My First Sail of the Season - 1:18 PM, May. 16, 2005

Following the debacle of attempting (read failing) to prepare Silkie for the Chentleman's Cruise (see Just One of those Days) I was lucky enough to secure a berth on Avilion an Etap 30. The painful events of the Thursday evening have already been covered in Walking on Water and so I start here with the first sailing day.

First a map covering most of the area sailed. There is a larger version here which is easier to read. Drumbuie is between Oronsay and the Morvern Peninsula, Puilladobhrain is an inlet on the west side of Seil and Craobh is just off the map to the south.

Day 1 - Friday 29th April

The forecast was for SW F6/7 easing later and this had been enough for a change of plans from a southbound itinerary to a northbound one. The tidal gate at Cuan Sound dictated a lunchtime departure and so we set off from Craobh at 1330. We got a bit wet heading over to Cuan but it wasn't until we got out into the Firth of Lorne that we were exposed to the full force of the SW wind and the resultant seas and our course for the Sound of Mull put both these on the port quarter. We were far from being under-canvassed with two reefs and half the genoa in the frequent gusts over thirty knots. It was the first sail of the season for all of Avilion's crew and each had his own period of "quiet contemplation" as we came to terms with the lively motion.

The wind seemed to ease as we approached the Sound of Mull and although shaking out a reef was discussed we decided to wait until we turned the corner. This was a good move as it transpired, since the wind was howling straight down the Sound and two reefs was still entirely appropriate and remained so for the rest of the day. Hadn't we headed North to avoid a hard day on the wind?

We'd caught up with Claymore, the Cruise Director's chunky motor-sailer which had left from Loch Melfort, as we came across the Firth and had been more or less keeping station with another salty-looking little boat which was going well in the conditions, a "V" on the mainsail leading to speculation that it was a Vancouver. Finally the penny dropped; "I wonder what an Albin Vega has on the sail?" Out came the binoculars and, sure enough, it was Fairwinds, from Seil Sound, the third vessel in the fleet.

And so we bashed on (wind still gusting over thirty knots) for the rest of the afternoon and evening until it was time to fire up the engine and sneak in to Tobermory through the Doirlinn, Calve Island, at about 2130 with less than a metre under the keel.

After we had tied up alongside the shiny new fendered pontoons we went ashore and managed to find an establishment prepared to feed and water us until 0200 though the friendly welcome up to that point was sharply contrasted by the vigour of the chucking-out technique thereafter.

Day 2 - Saturday 30th April

The day dawned fair though none of the Cruisers were astir to see it and a pleasant morning was passed milling around on the pontoons, inspecting each others' vessels and taking photos of the Waverley.

 Our skipper spotted a problem with Fairwinds rig, to wit, her forestay was hanging on to her stemhead fitting by the skin of it's teeth, and the Tobermory Rigging Team swung into action. For a "Committee Job" it went remarkably well and within a couple of hours Fairwinds was fit for sea again. Plans to circumnavigate Mull had been curtailed by the forecast for the following day and we set off for Loch Sunart in the early afternoon, encountering this monster on the way.

This image doesn't do justice to the size of the ship since Avilion is actually much further from her and much closer to the camera position than this photo would seem to indicate.

We anchored under sail at Drumbuie and this must count as one of my favourite sailing moments from the cruise as the three boats slid into the bay to drop anchors in the silence.

The wind dropped right away as we left Drumbuie for Loch Aline and Avilion and Fairwinds resorted to the iron tops'l while Claymore persevered with her spinnaker.

We reached Loch Aline by the middle of the evening and anchored up. The other crews went ashore to the pub but we stayed aboard to sample the delights of Dave's selection of fine malts. I had the location of a Glenlivet BOB (bottle over board) in my GPS but although it was less than a cable distant no-one fancied a midnight swim on this occasion and we turned in early(ish).

Day 3 - Sunday 1st May

Another boisterous day, though Loch Aline itself is well sheltered and again we started with a spot of boat maintenance. This time it was a yacht moored nearby. We had noticed that her boom was unsecured and her mooring chain had jumped off the bow roller and was sawing away on the gelcoat.

We headed out into the Sound of Mull (southbound for Puilladobhrain) to be greeted by driving rain and F6 on the nose again, two reefs in the main again and the little ball in Avilion's inclinometer bouncing jauntily on the end stop again. It eased after a while but remained gusty for most of the day. This time we headed across the Firth of Lorne into Oban Bay and took the inside route down Kerrera Sound. Claymore stopped at Oban Yachts for showers  while Fairwinds headed straight for Puilladobhrain from the Sound of Mull. Avilion had an entertaining moment in the confines of Kerrera Sound when an unexpectedly violent gust caught her from an entirely unexpected direction and turned Heather Island into a dangerous lee shore while we sorted ourselves out!

Avilion arrived first (again) to an already crowded anchorage and her crew settled back with refreshments to watch the fun as the others arrived. Claymore put on a particularly fine show, requiring several attempts at setting the hook amid hoots of derision and cries of "Is it true there are four yachtmasters and an RNLI cox on board that vessel?" The anchorage looked alarmed.

After making the time-honoured trek over the hill to the Tigh-an-Truish we cleared their side room with our lively bonhomie and pushed the tables together. We ate, drank and were merry.

Details start to become a little hazy at around this point though John's monologue relating Claymore's encounter with Cleit Rock stands out as a high point. I also have a nightmarish vision of himself standing on the table and baring his hairy **** but I'm pretty sure I must have imagined this; there were ladies present after all even if they were honorary Chentlemen. Steve deserves a medal for getting us out of the pub before closing time and all eleven cruisers repaired to Avilion for the end of cruise party. Details omitted to protect the guilty.

Day 4 - Monday 2nd May

It was 0530 before I dinghied the last party-goers home to Fairwinds and so it was another leisurely start for the crews of Avilion and Fairwinds. Claymore could not afford this luxury since her crew all had much further to travel home and she took her departure in the morning, a first for the Chentleman's Cruise. Avilion and Fairwinds set off in brilliant sunshine for a cracking F4 beat back to Cuan. Fairwinds went though Easdale while Avilion went outside and we enjoyed a brief tacking duel, with Avilion just getting the edge on the last board before entering the Sound. All too soon we were tied up in Craobh.

I suppose all good things must come to an end but this was an outstanding event in several ways. As the first cruise of the season it was a bit of a baptism of fire with a wonderful mixture of conditions spread over 4 days and 102 miles from the challenge of 30 knots on the nose to the idyll of daybreak in Puilladobhrain. As a social event it was surely an unqualified success. How often do you get to meet ten new people and find them all simpatico? I suppose the natural self-selection of the forum helps.

Anyway, my thanks to Dave, skipper of Avilion, for inviting a couple of passengers like Donald and myself to crew on his fine vessel (none of us had ever previously met each other or anyone else on the cruise). Thanks also to John, Cruise Director and skipper of Claymore for organising the event and to Douglas, Jim, John and Steve, his motley crew for all their nonsense (and a new crewing opportunity?) Last but not least thanks also to Nick, skipper of Fairwinds and purveyor of blogging facilities to the impoverished yottie and to his delightful crew, Kathy and Jill (the hardest-working harem on the high seas) not least for the fabulous fry-up on Monday morning.

Ain't Life Grand!

Miles this trip 102

Miles this season 102