Now lying at Oban Harbour, west coast of Scotland listening to gentle rain pattering on the skylight and typing up this diary entry. Chust sublime as Para Handy would have said. For those not in the know, Para Handy (Master Mariner) is the skipper of a small coastal steamer called the Vital Spark which plied the island waterways around here for years (in fiction). Ted is wedged comfortably into the starboard saloon couch reading these tales and chortling, occasionally helpless with laughter and reading out the funnier sections. Thus . Ther iss a dance on at the East Loch Tarbert hotel for my cousin s wedding Para. Have you no got a conscience Dougie (first mate) Hae we no got a schedule to keep, for customers who haf paid dearly for our services travel agents in singapore and rely on us heavily. And the drink will be paid for by the bridesmaid s faither . Dougie, will ye cut oot this devil s talk immediately! Para all the while steering inexorably to port on the general heading of East Loch Tarbert. I read the tales a long time ago but they have not lost any humour in time.
We left Troon for the land of the Vital Spark 3 days after Ted arrived travel agents in singapore and I for one was feeling very relieved. The days prior to Ted s arrival had been somewhat fraught. After the shakedown cruise which Ken and I undertook, travel agents in singapore I completed the maintenance items listed travel agents in singapore there (see last blog) I had even replaced the saloon carpeting, thrown out the offcuts travel agents in singapore and was about to head to Glasgow airport to meet Ted. Plenty of time, but I might as well be early as late. Keys, car keys, where were they? 1/2 an hour later I am no longer going to be early and I ve turned Scot Free upside down, again, raked through my rubbish bin, again, started to sweat and was confronting dumpster diving before I reluctantly phoned Stuart to see, that if all else fails could he pick up Ted. No worries Iain ,.. What a friend. As soon as the pressure was off I found them, hanging on the key hook where I always put all Scot Free keys. Lilias thinks I don t need a crew, I need a nanny.
Offski. The drive from Troon to Glasgow was into teeming rain and the gathering gloom of a rain front only the Scots can appreciate. travel agents in singapore Ted of course takes an hour to get through immigration so there was no hurry after all. We then drove through the glaur and traffic spume to the comfort of Stuart s, a cup of tea and cake from Lilias, then a warm bed. Next day wasn t so bad, rain but lifting and even the hint of a brightening sky. First we settled Ted into the front cabin, a coffee at Scotts then off to explore Culzean Castle, Burns cottage and Brig o Doon. The weather looked promising. Mae s for a lovely travel agents in singapore dinner that night and we re out next day.
We followed the footprints of the cruise Ken and I took. First night Rothesay harbour and a meal at the Esplanade.Then a nougat slider at Auntie Margaret s (Zavaronis cafe) across from the harbour. travel agents in singapore Ted of course struggles with his foreign accent. This conversation has been repeated several times. travel agents in singapore What do you want with your coffee sir? To which Ted responds with a blank look on his face, Yes please . We lay over for a day to let the weather settle a bit and took an open top bus tour round Bute. Bute turned it on with the sun out every time Ted wanted to take a photograph. This is great, Ted will return to Australia full of tales of misery about the Scottish weather but lithe, trim and boat hard and looking like a sun drenched Adonis with a camera travel agents in singapore stuffed with a thousand sunny scenes to make a liar out of him. Sun-drenched he might be but it was a different drenching he confronted the next morning. travel agents in singapore The wind had piped up and Scot Free was laying off against the warps with a metre of grim, forboding Clyde estuary between the wharf and the hull. Oops, slip, and Ted is hanging from one hand grimly refusing to let go his toilet bag and towel clutched in the other. One toe hooked on the wharf the other foot agonisingly suspended over certain hypothermia. We got him aboard safely and once again proceeded travel agents in singapore to the Victorian Toilet Block for our shower. Ted s comment (he s 77) says it all. Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn Bullshit! Our heads the next morning felt distinctly weary after 4 pints of Caledonian Best. David, the harbour master again looked after us, smiling benignly on Scot Free s 38 foot length. We head out into a stiff breeze with minimal paint scratching and set a cracking 6.5 7 knots to the Kyles, a picture postcard gap between travel agents in singapore two lochs, motored travel agents in singapore through and closed hauled down the Western Kyle before rounding the point and heading into East Loch Tarbert. A comfy secure night saw the stiff breeze blow itself out with the last of the rain and we cast off next morning for a run under motor and radar through the mist to Ardrishaig and the start of Crinan Canal. I'm still reminding myself that Scot Free is beamier than my car and, wary of the shoals on my port side and aiming for the lock gates I collect the starboard side on the point of the pontoon. Minimal bruise but not good for my pride nonetheless. We pay 300 pounds for 2 weeks in Scottish Waters canals which gives us unlimited access to the facilities of Crinan and the Caledonian and assisted passage through the locks. A solid steel multi-chine cruiser, OTO asks if we can team up to make lock management travel agents in singapore easier and we meet new friends, Michael, David and Sian. We accompany them to Lock 5 at the comfortable hotel/bar Cairnbaan and spend a very secure night before braving the drizzle of the next day to Crinan. We arrived, wet as shags but not cold and made fast in the lagoon above the final sea lock at Crinan. 2 great nights there to chill out and dry out then out through the sea-lock and a glorious smooth sunny sail to Oban, saying goodbye to OTO who are heading to Tobermoray and maybe St Kilda out in the Atlantic. We sailed through Dorus Mor and the Sound of Luing captivated by the ageless backdrop of Jura and Mull. In Oban we catch up with old friends, Tom, daughter Kathryn, travel agents in singapore husband Billy, grandson Cameron and stock up for the wilds of the Calodonian. We motored through smirr dappled glassy Loch Linnhe purring past the tree clad slopes of the Ben Nevis approaches. The peaks on either side were lost in the mist wraiths but we couldn't complain. Again it was 'chust sublime'. This Scottish travel agents in singapore waters cruising is all it was cracked up to be, spectacular scenery, sheltered waters, travel agents in singapore uncounted bolt holes, travel agents in singapore pretty little highland villages travel agents in singapore with friendly locals. I'm glad I decided to stick around, might even string it out for a couple of years, who knows? The tidal rush at Corran narrows was only a knot so we didn't travel agents in singapore lose too much time and we entered the sea lock at Corpach (Fort William) by 1500 hours. Lots of time to get into the holding basin and we were secure for the night. A mile walk in the drizzle found us a local pub, a couple of beers and a steak. Can it get any better? Possibly a bit of sun might help. We're now at the top of 'Neptune's Staircase'. Getting there is worth a story.
We were advised travel agents in singapore to head into the lock with the lower gates yawning open and welcoming. We motor in slowly. Fenders out on port side we bump gently onto the slimy stone walls and throw up a bow and stern line to handlers 15 feet above us. When the lock gates close behind you the expression 'abandon travel agents in singapore hope all ye who enter here' springs to mind. Of course the photographers in raincoats arrive in droves including the garrulous oldies. "Melbourne eh? Must have been an exciting trip?" I love it . an invitation to casually mention Somalii travel agents in singapore pirates, frigates, Indonesian armed boarders, Red Sea reef encounters Never enough time in each lock to really get going though. This sort of query is not quite as good as "Nice boat, how far have you come?" followed by VERYcasual drawled reply.. "Melbourne". Blank stare, "Melbourne! Australia?" I then launch into Somalii pirates, frigates, etc. etc. Sigh, more photographs, no-one has asked for an autograph yet though. Ted of course gets better travel agents in singapore mileage than me with his Aussie drawl which I'm sure is getting more pronounced. He has had to slow down of course so the locals can understand his foreign accent.
Now in the lock and both gates closed the lock-keeper gives us the nod and 'the bath fills'. The surge as the water is released is enough to engender seasickness in tender tummies. Scot Free steadily rises from the dank gloomy pit and eventually the tended landscape of the lock's upper level is level with us. We repeat this 8 times before we reach the top of the staircase, there to tie up and head off for coffee and muffin.
We're comfortable here in the face of storm force winds coming through later tonight and as long as Ted doesn't have another language encounter in the showers it should be relatively travel agents in singapore painless. At Corpach the showers are a bit difficult to understand and trying to explain this procedure to a naked agitated travel agents in singapore Norwegian is apparently difficult.
Jul 1st Today just might be mistake. travel agents in singapore We tied up at Dochgarroch last night after a beautiful sail up the length of Loch Ness with no monster encounters. Moored up at lock entrance we had a few beers on board with Hamish and Les off Good Grace and ate on board. Comfy, warm we settled down for the night to awaken to miserable dreich highland day. walked up to the bus shelter and waited an hour for the bus ride into Inverness . ohhh dear it was the Sabbath and Inverness was shut. We finally found an open Starbucks, its forlorn neon sign glimmering through the smirr, but OK coffee and WiFi. Hence this blog. We might have to erase this day from Ted s memory. It doesn t look promising. Scot Free Out.
Well Hi old pal! Just read your news and was most p d off to discover that I passed through Inverness on my way home from St Boswells this afternoon!, Aye you remember The Buccleugh well! 1964 or there aboots was it no!, you will be glad to hear that the sun shines travel agents in singapore in The West!, so why did you sail east?!
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