Leaving Scottish waters

We departed from Tobermory with the planned destination of West Loch Tarbert on the Island of Jura. The weather reports from Met office and xcweather said that the wind would be variable and uncertain velocity, so departing North of Mull or down the Sound of Mull were both options. When we awoke at 05.00 on Thursday morning there was a mild South Easterly wind and this determined that we should head North West around mull and then South to Jura. As we rounded Ardmore Point the wind picked up to force 4 to 5 but started to be a problem because it would be on our bow during the approaches to Jura.

Spur of the moment decision to head directly South was taken. Tides checked, then off we sailed for 111 nautical miles to Rathlin Island in Norther Ireland. Wind was pretty constant ( force 4-5) and we made good time sailing at between 6 and 10 Knots all the way past the West side of Islay across the North Channel, out of sight of land, close to a passing tanker and arrived at Rathlin at 21.20 hours. Total sailing time 15 hours and distance covered 111 miles. We considered this our first long distance proving cruise, ready for the big trip we have planned. The yacht performed well staying very steady and balanced as the chine cut through the moderately rough seas. We noticed that the use of electric winches depletes the batteries quite fast, so in the long run we would need solar energy or a wind generator to sustain such a trip.

From early morning Tobermory

 .....to Rathlin Island Church Bay 15 hours later