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Mon 24 August 2009
The Final Few Days
We got away from Arisaig on a grey morning, but by the time we rounded Ardnamurchan Point the weather had improved and we had good sailing in to Loch Sunart, where we anchored off Charna Island. The showery, gusty weather pattern resumed, but next day we had an easy sail up the Sound of Mull, then a storming broad reach across to Oban in a Force 7 wind. The visitors' moorings are quite exposed so we had a fairly rough lie until the wind moderated during the night. We had to motor the next passage down to Crinan against a southerly wind, but by early afternoon we were at anchor off Crinan sea lock in bright sunshine. Our intention was to return to the Clyde by way of the Mull of Kintyre, but the forecast of a southerly gale prompted us to opt for going through the Crinan Canal instead. Short handed, we teamed up with another yacht with four aboard and so made steady progress, but the day of transit proved the wettest of our whole summer's cruising. Today we left Ardrishaig and are spending our last night aboard at Rothesay, before the last leg tomorrow up river to Dumbarton, where Arctica will be lifted out to complete a very successful season's cruising.
Posted by skipper at August 24, 2009 10:48 PM