Aleria's Jaunt to Scotland: 9 July 2013 Islay, Scotland
Land ho, Scotland! At least I think I see it. Sailing in light breeze nearing Malin Head We awoke at 7 am to a beautiful sunny morning. Soon we were underway but planned to take our time and use this wide open Bay in Donegal with no swell or wind to calibrate the autopilot. Without it we had been taking turns hand steering all day. To calibrate Otto, you have to give the autopilot control and walk it through a series of manoeuvres and turns so it learns your boat, which can be quite unnerving. So we gave the program control and sat back watching. Just as a little speed boat came charging out of the harbour toward us waving hello, our boat veered sharp left. Aaarrgghh!!! We were about to bash into them, when they bore away swearing at the rude sailors thinking we were aggressive nuts! But soon the autopilot informed us that it had learned enough and passed the test. Cool! Disaster averted, and, more important, calibration comple...