Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
Atlantic Adventure Oct 07
I returned to Scotland in Titch and after making sure Conny was OK, planned my next adventure.
Tom and I had it in mind to spend some time together before the year end. Tom had finished his ‘A’ levels and was awaiting entrance interviews with the RAF and I wasn’t working! So what could we do together?... we could go somewhere hot….yep that sounded good, but where?
Tom wanted to do something character building that could be used to demonstrate to the RAF that he hadn’t just been ‘sitting around on his arse’. I had a plan! Bjorn had offered me the opportunity to join him for any part of his journey. He was now in the Canary Islands and was due to head off to Cape Verde (800 miles south) in a week or two. What if both Tom and I could go!
A phone call to Bjorn gave the green light. As soon as possible we should go. After a mad scurry of phone calls, Tom and I had some flight options. Unfortunately, half term was approaching and we had a flight in 2 days at £50 or one in 5 days at £700…NO WAY!
Next day there was nothing for it…we booked the flights and then Conny and I had to drive through the night to the midlands with the flight booked the following afternoon for Tom and Myself. Paul had lent us is van and the plan was for Conny to return with the rest of our gear which we’d left at Redhill earlier in the year….
One day in Scotland in rain and 10 degrees…. 24 hours later we’re in Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) in 25 degrees at 10 o’clock at night and it hasn’t rained for weeks!
The three and a half weeks spent with Bjorn were fantastic. I don’t want to spend too much time on the detail of it though because it wasn’t really a Tigertale, more of a Chilitale (www.bachili.blogspot.com)! And Conny wasn’t on the trip…
Nevertheless Tom and I had a great time with Bjorn. We spent the first few days in Gran Canaria where we met a load of Bjorn’s travel buddies (yachts also doing the Caribbean – crossing the ‘pond’ in November/December, then cruising up through the Caribbean Islands until May before crossing back over the Atlantic via the Azores before the hurricane season). Among the friends we made, the ones with the fondest memories were Siobhan, Stian and Solver from the Norwegian yacht ‘Uredd’ (http://www.uredd-oslo.com/).....
After a few days in Gran Canaria we set sail for the Tenerife, some 60 odd miles west… Tom had a slightly difficult crossing ( ) and I, having quickly downed a coke before setting sail, parted company with it over the side of Chili in no time at all! Apart from that it was a good introduction for what was to come….. a stunningly beautiful blue ocean with BIG waves! ….. It’s hard to put into words and impossible to imagine but the shade of blue seen from the 4 kilometre deep water is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen…..
Anyway…back in the box…. We spent a few days in Tenerife, did the Mount Teide bit… oh… and the Playa de Las Americas thing (ended up sleeping on sun lounges on a private beach having been in a foam party…), before heading off on an overnight sail to La Gomera alongside Uredd…
This was our ‘final port of call’ before the ‘biggy’… we had a great few days here spending time with Siobhan, Stian and Solver, exploring the islands and being taught some devastating (for Tom anyway) dribbling games…. I mean drinking games
The time to set sail for Cape Verde came round in no time. We said our farewells and set sail…
What to say! One of my lasting memories is from about three hours into the 8 day trip. We’d lost the protection from the Canaries and the boat had started to react to the full force of the Atlantic swell. The boat was pitching and rolling in such a way that to move around needed 3 points of contact at all times and even sitting still was tiring… It was at this point I remember thinking, with some trepidation, that surely it was impossible to live like this for a week!
Actually, more accurately, I thought….Fuck, what the hell I am doing here and how the bloody hell are we going to get through the next week and come out in one piece!
Well needless to say we did…. it’s amazing what you get used to, especially when given Bjorn’s vast sailing experience and his indifference at the conditions. However, some things are better in hindsight and this was one such memory, brilliant now… something else at the time! Eight days and 800 miles (nautical, that’s 15% bigger than normal miles) on a 30 foot boat! It’s a small place for three people to co-exist, especially when you’re 400 miles from land (4 days) so there’s no getting off. It was challenging at times but wow… I can’t think of a parallel in life….everyone should try it…you learn a lot about yourself!
Tom and I had it in mind to spend some time together before the year end. Tom had finished his ‘A’ levels and was awaiting entrance interviews with the RAF and I wasn’t working! So what could we do together?... we could go somewhere hot….yep that sounded good, but where?
Tom wanted to do something character building that could be used to demonstrate to the RAF that he hadn’t just been ‘sitting around on his arse’. I had a plan! Bjorn had offered me the opportunity to join him for any part of his journey. He was now in the Canary Islands and was due to head off to Cape Verde (800 miles south) in a week or two. What if both Tom and I could go!
A phone call to Bjorn gave the green light. As soon as possible we should go. After a mad scurry of phone calls, Tom and I had some flight options. Unfortunately, half term was approaching and we had a flight in 2 days at £50 or one in 5 days at £700…NO WAY!
Next day there was nothing for it…we booked the flights and then Conny and I had to drive through the night to the midlands with the flight booked the following afternoon for Tom and Myself. Paul had lent us is van and the plan was for Conny to return with the rest of our gear which we’d left at Redhill earlier in the year….
One day in Scotland in rain and 10 degrees…. 24 hours later we’re in Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) in 25 degrees at 10 o’clock at night and it hasn’t rained for weeks!
The three and a half weeks spent with Bjorn were fantastic. I don’t want to spend too much time on the detail of it though because it wasn’t really a Tigertale, more of a Chilitale (www.bachili.blogspot.com)! And Conny wasn’t on the trip…
Nevertheless Tom and I had a great time with Bjorn. We spent the first few days in Gran Canaria where we met a load of Bjorn’s travel buddies (yachts also doing the Caribbean – crossing the ‘pond’ in November/December, then cruising up through the Caribbean Islands until May before crossing back over the Atlantic via the Azores before the hurricane season). Among the friends we made, the ones with the fondest memories were Siobhan, Stian and Solver from the Norwegian yacht ‘Uredd’ (http://www.uredd-oslo.com/).....
After a few days in Gran Canaria we set sail for the Tenerife, some 60 odd miles west… Tom had a slightly difficult crossing ( ) and I, having quickly downed a coke before setting sail, parted company with it over the side of Chili in no time at all! Apart from that it was a good introduction for what was to come….. a stunningly beautiful blue ocean with BIG waves! ….. It’s hard to put into words and impossible to imagine but the shade of blue seen from the 4 kilometre deep water is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen…..
Anyway…back in the box…. We spent a few days in Tenerife, did the Mount Teide bit… oh… and the Playa de Las Americas thing (ended up sleeping on sun lounges on a private beach having been in a foam party…), before heading off on an overnight sail to La Gomera alongside Uredd…
This was our ‘final port of call’ before the ‘biggy’… we had a great few days here spending time with Siobhan, Stian and Solver, exploring the islands and being taught some devastating (for Tom anyway) dribbling games…. I mean drinking games
The time to set sail for Cape Verde came round in no time. We said our farewells and set sail…
What to say! One of my lasting memories is from about three hours into the 8 day trip. We’d lost the protection from the Canaries and the boat had started to react to the full force of the Atlantic swell. The boat was pitching and rolling in such a way that to move around needed 3 points of contact at all times and even sitting still was tiring… It was at this point I remember thinking, with some trepidation, that surely it was impossible to live like this for a week!
Actually, more accurately, I thought….Fuck, what the hell I am doing here and how the bloody hell are we going to get through the next week and come out in one piece!
Well needless to say we did…. it’s amazing what you get used to, especially when given Bjorn’s vast sailing experience and his indifference at the conditions. However, some things are better in hindsight and this was one such memory, brilliant now… something else at the time! Eight days and 800 miles (nautical, that’s 15% bigger than normal miles) on a 30 foot boat! It’s a small place for three people to co-exist, especially when you’re 400 miles from land (4 days) so there’s no getting off. It was challenging at times but wow… I can’t think of a parallel in life….everyone should try it…you learn a lot about yourself!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Plan A B or C ?
Plan A was to winter Tiger in Scotland, for us to return to the Midlands for a few months to work and then to return to Scotland in 2008 to continue cruising. So in pursuit of ‘Plan A’ we returned to Crinan to look for opportunities for Tiger.
As we approached Crinan we pulled up on a small jetty/pontoon on the left hand side. No kidding, it could have been made for Tiger as she fitted snugly in and because of her narrow beam didn’t stick out like a yacht would. It later turned out that we were about the first boat in 12 years (since it had been made) that had been able to use the mooring. Paul (the Crinan Lock Keeper and yet to become another great friend to us), told us he’d built it as a bit of a skive from having to do some forestry work one winter!
Conny asked Paul who was it that controlled the mooring and who we could ask if it was OK to stay… “that’d be me” he replied in his Yorkshire accent!
So, smiling like a Cheshire cat, Conny asked Paul if we could stay, “yes” he said, “after all you’ve got your British Waterways licence so why not?”
FANTASTIC…..what a beautiful mooring!
It’s worth pointing our here that we represented a bit of an oddity…. Most boats transiting the Crinan Canal are sailing boats and in order for them to use the canal they purchase a 3 day licence at a cost of £10 per meter! That would be £85 for Tiger for 3 days! But here we were with our BW licence from England that entitled us to be on the canal almost without timescale….how cool!
So here we were, it was the beginning of September, we had a mooring for Tiger and suddenly the mad rush to get back south had been lifted and we had time to on our hands……J
Today is the 19th December, we’re in Switzerland with fantastic, crisp, bright weather (it was down to -9O least night). There are a million distractions here but I really want to finish the blog for this year. I would prefer not to be in 2008 trying to think back to what happened! It’s hard enough thinking back from now!
Just before I carry on though…. I’ve been keenly following the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). This is a group of some 240 boats that congregate in the Canary Islands in autumn and then set sail for the Caribbean to hopefully arrive sometime before Christmas. Some of the boats we’ve met on our travels are travelling across as we speak (or should I say ‘as I write’ J) including Bjorn from Denmark (although he’s not part of the ARC)
So back to Scotland…..
Now with this new found time on our hands, we had the chance to do a little more local cruising. We fancied the idea of heading south down the Sound of Jura and checking out the ‘Fairy Isles’ at the head of Lock Sween. Colin (our new friend from lock 11 on the Crinan) mentioned that his Father, Mother and two sisters were planning a trip aboard their motor launch the ‘Silver Strand’ and that we might meet up with them. So given the settled weather we set off, met up with the rest of Colin’s family for the evening and then headed into Lock Sween the following morning. Having spent the next day with Colin and having had a guided tour of Tavyalick, we said our goodbyes and Conny and I put…put…putted round to the Fairy Isles for a few days….
Back in the Crinan we started to meet all the locals and it wasn’t long before we felt really welcome and apart of scene. It’s fair to say that this was mainly down to the warm welcome received from a handful of people…
It’s a small world …
We were in the local bar called the Panther Inn one night… I should point out that this is a tiny bar that’s basically a small room attached and apart of the Crinan Hotel. I’m not saying it’s quiet but any night with more than 6 people would be called busy! Well… this particular night there must have been 8 people in, so it was packed out J. Anyway, we got chatting with a couple on their holidays. It turned out that they were from Leicester….
“Oh” we said, “near Nottingham where we set off from”
“Oh Nottingham” they said, “We’ve got a mate who’s just started at the marina there at Sawley”
“Sawley” I said, that’s where I used to work!”
Turned their friend was Keith Higginson! Only my ex-boss!
Well, what a coincidence. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was able to scrounge a lift south, pick up ‘Titch’ our camper and more importantly see the Tom and Lil who I hadn’t seen since August….
Well I can’t leave Conny alone for a minute…no sooner had I headed south, that she very nearly ended up with a 6inch nail embedded in her head. You see, she’d started working for Paul (the Lock Keeper) on odd days building dry stone walls and on this particular day it was raining! GO away with you…raining in Scotland…really??? Yes it was raining and Conny and Paul were building a shelter using wooden planks and a tarpaulin. What they hadn’t seen was a nail in one of the planks that must’ve had Conny’s name on it cause’ quicker than you can say “that’s a lot of blood, I think that needs stitches”, the plank slipped and fell on Conny’s head. So off to Lochguilphead’s sparkling new hospital it was for Conny and a new tube of superglue! Yep that’s what they use nowadays…better than stitches apparently
As we approached Crinan we pulled up on a small jetty/pontoon on the left hand side. No kidding, it could have been made for Tiger as she fitted snugly in and because of her narrow beam didn’t stick out like a yacht would. It later turned out that we were about the first boat in 12 years (since it had been made) that had been able to use the mooring. Paul (the Crinan Lock Keeper and yet to become another great friend to us), told us he’d built it as a bit of a skive from having to do some forestry work one winter!
Conny asked Paul who was it that controlled the mooring and who we could ask if it was OK to stay… “that’d be me” he replied in his Yorkshire accent!
So, smiling like a Cheshire cat, Conny asked Paul if we could stay, “yes” he said, “after all you’ve got your British Waterways licence so why not?”
FANTASTIC…..what a beautiful mooring!
It’s worth pointing our here that we represented a bit of an oddity…. Most boats transiting the Crinan Canal are sailing boats and in order for them to use the canal they purchase a 3 day licence at a cost of £10 per meter! That would be £85 for Tiger for 3 days! But here we were with our BW licence from England that entitled us to be on the canal almost without timescale….how cool!
So here we were, it was the beginning of September, we had a mooring for Tiger and suddenly the mad rush to get back south had been lifted and we had time to on our hands……J
Today is the 19th December, we’re in Switzerland with fantastic, crisp, bright weather (it was down to -9O least night). There are a million distractions here but I really want to finish the blog for this year. I would prefer not to be in 2008 trying to think back to what happened! It’s hard enough thinking back from now!
Just before I carry on though…. I’ve been keenly following the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers). This is a group of some 240 boats that congregate in the Canary Islands in autumn and then set sail for the Caribbean to hopefully arrive sometime before Christmas. Some of the boats we’ve met on our travels are travelling across as we speak (or should I say ‘as I write’ J) including Bjorn from Denmark (although he’s not part of the ARC)
So back to Scotland…..
Now with this new found time on our hands, we had the chance to do a little more local cruising. We fancied the idea of heading south down the Sound of Jura and checking out the ‘Fairy Isles’ at the head of Lock Sween. Colin (our new friend from lock 11 on the Crinan) mentioned that his Father, Mother and two sisters were planning a trip aboard their motor launch the ‘Silver Strand’ and that we might meet up with them. So given the settled weather we set off, met up with the rest of Colin’s family for the evening and then headed into Lock Sween the following morning. Having spent the next day with Colin and having had a guided tour of Tavyalick, we said our goodbyes and Conny and I put…put…putted round to the Fairy Isles for a few days….
Back in the Crinan we started to meet all the locals and it wasn’t long before we felt really welcome and apart of scene. It’s fair to say that this was mainly down to the warm welcome received from a handful of people…
It’s a small world …
We were in the local bar called the Panther Inn one night… I should point out that this is a tiny bar that’s basically a small room attached and apart of the Crinan Hotel. I’m not saying it’s quiet but any night with more than 6 people would be called busy! Well… this particular night there must have been 8 people in, so it was packed out J. Anyway, we got chatting with a couple on their holidays. It turned out that they were from Leicester….
“Oh” we said, “near Nottingham where we set off from”
“Oh Nottingham” they said, “We’ve got a mate who’s just started at the marina there at Sawley”
“Sawley” I said, that’s where I used to work!”
Turned their friend was Keith Higginson! Only my ex-boss!
Well, what a coincidence. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was able to scrounge a lift south, pick up ‘Titch’ our camper and more importantly see the Tom and Lil who I hadn’t seen since August….
Well I can’t leave Conny alone for a minute…no sooner had I headed south, that she very nearly ended up with a 6inch nail embedded in her head. You see, she’d started working for Paul (the Lock Keeper) on odd days building dry stone walls and on this particular day it was raining! GO away with you…raining in Scotland…really??? Yes it was raining and Conny and Paul were building a shelter using wooden planks and a tarpaulin. What they hadn’t seen was a nail in one of the planks that must’ve had Conny’s name on it cause’ quicker than you can say “that’s a lot of blood, I think that needs stitches”, the plank slipped and fell on Conny’s head. So off to Lochguilphead’s sparkling new hospital it was for Conny and a new tube of superglue! Yep that’s what they use nowadays…better than stitches apparently
Saturday, December 15, 2007
What happened next...
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What happened then!
So we’re now in Switzerland for Christmas and over the next few weeks we’re going to do our best to catch up….honest J
Well back into the Crinan we went. Although the weather improved the mood didn’t. As already mentioned, if we were to tackle the east route round the Mull of Galloway it was essential to get round before any autumn gales set in.
Then as we approached lock 11 of the Crinan it suddenly occurred to me that we hadn’t really considered all our options, instead we (well mainly I) had just pushed on regardless. Conny as already preparing the next lock when I pulled Tiger over the side, tied her up and then ran over to Conny and proposed we pull over for the day to look at our options properly.
It was at this moment that all sorts of unbelievable opportunities started to open up….
First off we spent a day or so considering our options…during which we met a new friend Colin (the Lock keeper) Barr. Initially we came up with about 4 plans A, B, C and so on…yep that’s right and ‘D’
So we’re now in Switzerland for Christmas and over the next few weeks we’re going to do our best to catch up….honest J
Well back into the Crinan we went. Although the weather improved the mood didn’t. As already mentioned, if we were to tackle the east route round the Mull of Galloway it was essential to get round before any autumn gales set in.
Then as we approached lock 11 of the Crinan it suddenly occurred to me that we hadn’t really considered all our options, instead we (well mainly I) had just pushed on regardless. Conny as already preparing the next lock when I pulled Tiger over the side, tied her up and then ran over to Conny and proposed we pull over for the day to look at our options properly.
It was at this moment that all sorts of unbelievable opportunities started to open up….
First off we spent a day or so considering our options…during which we met a new friend Colin (the Lock keeper) Barr. Initially we came up with about 4 plans A, B, C and so on…yep that’s right and ‘D’
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