Hello everyone! For the last week or so, we've been very busy socializing after joining some 200 boats for the Millennium Malts Cruise. Sponsored by three single malt whisky distilleries, we've been on what could be called a distillery crawl from island to island in the Hebrides. The event has given us the opportunity to get to know a large and friendly group of Scottish sailors. Bagpipes, single malt whisky, barbecues and dancing have all figured prominently in the festivities. The whole thing has been incredibly well organized, with several days between events when we've been able to get off by ourselves or with a few new friends for some quiet time. Throughout this period, we have had perfect weather - sunny, warm with unlimited visibility. Right after being introduced, every Scot we meet says, "Now don't be thinking this is our normal weather!" We've begun to think horrible weather is a myth dreamed up by the Scots to keep the tourists away.

The event opened at Craobh (pronounced cruve) Haven Marina, located on the west coast near the top of the Mull of Kintyre about twenty miles south of Oban, the largest town in this area. We filled our water tanks and cleaned the boat inside and out at this, the first full-service marina we've seen since entering Scottish waters six weeks ago. As one of a half dozen American boats that sailed across on their own bottoms this year for the cruise, Hawk garnered her share of attention. As the boats arrived and the slips filled, a carnival atmosphere developed. Bagpipes would start to play on one boat or another, people would clap in rhythm with the music, then cheer when the piper ended his song. Everyone wandered the docks greeting old friends and making new ones. Colours were piped in the morning and evening, and the yachts were dressed as they arrived until a cloud of waving flags hung over the marina.

After the opening muster, we had three days before the second major event. This took us back to the Isle of Skye where the fleet anchored off the Talisker distillery in Loch Harport for what turned out to be two days of almost nonstop events. This included a sunflower raft - where all the boats rafted together in a circle. The organizers were hoping to beat the world record of 197 boats set in 1985 by the Clyde Cruising Club in these very waters. They started at noon with the cardinal boats, four boats anchored securely at what would be the quarter points of the circle, then tied stern to one another by 800-foot long lines. They didn't close the circle until 6:00. Then boat horns blew, cannons went off, people cheered, and a helicopter flew overhead filming it all. The raft fronted the dozen or so white-washed stone buildings of the town of Carbost surrounded by the low, grassy hills at the head of the loch. Behind these rose the Cuillins, Skye's jagged mountains, black and austere against the perfect, cloudless blue sky. Though we ended up with something like 185 boats and didn't break the record, it was incredibly impressive.

That night, everyone went ashore for a ceilidh (pronounced cay-lee). The word means "visit" in Gaelic, but the event resembled an old-fashioned barn dance. The band consisted of fiddles, a tin whistle (which looked more like a flute) and drums, and they played spirited reels and jigs. Each dance was different, but the basics were much the same as in a square dance with people linking arms and swinging each other around, or swinging from one person to another right down the entire dance hall. No one called the dances, however, which left those new to Highland dancing being passed from hand to hand, or spun around and faced in the right direction when they got it backwards. But everyone from six to sixty participated, with much laughter and clapping and good will. I have heard the Scots described as dour, but we've yet to meet even one who lacked an easy smile and an infectious laugh.

We had to do the distillery tour which proved very interesting. Some facts for those interested - whisky should never be drunk "neat" as the essential oils and flavors are released by adding a bit of water. The age of the whisky does not necessarily indicate its quality - as whisky ages the cask it is in breathes, losing about 2% a year and replacing it with air. This imparts distinctive flavor (in the case of Talisker - peat, iodine and pepper), but if left too long and too much oxygen enters the whisky can oxidize which ruins it. When I tasted the Talisker, I could actually feel the warm peat smoke coiling in the back of my throat...

Now we're back in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull for a CCA reception this evening. Tomorrow we'll sail to Oban where we meet my parents on Thursday. There is so much to do and see here, I'm already regretting how short their visit will be. I know dad's just looking forward to doing some sailing - he's boatless for the first time in 20 years after selling his Ericson 32 at the beginning of the summer.

Hope everyone's enjoying some sunshine and cool breezes, Beth and Evans s/v Hawk