Video coming soon, but here are the highlights from this leg. The jump from the Irish Sea into the Scottish Isles felt like turning the page into a new chapter. This leg was particularly special as we were joined by Alicia, the daughter of our dear friends Wolfgang and Olga (from S/V Wetnose who we met on circumnavigation 20 years ago).
The first task was a thorough cleaning of the four-inch “seaweed beard” on the hull (so we could sail faster) even though we had just cleaned the hull six weeks ago in Spain, she had grown a seaweed during our ten days in Troon. Anthony wriggled himself into!” his wetsuit to in the cold, grey Scottish weather, so I reminded him – “You signed up for this!”
With a clean hull, we set off for the legendary Mull of Kintyre. We were blessed with a rare, clear day to see the lush green cliffs. Naturally, Anthony insisted on a full cinematic experience, blasting Paul McCartney’s “Mull of Kintyre” three times in a row. Between the scenery and the bagpipe solo echoing off the mast, we all had goosebumps.
Our route north was a zig-zag through some of Scotland’s most stunning sea lochs including the Isle of Gigha, Ardfern, and Tayvallich.
As we pushed further north, we gave a wide berth to the Corryvreckan Whirlpool. With currents reaching 8 knots and a reputation for swallowing vessels that mistime the tide, Moxie was more than happy to stick to the tricky, but less murderous, entrance of Cuan Sound.
With the forecast calling for “rain and more rain,” we made a run for Dunstaffnage Marina, just north of Oban. We spent our days dodging drizzle to tour the Oban Distillery, visiting Dunstaffnage Castle, and prepping the boat with “fenderboards” for our upcoming canal transit.
The most incredible moment, however, happened right on the dock. We spotted a Swedish-built Hallberg Rassy 43 named Meredith. Back in 2006, we had sailed across the Indian Ocean alongside a boat by the same name.
Amazingly, it was the same boat! Though her original skipper, our friend Mike, has passed away, the boat is now sailed by his son. They even still had a photo on the wall that we had taken of them off the coast of Madagascar nearly 20 years ago. It was a sobering and beautiful reminder of how tight-knit the global sailing community really is.
Next Leg: Prepping for the Caledonian Canal