Sailing in tidal waters with unsettled weather is all about planning. Planning when to leave, planning when to arrive, planning which way to go, planning how to make best use of the weather and planning to change the plan if the plan needs changing. If you get all of the above right then you are most of the way to becoming a great sailor. Edward Gibbon once said "The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators." We've had great tides and winds from Puilladobhrain to Oban and Oban to Loch Aline, with fair settled weather whilst at anchor and shocking hail whilst in port. All together we are pretty happy with ourselves and Ruffian.

We had settled into life in Puilladobhrain quite happily and had the place to ourselves for a while which was a real treat. The only problem with Puilladobhrain however is that there is no mobile or internet access anywhere apart from the top of a hill. This is where we decamped to, to perform our morning's business. The view beat the socks off any panorama you would see in any of the worlds capital cities and the air was cleaner and the locals happier.

The following day we had ambitious plans. We hoped to get to Oban for nine, get all our chores done by eleven and be in Dunstaffnage by four. This would then enable us to have an afternoon ashore before making for Lock Aline on Wednesday before some shocking weather was due to hit. The plan was a step too far and our chores took ten hours rather than the allotted two to complete. On the list of chores was to stock up the boat with food and refill with water. Iain 'toddled" off to Tesco's with a spring in his step whilst Fiona went to get her hair cut.

The trolley became fuller and fuller as the bargain nosh flew off the shelves and Iain was on a high thinking about the nights at Anchor in deserted bays and having a glass of wine after a scrummy dinner. What he hadn't bargained for was just how heavy £125 of shopping is when you need to walk a mile home with it and then dingy it out to the boat. A full rucksack on his back, one on his front, both of which had two bags on each side and three bags in each hand gave Iain a full workout for the short 'stroll' home. Shopping never seemed so difficult when we had a car and a big kitchen to fit things in and all this whilst Fiona was being wined in the luxurious surroundings of the local hair design emporium.

The other big chore was flushing our water tanks. At home you turn on the tap and out comes clear, fresh, odourless, tasty water. The same should happen on a boat but unfortunately we had the misfortune to fill our tanks with tainted water at Crinan and have been having the unpleasant task of drinking it until we had opportunity to refill and Oban gave that opportunity. We are pleased to now report that all those on Ruffian are fully rehydrated with 300 litres of Scotland's finest spring water.

With all the above taking longer than expected the plan needed changing and so we never made it to our stopping point en route to Loch Aline of Dunstaffnage. This meant one thing, an early morning, infact a very, very early morning. A morning so early it was still technically night, which if you know Scotland at this time of year, only happens for about four hours. So up we got a 3.45 to make two critical tidal gates and WOW what a ride they gave us. Downwind, downtide sailing in 20 knots of breeze and we arrived at our destination elated and most importantly in front of the bad weather. The bad weather promptly filled in and we're happily sat at anchor keeping busy whilst the wind screams through the rigging and the clouds hurtle over the top of the hills before depositing their contents on Mull behind us.

Something which we have both not been looking forward to is having to service our trusty engine. When Iain had a car he didn't even fill the washer fluid never mind anything more mechanical and Fiona took her diesel engine course and was very happy with the certificate she received, but not the knowledge. Out came the manual and our notes, we removed the old oil, filled it with new, replaced or cleaned all the filters and all the other necessary work after 100 hours of service the engine had given us. So it was now time to put our knowledge and work to the test. Time to start the engine. After a couple of splatters and coughs she fired into life and purred like a happy pussy cat with her new oil and filters.

With the rest of the country having experienced gales in the past couple of weeks it would seem that the West Coast of Scotland has been feeling a bit left out and wants to join in with the fun. It therefore looks that we are going be loch bound in our haven of Loch Aline for a couple of days and may even be boat bound with no shore side fun.

We have the office with the greatest of views.


Ruffian again from ahigh in Puilladobhrain.


Another sunset....


And a moonrise....


The first dingy load. Just how much shopping can you fit in a little boat.


Working out where to go and most importantly when from Oban.


Sailing at dawn in the 'summer'. Quite a feat in Scotland.


I think the instruments are over reading a touch. 169kts of boatspeed!!!!!


Fiona finally finds the RYA diesel course useful after only 12 years.


Team effort. Iain cleans the sea water filter of Jellyfish.