Who said Spring starts in March?

Saturday 16th March.

We waved "Goodbye" to Bonzo and jumped quickly into the car.
Nice trip up to Lakeland and lovely overnight stop with John and Ann.

Sunday 17th March.

Troon was .. well, much the same as usual really.
Rigged and provisioned boat .. well, half-rigged and fully provisioned (Jean was in charge of the latter, any defects in the rigging were, and are, entirely my fault).

Monday 18th March.

Met up with Peter and Sara, watched Footloose being launched, went out to supper and discussed waterpumps (in some depth).

Tuesday 19th March.

Dissembled and attempted to service waterpump rendering it entirely inoperative.
David arrived from the deep south.
Niel (BSA >>100)* helped me fix waterpump.
Said "Farewell" to the very nice team in Troon Marina Capitainerie and decided to ignore the wind speed reading of 30 knots displayed in their very nice and warm office on the basis that the wind speed sensor was on the roof of the office and therefore likely to be indicative only of the wind speed in that position (rather than anywhere else).
Checked various forecasts and eventually found one that didn't include the words "8, 9" or "severe".
Set off, as planned at 1200.
Decided not to use the mainsail on the basis that
1. it was windy
2. the mainsail hadn't been rigged in a way consistent with it being possible to reef it
3. we all still wanted to live.
Arrived in East Loch Tarbert, warm and in good spirits.

Wednesday 20th March.

Short sail (no need for mainsail today, see reasons above) to Ardrisaig .. where the Crinan Canal starts or ends (depending on which way you are going).
Locked in and, ably assisted by my estemed crew and the harbour master's team, made it a short way up the canal before being advised that further progress that day would not be possible because the canal had been drained a little to facilitate repairs.
Went out to dinner.

Ardrisaig at the eastern end of the Crinan Canal

Thursday 21st March.

The canal having been repaired and refilled we progressed to Crinan.
David openned and closed about 15 sets of locks, helped by a very nice man from the staff of British Waterways (Scotland).
We arrived at Crinan Canal basin and cunningly ran aground just in time to prevent denting the canal wall.

Berthed at Crinan

Friday 22nd March to Sunday 24th March.

These days are a bit of a blur really.
One day we walked back to Ardrisaig ("Lochgilphead actually"), which was whence we had just come.
Another day, we wallked up a hill.
And another day we walked up another hill.
Mainly we worried about the weather.
It did not exceed F10 at any stage.

View over Crinan

Monday 25th March.

We locked ut of Crinan and sailed  (jib only .. see above) to Oban.
En route, we survived Dorus Mor and avoided the Corryvreckan whirlpool.

Heading for Oban

Oban Marina has electrcity, water, WIFI, a loo, showers, a ferry to Oban (which has a Tesco's) and, all in all, is a good place.

*BSA  .. Bramah Seal of Approval .. see above and previously as, if and when appropriate or otherwise

Exceptionally Good News for Dogs

Bonzo, like many land-bound canines, was ecstatic to hear about the new TV channel for dogs.

The prospect of having our four-legged friend happily entertained whilst we are away evokes the deepest joy (and relief).

Unfortunately, in order to get Israeli TV, we will need a satellite dish, and in order to get a satellite dish, we will need to get a satellite dish instillation engineer both into and out of  our garden (and up and down a ladder) without mishap.

Anyway, once this is sorted, Bonzo should be happily entertained when we are away.

The March Scottish Cruise

With plans almost finalised, the new season is imminent.

Albatross lies happily in Troon with a freshly painted bottom and yet another March heatwave now appears a certainty.
David will join us on 19^thMarch for a week and will leave his dog at home.
First stop may be in East Loch Tarbert (or anywhere really).
After a trip through the Crinan Canal  (probably) on 20^th March, we will head up the coast, possibly stopping at Oban, Tobermory, Arisaig, Plocton, Portree and eventually Ullapool.

One day we may arrive in the Orkney Islands.

The Crinan Canal last year (photo by Ann  .. thanks)

Friends interested in a week or two of sailing in the Western Isles after 26^th March, please do let us know.


Please remember that this trip will be entirely dog-free.

Anodes for Anoraks

Happy New Year everyone!

We've been to Troon.  Yes, really.

We went to Troon for a holiday. 

We considered the Canaries or the Caribbean but ended up in Troon because Albatross needed her bottom painted.

Now, some might have asked whether it worth driving 450 miles each way and paying for three very nice nights in a hotel (the excellent South Beach Hotel in Troon), just to paint the boat’s bottom. 

It isn't really, but we went anyway.

Albatross in Troon

Anyway, back to anodes.  

In my humble opinion the most ridiculously overpriced bit of metal on our boat is the anode on our "Autoprop" propeller. 

Zinc costs a little over $2000 per tonne on the LME http://www.lme.com/zinc.asp. 

My propeller anode weighed about 250 grams when new.  So, roughly, that’s about 4000 anodes for $2000 or about 32 pence each.  

So why are they retailed in UK at £23.00 plus VAT (plus P&P)?  

That’s over 70 times the cost of the metal. 

Well, of course, there’s the manufacture of this technological masterpiece and the plastic screws to hold it on.

Oh, and a profit margin.

Here’s my old Brunton’s Autoprop H5 anode (aka "The Trinket")

What’s truly remarkable to me is that this year my Brunton’s Autoprop anode (thanks Google) lasted the whole season.  Previously, we found that they were heavily depleted in only a few months. 

The reason for new-found success relied on my ignorance of the difference between the Galvanic Series for Metals and the Electrochemical Series.  By using the later (in error), I worked out that attaching an Aluminium anode  (£10 for 960 gm. .. that’s more like it) to the hull and connecting this through the engine to my Autoprop, I could stop this expensive metal trinket from corroding away so quickly. 

Apparently this shouldn't have worked, was bad practice etc., and was generally "not a good thing to do". 

Anyway, it worked.  

Happy Christmas!

Well, Dear Reader(s), it's that time again.

With the boat snug (?) on the Firth of Clyde we can look forward to a cozy Christmas  ... just me, my beloved crew and first mate and, of course, Bonzo.

Bonzo was much better whilst on probation and hasn't been responsible for any very serious injuries to the public since the Summer, apart, of course, from the Council Dog Warden and his assistant*, and, to be fair to the wretched canine, it is their job anyway, isn't it?

Bonzo is especially excited at Christmas, I think he enjoys the opportunities that emanate from two postal deliveries each day, even if only for another week or so.

Happy Christmas.

* aka "The Assistant Council Dog Warden".

Next Year Beckons

I know how anxious you will all be, Dear Readers (Yes, both of you), to hear of next year’s plans.

As I am, once more in (part-time) gainful employment, the sailing season is reduced to a mere 3 or 4 months  .. but anyway:

Mid March 2013 (possibly 17^th)

depart from Troon to continue our exploration of the Western Isles, with a view to leaving the boat (probably) in Arisaig in mid April (perhaps 15^th) and returning home (to feed the dogs*).

 Arisaig is a very nice place, and easily accessible from Glasgow by train.

June (possibly 22^nd)

leave Arisaig heading north (approximately) with a view to arriving in the Orkney Islands !** after a 2 or 3 weeks.

 Stones on Orkney

July, August and September

Sail to and explore:

            The Isles of Orkney

            Fair Isle

            Shetland Isles

 Puffins in the Shetland Islands

 Then back via Orkney and the Pentland Firth, Wick, Inverness, The Caledonian Canal, Fort William and back down to Troon.

Somewhere on the Caledonian Canal

We will fly home once or twice (probably from Kirkwall on Orkney) during the trip (to feed the dogs, etc.)

So, Dear Reader(s) if you are interested in dog-free yachting in Scotland next year, please let us know!

Join us for a gentle Easter Cruise in the Western Isles around Easter

            ..or

Arisaig to Orkney in late June

            ..or

Orkney and Shetland in July / August

            ..or

North East Scotland and back down the Caledonian Canal in August / September.

           

* more about these later.

!   ** implies excitement.

Tarbert, Troon and home

We like Tarbert (population  1338).

We had a very good time cruising with Footloose, enjoying amongst many things

excellent company, good food,  intrepid mountain climbing, one slightly dangerous flubber trip, sailing and lovely scenery.

Footloose sailing

Friday:

We decided that it was time to go home ... well … back to Troon anyway.

We sailed from Tarbert to Troon. 

Whenever it was too windy we reefed and this had the effect of immediately making it not windy enough; we therefore un-reefed and ... you’ve guessed it.  

So we sailed back to Troon merrily pulling the sail up and down.

Troon, when we arrived was much the same as usual (and possibly nearly as exciting as Haywards Heath* )

We were directed to our “Winter Berth” only to find, at the last  moment, a mooring line stretched across it.  Luckily my brilliant co-skipper spotted this obstacle in the nick of time and saved the day.

Saturday:

We emptied “Albatross” into our trusty Skoda.

Sunday:

Home again.

 Home again.

Next year:

The Orkneys and Shetlands including Fair Isle in the company of Footloose!

* Saint Hayward's Heath is justly proud of its ground-breaking website.