Category: Scotland
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South Dock towards Ullapool 2019
I had decided, after a wobbly moment, that it was time that Sumara had a refit. I had become increasingly nervous about the engine after an engineer told me it was on its last legs and my teak decks were beginning to look a bit shabby. Even the varnish was now rather patchy. For convenience,…
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Whoops rather a long gap between posts!
I’m still alive and really looking forward to 2019. The reason for the long pause was that something had to give way. The Arthur Beale project has proved surprisingly exhausting especially on top of the stress of running my other company so I had to let things go. It got so bad that I almost…
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New Vertue Spotted Cilix V210
23rd May 2016 Just after we arrived in Troon Harbour a nice varnished boat arrived. It was a Vertue called Cilix. She was built in Holland in 1993 from green oak frames and iroko planking. Alan was the owner and he had sailed from her base on the River Fal in Cornwall. Alan will be…
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Scottish Islands Peaks Race
Spring 2016 Oban – Troon This is no normal race and it is well to remember that! For sailors it is a demanding race which takes in some tricky tidal areas. Unusually for a race, picking up the crew or dropping the anchor, has to take place under sail. Equally it is a demanding race for…
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Watch the Race Live
You can track the Scottish Island Peaks Race below: Browser not compatible. Click here for Full Screen Viewing
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Scottish Islands Peaks Race
Oh dear, here we go again. This time I am joining the crew of the Good Ship Brimble, a 27ft Twister. There will be more space onboard than Sumara but still pretty cosy with five runners and all the kit. I’ve been a bit disorganised this year struggling to find the time to sort out…
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Troon to St Mary’s – Isle of Man
It’s Monday mid-day and we have Ailsa Craig ahead on our starboard bow. It is a lovely island. The stone from Ailsa Craig is almost unique in that it does not absorb any water. That is why it is the choice of stone for curling. A set of blue granite curling stones from Ailsa Craig will…
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The Final Leg – Arran to Troon
Poor Sumara was about a day behind the rest of the fleet but we were determined to finish. We had heard that about 13 yachts had retired and three did not start so although we were definitely going to be last at least we were going to finish! We had all booked tickets on the…
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Goat Fell
Sumara was so late arriving at Lamlash on Arran that the organisers had to leave so they asked us to time ourselves in and out. It was a hot day and we were not going to be running in the dark but we stuck to the rules and ran with the full kit including extra…
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The Mull of Kintyre
By now we knew we were the last boat to leave Jura for Arran. Barbara, who was one of the organisers had politely asked if we were still competing. “Of course we are” was Charlotte’s reply. To get to Lamlash on Arran we would have to round the Mull of Kintyre – a notorious headland…