Sorry about not getting the blog post done! I can only blame it on extremely poor internet connections during on our way and on the fact that i have been busy sailing and socializing 😊.
We have now completed stage 1 and have docked at Carlingford Marina just on the EU side of the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, It's better that way, should we be delayed with the rest of the journey. Because if we stay more than 15 months in the UK we would have to pay VAT for our boat.
A beautiful sunset during a magical journey from Oban to Port Ellen
What do we think of our adventure so far?
It has been a fantastic experience. Maybe always so comfortable.: it has been cold, rainy and windy. The number of nice summer days would not even fill the fingers on one hand. We really long for sunny weather now!
Last passage, heading for Carlingford. Cold, and rainy.. I'm wearing long underwear, fleece 1, fleece 2 and a jacket. and I am so cold..
Nevertheless it has been great to experience to visit these exotic places wich I probably would never have been to otherwise: Shetland, Orkey Islands, Fair Isle, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Seeing the landscapes change the further south we got, meeting fantastic people along the way, both locals and other travelers, was awesome.
It has also been both exciting and educational to be in these sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes scary (for me at least) situations when the winds blow too much and in the wrong direction, the rain pors down and things break down. Then just have to accept the situation, solve the problem and move on. Once you have done that, you will feel stronger and moree confident😀
This fall I'm going to do an Ocean sailing course. It consists of 20 sessions with everything from medical care on board, life raft training, handling tides to meteorology and boat mechanics. This will prepare me well for the next stage - towards the Med.
What has happened since the last blog post?
We completed the Caledonian Canal. It was nice, but not as fantastic as we thought. Göta Kanal is actually nicer, although this may be due to the fact that we had fantastic weather on Göta Kanal and that it rained cats and dogs while we did the Caledonean Canal. II did hear from other sailors that Crinan Canal is nicer. So check this out if you have canal plans in Scotland.
I was under the impession that there would be plenty of nice an lively pubs in Shetland, Orkney and Scotland. This was not the case in the places we visited. we found nice pubs quite rare and getting a table at a restaurant could be difficult without having booked in advance.
The last blog post ended at Fort Augustus on the canal, this happened next
Laggan locks - not much to say about this. Closed pub and closed cafe.
Banavie, Neptune staircases with 9 locks in a row. Quite impressive, many tourists. We almost felst like celebrities 😉
Janne handles the lines in alock
Corpach From here we went by bus to Fort William and by train to Malaig. Fort William was like any other town really. But the fishing villagre Malaig was very picturesque! W had an absolutely fantastic seafood meal. Ulf and I shared a seafood platter containing lobster, crab with claws as big as iPhones, sole, squid, sole, scallops. Absolutely magic!
And yet this is not all
Malaig also has a Harry Potter shop, there is a witch who gives detailed instructions on what applies when using e.g. wands and what can happen if you misuse them.
After the canal, we went to Oban , a nice Scottish town with, among other things, several whiskey distilleries nearby. However, we didn't buy any whiskey, the exchange rate means that the same bottle can be bought significantly cheaper at Systembolaget. Sad.
Heading towards Oban
Then towards Port Ellen - an very nice little town. From here we took the bus to Bowmore and visited their distillery did som whisky tasting. So good!
My brother Janne ion the each n Port Ellen
Ballycastle - very nice littel marina, pretty little town. Here we dropped off our friend and crew member Roger and my brother Janne with son Oscar. From Ballycastle we did a boat excursion (tourist boat) and an excursion with Janne's family to the Giants' Causeway. See the picture below with the strange rock formations.
Giants' Causeway. See the strange rock formations.
Bangor - a suburb to f Belfast. The town was a bit af a disappointment, a rather worndown and dreary suburb, however with a large and nice marina.
In Bangor, my brother Janne and his family rented a house and we had two days together. Great fun, because they live in Canada and we don't see each other very often normally.
My brother's family and Ulf. From left: Sara, my nephew Raoul's girlfriend, Ulf, my nephew Raoul, my brother's wife Ruth, my good brother Janne, Raoul's and Oscar's cousin, my nephew Oscar.
We took the opportunity to visit Belfast, which was just under half an hour train journey from Bangor. We went to the Titanic museum, very interesting and definitelse worth seeing. Then we did a guided bus tour. Unfortunately, we experienced Belfast as quite run down.
Carlingford - the end of stage 1.. The weather made it hard for us to make it to our planned last destination, so we changed from New Ross to Carlington Marina. This way we had to do 160 natical miles less. We arrived at the marina on the 22nd at 9pm at low tide, which meant that we didn't get in, because we we have too much of a draught. 3 meters before the entrance to the marina, we got stuck in the mud. But since the tide difference is almost 4 meters, we had a bit of ot soup and tried again successfully half an hour later. 😊
Yesterday we took a walk to the village of Carlingford, a wonderfully picturesque littelk village. Finally we found all those nice pubs we've been looking for all along!
Pretty village of Carlingford. Finally I have found what I have been looking for along the way.
This was our stage 1, an awesome experience. Many thanks to those of you who came along on our adventure and made it unforgettable! 💗
Comments