highly satisfactory! In this marina you have to pay for the showers …… £2 for 7mins, as electricity and water is free we’re showering on the boat!

This evening we’ve been ashore, had a few jars in a local hostelry, sat on the quay and eaten fabulous fish & chips looking over the bay……

No real plans for next few days apart from local exploring, joining the local Cruising Association rep for drinks tomorrow at 18.30 and getting Barry’s back/neck sorted, he woke up 4 days ago with stiff neck & right shoulder, which has been getting progressively worse …… possibly due to amount of work & awkward spaces he’s recently been in & doing! So want to get that sorted before we head off, as we’re planning for a number of long days to get north asap from Tuesday on!

On possibly the hottest day of the year in Scotland, it seemed rather bizarre to be working in the stbd rear lazarette fitting a new heater ……. the whole job took about 2hrs, before testing, when it worked magnificently despite Mrs Cs doubts …… drilling the mounting plate wasn’t too difficult as I’ve a decent set of drill bits and a good electric drill, again the generator came into it’s own, couldn’t have managed to do this at anchor without it.

The fittings/fixings that came with the heater are not the best quality, but functional ……. the only real issue was the difference in exhaust pipe diameters ……. fortunately I have plenty of ‘goodies’ to fix things

Hence difference in exhaust pipe diameters, sorted with some “exhaust pipe bandage”, this is an epoxy bandage that cures when its heated, small pipe inserted inside larger one by approx 25cm, then bandage applied and held in place with jubilee type hose clamps

I’ll keep an occasional eye on it until we can source a proper 25-30mm adaptor and do a permanent fix, but we do have a CO detector/alarm and won’t run it overnight, so happy with current status. Anyway, as Barry was finishing off testing the heater and starting to reassemble the lazarette and contents, the wind was now 25+kts and 180 from where we’d anchored …… on looking over the stern, he could clearly see the seabed, as it wasn’t very deep …… popped down and put the instruments on …. depth 3m as the rudder knocked in to something, engine quickly on, Ruth forward on the windlass as the keel also briefly touched, anchor up, which was covered in thick seaweed, and out into deeper water ……. where we’d anchored last night, 40m of chain deployed, whilst we tidied boat up and got organised ……… chart plotter showed we’d dragged approx 80m and with distraction of working in the ‘back end’ didn’t register what was happening, fortunately no damage done, but a lesson learnt!

Once sorted we lifted anchor ……. again covered in thick seaweed, and departed on our way, gambling along at 6.5kts with 2reefs in Genoa, we ate lunch on the move, wind eased, full Genoa set, wind eased, we passed Lismore Lighthouse quite close in as a ferry was coming through the channel, suddenly about 15ft from the boat a dark head appeared in the water and seemed to bark at us, it was a seal, couldn’t get pictures but it followed us for a while with its cub. The water in the channel at this point seems to boil as the conflicting currents merge, its quite surreal really as there’s also oily patches amongst the turmoil.

The wind then disappeared and we motored up the Sound of Mull to Fishnish Bay, where are now anchored for the evening…… and very beautiful it is too!

During the afternoon we saw loads of yachts sailing across from Oban under spinnakers, they’ve gone right past us here, we’ve latterly found out that its the Round Mull race this weekend (3 days/legs) and they’re all in Tobermory tonight, hopefully they’ll all be away tomorrow morning as we’re going in there to sit out the forecasted bad weather (20 gusting 40kts, thunder & rain for Sun & Mon)!

Once settled on our anchor, surrounded by hundreds of large jelly fish

it was time for Barry to investigate the outboard, fuel in tank, got a spark and plug is wet with fuel, but no go …… remove carburettor, open up and clean/blow through jets everything you can, not that it looks dirty as the engine has run less than 10hrs from new ……. refitted to engine, still nothing, until Barry opened throttle , whilst starting and engine leapt into life, however, less than half throttle engine dies …… probably the slow running jet is blocked, carburettor again removed …… internet consulted for engine parts catalogue, Barry managed to identify location of a possible jet causing problem, cleaned reassembled …… outboard now working as advertised, whilst in bucket of water….. full functional test tomorrow. A happy man who’s fixed things

Today has again been an absolute scorcher, Ruth cooked pan top scones this pm, again fabulously delicious and currently a fish risotto is cooking that smells wonderful. Only 16Nm done today, but many other things achieved;

Another undisturbed nights sleep in the beautiful anchorage at the head of Loch Aline, the state of the anchor & chain when we retrieved it after lunch was fairly disgusting, thick black mud caked all over it……. however, Ruth is now a dab hand with the deck wash pump and SW was quickly returned to all her glory !

This morning was again “jobs” time, Ruth doing more MOA & the Company stuff, whilst Barry set to restitching the rotten stitching on the cockpit enclosure ……. it had a number of small areas and one larger seam that was significantly worse for wear, having been fitted to SW for the 15mths ashore and is possibly almost original from when the boat was new, judging by old photos. This is in preparation for the bad weather forecast (30+kts wind) over the weekend and next Monday, it makes so much difference if the hatch can be open and the enclosure fitted …… so we are now prepared!

After lunch …… Ruth made fresh pitta breads, scrummy

we set off back towards Dunstaffnage, we found out late yesterday that our Chinese heater was sat in the Argyll Service Centre for Yodel, then late morning we were updated that it was “out for delivery” …… we left the loch

with full main set, as we had 10kts on the nose and once outside that would be a beam reach ……. how naive could we be ….. once outside there was no blessed wind at all, and the Sound of Mull was like an absolute millpond, bright sunshine and clear blue sky, so the flappy main was promptly put away!

This continued for approx 1 hr until we neared the Lismore Lighthouse when all of a sudden we had 12kts from about 60degrees, Genoa quickly unfurled and we started sailing, this built to nearly 20kts, so we were making good way, once past the lighthouse, ease sheets to head for Dunstaffnage, over the next 40mins the wind gradually slackened until 5kts directly behind necessitated the engine. At the same time we had a phone call from the marina to say the parcel had been delivered.

We dropped the anchor again, this time outside the entrance to the marina and Barry set off in 1350 to collect the package

Package collected back in the dinghy for return journey ……. just got to the end of the outer breakwater …… where we were parked a few days ago and cough, splutter, splutter the outboard died ……. quick check on fuel, needs a top up, so filled from small can (fresh fuel on Tuesday), expecting it to immediately start….. no such luck, so Barry had to row the 3/4mile back to SW …… not best pleased in the heat!

Once back on board we retrieved the anchor this time absolutely covered in sea weed and proceeded around the corner a couple of miles to a small anchorage in Connel Sound which leads to Loch Etive, and is where we are now. Currently 9pm and still roasting hot…. possibly the best day so far with regards to sun and warmth!

Ruth cooked chilli con carne for dinner, Barry unpacked the heater and connected the new controller into the existing wiring at the chart table ready for tomoz,

couple of issues we do have is the new exhaust is only 25mm id, whereas the Webasto was 30mm id and the old mounting bracket needs redrilling to accept new heater mount spacings, this is 3mm Stainless so won’t be easy! & no, not looked at the outboard yet, it hasn’t missed a beat previously and it’s not even trying to fire up now …. maybe a blocked jet?

The wind stayed up all night, we didn’t…… sleeping peacefully throughout, ok the wind did ease before turning in time, but we have full confidence in Das Bugel and 10mm chain, especially when we ensure plenty of scope is deployed & dug in!

After a quick breakfast, with the forecast similar to yesterday F4/5 maybe 6 from N-NE, we retrieved our anchor, set about half the main & full Genoa, happily broad reaching around 6.5kts towards our destination in Loch Aline.

This continued for approx 45mins, before the wind dropped to about 6kts, so diesel sail it was …… there were quite a few other yachts motoring by now, as we went past Lismore Lighthouse

and headed up the Sound of Mull, past Duart Castle (Clan MacClean residence)

towards the village of Lochaline.

Once in to the sound proper the wind gradually built to 20kts …… and you’ve guessed it – on the nose, as we had tide with us this made for quite a short sharp chop, due to wind against tide, but with only 5Nm to go to the entrance it was over within the hour!

We then turned to stbd into the Loch entrance, wind dropped, sea flattened ….. serenity aplenty, we slowly motored down towards the bottom end of the Loch, there’s plenty of mooring buoys near the entrance and a village owned Marina (about 20 boats room), with more mooring buoys towards the end. We decided to again use the services of Das Bugel, anchoring in a lovely spot in 6m of depth……. as the forecast is for a blow a bit later we’re dug in with 35m chain out, so hopefully another peaceful sleep?

After a quick bite of lunch we launched 1350 and set off for shore, as we’d previously found out on-line that there was a farm shop on the Ardtornish estate, we had a good walk; purchasing some farm beef sausages for dinner (far cheaper than £10 for 2 small pieces of venison), spotting an old gadget that was obviously used for weighing something in bygone days,

finding a small wildlife hide, but not much wildlife! The actual ‘estate house’ now flats for holiday lets, is a quite remarkable building and wouldn’t look out of place on a Disney film set ….

Then venturing back to SW, initially we thought 1350 had beached, but on closer inspection she was floating enough to drag her into deeper water on the slipway, we motored back across the bay to SW, approaching the transom Ruth (holding the painter) grabbed the stern steps of SW to attach said painter, at which stage 1350 & SW drifted apart……. can you picture this …… approx 3ft between boat transom & 1350 bow, Mrs C holding on to transom & her feet are just about still on bow of 1350, obviously digging her toenails in …… what does Barry do?? if he moves and rocks 1350, Ruth is definitely going to get to swim with the jelly fish, carefully he reaches across, grabs Ruth by the ankles and lessens the distance between the two floaty objects until Ruth can regain her dignity…….. phew that was close and thankfully …. no cigar!!!

Once back on board, Barry decided to remove the old heater, in preparation for our new Chinese version …… although there were coils of surplus wiring in evidence, it didn’t take long to identify the ‘power supply’ cables and remove everything else & offending item ……

just need Parcel-force 48 to now come up trumps!

Anyway, why today’s blog title ….. “Anywhere In The World” ……. we are in an absolutely beautiful anchorage and despite all the other boats, no one is on top of anyone, it is virtually silent, there is little wind, the sun is shining brightly, no clouds in the sky, the beer & prosecco are suitably chilled, the sausages were fab, we can see Mull opposite the loch entrance ……… what more could anyone want?! BLISS!

After our foray into Oban last evening, we had a nice quiet sleep, although the wind did start piping up a fair bit in the early hours, not that we were worried being firmly tied alongside the breakwater!

As we had fairly decent marina wifi, Ruth decided to spend the morning ‘working’ making a significant dent in both MOA & the Company stuff, whilst Barry was doing what he does best ……. fixing the forward heads toilet pump that has been getting progressively stiffer (strip, clean, lubricate, refit) now works like a dream apparently! Then off to the local garage (3/4mile hike each way) for outboard/generator fuel, new gas bottle for cooker, pay our marina dues, wash boat down, particularly the transom to remove Webasto black deposits, refill water tanks etc. General prep for the next few days on the hook!

The wind continued blowing all morning, despite 3 different weather forecasts/gribs showing max 10kts, we’d decided to stick with our plan and leave the marina for a few days whilst we await delivery of our new heater, hence after a spot of lunch, we departed. Just as we were about to leave the wind dropped from 25kts to a mere 7? Off we went out through the buoyed channel as the wind resumed blowing where it had left off not 10mins before ….. we had intended going to a small anchorage called Glaceriska about 7Nm away, however, as we rounded the headland, with 30kts wind on the nose and waves/whitecaps careering down the loch, Barry turned around and anchored in Camas Nathais, a whole 2.4Nm ……. although the wind is still blowing old boots, and SW is veering quite a bit, Mrs C is happy with the amended plan ….. the anchor is firmly in and this is where we’re staying!

We’ve also seen the Oban Lifeboat rescue /tow in a broken down yacht to Dunstaffnage Marina, always sad to see, but good the RNLI volunteers are there should something drastic or unforeseen happen.

This afternoon Barry has removed the Webasto controller and traced the wires, hopefully over the coming days he will get a chance to remove the Webasto, ready for when the new heater arrives and we can then get on with our further adventures.

Well, after a lovely quiet night in this beautiful anchorage, we didn’t move too early …… and when we did it didn’t take that long to decide we weren’t going to move! The 2 other boats Glen Massen & Maybe departed promptly and left us the whole loch to ourselves ……. the sun came out and it actually got very warm, in fact just a pair of shorts for Barry and shorts & thin top for Ruth, as we sat on deck reading the Sunday paper on-line! Barry also sorted out Huawei to upload yesterday’s blog!

After a late lunch, we launched the dinghy for our afternoon stroll, this time going in the opposite direction to yesterday, eventually ending up in a small village around the headland, with a lovely little church that was holding its weekly service. When the service finished they invited us in to partake in a pot luck supper they were having, as today’s service was for a number of local churches all congregating together and then eating afterwards. We didn’t like to impose, so politely thanked them and departed on our merry way.

We have seen lots of wildlife on our walk, including crossbill birds, spectacular fir cones and wild deer ……..

Once back on board SW, we then used the little petrol generator to provide electricity so we could use the immersion heater and heat the hot water tank for the first time, rather than the boat engine ….. and very successful it was too. We have also been very pleasantly surprised that the solar panels and wind generator are sufficient to keep the batteries fully topped up when at anchor, despite running both the freezer, fridge and numerous charging devices all the time, and the main reason the little generator was purchased! It’s only when you actually start using these systems properly that you can ascertain their true worth or not. Another fab day ……. so fab, we had to celebrate with a cold beer!

Off to Dunstaffnage Marina tomoz to hopefully get the low down on the boat heater, however, we also now have other options to look at regarding replacement thanks to the Moody Owners Association forum ……..

We had a very quiet night on the ‘hook’, only occasional wake from passing fishing vessels disturbed our serenity, although we did batten down the hatches at 8pm to try and conserve what warmth we had in the boat. This morning dawned fairly bright and warm, however, by the time we’d finished breakfast the clouds had again formed over the hills and the wind picked up …… and you guessed it from SSW so straight on the nose!

We lifted the anchor, said our goodbyes to Fort William and the ‘shrouded’ Ben Nevis,

setting off down Loch Eil towards the Corran Narrows, where the cable ferry plies it’s trade back and forth, a rather strange vessel as the loading ramps are offset to one side and extremely busy it was too!

After the narrows and it’s lighthouse

we entered Loch Linnhe our initial destination intention having changed from Dunstaffnage Marina to Dallens Bay, as there was no point going to the marina until Monday to get some expert technical advice on the heater issue. As we got nearer to Dallens Bay, we could see lots of yachts there, a quick google earth satellite view revealed it is a large buoyed area called Linnhe Marina, that gets little mention on charts or guide books, hence an immediate turn 60 degrees to stbd followed and we headed off across to the other side of the loch to a small inlet called Loch A Choire.

In this loch there is a large fish farm and there was only one other yacht anchored, we dropped our hook and that is exactly where we are now! What an absolutely idyllic location,

the other yacht disappeared just after lunch, so we had the place to ourselves, until just after 6pm when the Glen Massan (Majestic Line) a converted fishing vessel,

catering for 11 guests on bespoke cruises turned up, but he has very politely and conveniently anchored a good 1/4nm away, so there was no need to ‘prepare to repel boarders’!

We dinghied ashore during the afternoon, having modified the outboard hoist by inserting a double pulley, so Ruth can now easily control the weight whilst Barry guides it on to our F-Rib ‘1350’, we then went for a walk. The Kinglairloch estate owns the jetty at the Boathouse Restaurant where we went ashore,

they provide 8 self catering cottages for people to get away from it all and have a Scottish Power Hydro Electric station too that only started generating on 23rd March this year! They claim to have plenty of wild life to see ……. Ruth is convinced she saw an eagle …… well it was a huge bird of prey that swooped between the trees and we later saw soaring over the loch, then picking up the thermals from surrounding hills, before disappearing!

Finally back on board and after hot showers, for the first time tonight, we were sat on deck in T-shirts for G&T time, the sun beaming down us ……. a grand total of 21Nm covered today ……… this is how cruising should be and long may it continue!

Somewhat later, we espied a ketch slowly ……. very slowly coming towards the bay we are in, it must have taken an hour to do the 2-3 miles to get here. Once closer to us, it is a very traditional old craft called ‘Maybe’, the anchor clattered down and it’s now across near Glen Massan …….

the website shows this is a traditional tall ship, built in 1929 that offers hands on sailing voyages around the UK & Ireland, her claim to fame is that she is one of the only boats to have taken part in the first International Tall Ships Race in 1956!

Having struggled with ‘mobile’ signal yesterday we have employed the services of our HUAWEI mobile router and extended aerial this morning, to be able to send this post …… we’re not afraid of the Chinese monitoring our blogs!😳

The ‘persistent’ weather basically continued all night, although we were nice & snug thanks to our Screwfix heater! This morning we had flashes of blue sky, but generally cool & windy. As the Lord of the Glens (LOTG) wouldn’t free the staircase up until around 11ish, Ruth had a good clean up below decks, whilst Barry dealt with above decks ……. it was a good opportunity to remove some of the ‘lock’ grime from the hull, which is again nice & shiny!

We saw LOTG getting towards the top chamber and chatter on the radio from other yachts wanting to lower ……. no hire cruisers are allowed down the staircase, they have to turn around and retrace their steps, the lock gates opened LOTG exited and we then followed a big Ovni yacht in to the top chamber ahead of another smaller yacht, only 3 of us in the end!

Nearly 2hours later, we exited the 8th chamber, as the road and rail swing bridges were now both open for us,

a short motor down the canal to the next double lock, then it was only the final sea port lock left. The weather up to now had been ‘dry’ & fairly calm ……. so why in the 300metres from the double lock to the sea lock the wind increased to 25+kts is quite beyond belief, particularly as it was about 60 degrees on the stbd bow.

SW can be a handful when the wind is anywhere near the beam and we’re making little headway, despite having a small bow thruster fitted, so it exercised our minds and arms to safely get alongside……. didn’t want to let the side down on the last lock! The small French yacht behind us really struggled and the skipper of the Ovni was clearly unhappy with their close proximity to him, but no damage done.

It then took literally ages for the sea lock to empty as the wind was blowing directly on to the lock gates and they could only open one set of sluice gates following a mishap earlier in the week. We handed over our ‘canal facilities’ key, the gates opened …… we cast our lines, plenty of revs to get us going & a bit of bow thruster ….. then we were out into salty water again!!

With only about an hour of tide left, we’d already decided to anchor nearby at Camusnagaul and head down Lock Linnhe tomorrow morning on the ebb tide, a total of 2.2Nm from the top of Neptune’s staircase!

From our quiet anchorage we can still see the sea lock, with Fort William the other side and Ben Nevis in the background…… and yes we have actually managed to see the top this afternoon!

After lunch, Barry emptied the lazarette, removed the boards and removed the heater glow plug, gave it a clean, checked resistance and refitted it, still the same as before, lots of white smoke from literally everywhere, exhaust gets hot, so glow plug working …… now beyond Barry’s limited knowledge, so will await until we can find an expert!

Since then we’ve relaxed, as the sun is actually making an appearance !

We both feel that the near constant raining has now got well beyond a joke, this desperation was exacerbated overnight, as we had no electrical hook-up and our onboard diesel heater decided it would stop working around 20.30hrs last night. The wind & rain persisted all night and on into this morning, so we didn’t depart until 11.30, although this did give Barry the chance to remove the aft heads shower pump and find out why it had stopped working …… 1 1/2hrs later pump; removed, stripped, cleaned, reassembled and refitted, functional test satisfactory, obviously cleaning the crud out of the inlet and exit non-return valves was all that was needed, despite the pump probably being original & 27 years old!

We then left Gairlochy, again attired in full foulies as the skies were again emptying on us, quickly through the lock and swing bridge, we proceeded down the canal and them came across another swing bridge at Moy, this was different to all the others we’ve encountered, as this was in two halves and operated manually by a winch handle, rather than the larger all in one affairs that are power driven!

When we had the new full width bimini designed & fitted to SW in Portugal, the idea was to keep the sun off us, however, it has been a huge bonus on this trip in keeping the rain off and giving us some protection in the cockpit!

We encountered quite a few canoeists & paddle boarders today, obviously off on a expedition;

After an hour and a half motoring we’re now on a pontoon in Banavie

at the top of Neptune Steps …..

with electric hook up, we’ve had a quick look at the diesel heater, nothing obvious, fuel vapour from exhaust but no ignition, so possibly the glow plug, as its still raining intermittently this will have to wait for a dryer day, as Barry needs to empty the Stbd rear lazarette to gain access!

Last year whilst sailing in the S Pacific, Barry was told on numerous occasions that the definition of ‘cruising’ was fixing a boat in exotic locations ……. whilst we agree with the first bit we’re not sure our experience of cruising to date quite matches up to the second part ‘exotic’?

Ben Nevis is still proving to be reluctant in revealing itself ….

Maybe the better weather that’s due to come “soon”? will convince it to drop the cloud cover?

Tomorrow, we can’t get into the staircase until at least 11am, as Lord of the Glens is coming up on its way back to Inverness, once down the 8 chambers there’s only a double lock left before the sea lock, so we’ll be out on the salt water by early afternoon. As this will be low tide, we’ll probably anchor across the other side of the loch from the Corpach sea port for the night and take the outgoing tide on Saturday to speed us on our way down Loch Linnhe towards Dunstaffnage!