Sailing with Siller Lass to Scotland 2006
Interactive map showing our route roughly
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Link to: Vallø to Farsund Western Isles Orkney and Shetland
Link to Western Isles Orkney and Shetland
Vallø - Farsund
Monday 29th. May “Siller Lass”, our HR37, left Vallø Marina with Norma, Jon Erik and John Cotton aboard. Our intention was to sail South to Mandal in a relaxing manner, with shortish day trips. Fine weather but cool, gradually improving gave good sailing conditions. Overnight stop at Risør. Distance 46nm.We sailed on to Kristiansand the next day in good weather,55nm. A pleasant sail for all aboard.
 
Mandal harbour with one of its fine sculptures
Thursday 1st. June The first part of our expedition had been just as planned. We sailed to Mandal 24 nm. and prepared for the North Sea crossing: checking weather forecasts; filling up the water tank;the store of fresh vegetables and fruit; making sure we had all the maps we might need, spare parts and the like.Our sister boat “Nordstjernen” arrived at 10 am after an amazingly fast sail from Vallø, 130 nm in 16 hours! Gunnar Olsen and his crew, Johan Widerø and Dag Erikstad had managed to sleep quite a bit of the way and were in fine form.
Andreas Bjørnnes arrived early in the morning so our crew was complete. We were all concerned about the weather forecast. Was the weather good enough to start as planned the next morning? Westerly winds were not in the least tempting so we decided to sail up the coast to Farsund, 30nm. in the hope of a better wind direction the next day. We made the best of our time and enjoyed delicious food at each meal aboard. The weather was still cold with a westerly wind blowing, sea moderate. Farsund is a charming little village on the south coast.We moored up alongside the main street but later moved to the marina where all facilites were free!
To our surprise there was yet another HR37 at the marina. The owners, a Dutch couple several years younger than us, had picked up their new boat from the yard at Ellos just a few weeks previously. They, too, were on their way to Shetland and Orkney, then the west coast of Scotland, travelling in the opposite direction to us. We hoped to meet up again somewhere on the way.
 
Farsund harbour "Carla Christiena" Christien and Jurriaan, Johan og Dag crew on "Nordstjernen".
The west wind was persistent so we decided to wait yet another day and spend Whitsun eve in Farsund. It’s amazing the number of people who can enjoy drinks in the cockpit of a HR37, 11 being the record so far! Up: Scotland 06
Farsund - Lossiemouth - Inverness 7-14 June 2006
We set sail at 10 am along with “Nordstjernen”. Inverness, on the Moray Firth, is directly west of Farsund. Our main sail was reefed and we used our small hard- wind jib. The sky was overcast, the wind westerly and, according to the Metoffice forecast, veering towards NW then N as the low pressure area moved northwards. The forecast of an expected gale in the area north of our route came shortly after we left.
We made good speed, over 7 kts., and really enjoyed the sail once we became accustomed to the wind and seas. The wind increased to more than forecast, around 30 kts at times, giving rough sea across the Norwegian trench, though more steady seas and speedy sailing once we passed the west side of the trench. Night sailing in heavy seas, on autopilot for long spells, was in fact a pleasure. Only a few seas breaking into the cockpit, otherwise safe sailing using safetylines.
It wasn’t possible to make hot meals but we had filled our thermos flasks, made sandwiches and filled up on fruit and nuts before we left. Norma found it difficult to relax or sleep so spent free watches knitting or reading down below. The others didn't have any difficulty in sleeping. A crew of four was ideal for a crossing of this distance. About halfway over the North Sea the wind calmed down and the sun shone. We had in fact to motor due to lack of wind the last 100 nm.
 
Andreas and Jon Erik lifelined! Gale force winds over the North Sea
With our courtesy flag for Britsh waters, the Red Ensign, flying on the starboard spreader, we checked into Lossiemouth exactly 48 hours after starting, Since we'd followed the custom of calling up the harbourmaster on channel 12 ,half an hour before arrival, we knew where to moor up, and were met on the quayside with a friendly smile. “Nordstjernen” followed half an hour later. We’d made it, and looked forward to our well earned ankerdram, followed by a good breakfast! 348nm , average speed 7,25kt. Little damage to our boat apart from losing the port bow lantern.
 Both crews at the old Fisherman's pub
Lossiemouth had been a lovely fishing village but with only one fishing boat left there was little activity there. EU overfishing and new regulations have limited the possibility for white fish catches.
The sandy beaches and dunes went along the coast for miles. The sun shone and we walked along the beach, before a visit to the local fishermans’ pub. The door step was completely worn down on one side, due to the fishermen sharpening their gutting knives on it.
We left Lossiemouth as soon as there was sufficient water under our keel, 5:30am, to get the current and tide into Inverness. 32nm.
This part of the journey can be tricky with 4 m. difference between low and high water, but our timing was perfect. We entered the Caledonian canal through the first locks to find another HR "Lina" from Molde on its way south to Ireland.
We spend the rest of the day around the Seaport Marina in Inverness. Jon Erik, Andreas and John walked into the town to replace different odds and ends. Andreas left for Glasgow by afternoon train while John stayed on for another night. We have had fun together and we appreciate our fantastic crew having done a fine job. Up: Scotland 06
The Caledonian Canal
We registered in at Seaport Marina and paid our fee for the canal, £179,50. Dorothy and Mike( Norma's sister and husband), our new crew arrived, laden with all sorts of extra specialities in the way of equipment and with fillet steak and haggis.
We spent three fine days (8-10th.June) going through the Caledonian Canal and sailing to Oban. The weather beat all our expectations, with sunshine and warm winds. The views were spectacular with gorse and broom, rhododendrons and Scottish bluebells dominating. We didn’t see Nessie in Loch Ness, but other sights such as the ruins of Urquart Castle, and Ben Nevis, Britains highest mountain. The locks were interesting and efficiently run by smiling Scots, taking us up 32,3m and down again. 29 locks altogether. We stopped at the Great Glen Center on Loch Oich then Banavie, near Corpach, Fort William.
 
Gunnar, Johan and Dag on Loch Ness Siller Lass with Ben Nevis in the distance
"Nordstjernen" sailed with us and it was fun and interesting, too, to talk to the crews of other boats, including Robert Farstad from Molde on HR36 “Lina”.
We made a real haggis dinner on Thursday for Gunnar and crew. Dag was perhaps the most dubious to the thought of haggis but he was pleasantly surprised by the taste, the whisky gravy making all the difference!
 
3 Hallberg Rassy boats in one of the locks Whisky gravy makes tasty haggis
Some of us toyed with the idea of climbing Ben Nevis. Fog in the morning was enough to put us off though, but it turned out to be a lovely sunny and warm day. After desending Neptunes Staircase the next morning we were out at sea again and had a fine sail southwards to Oban. We moored at Kerrera marina, across the bay from Oban. A small ferry went over to Oban regularily. 30nm sailing , harbour fee £25, the most we paid in Scotland.
Up: Scotland 06 Western Isles Orkney and Shetland Home
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Sailing with Siller Lass in Scotland 2006
Link to: Scotland Orkney and Shetland
The Western Isles
Early start again, on June 11th. Mike our expert on working out tides and currents and wanted us to be through the Cuan Sound at slack tide, before 10am. Even then, the current was several knots in strength and eddies were challenging for the skipper! The wind was gusty and increased up to 31 kts. making anchoring in Loch Melfort unpleasant so we chose Craobh marina in time for a late lunch. “Nordstjernen” followed with next tidal gate, 12 hours later. We had another of Dorothy and Mike’s delicious steaks for dinner then enjoyed wine aboard “Nordstjernen” later in the evening. The weather wasn’t too good next day so we altered our plans and motored to Ardfern through the Dorus Mhor tidal gate.
 
Ardfern Marina Rhododendrons on the hillside
Inger Lise and Gunnar plus crew walked over the hills to Ardfern and had lunch at the local pub. We had a fine hike with them, admiring the fertile landscape with vast expanses of rhododendron, gorse, fuschia, bluebells and roses. Back at the marina Jon Erik and Mike organized an alternative gas supply in case our 8 kilo Norwegian cannister should go empty. Adfern Yacht sentre is apparently the best marina on the west coast with diesel, an excellent equipment shop, workshops for woodwork, hull and engine repairs.
We met friends of D&M: Ron Dunn and Tony King in Ardfern marina. Don wanted to show us his extravagant cottage extension so drove us up the hill. He and wife Sandra have a fantastic view over the bay and marina. Later, Mike was kind enough to invite us all out to dinner. The weather is still pretty good though not as settled as before.
Gas problems annoy us all and especiallly Jon Erik, the next morning. Luckily we found a plumber at the marina who replaced the rusty valve adjusting the flow of gas from deck to cooker.
We sailed northwards on tuesday 13.th to Loch Aline out through the Dorus Mohr stream, into the Firth of Lorne and then motored in to see Loch Spelve with numerous mussel farms. We motored, no sailing wind, between Duart Castle and Lady’s Rock into the Sound of Mull .
 
Duart Castle Siller Lass on the way north
Ladys Rock got that name after a local lord decided his wife wasn’t up to his desire so he tethered her there in a storm and came back next morning to find that she had been washed away. Feeling pleased with himself he contacted his wife’s brother to tell him of the tragedy and was invited over for breakfast. Much to his astonishment and horror he found his wife sitting at the dining table with her brother – she had been rescued by a passing fisherman!
 
Part of a colossal fir tree ! At anchor on Loch Aline
We anchored up in Loch Aline, a charming place with an amazing, beautiful garden surrounding a baronial house. We’ve never seen fir trees with such dimensions before! Fish were jumping but our efforts to catch any were unsuccessful.
With sufficient wind next day we sailed up to Tobermory. Unexpectedly, six Norwegian warships (MTB) with Kongsberg Penguin missiles on board met us at full speed in the narrow sound. Quite a sight! Norwegian flags and greetings from the crews.
 
Tobermory at low tide Norwegian MTB on it's way south
We tied up at the pontoon in Tobermory to find Nordstjernen and Lina from Molde there too. The Nordstjernen crew had hired a car to drive round the island of Mull. We visited Tobermory Destillery, some of the local shops and then one of the local pubs, Mishnish.
 Bob & Bob on Lina
Tobermory is a quaint wee place, all the old stone houses along the quayside being painted in different colours. Tobermory has become well known to British folk, partly because the childrens’ TV program “Balymory” was filmed there. The crew decided to celebrate Normas birthday in advance, by having a wonderful dinner at Tobermory hotel. June 16th with rain and no visibility made our sail to Canna, one of the “small islands” out of the question. We had thus to skip one of the attractions on the island, a fine shellfood and fish restaurant.
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We motored round Ardnamurchan head, the most westerly point in the mainland UK. Poor visibility but we managed the intricate entrance to Arisaig and picked up a mooring no. 29 after consulting the harbourmaster. Cousin Angela had driven over from the E.coast to meet us there and she sailed with us to Mallaig the next morning after a very pleasant evening aboard. Mallaig was one of the larger fishing harbours, probably good for stocking up on food and other necessities, otherwise uninteresting as far as we could see.
Whisky tasting at Isle of Ornisay 
The weather was deteriorating so we wanted a sheltered mooring – anchoring at Isle Ornisay in the Sound of Lochalsh was ideal. A trip ashore in the dingy was rather interesting. A designers clothes shop, an artgallery, a destillery and a little hotel. The walk we’d planed was terminated by great rain showers. We anchored in the bay in 4 meters of water using Mikes technique of dropping tha anchor rapidly by releasing the clutch on the windlass and then backing to avoid the chain falling on the anchor itself. Good dirt anchor bottom.
Sunday, we motored (no wind) on through the currents of Kyle Rhea to the Kyle of Lochalsh. Our speed was increased to 11 kts. It’s difficult and sometimes dangerous to go navigate these straits against the currents set up by high tidalwater differences. Admirality Tidal charts are the clue to solving this problem. Timing is of essence!! Mike did his best to teach us all the inns and outs of tides and streams and currents and neeps and springs. Our Raymarine chartplotter with Navionics charts also gives tidal and current information for most straits.Mike and Dorothy left us on Monday unfortunately. Before that we served fenalår (Norwegian cured, smoked leg of lamb) with all the trimmings, aquavit and beer. A memorable evening!
Monday was a restfull day, tidying up, laundering, and stocking up at the local prizewinning butcher and we stayed at the pier at Kyle of Lochalsh another night, waiting for Odd Hestad our new crew member. Were wakened at 7 am by the harbour master who advised to move to the more sheltered harbour over the bay at Kyleakin because of expected gale winds. A gesture we appreciated. We lay 4 boats outside one another, even the fishing boats and local tourist boat came in for shelter. The ruin of King Håkons castle lies just by Kyleakin. In 1263 the king passed here on his way back to Orkney after having lost the battle of Largs. The rain poured down and winds were up to over 35 knots at times. The harbour fee was reasonable and odd - £15,51!
Odd arrived safely with lots of sailing literature, we made use of local facilities, the Internet at a bar and at the Royal Life Saving Institute centre. The folk at RLSI were welcoming and friendly. Their medical advisor and retired, local doctor John Adamson had worked in Norway at different periods and talked fluent Norwegian! His house in Kyle of Lochalsh is called “Sandvika”, after a spell at Bærum Sykehus.
 
Ruins of kong Håkon Håkonsens slott Skye bridge from Kyle of Lochalsh
We were sorry to lose the opportunity to see more islands and anchorages, instead we enjoyed relaxing while waiting for the better weather. On Thursday22nd. the sky was a bit more promising and the wind more normal in strength so we set sail under the Skye bridge for the island called Rona and had an exciting trip round the Inner Sound submarine practice area. The control ship was on our tail making sure we kept well away from submarine periscopes. Acairseid Mohr, “pirates bay”, was clearly marked by a white arrow on the rockface, opening up into a picturesque little lagoon. The island was owned by a Danish lady who renovated several of the buildings and kept highland cattle. We were impressed by the number of birds, both guillimots, red shanks, herons, puffins and gulls. 21nm. Two other boats lay in the lagoon, both Swedish.
 
Acairseid Mohr lagoon One of the roaming Highland cattle
The promise of better weather urged us on to Kinlochbervie, 65,5 nm in 9 hours and we had a pretty exciting time in the middle of a large Nato naval exercise. We were surrounded by 4 warships from Germany, US, Norway and UK, and had fighter planes and a helicopters buzzing around us. Not another sailing boat in sight all day!
Kinlochbervie was a rather uninteresting place and the harbour master didn’t turn up. We tied up alongside a fishing boat for a few hours then set off at 4 am. to round Cape Wrath under the best tidal conditions and get past the shooting range there before 8am. This went smoothly, though the sea was choppy. We continued on to Scrabster, on the Pentland Firth, in brilliant sunshine, were invited to the harbourmaster’s office to get the latest weather forecast and currenttables, spent the night there and started early next morning for Stromnes, Orkney.
Harbour fee £10. These last couple of days were perhaps the least interesting, naturewise, on the whole expedition
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