Category: Scotland
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Boatyards
Dunstaffnage 22nd April 2022 50 days to go before the Scoresby Sund Expedition Starts! It happened a few days later than planned, but Sumara went smoothly into the shed yesterday afternoon, so I am now busy varnishing. I managed to prep virtually everything whilst she was outside occasionally in the rain so no time has…
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The Preparation Begins!
11th April 2022 – Dunstaffnage I’ve arrived at the boat ready for a month’s solid work to get her expedition ready for the big Greenland trip. It was 20:00 by the time I got here after a very pleasant stop over at Ray and Jackie’s farmhouse in Yorkshire. I managed to find just enough space…
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A little sail to the beautiful Isle of Canna
Log 10699 29th August 2021 Dom and I arrived at Dunstaffnage at 19:30 on Sunday evening. Strangely it doesn’t really matter when I leave London or Dunstaffnage I always arrive at the other end at 19:30 which makes life simple. There was just enough time to transfer a couple of trolley loads of gear from…
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New Vertue Spotted – Tom Thumb V111
August 2021 This is cheating because I haven’t actually seen Tom Thumb – yet. However, I did ask Kevin if he could look out for her as he was sailing from Craobh Marina on an enlarged circumnavigation of Mull. He kindly sent me these photos. Kevin, by the way, looks after the Shackleton Museum in…
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St Kilda 2021 Part Two – Barra to St Kilda and back to Dunstaffnage
Log 10452 I had randomly decided that the Sound of Barra was the route to go, despite it being described as “tortuous” in the pilot books. I then succeeded in muddling up the incoming tide with the outgoing one which I luckily picked up on when John showed me some fancy app on his iPad.…
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St Kilda 2021 Part One – Oban to Barra
Log 10360 My friend Ray applied to work on the remote island of St Kilda when he was just 17 year old. He never got a reply, and although he still holds a slight grudge, it didn’t mean his interest in the islands would wane. He has watched all the old film clips and read…
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Ben Lora
As Sumara is locked away in the shed and I am not allowed to work on her until Monday it means that I have some time to fill. As I sat in the campervan I could see a lovely hill across the loch, so I decided to climb up it. I say climb, but it…
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The Annual Maintenance 2021
Part 1 I’m now half-way through my allotted time in Scotland to carry out the annual chores, or maybe joys, depending on how things are working out. Firstly, I must admit, it is a bit of a pain having the boat 500 miles from home. You can’t just decide “Oh it looks like a nice…
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What’s Bubbling for 2021 and 2022
It has been a longstanding ambition of mine to sail Sumara to Scoresby Sund. Scoresby Sund is the longest fjord in the world and is situated in the high Arctic on the Eastern seaboard of Greenland. We made a half-hearted attempt to get there after climbing Beerenberg on Jan Mayen in 2011, but in reality,…
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Sumara of Weymouth has a ReFit
In 2018 the engineer at Pin Mill told me that he felt the life of Sumara’s engine was coming to an end and it could conk out at any time. He had replaced the inboard shaft bearing but it continued to spray some oil. Maybe the pressure was building up? Then my friend Philip told…