Scotland is truly a beautiful sailing destination. Overwhelmingly beautiful and rugged nature, sheltered waters, nice anchorages and marinas, very friendly people and many fellow sailors (also with children) around us. We enjoy this unexpected experience to the fullest. With the downside that it can indeed rain here ;-). Long live the cockpit tent ... we have it up very regularly. And we also need the heating, especially in the morning. The first three days we had beautiful weather, but yesterday it rained incessantly and also today it seems to become a rainy day. Luckily the weather forecast shows that we will have some nice days next week as well.

The trip to Scotland goes very well. In just over 60 hours we tick off 370 miles. Over a flat Irish sea with occasional shipping and fishing boats around us and no other sailboats. The first 24 hours we can still sail quite a bit but the last part is mostly motorbikes. However, over a very flat and calm sea with regular sunshine, so a lot of comfort on board. This way we get through those three days with reading, playing games, watching movies and good food. The last couple of hours we sail in the rain to the first anchorage in Scotland ... we pick up a mooring in a beautiful natural bay near the village of Lamlash on the island of Arran and as protection of the bay a beautiful little island called 'Holy Island' in front of it. The next morning the sun shines and the whole day the weather stays sunny. We explore the village and take a nice walk on Holy Island. You can go there with a foot-ferry, but then we have to wait almost an hour, so we go with our own dinghy. The way there is fine (with the wind and waves). The hike is really beautiful ... a lot of climbing and descending through rough nature and with beautiful views. It is a real 'holy' island, with a Buddhist monastery and some Buddhist monks living there. The way back to the boat is an adventurous and wet trip ... Against the wind and waves the water regularly comes over and we arrive at the boat soaking wet. Ah ... that will dry up again. In the evening we eat on the shore in an Italian restaurant. Every evening we end the day with a game of cards with the four of us.

The second day Scotland is also a beautiful day ... a bit more cloudy but no rain. With a beautiful sailing trip of 20 miles and many other sailing boats around us (most boats are smaller than ours, this looks a bit like the USA Intra Coastal Waterway, where we also encountered many 25-35 foot boats) to the next place ... Tarbert on the island Kintyre. Once arrived the girls are playing on the side with the skateboard and football. I make a nice meal on the boat (with the chocolate dessert). Well, just enjoy!
The next day we got up early to be at the entrance to the Crinan Canal on time. Going through the Crinan Canal is a real experience !!!! The canal is only 9 miles long, but has 8 locks and two bridges up to the 'top' and 7 locks (actually locks, just a bit bigger than the Brandaan) and 2 bridges back down again. Only the first and last two locks are manned and we have to operate the remaining locks ourselves. At each lock we bridge about 3 to 4 metres. And how do you operate such a lock? That's a bit of a puzzle. Fortunately, at the first lock a kind Scot helps us...who with British humour says three times "Never thought that I would have to teach a Dutchmen how to use locks", and then we manage perfectly. The lock gates open and close by pushing against the lock gate.to push the long end of the door. That's a job the girls can do together just now (hard work!!!!) ... quite a bit of power, but they manage well! The water goes out because the shutters in the doors are opened with a lever ... the girls can do that too. We mainly do the line work and Toine drives the boat.
We do the first three locks on our own, and at the other locks we join a British family (Allen and Sue) with three children aged 8, 9 and 10 (Mathew, Anna and Joshua). With two boats it is very easy (half the work), but also very cosy! The whole day is dry and in the afternoon we even have a completely blue sky with a nice warm sunshine. The canal itself is very narrow and leads through beautiful nature and nice little villages. So we have a very active day and we're even really tired when we stop around 17.00 in the afternoon at a super rustic spot, just before the last two locks. We have a drink together with Allen and Sue on the Brandaan (after Sue took a shower with us because she collapsed the canal when we moored ...) and have a nice dinner in the only restaurant in Crinan. The children play together all the time and they manage to talk to each other nicely. A really nice meeting! The next day (is yesterday) our paths separate again ... they have a little more time than we do and we wave us off and we sail through the rain the 25 miles to Oban. Sailing in front of the wind along all small islands with strong currents and currents ... unfortunately we do not see so much of this beautiful area because of the rain. Wet and cold we arrive in the marina of Dunstaffnage, just 3 miles north of Oban. The marina of Oban was full, but this is also a fine marina with a nice restaurant on the side. And yes, the food in Scotland is really perfect! Not too compared to the English kitchen (??!).

Well, and now we're on the boat in the rain thinking about what we're going to do today. Probably take the bus to Oban and look for some things 'inside'. Tomorrow it should be dry again! And this too belongs to Scotland! The next week we sail through the Caledonian Canal to the east side of Scotland. This is another (world) famous canal, which is quite a milestone for a sailor to continue, next weekend we will start with the last long trip back home!