Aleria's Adventures

Lay day in Craobh with OCC friends The Ocean Cruising Club 2013 Scotland Rally crew The OCC burgee flying proudly at the Currin's home Being at a marina was such a luxury to us.  We had not had a chance to really scrub Aleria since she was on the hard in Westport.  She had weeks of grime and salt built up on her topsides, and lots of tidying to do below.  So Alex scrubbed the top while I set to work below. Since Alex had the whole boat torn apart fixing things and installing things, many things were still out of their designated storage spaces and others were grimy from the sooty smoke or greasy from being touched with greasy fingers which cannot be helped. It took some time to straighten up. I was hoping that people wouldn’t feel that I was being antisocial. I just couldn’t face continuing on without cleaning up. Bikes proved a good mode of transport from marina to party

Sailing at the speed of knots Flying Fish burgee of the Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) As we had finished our chores in Ardfern, there was no need to stay on, so we decided to catch the afternoon tide and make our way north to Craobh (pronounced Croove).  That was where we were meeting up with the OCC Scotland Rally  and the opening dinner was the following night.  It would be nice to get there a day in advance. The wind was just picking up as we lifted our anchor off the muddy buttom.  Alex was grateful for the salt water wash down system he had installed several years back. Craobh Haven Marina We had a nice 15 knot breeze coming down the loch close hauled, no need to tack until we got to the Point. We thought one tack would take us right around.  Brilliant.  Tacking Aleria is a lot of work so we try to tack as little as possible. Just as we approached Dorus Mor at Criagnish Point, the wind suddenly picked up to 25 knots and clocked so it was right on the nose when we alte

Fixing things and doing laundry in exotic places once again! Boats going this way and that in the hot and hazy summer conditions Fog hugging the coast We realized that Ardfern is home to the marina and chandlery where we had ordered our hose for the radiator repair. If we were lucky, we’d get there before they closed. We arrived just in the nick of time, and lo and behold, that radiator hose was tucked away for us as promised and we even got their last gallon of antifreeze. Luck was with us! We spent the rest of the evening walking around town, exploring the craft shop, the deli, and the pub/restaurant. It was a beautiful day once again, so we sat outdoors at the pub and sampled a couple of local brews. The grounds overlooked the waterfront and tiny sweet holiday cottages. And the pub had wifi, so Alex was finally able to download his email but I could not get mine to work.

Brittle stars and high crosses - waiting for the tide to turn has its benefits Brittle stars brought up with the anchor chain Lovely clear view of Tayvallich Hazy morning in Loch Sween It was a beautiful misty morning in Loch Sween. A raptor circled overhead as we prepared to weigh anchor. In this anchorage, because of all the deciduous trees, we expected and found a very muddy bottom. It took some time to hose down the anchor chain and anchor, which was also covered in brittle stars. We decided to sail down Loch Sween and around the corner toward Loch Craignish, but to stop at Kiells to visit the church there while we awaited the turning of the tide.

A visit to the mainland lochs of Argyll Motoring in flat calm Who would have thought we'd need the awnings? Fishing boat coming in with fresh catch No wind again. The forecast was for variable Force 2-3, seas smooth, visibility moderate to poor, occasionally very poor in patchy fog – for the next three days!  We’re all motor boats with masts out here going this way and that.  Once again it’s shocking hot as we weigh anchor and make our way north. Hazy entrance to Loch Sween.  The East side of Islay didn’t have many suitable harbours for our draft so we decided to cross over the Sound to visit the mainland lochs on the way up to our planned meeting with the Ocean Cruising Club fleet in Craobh (pronounced ‘Croove’).  The entrance to Loch Sween was strewn with islets and rocks that we had to pick our way through, then it opened up into a lovely wide sea loch. Castle Sween on its eastern shore stands as a major ruin worthy of Game of Thrones.  The Cast

Get out the bikes, Islay and the whisky * trail beckon Coming into Port Ellen inner harbour The visitors' pontoon in the marina The village contours follow the beach We got up excited about being in 'a foreign country'. As Alex is an Irish citizen and I have an EU residency visa, we didn’t have to check in to the UK.  But we were still visitors and had to display proper etiquette. No need for a Q flag but every need for the Scottish courtesy flag.  The dinghy dock The fog was still with us and it was hard to see where town even was. We decided to do a quick reconnaissance trip ashore by dinghy from the distant anchorage to see what the marina had to offer in the inner harbour. Then we thought, we might move Aleria in closer to town so our dinghy delivery of our folding Montague bicycles would be less arduous. 

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 complete.  One more thing expertly installed