Loch Long

Derek and Julie are very experienced sailors having previously sailed around Britain and Ireland. However, they have very little experience of motor cruisers and today was the day to correct that oversight. The selected cruising area was the full length of Loch Long, largely because it would have been a difficult sailing area with much tacking between the nearby shores. They were surprised by how much more you can see from Jomima with the higher helm position and lack of obstructing sails. I don’t think that they are ready to convert to power yet but, perhaps, the thought is now not so onerous.

Unfortunately the truck ride to Scotland, which stirs up any sediment, followed by treating the diesel tanks with treatment to kill any bacteria and algae, meant that the port engine stopped abruptly with a blocked filter. I had planned to change the filters in two days time, in Kip Marina but was now faced with having to do so at anchor at the top Loch Long. Spare filters and equipment for changing them was all on board. So, with the experienced help of Derek, we changed the primary and engine filters fitted to that engine. Air had been drawn into the pipes, by the fuel starvation, so the engine needed to turn over for some time before it finally started – much to the relief of everybody. The diagnosis of the problem was confirmed when we made it back to Holy Loch Marina without any further problems.

Loch Goil

The weather had moderated a bit that morning so we decided to start the exploration of the local Lochs. We left Holy Loch and turned north up Loch Long and then north west into Loch Goil – passing two porpoise as we did so. Shortly after entering the Loch we saw Carrick Castle on the southern shore. I took
Jomima closer to the bank but the castle looked very dark and forbidding so we headed up to the town of Lochgoilhead. On the way up the loch we had to move over towards the west bank to avoid one of the many navy vessels in this area. It is amazing how deep many of the lochs are. At times I was only 50 metres from the bank and there was 50 metres of water under Jomima. No wonder I was advised

to add another 30 metres of anchor chain to my puny 30 metres of chain.

At the top of the loch we tied up to a buoy for lunch and enjoyed the fantastic views of the surrounding mountains. Ann was impressed enough to take out her art equipment and start to draw and paint the surroundings. After lunch we returned slowly to the marina at Holy Loch to await the arrival of fellow travellers, Julie and Derek. They arrived in their Warrior sailing boat at about 6:00 pm in time for a quick dinner with us prior to a visit to the local pub to watch Manchester United win the European Cup.

Benmore Gardens

Today we decided to use the local bus service to visit Benmore Botanic Garden. It is only about 5 miles from our base at Sandbank on the shores of Holy Loch. The gardens themselves were far better than we had expected and even Ann managed to find a number of plants that she had not previously seen. They had the largest (in more ways

than one) collection of giant redwood trees and magnificent array of 300 species of rhododendron set in 120 acres of mountainside gardens. With many interesting shrubs such as a handkerchief tree. You never knew what you were going to find around the next corner.

After lunch in their café we again took the bus and rumbled along to Dunoon. There are two regular ferry services operating from there to the mainland. The locals seem to treat the ferries as an extension of the roads and plan their journeys accordingly.

Holy Loch

Road journeys always cover boats in far more grime than usual. So, firstly, we needed to clean Jomima and then stock her with fresh food ready for heading to our base, for the next week, at Holy Loch. The journey to Holy Loch Marina, near the old US nuclear submarine base vacated over ten years ago, was uneventful. We carefully crossed the Clyde traffic

lanes at 90 degrees as instructed – but without another vessel in site. Holy Loch itself is stunning. It looks like a small estuary but is nearly 50m deep – which is why it was used by the US submarines. The marina is being converted from the old landing area used by the US marines. They had a permanent mother ship and dry dock moored off shore with nearly 3,000 men attending to the refurbishment of the subs when they came in for servicing.

Kip Marina

Ann had agreed to drive our car from Nottingham to Kip complete with the final items of packing and also the essential outboard engine for Jomima’s tender. This had been too heavy to load onto the boat while she was out of the water at Newark. Ann left at 8:30 am and had a good journey, apart from heavy Friday afternoon traffic in Glasgow, covered the 300 miles by 3:30 pm. That afternoon we were welcomed to Scotland by Margaret and Morrison, who are also members of the Broom Owners Club - with a boat very similar to Jomima. That evening Morrison had arranged what proved to be and excellent meal for us all at the local hotel. However, by 10.00 pm Ann was fading fast, after her long drive to Scotland, so we were not long out of bed.

Arrival at Inverkip

The Glasgow police will not let wide loads travel along the M8 through Glasgow until 10.00 am. So, unusually, the driver did not leave at his normal 6:00 am and we had a lie in and finally left at 8:00 am. The view from the very high cab of the truck was magnificent as we headed north up the M6, A74 and M74. The journey through Glasgow passed without encountering too much traffic as a result we were slightly early for the escort vehicle. After a brief spell in a lay-by I was handed a two way radio by the escort driver and asked to listen to instructions. We were then able to follow a white van, with flashing lights, through the centre of Greenock and all of the rest of the journey to Kip Marina.

After waiting for one hour for the crane to return a yacht to the water, after having had a new propeller fitted (I never did find out how he lost his last one), Jomima was lowered into the waters of the Firth of Clyde ready for the start of this year’s adventure.

Travelling to Scotland

After months of planning, Jomima was just about going to be ready for lifting onto a truck, for transporting to the west coast of Scotland, by Thursday 15^th May 2008. On the Tuesday before she was due to go I received a call to ask if we could be ready a day earlier because the truck was ahead of schedule and they could then bring a return load back

from Scotland on the Friday. The return load saves me having to pay for the truck to travel back from Scotland empty and therefore saves me money. So, after a busy 24 hours, we were ready for the off a day earlier than planned.

Jomima is nearly 4m wide and is therefore a “wide load”. This means that the driver needs a “second man” and an escort vehicle for the last few miles of the journey to Inverkip from Greenock near Glasgow. I had agreed to be second man so, once Jomima was loaded after lunch, we headed north up the A1 from Newark and then across the A66 to Penrith. The A66 is one of the highest roads in England so the views were great. At Penrith is a secure truck stop where we were able to stay the night with the driver sleeping in his cab and me sleeping high up on the back of the truck in Jomima.