Spring in Scotland

Hello again from the Vagrants.

We have made good progress northwards through Scotland. From Oban, we hopped a couple of loch anchorages up the Sound of Mull and spent a sunny weekend in the small marina at Mallaig. 

Mallaig is the end of the line for The Jacobite Steam Train. Sara would have loved to take the trip, but it was sold out and we needed to have booked it months ago. Also, it's a return from Fort William to Mallaig and back, so we really were in the wrong place.

The sun easily made up for the poor dryer in the marina laundry...

 

... and allowed some outside boat work. Our port running light had been unreliable, and eventually failed completely. We found a chafe point where the wire routed through the pulpit, and having applied brute force remove the light that was bedded it with a little too much silicone, we replaced the wire and reinstalled everything.

From Mallaig, we proceed up the inside of Skye. Our first stop was Isleornsay.

We tacked through the narrow Sound of Sleat, and spent a night off Kyle of Lochalsh, with a view of the Skye bridge.

Then on to Portree, the capital of Skye. We spent a few days there. The town was busy catering for the cruise ships. They were accommodating two or three a week.

 

There was no cruise ship on our final day in Portree and the harbour staff were more relaxed. We took the opportunity to come alongside the quay and take on fuel. 

Then north again, via Loch Gairloch and the Summer Isles.

From there we did an overnight passage to the Shetland Isles, ending up in Scalloway.

All was not right when we turned on the engine to enter the port. The moment we put the engine into gear, there was little power and an awful noise. The engine was shaking around on its mounts and water was spurting in through the shaft seal. We shut down the engine and found one of the mounting bolts had "undone itself". Phil tightened it up, and we gingerly continued into port under low power.

But then, when we put the engine into reverse to set the anchor, more noises! A horrible clunking banging! We turned everything off and started to consider how we would get a lift and a marine engineer to help us. Was it the propeller, or the gear box? If the shaft was turned by hand, there was a regular thump. It very much sounded as though it was coming from outside. There was nothing to do but go and have a look, but for that we would wait for the morning light.

The next day, all was revealed...

A very naughty buoy

... a pot buoy had neatly hooked itself over one of the propeller blades. In forward, it was long enough to stream out behind the propeller. In reverse, it banged against the hull. We gave the engine a good check over and thankfully, there is no lasting damage.

The mystery is how the buoy got itself entangled there, with a perfect loop over one of the blades. Our best theory is that we picked up the whole thing while under sail, possibly with a pot. Then, when we engaged the engine, our shaft rope cutter disposed of most of the line but left a metre or so that wrapped itself around the propeller.

We spent a few days in Scalloway in beautiful sunshine.

During WWII, Scalloway was the home of the Shetland Bus. This was a group of fishing boats, and later submarine chasers, that ferried agents back and forth to occupied Norway. The boats only operated during the winter months, when they could use the darkness. They were maintained in Scalloway, and hauled out using a slipway that looks like it would suit Vagrant just fine.

The day after we arrived, M/S Andholmen, one of the few surviving vessels arrived in Scalloway with a flotilla of supporters. The ship was on tour as part of the VE day celebrations.

The following day, we visited the excellent Scalloway museum which devotes a lot of space to the Shetland Bus story. The crew of the Andholmen was also there, including the skipper who is the son of one of the original Shetland Bus skippers.

 We stayed at a beautiful anchorage behind St Ninian's Isle. 

The next day, we we rushed around Sumburgh Head with the tide, spotting a few Orcas and puffins on the way. The Sumburgh Roost has a fearsome reputation, but it missed us this time. 

Our next stop was the small island of Mousa. Mousa is an RSPB reserve and full of bird life, along with plenty of sheep.

Mousa also has the only surviving example of a broch – a prehistoric fortified stone tower. It is constructed from two dry-stone walls, with extensive chambers between.

We enjoyed the views from the top.

We'll be in Lerwick by the weekend. We expect to explore Shetland for another week, waiting for a wind change to take us to north Norway.