Northern Ireland to Scotland 55:50.179N 005:56.721W

Pelagia
Frans & Sarah Toonen
Fri 5 Jul 2013 14:52
Friday 5/7/13, Wind Nil at first then F3 to 4 behind us, Overcast.

Scotland - a new country for us by sea. We left Glenarm at a civilised 8am having woken the neighbours who rafted on late last night so they could move out of the way. Another neighbour had tried to leave with a mooring line still attached so we made sure we were clear. The north going tidal stream runs for about 6 hours and so we wanted to catch it. There was no wind at all so we had to motor for the first few hours which was disappointing as we were in the North Channel near Raithlin Island which normally features in the storm warnings. With the wind settled on the starboard quarter and steady at 10 knots Captain decided to hoist the cruising chute. This went well and we had a great sail for over 6 hours doing about 6 knots over a gentle sea with mini-swell. Plenty of time to read the pilot books and study the charts en-route as we plan further ahead.

The first day we haven't seen a porpoise. Loads of Guillemots as usual.

We made for Jura which has a dramatic coastline of four mountains and arrived in the Small Isles on it's east coast in the first sunshine of the day. Sarah helmed up to the mooring on first attempt. No prize though - straight below to rustle up the rations.

Dinner is served (Jura):

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