Evolene - Nauticat 42

13/9/25 - 21/9/25 After a short but very pleasant sail across to the east side of Loch Fyne, we picked up a buoy at Otter Ferry.  The cormorant that was stood drying out its wings on the buoy, along with all its friends on the other ones, looked at us with a degree of disbelief that it would have to move.  Sorry cormorant!   After dispensing with the very soggy foul weather gear from the earlier soakings and drying ourselves out we settled in to a very pleasant evening, bobbing on the open sea again.  We nipped ashore in the evening to eat at the lovely Oystercatcher pub, taking full advantage of the very convenient pontoon to tie up the dinghy and walk ashore.   Mooring buoys or cormorant perches? The following morning everything was cold and our stuff was still damp from the day previously - welcome to autumn!  However the wind was from the southeast and we enjoyed a good sail (close reach on the port tack) down to the beautiful village of Tarbe...

08/9/25 to 13/9/25 With the very variable weather continuing, we were in no rush to leave the comfort of the canal and therefore enjoyed a slow but fun transit through.  Usually after a yacht club muster there is a mini-cruise in company, where boats follow a similar cruising route for the week following.  However, this year, due to weather conditions, the cruise had been stood down and therefore a few of us had similar plans to head through the canal shortly after the muster.  None, whom we were aware of, were opting for the longer route of going round the Mull of Kintyre!  And with other non-club boats with similar plans, it made for a busy Monday for the lock-keepers! Given that each lock requires the filling and emptying of hundreds of cubic metres of water, a limited commodity even in the west of Scotland, the lock-keepers were keen for boats to transit in pairs where possible.  Luckily we were heading through with our friends, Mark and Asha aboard Altor of...

30/8/25 to 8/9/25 Sometimes the weather at this time of year on the Scottish west coast can be glorious and we've had some super weeks sailing in early September.  This year, however, it has been much more unsettled, with blow after blow coming through and plenty of accompanying rain.   We made the most of our four nights in Kerrera, catching up with Mark and Asha from Altor of Down , meeting new friends, heading out for dinner one evening in Oban, availing ourselves of the industrial-sized washing machine and dryer at the marina, enjoying yoga in the morning - thanks Tanya! - and getting out for very soggy cross-country runs! Heading back to Kerrera after a meal in Oban Impromptu music session in The Waypoint bar at Kerrera With a short window of more settled weather appearing on the forecast for the 3rd September, we slipped our lines the day before and headed a short distance south to the very popular anchorage of Puilladobhrain (pool of the otter).  It is a lovel...

As we've been onboard for over four months now we felt that a tour of the boat was long overdue.  W e took the opportunity a few weeks back to take some photos prior to our guests arriving as it was about as clean and tidy as it gets! To begin, here are a few general details about Evolene...  She was built by Sitala Yachts in Finland under the model name of Nauticat 42.  She is 42 feet (13m) long but this doesn't take into account additions to the bow and stern such as the bowsprit and davits to hold the dinghy.  She was built in 1997 and launched in 1999.  Her first owner was Swiss and must have had connections to an area of south west Switzerland called  Evolène .   Initially she was kept in and around Nice and since then gradually moved her way northwards, with two further owners before us.  She has 3 cabins (bedrooms) and 7 berths (space for 7 people to sleep conventionally, although we could always create extra sleeping space in the saloon se...

22/8/25 to 30/8/25 There's nothing quite like returning from travels to help you see your own country in glorious technicolour again.  We spent a lovely weekend settling back into life in Scotland.  After a relaxing Friday afternoon following our arrival in Wick and a delicious fresh seafood dinner from the 'Creel & Crumb' shack at the top of the pontoons, we headed out for a much needed leg stretch round the headland to the north of Wick.  The cows and sheep were grazing contentedly in the lush green fields alongside the paths, kestrels were hovering above the more rustic areas just in from the coastline.  Large chatterings of starlings were lining the telegraph lines, waiting no doubt to create their beautiful murmurations as sunset approached, and a couple of buzzards soared inland.  Despite never having been to Wick or the surrounding area before (except for a brief visit by Stuart a couple of decades ago), there was a beautiful familiarity of the unfami...