Gylen Castle from the sea

Gylen Castle stands guard at the South end of Kerrera, a former MacDougall stronghold built in 1582 and occupied until the inhabitants were besieged by General Leslie in 1647, Deprived of water, they surrendered on the faith of Leslie's promise to spare them, on which of course he promptly reneged, allowing only one young MacDougall boy to survive.

I've written before about my acquisition of the sailing vessel Gaudeamus, here; The Crinan Canal not quite for me. I eventually made it through the canal in 1974 and moored my ship at the Brandystone in Oban Bay, thanks to the wonderful Donnie Currie, then one of our last surviving boatbuilders. Our old friend Donald Brown soon heard of the move and demanded that I take him to see Gylen Castle from the sea. 

Mr Brown was not a man whose demands you could easily refuse. Born and brought up in the family farm at the head of Loch Feochan he had walked daily the five miles to school in Oban. Standing well over six feet he was a commanding presence, also a loud one, as his wartime service as a front line doctor had left him quite deaf. A man of principle, as a medical student he had refused to take part in University boxing. Like many from Argyll he had cousins everywhere, John Stevenson the procurator fiscal and the inspiration for Sutherland's Law, in which he was played by Iain Cuthbertson and Jimmy Macdonald the Oban undertaker being two of them. Jimmy's hearse proved useful when Donald bought a grandfather clock in Oban, but started rumours when it was seen parked outside his house in Glasgow.

We had arranged to meet at the boat, the Browns being already in Oban. On the appointed day I left Glasgow early, but my car developed problems on the way and on arrival I had to leave it in a garage. This was fortunate as by the end of the day I was to be in no fit state to drive.

At the Brandystone I was met by Donald in full white surgical dress, which he assured me being bloodproof was also waterproof, his wife Barbara in more normal clothing and their golden labrador, Juno. The Browns were namely for matrimonial discussions, both being of wonderfully strong character. Donald felt that wife and dog should stay ashore, Barbara disagreed and had Juno had a vote she would have been with Donald. Barbara of course won and we duly made a somewhat risky trip out in the eight foot pram dinghy to my ship.

Gaudeamus is a Loch Long, number 98 in the class, twentyone feet overall and with minimal shelter. here's a picture of a sistership.

Celeano II, built by Robertsons in 1949

We were quickly underway in quite a brisk following breeze. From the outset Juno was distinctly unhappy and cowered under the wee cuddy that you'll see in the photograph. Donald took the helm, while Barbara held on tightly and I did my best to keep calm. We were soon past Horsehoe Bay, avoided the Cutter Rock and made a swift turn to starboard at the bottom of Kerrera Sound.

There followed a nice fast reach in a flat sea under the lea of the island, with a wonderful clear view of the castle, before clearing the coast for the trip back North.

Loch Longs are tough wee boats and I had no doubt that we would make it, but they're not comfortable in a blow with the nasty short waves that we get when there's a good strong tide running. It took several tacks to work our way back to the entrance to the bay, after which we had a run down to the Brandystone. As we picked up the mooring Juno saw her chance to jump into the water, swim ashore and make off.

Once all stowed, dinghy back in Donnie's shed and  Juno recovered, Donald drove us to the summit of one of Oban's peaks, where we were met by the above mentioned John and Jimmie. They said they had been concerned about us and greatly relieved when they saw the Gaudeamus coming round into the bay and flying down to her mooring. Once we were seated we were each handed a pint glass of whisky topped up with strong ale to fortify us for the trip back to Glasgow in Donald's Rover.

Turning the Hull

This week it became impossible to put off turning the hull any longer. The outside had three coats of epoxy, nicely sanded down to give a key for further coating, the weather was nice and Annie and Gareth had arrived from New Zealand for their wedding in a Highland castle next weekend to lend a hand. They and a group of local pals rallied round to help with muscle and, of course, advice.

I'm greatly indebted to Mairi Fleck for the images on this post. They make words quite unnecessary.

Spring Quiz

The Toberonochy Dolphin

At the request of the VisitToberonochy organisation I have agreed to publish here the current Spring Quiz. It may help to divert attention from the stresses of the Scottish elections. The answers will be posted next week.

1 What is the origin of the name Toberonochy?

2 When you travel from the Cuan Ferry to Toberonochy you pass an old water mill. Who or what live(s) there? And what must you leave to pacify him/her/them?

3 Apart from boat musters what was the main activity on Luing in former times (economically productive that is, not drinking etc).

4 South east from Toberonochy lies the Dorus Mhor, the great door in Gaelic. Who or what came to grief there on 15 December 1820? For what was he/she/it famous?

5 West south west from Toberonochy is the Gulf of Corryvreckan. Who was Vreckan (otherwise Breackan) and what is said to have happened to him?

6 Which famous writer nearly drowned there in August 1947?

 

7 Many Australians visit the islands of Mull and Ulva each year, because the fifth governor of New South Wales Lachlan Macquarie came from Ulva and is buried on Mull. What tragic event happened on 7 May 1845 which might make them want to visit Craignish Castle as well?

8 Historically islands such as Luing had great importance, in an age when almost all travel was by sea and many visitors stopped over in Toberonochy. Who is said to have stopped here on 5 or maybe 7 July 1249? Bonus point, must get all three, (a) why had he come? (b) why was his mission doomed? (c) what happened to him the next day?

9 These islands were often visited by the Vikings and tried to maintain their independence from both the Norwegian and the Scottish kings. The ships used by the Scots and the Norsemen had one major difference which gave the Scots an advantage in local waters and the Norsemen an advantage on the open sea. Name what it was.

10 Who won the Battle of Largs?

Finally two easy questions for sailors who don't know any local history

11 What causes the whirlpools at the Corryvreckan?

12 What is an amphidrome, or amphidromic point? Bonus point, name the location of one nearest to Toberonochy. And if you can explain in simple language how they come about you deserve more than to win this quiz.