West Coast of Scotland cruise

[50/50]

Thought you might like to share our photos of our eight day cruise of the west coast covering nearly 300 miles.

Enjoy. We did!

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/5801301 and slideshow.

[bastonjock]

what was your route? i recognise the Tobermory bay,ive done a fair bit of the western isles,ive been out as far as St Kilda.

Im taking a friends keels boat out of Oban around the second week of August,its going to be my first try at skippering

The photo graphs do not do the area justice,the water is gin clear around those parts,the diving is excellent,the sailing is safe and the whisky is well the best

[NiceAft]

50/50,

Nice trip


Ray

[Phillip]

Enjoyed those photos 50/50.
Scotland (country-side) is one place we see very little of on TV....apart from HM attending Sunday School when up there on holiday, or someone interviewed in some city.....all very boring.
Billy Connelly (our US friends probably don't know of him......Iv'e been to several of his 'shows') did a series on Scotland as he toured around it. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Good to see what the place really looks like.
Thanks for the photos.
Cheers
Phillip

[Mikebe]

Thanks for the pics, beautiful, just beautiful. Of all the places I've been, Scotland will probably always be my favorite. I went there on a vacation a few years ago, rented a car and spent two weeks driving all over, visiting the many wonderful castles, going to the highland games festivities, the tattoo at Edinburgh Castle...I remember trying to learn to play the bagpipe...I'll never forget the lady who came walking by our condo one morning as I was sitting out front trying to play the bagpipe I'd picked up at a local store. It was making horrible screeching noises.

"I say!" she said, looking at my wife. "I think he needs a bit of practice!"

[50/50]

bastonjock,

Our route was from Inverness down the Caledonian Canel through Loch Ness and onward to Fort William where we entered Loch Linne and sailed to the Lynn of Lorne to Dunstafanage Marina onto Oban and up the Sound of Mull to Tobermory and Loch Sunart. And back.

Philip

I've been to see Billy Connelly a few times and enjoyed his tour of Scotland on the trike.

Mikebe

Glad to remind you of your trip to Scotland but your definately on your own with the pipes

Gerry

[Highlander]

Nice pics

Lonely at Luss on Loch Lomond Scotland



But no mention of any refreshments like a nice bottle of



You gotta have a wee dram laddie to smooth the evening down

Cheers John

[bastonjock]

ive had some great barbies on Loch Lomond,we used to go down with a ribbed inflateable and have a blast on the Loch,we were a scuba club.

One weekend that ill always remember,we had had a few beers etc and the fire was burning as the guys played the guitars,then as it was getting quiet,this kid stood up and cracked out a dirge on the bagpipes,totally unexpected.

Ill take a few more pics of the Scottish coast during august,One of the things that ill do when ive got my Mac is to pack some diving gear, and go nipping down to grab a few clams,maybee a lobster or a cray for a shore side barbie is just too inviting an oportunity.

If you get the chance,go for a sail around Skye and the minch,its protected from the Atlantic,i have a deep feeling of belonging to the western isles,my surname can be found on a rock there called "MacPhails Anvill" guess some guy called MacPhail smashed his boat on that one

[Phillip]

For all you Jocks, this is what I have just got for my 60th.
Believe me, she is a fiesty handful.
For probably 20yrs we had Westies (for non-Scotsmen...that is a Westhighland Terrier).
I always wanted the 2 breeds at once, just so I had the whiskey label running around the place in real-time.


Cheers
Phillip

[bastonjock]

Hi phillip

i love the picture,those little dogs are tenatious little scrappers.I have Mini schnauzers and a lab retriever cross,one of my dogs has had me up all night giving birth to 8 pups.

i think that it would be very tempting to have one black and one white one,youd have to call them Whyte and MacKay

do you take yours onboard?

[Idle Time]

The colors are beautiful....makes me want to don some warmer clothes and head to Scotland for a cruise...

Keep the good stories coming.

[bastonjock]

ive been reading an article in the UK mag Practical Boat Owner,its about getting from the west side to the east.

The traditional way was to take the Calledonian canal (through absolutely stunning countryside),but due to a millenium project that cost loads,they have reopenned the forth and clyde canal,so you can go from the forth estuary on the East through to the Clyde estuary,then you can sail past the Isles of Arran and bute,then head North west up to the Crinnan canal and your into the inner hebridees.

Its not too cold either,you dont need artic clothing,it does rain a lot but the waters are warmed up by the Mexican gulf stream,so believe it or not,Palm trees grow on the Islands.

if you can scuba dive,you can gorge yourself on scallops(clams) and giant mussels.

Theres no pollution and all the castles,whisky distilleries and history to fill your boots with.

[baldbaby2000]

When I was on submarines I used to love being on topside watch as we went into the Firth of Clyde to Holy Loch. Beautiful country and wonderful people. I don't know if the US still has a sub tender there but we would pull up along side her (USS Fulton at that time) for maintenance. I'd take a boat to shore and walk to Dunoon for a pint of lager and there was always an old retired British Navy Commander at the bar who's name was Jimmy McDougal and he always had WWII story to tell. Among the stories was how his ship had been sunk by a German U-boat.

[bastonjock]

as far as im aware,the US base is no longer at Dunoon,it went as part of the cold war collapse.Machrahanish air base has gone too (i think)

Faslane,where we keep our nuke fleet is still there,you have got to forget that kind of stuff when you are sailing up towards BUTE.

When we were scuba diving,we found some sort of weapon on the bottom not far from faslane,no one touched it as it was covered in "danger of death" signs,we told the navy boys where it was and it was recovered, as a thank you they came to out club and let us try their equipment.

My next door neighbour married a us Serviceman,she met him in Dunoon