China Girl, UK Circumnavigation - Year 6

From Cromarty to Inverness, CG's winter home was only 17 miles, the wind was very light, we got 10 minutes of sailing in our last trip of the season but essentially it was a motoring day.

05 September 2024

Cromarthy firth

This is the view from CG looking the other way in Cromarty Firth. No so good.

05 September 2024

Wick to Cromarty in our passage plan was 55 miles, mostly on a heading of about 220 (SSW). The wind had been south-westerly for days and we didn't fancy a 55 mile beat so we delayed and watched the weather like hawks. Eventually a day of Westerlies, not too strong was forecast so we went for it. We [...]

05 September 2024 | Castle of May

Castle of May

Dunrobin Castle and Castle May are both well worth the visit if you are ever up that way. The latter has been kept just as HM The Queen Mother left it the last time she visited in 2001. The lady that introduced us to the castle had been working there since she was a child, she was probably in her 70s. [...]

26 August 2024 | Wick Marina

Bye Bye Orkney

It's time to leave Orkney and head south back to mainland Scotland on our way to our winter base in Inverness. Landfall on the mainland will be Wick. Much thought and head scratching has gone in to this trip: timing, distance, tides and mostly the sodding weather. Perm all these. From where we are [...]

26 August 2024 | Wick Marina

Washing the outboard

From Calf sound a 2 hour trip on the motor to Whitehall in Papa Sound on the northern end of Stronsay. It was mostly upwind and we couldn't be bothered to tack all the way. Two nights on a visitors buoy and a look around the village.

Dodging the storms, but a bit of unexpected sailing!

02 June 2024 | Arinogour on Coll

Ann and Steve Crome | Dull and misty. Dreich in Scottinh

Kerrera marina to Tobermoray we expected to have to motor with the forecast being little wind on the nose up the Sound of Mull. Turned out to be a lot of wind on the nose which meant beating all the way was an option. We decided to beat until we got fed up and then motor, so ended up tacking back and forth across the sound making the journey 36 miles against a straight line distance of 23. But a cracking good sail on a flat sea in around 15 kts of wind. Overnighter in Tobermory to hit the CO-OP then off to Coll yesterday. Wind gods said a fine reach most of the way from the north western corner of Sound of Mull to Arinogour on Coll, which is what we got. Added bonus - sunshine! A rare commodity at the moment. Got in early and actually sat in a pub garden in shirt sleeves. Back to normal today, dull and misty and cold. Weather coming in is mostly dire, so we have revised plans to visit the small Isles and are taking a weather window tomorrow to go all the way to Loch Boisdale on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, 47 miles. May need to hide there till next weekend.

Photo shows the view of Arinogour Town from CG.

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