We had a great time with family and friends on the way to Inverness from Ireland, in Inverness, and on the sail to Denmark and final arrival in Skive, even if it was all rather hectic! Sally and Dave came to Dublin to greet us, which was amazing. Stuart and Frazer arrived to crew from Dublin to Inverness.
Dave, Sally and me in Dun Loughaire, Dublin Bay.
We were able to meet ups with Mags MacSporran on Gigha, and return some of her kind hospitality on our way south last year.
- Skipper and Fraser on Gigha, after a dip! 2. View of the Paps of Jura from the N end of Gigha
- Stuart at the wheel, North of Gigha 2. Garbage collected at the beach, N end of Gigha. They are “plogging” on Gigha too!
- Looking back at Ben Nevis from Loch Lochy, Caledonian Canal, 2. The lighthouse at Corran Narrows Loch Linnhie, 3. Fraser and John in the canal.
In Fort Augustus we had a visit from Stuart´s parents, and from his friend Andrea and her two spaniels. The pace hotted up even more when we reached Inverness. Alasdair and Philomena came to lunch, and we had a good chat. Elisabeth (who we made friends with in Salvador, Bahia) came on board, followed by Lisbeth and Karen to sail home to Denmark. Tanera, Veyatie and Pollaidh came for lunch, and next day Rory, Sarah and Rosie. Kathy Storey was also on board a couple of times, and took some of us to the Market Bar for late music. Moar and Anna came on board as new crew to cross to Denmark, and that night we all went out to hear Daggar Gordon and Amy Henderson (with a drummer whose name I lost) at Under The Canvas outside Eden Court Theatre, and some went on to the Market Bar later. We were very happy to see Daggar again, as he is an old friend, and was part of the Ceilidh band we had some years ago for our wedding party in Ullapool. We also met up with Stuart´s sister Catriona, her man Bill, Fraser, and others at the gig. All in all, a very nice period with family and friends.
- Moar at the sea lock, Clachnaharry. 2. Anna in Muirton Basin, 3. Elisabeth working the boat in the locks, 4. Karen and John 5. Karen, John and Lisbeth leaving Inverness Firth.
On Sunday (insert date) we left Muirton Basin to enter the sea locks at Clachnaharry, and set sail for the non-stop sail to Thyboron in North-West Jutland, which is the western entrance to the Limfjord. There was a reasonable wind to start with, but as we reached across the NE coast of Aberdeenshire, it slowly died. This meant we lost the power of the wind pilot self steering, and had to steer by hand. It also meant using the engine. However, the benefit for the new crew was calmer conditions at sea – calmer than any other time I have spent on the N Sea.
The weather during the crossing remained calm, and we passed many oil and gas installations, supply ships etc. At this time of year there is nearly always a light patch of sky to the North at night, where the glow of the sun is reflected when it sinks below the horizon. We spotted seals as well as dolphins, and many seabirds, en route.
We sailed into Thyboron channel shortly after midnight on Thursday 11th July, and carried on to the lovely small town of Lemvig, which has a good harbour, butcher, fishmonger, etc. Needless to say we were all quickly asleep, and looking forward to our rest day when we woke up. The crew visited the small Religious Art Gallery and its coffee shop overlooking the Fjord, while the Skipper caught up with paperwork.
On Friday morning we set sail for Skive, passing through the opening bridge at Oddesund at 0945 (opening times every half hour during the day, quarter to and quarter past the hour. Soon we had passed the islands of Venø and Jegindø and in Salling sound, between the island of Mors and Salling on the mainland.
We reached Skive around 1800, and joined the welcome party organised by Lars and Helle Klok at the wharf. Karens parents as well as Elisabeth´s parents joined in, as did Anna´s man Gudmundur. Also Nils, Søren, Julia and her man Anders, and Martin and Karina. Lasse and Birthe could not make it, but they did some around on Sunday, which was very nice.
The welcome home party at the wharf, Værftet boatyard, Skive, Denmark.
Poor Skipper got a very sore hip when arriving in Thyboron, and on Saturday went to the emergency clinic in Skive hospital which thankfully has an appointment system. There he was given an examination, and strong painkillers. The doctor thought it was the cartilage in the hip, and gave a cortisone injection and crutches to walk with. However, the pain and movement restriction remained, and so on Monday we visited the local doctor in Balling, who sent me in for an X-Ray and gave me stronger pain killers. Its very frustrating, but nearly a week later the pain and movement problems are still there with little sign of relief.
It was subsequently diagnosed as a slipped disc in the back, and poor Skip is grounded in Jutland with strong painkillers and physiotherapy for some weeks. This may be one price of relaxing now that the voyage is over!
Sailing with Svalen 