Summer Cruise 2011 - Part III Askernish Golf

The Skipper (aka Himself) made it a priority to get to Askernish (South Uist) to visit and play a round. We each slept with our clubs on board Chardonnay and I must say that I am very sorry not to have a photo of the rubber dinghy loaded up with us and the clubs and the shoes ... Loading up at the mooring and unloading at the fishing boat slip way ... use your imagination!

Sheep have priority:

We had a super day.  The machair (extremely fertile and low lying plains) was in full bloom.  Note to self: next time bring orange balls as the other colours disappear!

The ball was there ... somewhere ... and still is:

The 20 mile long beach is just steps away:

This hole is called 'Barra View'.  Barra is visible in the distance on the right:

Very pretty forward tees:

No lie (pun intended).  We did NOT place the ball there.  It went of its own accord.  Seriously mutant rabbits here and Rule 25 - 1 was applied:

We were accompanied throughout our round by corncrakes and skylarks ... nearly made us crazy.

Corncrakes are very shy and one is very lucky to see one.  We didn't see any but we sure did hear them.  They sound like this (and they go on and on): http://www.corncrake.net/sounds/mnacht.wav

The skylark hovers way up above and sings away: 

It was a great day all round.

http://www.askernishgolfclub.com

Summer Cruise 2011 - Part II Wildlife

Wildlife: We were so blessed on this trip.  We saw a Minke whale twice (obviously the same one!), and on another occasion 3 Orca whales quietly passing by. Of course, I have no photos as the time was short and we just wanted to enjoy them.

Here are some shots that I did take ...

Oystercatchers:

Quite a few White Swans, lots of Gannets diving and of course Seagulls.  We take them for granted so I include a photo!

My personal favourite are Puffins.  We motored very slowly through Puffin Central in the Shiant Islands just off the east coast of Lewis.  It was awesome:

Seals are all over the place. They are hard to see against the rocks!

I forgot to add this shot from our last trip; 2 sea eagles!

These guys are not wild, but they looked so nice in the basket; all ready to go to work on Eigg (notice the shepherd's crook in the sleeve):

AND Dolphins.  At one point between East Loch Tarbert, Harris and North Harbour,  Scalpay we were virtually surrounded, and they stayed with us for nearly half an hour.  

Unfortunately, YouTube won't upload my best video and I apologize in advance for all the shaking - but it was very exciting!

Summer Cruise 2011 - Part I

It was an amazing 21 days at sea. We went north and around Skye and then right over to the Outer Hebrides: Loch Shell is 14 miles south of Stornoway, Lewis.  After bopping down the Western Isles we crossed back towards Canna and home. Chardonnay sailed like a dream, the weather kept her super powers at bay, and there are many adventures to share.

Part I

Where we went (for those who follow):  Loch na Droma Buidhe, Arisaig, Isle Oronsay (Skye), Plockton, Portree (Skye), Badachro in Loch Gairloch, Loch Shell (Lewis), East Loch Tarbert (Harris), Isle of Scalpay, Loch Eport (North Uist), The Wizard Pool in Loch Skiport (South Uist), Loch Boisdale (South Uist), Isle of Canna, Loch Moidart (back on the mainland), Isle of Eigg, Loch Aline and then back to the marina at Dunstaffnage.

Here are my favourite photos:

Loch na Drom Buidhe (aka Loch Drumbuie) is one of our favourite anchorages.  The Royal Highland Yacht Club met here for a BBQ and then some carried on for the Cruise in Company.

This sign on the way to Arisaig always makes me laugh:

Chardonnay on a mooring at the Duisdale Hotel, Isle Oronsay with the hills of the mainland in the background:

Plockton is very picturesque. It's seriously far north, but the North Atlantic Drift keeps the climate temperate (note the palm trees!) :

Some people go to a great deal of trouble with their gardens on the cliffside ... 

Potted flowers in the hedge ... unique!

Ross and I had fun on Canada Day:

The anchorage in Loch Shell was beautiful.  14 yachts made it. We had a meal ashore and lovely entertainment:

Doesn't Chardonnay look beautiful all dressed up?

We always get water wherever we can.  It was quite the surprise to see this hose running from a burn over the rocks at the top of Loch Moidart:

We met up with Keith and Mary on Altaria. They are leaving Loch Moidart; the Scour of Eigg and then Rhum are in the background:

The cattle are enjoying the warmth still in the sand and looking at Highland Spirit, a super yacht:

On this calm evening at our anchorage on Eigg we could easily see Ardnamurchan Point (the most western point of mainland Britain) 9 miles away:

This lovely Tall Ship, Pelican of London,  passed by on its way to Lerwick, Shetland:

Our last night on board. Cocktails in the cockpit in Loch Aline (my favourite part of sailing):

Altaria enjoys a boisterous sail home:

Open Sunday

An Open Sunday is the best - don't misunderstand this - I love having visitors and getting out and about, but I also really love a long lie in ...

Today is an Open Sunday.

Wake up to no alarm, in this case in time for the 8 o'clock BBC Scotland Radio News. I choose to rise first and get the OJ. And scoot back to bed. Dispense the vitamins; we talk about whatever's recent: the visit from (step)son Marcus and Rory McIlroy's incredible US Open Golf performance; I check the iPad Scrabble to see if Jennie has made her move - she has - my letters stink; I download and get into Saturday's 'Globe and Mail.'

We then both go down: Himself organizes the toast with delicious home made marmalade (not mine!) and I prepare the lattes.  And scoot back to bed with the lovely tray of goodies.

It's a peaceful day.  This is the view from my pillow (I had to take it without flash):

We get up in our own time and I go into the spare bedroom (aka the Yoga Studio) for my 20 minutes with 'Namaste' and my yoga practice with Kate Potter. I really could not manage without it.  I practice every day (and then don't have the guilts if I miss, but my body craves it so I seldom miss when we are home). Lately, thanks to my cousin Teresa, I also add on 10 minutes of Pilates: 10 minute Solution.

Here's my view from the floor and what I can reflect on during meditation:

My thought today: 22 year olds. I wonder what it's all about. Rory McIlroy, alive and at the top of the world of golf and volunteers as UNICEF Ireland Ambassador; Terry Fox (his mother's Obituary was in the Globe), dead of cancer - has it really been 30 years?- and yet his influence and his Marathon of Hope remembered to this day - $550 million raised world wide. 

Himself has caught up with household admin and is enjoying an old Western on TV.

Yes, Open Sunday is about us.

I love it, and you know what: that's what it's all about today!

Goodwill Consumer Services

Before I get to my topic ...

My mother had a self explanatory phrase: "I must have taken my stupid pills today."

Well, indeed someone must have snuck a handful of them into my morning's oj that's for sure: nothing was where it 'should' have been; countless trips upstairs, downstairs and into rooms wondering why I was there; lost glasses on head; went to the supermarket for soup and arrived home with none after having lost the car in the supermarket parking lot, and finally I got in the car on the wrong side - but I can (just) be forgiven that one.

So, what's that all about?  I used to multi task with ease and now I must focus exclusively on the task at hand; for example, while getting dressed in the morning, I cannot stray and consider the day ahead.  If I do think about something else, I could stand indefinitely in front of the closet  ... We are so not amused.

So, what's in the box?

It was a great box: Christmas in June...

AgaRangemaster came through and sent me a lovely box of goodies. Now, I feel much better about the new cooker not quite fitting where the old cooker was. (See drama recap in May "Out with the Old ...") No mention of the second tea towel and the cook book, but never mind, they may come along later. 

Thank you, AgaRangemaster!

We've named the cooker 'Enterprise' (as in Starship). It's absolutely fabulous - nearly as good as having an Aga, and as you can see, the modified install works and looks just fine.

Terra Firma

Himself, Keith and I are back after 10 days at sea and the house is still swaying.

Look for the Canadian courtesy flag - and yes, all the tell tales are smartly flicking away.

We started with a sail up the Sound of Mull for a night at anchor in Loch na Drooma Budhie (aka Drambuie), then over to the Isle of Canna where we had a wonderful meal at the Canna Restaurant and a nasty night in high winds. Keith hauled up a whole load of kelp in the morning.

The next day, a quick nip over to the Isle of Rhum to finally take the tour of Kinloch Castle (my nose imprints are all over the windows; it was amazing to finally see the interior). 

Kinloch Castle has a short yet colourful history. Among the many unique features that the castle has is a very special music player called the 'Orchestrion'. The Orchestrion is essentially an organ driven by electric motor that plays perforated card rolls. It was originally made for Queen Victoria, who subsequently died before receiving it, and as the house was already completed, it had to be squished under the stairs! Make sure your volume is up; it is hilarious!!

And then a vicious sail on to Loch Moidart, on the mainland of Morven, which has a very scary entry. We stayed two quiet nights at anchor to enjoy exploring the ruined Castle Tioram and the lovely Silver Walk along the loch.   

We carried on back down to Sound with a great sail to Loch Aline for another walk, this time in the sadly neglected gardens and the wonderful woodlands of the Ardtornish Estate.  We met Alan Davidson who has the enormous task of cleaning up fallen trees after the huge winds we experienced a couple of weeks ago.

A short sail the next day took us to Loch Spelve where we bought £4 worth of fresh mussels; Keith cooked them on board and there were way too many for the three of us - d e l i c i o u s!

It was a great 6 hour sail to my favourite anchorage at West Loch Tarbet, Jura where the wind howled and screamed and the boats strained at the anchors all night. I was disappointed to have to run away but the conditions were fierce.

So, we upped and battled our way to the Sound of Islay where the tide was with us and whipped down and over to Craighouse, Jura in no time.  Mercifully we had a mooring; the skippers could get a reasonable night's sleep and we had a nice meal in the pub where we unexpectedly met up with friends.

The next day we goose-winged all the way up the Sound of Jura to anchor in the lovely Ardinamor Bay (with a very, very, very shallow entrance).

We waited for hight tide the next morning and then negotiated the challenging Cuan Sound to return back to base at Dunstaffnage Marina just before the rains came pelting down.

We passed by NBH.

I Met Margaret Atwood Today

I've been looking forward to today because Jean Smart, the pharmacist from Creemore was coming to Oban to catch a cruise ship.  She's travelling with a girlfriend from Creemore also. It promises to be a wonderful 10 day cruise right the way around Scotland, including St. Kilda and the Orkneys and ending up in Edinburgh.

I found out that she was coming a couple of months ago when I was getting my prescriptions organized for the 6 months here.  Well, Creemore is a small community and didn't she say that Lorna MacDougall (my GP) had mentioned that I stay here in the summer ... hmm ... so much for patient confidentiality!

Aside:  Lorna MacDougall's family seat is right here in Oban and we live right beside the old family home: Dunollie Castle AND the current head of the clan is, you guessed it, Lorna MacDougall.

Anyway, what with one thing and another, I was able to go and greet them off the bus and onto the waiting ship.  It was all great fun and a good laugh.

First of all, I got mixed up and thought that they were coming yesterday. I figured out my mistake in a hurry when a ferry was positioned at the north pier and no sign of a cruise ship.

Because I am so smart, today, before setting out, I checked the Oban webcam at Eeusk the seafood restaurant, first, and sure enough there was a white hull taking up the whole frame and I knew that was a cruise ship.

Jean had told me an ETA and I was in enough time to get a chai tea latte and then wander over to get some photos of the ship docked at the north pier. As I was walking back a couple of tour buses drove slowly by and I thought that it was them.  I started waving my Canadian flag like mad and tried to make eye contact ... the passengers looked horrified and tried NOT to make eye contact - in fact I think that they asked the drivers to hurry along. The buses carried on right through town.

I am sure that those passengers were delighted to be leaving Oban which obviously allows lunatic tourists to wander the streets ...

Jean's double decker bus arrived right at the ship so I could wave my flag with confidence this time.  Everyone smiled, laughed and waved back .... one passenger even gave me the thumbs up and that was Margaret Atwood.

When she got off the bus she came over and we shared a couple of innocuous words about why I was there. Then, she asked point blank if I was going on the cruise; when she learned that I was not joining them, she turned heel and left me with my mouth open and the rest of my sentence left unsaid ...

Note that I did not include her in my list: Working Girls ... obviously, there was a reason for that.

I've since looked through the internet and Ms Atwood is listed as the trip leader for 'The Great Excursions Company'.  Jean is with 'Adventure Canada,' I wonder if Ms Atwood will talk to them?

On the other hand, Jean and Marjorie were delighted to see me and we had a good visit. Jean said that there were two other couples from Creemore on board as well as a couple from Collingwood and another from Shelburne. (I suppose it's not that surprising as the trip is organized by Canadian based tour companies, but still kinda neat). I took photos of the girls boarding, and I even remembered to give them the bottle of 'Heather Cream' (alcoholic) that I got for them to have in their stateroom.

Himself has been at Chardonnay all day getting her organized.  He and Keith (our sailing buddy who sails solo) and I have decided to grab a pizza later on and may see Jean and the 'Clipper Odyssey' sail off into the sunset ...