2 Aug. Fizz (J's sister) and Gerry only managed about a month back in the south of England before they wanted to come back to Scotland and another week on Vela. Having endured the chilly weather of Shetland they were treated to a week of warmth and sunshine, though not a lot of wind.
From Oban we headed up to Loch Sunart and then out to Rum, where we met up with Bruce, Ally and Ellie the dog. An enjoyable evening on the boat, with a supper of beetroot curry (better than it sounds!) and a game of Linkee; our new boat game, to test our brains and bring out the competitive spirit (in some!). A morning walking on Rum and collecting Lyns from the ferry, before setting off for the short journey to Canna, but it turned out to be an even shorter journey - Bruce and Ally who had set off earlier were coming back to Rum as the alternator had come off one of their engines and the boat was full of smoke - so we turned back so J could help them fix the engine. After a few hours they couldn't fix it and prepared to return to Oban the next day to get 'a fitter' to sort the problem.
After another sociable evening on the boat (beetroot burgers this time...not as good as they sound) we set off again for Canna. A gentle breeze proved too gentle to sail which was disappointing, but made for perfect dolphin spotting conditions. On the approach to Canna we spotted a pod of 100+ dolphins, staying in one area, presumably fishing. We had a wonderful 30minutes watching them play and swim around the boat.
No visit to Canna would be complete with an evening at Cafe Canna, which didn't disappoint, just spoilt by a second rolly night at anchor, not so much wind but swell coming into the anchorage.
From Canna we went across to Tobermory (dolphins and minke whales along the way) and from there to the Crinan Basin, at the end of the canal for one night. It such a good spot we wanted to visit another time and j needed Wi-fi to watch the Lions test match. A visitor to Crinan filmed us in the lock and sent us a link - so if you want to see Crinan Basin.

https://youtu.be/bXXSNXmhuBk

From Crinan we took a leisurely morning sail up Loch Craignish, back to Ardfern. We saw the two osprey chicks sitting on their nest along the way.
Another great week, Fizz and Gerry have now become highly competent crew and did most of the sailing for the week, making for a relaxing time for the rest of us. Always great company and Fizz is the new Vela Vee Uno champion!