Left Port Ellen at 0650 in an increasing westerly wind, gusting to 30k by the time we were in the Sound of Jura. By 0900 we were making 7.2k under sail with 2 reefs in the main and 1/3 of the Genoa!, and by the time we oicked up the east-going tide we were making 9.0k over the ground! We progressed up the Sounds of Luing and Insh, by which time the sea had built to a rough state, but we made the passage of 60NM in 10 hours dead, and were happily berthed on the h...

A lot has happened since last week. Benj returned to England to be with Cath for her hospital appointment, which confirmed that she has breast cancer, and a date was set for surgery on 7th August. Cath bravely decided she would rather spned the next two weeks sailing than sitting at home fretting, so we returned to Oban and were joined by David and Mark Clough, brought up there by John, Jill and Mark. We enjoyed an evening aboard and prepared for the sail to Isla...

Saturday 14 July (Oban) We all had haggis, neeps and tatties for lunch - even David, a haggis 'virgin' - and then Nick and I went to the over-long skippers' briefing at the distillery. The marina had laid on extra ferries and were running an almost continuous shuttle to and from Oban for the opening party of the Malts. I donned my kilt for the event and we were there for the start at 1930, greeted with a dram at the gates of the distillery. The evening was fine ...

Thursday 12 - Friday 13 July (Oban) A slow sail in very light airs down the Sound, and back to our 'home' on Kerrera. Friday was registration day in Oban for the Classic Malts Cruise, and we collected our smart caps and fleeces.We dressed Vega overall, along with many boats in the marina, making a very festive sight. Some old hands had several Malts pennants, one boat flying one for each year from 2003 to 2007.

Monday 9 July (Oban) The rest of our team arrived by car, all the way from Peterborough - David Noble and Ian Sheldon. We took them over on the ferry and ate (again!) at the Waypoint. David and Ian have done a lot of sailing together, including rowing/sailing a Drascombe Lugger the length of the Caledonian Canal, so we had plenty stories to share over Evening Prayers, the quantity of which came as a bit of a shock to them, even though David had been getting int...