Troon To Corpach To Inverness

Twister departed Troon the afternoon of Friday the 16^th of August with Bridget and LT aboard. As we rounded the Kintyre Peninsula the wind freshened to 30+ knots and veered to the south/southwest.  Fortunately the next 30 miles were nearly dead downwind and Ireland prevented a big swell reaching us. We enjoyed about an hour beating into 40 knot winds as we tacked into the Sound Of Islay (which separates the islands of Jura and Islay, both famous for their distilleries).  

Once inside the sound, we had flat waters and 15 knots of wind as we glided past one distillery and then another. We were tempted to anchor and ask for a tour but decided to press on to Corpach and the southwestern entrance to The Caledonian Canal. Coming out the northern end of The Sound Of Islay, we found the wind had eased a bit and the remaining 60 or so miles to Corpach were smooth sailing. Arriving at first light Sunday the 18^th, we tied up to a pontoon and got a couple of hours of sleep before the lockmaster opened the first lock and let us into the canal. In Corpach/Fort William we made friends and sampled whiskeys at the nearest pub, and hiked Ben Nevis (the tallest mountain in The British Isles at 1344 meters).  Mark and Maria on Mare Liberum arrived Corpach Monday night, and Tuesday morning we started together our journey along The Caledonian Canal.  

Twister in The Caledonian Canal

View From Ben Nevis

Today which Wednesday the 21st, finds us motorsailing along Loch Ness (we are keeping our eyes peeled). We plan to anchor by Urquhart Castle, have a swim and look at the castle before proceeding to Inverness this evening.