Flotsam & Jetsam
Sailing The Land of Islands,
We had always wanted to visit Scotland, home to Sean Connery and The Highlander. We had a month for the journey. It took a week to get there from our home in Ireland, which left about three weeks to explore the Hebrides in Scotland. The Hebrides, especially the Inner Hebrides, are ideal for coastal cruising and chartering. The islands and lochs (bays or sea lakes) are spaced close together so short jaunts between harbors are easily made. There is shelter in marinas and snug harbors, and the navigation is fairly straightforward. The major challenges in sailing these waters are the currents, the weather, and the midges. Fortunately for us, we picked a year when the weather for the entire month of July was warm, dry and settled, and there were no midges! All we had to figure out were the tidal currents. We were on neap tides so the currents were running less strong than they might during spring tides. In places they still topped 10 knots! With Reed’s Almanac in hand, we were soon arguing about which route to take and what time to leave to catch
140 Cruising Outpost
pg 118-151 Flotsam.indd 24
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7/30/15 12:36 PM