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28th Jun 2007
The Kyles of Bute, United Kingdom - Hello Mr. midge, your not a very pleasant fellow are you?
On arriving at our anchorage for the night our first priority was to spin Scamp. So into the dingy and off we went. It was now 8ish, it had just stopped raining and the wind had dropped....oh dear! Mr. Midge and his pals were out aplenty. Within minutes we were being eaten alive! The day before we'd seen these slightly silly looking nets that go over your head, how we wished we had them now! We returned to Tiger with a swarm of the little chaps following us, quickly boarded and shut all the doors and windows....phew!
Now then...the Royal Marines have found that Avon's 'skin so soft' has a certain ingredient that repels midges. Fiona first showed us an article about the stuff and it's got legendary status up here, referred to as SSS (I wonder why!). Anyway, isn't it great to know we've got one of the best fighting forces in the world and with such nice complexions! Hands up the marine that discovered that then! :-)
Unfortunately we haven't got any.....
30th Jun 2007
On route to Crinan, United Kingdom - A few days Later...
'The Crinan Canal for me
It's neither too big nor too wee
Wild foamin' breakers fair give me the shakers
The Crinan Canal for me'
Yep, we've reached the Crinan Canal. This 11 mile stretch of canal short cuts a 130 mile trip around the hazardous Mull of Kintyre (that's it! I'm going to be singing that song for weeks now!) and brings us out into the Atlantic Ocean and the Western Isles (Hurray)
We spent 2 nights in the Kyles Of Bute (because one was just not enough) before heading round to Tarbert. The name Tarbert came from Viking days when they used to drag their boats across land to save sea miles but actually this Tarbert had a cheekier history behind it. Apparently in around 1098 the Treaty of Tarbert was agreed between Scottish King Edgar and Magnus Barfod King of Norway. This declared that any Western Isle that could be sailed around would become the property of Norway. Liking Kintyre so much and seeing a great opportunity, King Magnus had men drag his ship along the narrows at Tarbert and thus claimed the massive peninsula of land to the south. Cheeky or what?
We spent just one night in Tarbert (mainly for shopping) before heading off. The forecast had given a north-westerly forecast backing southwesterly. So we spent some time at a place called Benmore Island before crossing the lock to Ardmarnock Bay. Whilst returning to Tiger from a walk at Benmore we saw the smallest seals playing in the bay (how cute). Anyway, the wind dropped as forecast (hurray they got it right) and we made our way 3 miles over to the other side of the lock to Ardmarnock which would give shelter from the forecasted south westerlies. We arrived at the anchorage, the wind turned to the south west and we had a really calm nights sleep (isn't it boring when everything goes to plan!).
Today we headed up Lock Fyne with a force 4 or 5 winds behind us on 3 feet of swell (which was great because it was following us) and entered into the Crinan
The Kyles of Bute, United Kingdom - Hello Mr. midge, your not a very pleasant fellow are you?
On arriving at our anchorage for the night our first priority was to spin Scamp. So into the dingy and off we went. It was now 8ish, it had just stopped raining and the wind had dropped....oh dear! Mr. Midge and his pals were out aplenty. Within minutes we were being eaten alive! The day before we'd seen these slightly silly looking nets that go over your head, how we wished we had them now! We returned to Tiger with a swarm of the little chaps following us, quickly boarded and shut all the doors and windows....phew!
Now then...the Royal Marines have found that Avon's 'skin so soft' has a certain ingredient that repels midges. Fiona first showed us an article about the stuff and it's got legendary status up here, referred to as SSS (I wonder why!). Anyway, isn't it great to know we've got one of the best fighting forces in the world and with such nice complexions! Hands up the marine that discovered that then! :-)
Unfortunately we haven't got any.....
30th Jun 2007
On route to Crinan, United Kingdom - A few days Later...
'The Crinan Canal for me
It's neither too big nor too wee
Wild foamin' breakers fair give me the shakers
The Crinan Canal for me'
Yep, we've reached the Crinan Canal. This 11 mile stretch of canal short cuts a 130 mile trip around the hazardous Mull of Kintyre (that's it! I'm going to be singing that song for weeks now!) and brings us out into the Atlantic Ocean and the Western Isles (Hurray)
We spent 2 nights in the Kyles Of Bute (because one was just not enough) before heading round to Tarbert. The name Tarbert came from Viking days when they used to drag their boats across land to save sea miles but actually this Tarbert had a cheekier history behind it. Apparently in around 1098 the Treaty of Tarbert was agreed between Scottish King Edgar and Magnus Barfod King of Norway. This declared that any Western Isle that could be sailed around would become the property of Norway. Liking Kintyre so much and seeing a great opportunity, King Magnus had men drag his ship along the narrows at Tarbert and thus claimed the massive peninsula of land to the south. Cheeky or what?
We spent just one night in Tarbert (mainly for shopping) before heading off. The forecast had given a north-westerly forecast backing southwesterly. So we spent some time at a place called Benmore Island before crossing the lock to Ardmarnock Bay. Whilst returning to Tiger from a walk at Benmore we saw the smallest seals playing in the bay (how cute). Anyway, the wind dropped as forecast (hurray they got it right) and we made our way 3 miles over to the other side of the lock to Ardmarnock which would give shelter from the forecasted south westerlies. We arrived at the anchorage, the wind turned to the south west and we had a really calm nights sleep (isn't it boring when everything goes to plan!).
Today we headed up Lock Fyne with a force 4 or 5 winds behind us on 3 feet of swell (which was great because it was following us) and entered into the Crinan
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