In Brighton we were joined by Nicola and Sarah, newbies to sailing but experienced camper-vanners, so not fazed by the confines of the boat. We didn’t want them to get the impression that cruising was all about marina-hopping, so our first leg was round Selsey Bill into Chichester Harbour. We had enough wind to get the sails up for most … Read More
Round Britain – Across the Thames Estuary and round to Brighton
When we asked a Brightlingsea sailor how best to cross the Thames Estuary, he replied: ‘Don’t start from here, go from Harwich!’ We weren’t about to backtrack just to get a better route, so a little planning was needed. The sandbanks radiate out like fingers, and many of them dry at LW, apparently like solid concrete. The plan was to … Read More
Round Britain – Lowestoft to Brightlingsea
We wanted to visit some of the east coast rivers, having heard there are some lovely places along here. Mysterious military constructions lurk along the shoreline, apparently testing sites for nuclear blasts… The Ore has an anchorage with the irresistible name of Abraham’s Bosom, tucked in behind an island bird sanctuary, so we motored carefully in past the buoys marking the … Read More
Round Britain – Whitby to Lowestoft
We knew that the passage down to Norfolk would be a challenge, and there was always a temptation to do it in one go, although this would have meant at least one night at sea. With the wind so light it was unlikely that we had enough fuel for that, so along the coast it had to be. The problem … Read More
Round Britain – South towards Whitby
We were not really prepared for the enormous contrast between the west and east coasts. We had come from a place with an abundance of harbours, deep water and steep-sided lochs to one where there were few natural harbours and shallow seas well offshore. There are not many good natural harbours on the East coast, and the stone harbours are … Read More
Round Britain – the Caledonian Canal
It’s about 33 miles up Loch Linnhe to the entrance of the Caledonian Canal at Corpach, just north of Fort William. Often described as a masterpiece of civil engineering, the canal is also a wonderful voyage through deep lochs and tree-lined canals all the way to Inverness and the North Sea. Corpach sea loch was not very conspicuous for the … Read More
Round Britain – meandering southwards
After Plockton and storm Hector, we motored gently round to Kyle of Lochalsh, where there is a small pontoon. It’s not a great location as it is quite exposed, but has a couple of plusses: an enormous Co-Op a short walk away, and a little kiosk at the top of the gangway which serves award-winning Cullen Skink! We ended up … Read More
Round Britain – Harris and a storm in Plockton
It was a motor across to the Outer Hebrides, past the tiny Shiant Islands. This pic is of rocks just to the west of the islands themselves, with Harris behind. We saw a lot of puffins on the water, and when we approached they would do a panicky flap of their rather undersized wings and scoot off across the water … Read More
Round Britain – Muck to the north of Skye
The delightful cafe on Canna was threatening to soak up all our cash, so we had to depart… and make our way south towards Muck, sailing under cruising chute alone down the west coast of Rum. This is such an imposing island with its huge mountains. Little Muck is quite modest by comparison. Entering between the red and green poles … Read More
Round Britain – Skye and Canna
After a couple of days in Mallaig, including the bank holiday Monday, we set off for one of the most celebrated sailing destinations in Europe ( that’s what it says in the pilot book!), Loch Scavaig on Skye. This is surrounded by the imposing bare mountains of the Cuillin rising to 1000m from sea level. We opted not to try … Read More