I had brunch with Gary in Oban before I returned to Jess and he went on to meet his friends for a boys’ football weekend. Alan left for home yesterday afternoon, his daughter has caught COVID and is self-isolating, thankfully she’s fine and Alan has returned to clear her student flat for her.

It was a great week of sailing with Gary and Alan and we visited Tobermory, Lochaline, Salen Jetty, Kerrera and a new destination for us as at Port Appin, which turned out to be the most stunning of settings. I am hoping that I will be able to return here before I head back through the Crinan Canal in early July. We managed to sail a fair bit of the time, around half of our trip, and we had one of our best sails ever in our passage from Lochaline back to Kerrera: avoiding ferries, other sailing yachts and boats before finally tacking Lismore Lighthouse and Lady’s Rock. The rock is named after Katherine Campbell, who was married to Lachlan Cattanach, the ‘only bad chief of Clan MacLean‘ who tried to have her murdered there.

It’s great fun on the boat with Alan and Gary, we get on well together despite what an outside onlooker might think! The weather wasn’t that great and pretty cold and damp at times, but it didn’t stop us having a wonderful time. Later in the summer, towards the middle of August, Alan and I are planning to take our annual trip to Northern Ireland and we are hoping that Gary can join us for part of the trip.

I have spent the day getting Jess ready and re-supplying for the next crew and further passages around Mull. My UkeHoot friend Rob, his wife Mairi and her daughter Kirsty are joining me for a few days and I am hoping to get to Tobermory, Salen Jetty and Lochaline on the way. There’s not a lot of wind forecast for the next few days so we might be doing a fair bit of motoring. However, I am hopeful as there has been more wind than has been forecast recently and it does look dry. Rob, Mairi and Kirsty have been sailing with me before on The Clyde but this will be their first time further north.