A silly Scilly birthday

by Dorian

I turned nine just before we got to the Isles of Scilly. On that day, we saw a whole pod of dolphins. We think we saw about 75 dolphins!

 

When we got to the Isles of Scilly, we looked around and we found a good ice cream shop to go to for my birthday.

Ice cream with a view!
Messy sister
Yum-yum!

We went to a beach and saw a lot of kids. It was the last day of school for them. They went to the Five Islands School and they were having a fun day at the beach for their last day. One boy was digging a giant hole. He dug so deep that some water was filling it from the bottom!  The kids told us that the P7s always play a prank on the school in the last week. This year, they put the bins on the roof! I think that was a funny prank!

– Dorian (9!)

Friends and fun (Bangor, N. Ireland)

The wind was forecast to be from the south for a few days, so we decided to stay in one place for a bit until the weather shifted back to a more favourable direction. Laundry, showers and town exploration were on the agenda.

 

The agenda further improved (showers are GREAT, but laundry isn’t much of a highlight!) when our kids acquired other “non-adults” to play with them. Each time we arrived at a new location, Anneka and Dorian looked around for little people that might wish to play. This time, they met a nice little girl that lived aboard a lovely wooden sailboat named Dreamcatcher in Bangor Marina. We took turns having play dates on our boats – which the kids loved. Later we walked with her family to a local beach and looked for crabs and other marine life in the tide pools.

The next day, good friends that we knew from Stonehaven sailed into the marina – thanks to some last minute organisation by Eric! Simon and Lena, aboard Sirona, arrived with their 3 kids in the slip right beside us! Just around the corner from the boats was a splash park that all of the kids were drawn to like magnets. Simon and Lena had a sailing dinghy on board that also kept the kids (and the husbands!) out of trouble for a while. The weather was already considerably warmer than when we left Inverness, so all of the kids (young and old) were in summer mode.

On Sunday morning, we walked around the harbour to a lovely little waterfront church. The people were very welcoming and even Eliana immediately at home in a crèche overlooking the Irish Sea – enjoying crafts, colouring, singing and activities.

Next stop Northern Ireland

Our last evening in Scotland, after a beautiful afternoon exploring Gigha Island, was capped off with a man on a sailboat in the harbour playing the bagpipes as the sun set over the island. A fitting end to an amazing 2.5 years in a lovely, friend-filled and picturesque country.

The trip to Bangor is just over a 60 mile day. We could complete it all during daylight hours (at least Scottish summer daylight hours!), but we had to get an early start in order to do so. We (the parents) woke up and were happy to see the wind was from the west. As all the kids were still sleeping below, we were happy to be able sail off of the mooring and out into the Sound of Jura. When Eliana woke, she said that she “need(s) a wee, but it is TOO rocky” – and so requested help from “mama” for her trip to the toilet.  Afterwards, when asked if she was hungry, she replied “yes, can I have some bread with lettuce and chorizo?”  We honestly never know what to expect out of that one!

After everyone was awake, the wind shifted to be more from the SW than west and we motor-sailed from Glenacardoch Point. However, before we had reached Kintyre Point, the wind was back to 15kts from the west and we were off.  Throughout the day, we had generally favourable winds.  It was a bit of a roly-poly upwind ride at first, but later the wind backed and the ride smoothed out considerably. At all wind angles, the boat behaved beautifully. In the end, we pulled into Bangor Marina by 1830 that night.

Oban to Gigha Island

After completing the three-day passage through the Caledonia Canal, our first port of call was Dunstaffnage Bay, Oban.  While the rain and light winds continued, our spirits were lifted by sharing the ritual of Cocktail Hour with the kids.  We introduced them to cold ginger beer with generous wedges of lime upon arrival in Oban.

Our arrival in Oban was perfectly timed to allow our trusty crew, Rona, to meet up with us.  Rona is joining us onboard Laridae for the first portion of the trip.  She is an experienced sailor (one of the kids sailing instructors at ASYC), amazing with children, and a true pleasure to have join as a member of the family.  She is teaching us something new every day, and hopefully she is receiving a fun experience in return!

Introducing the young crew to the ritual of Cocktail Hour with the standard drink of ginger beer with a squeeze of lime.
Our brave shipmate Rona at the helm of Laridae.

With the arrival of Rona, the rain subsided and the sun returned with a perfect beam reach in 10-20 knot winds during the 60 mile passage from Oban to Gigha Island.  We picked up a mooring ball at about 5 PM and immediately launched the dinghy to explore the clear waters and sandy beaches.  Basking in the warm sun, the kids explored the shallows and tide pools until we begrudgingly forced them back into the dinghy to return for dinner and bed.  We had an early morning in front of us for another 70 mile day to Bangor (Northern Ireland) the next morning.

View of the Gigha Island pontoon and mooring field on a perfect summer day.
Enjoying the rare sun and warmth of a fine Scottish summer day.
Seeking crabs from the safety of the dock.
Searching through the clear waters.
Get the goods while they last!
Enjoying a nice boost from the current through the Sound of Jura.

Caledonian Canal: Locks and lochs…

We were all excited to start our journey home by getting to experience the Caledonian Canal one more time.  The canal system is so amazingly run and lovely. Views along the canal are lovely and there are wonderful places to experience and enjoy along the way. The canal system is worth exploring by land or by boat. It is definitely a feat of engineering!

Our first day’s travel brought us to Dochgarroch Lock and day two just though that one lock to the north end of Loch Ness. The kids got to explore a bit by scooter (SO thankful we made room for these!) while we spent a day letting the winds calm a bit on Loch Ness.

Scooting along the canal
Enjoying a local garden
Scooters make travel with kids easier
Sitting down on the job
Reading in the cockpit
Watching the local wildlife
Ducklings!
Dochgarroch Lock
Looking out toward Loch Ness
Hugs bring warmth
Dochgarroch Lock
Sibling silliness
Tied up for the night
TALLER than the tree!
Caledonian Canal
Dochgarroch Lock
Old manual lock gears
Tied up for the night

The next day wasn’t much calmer, but it had calmed enough to make it worth moving onward. Other than the headwinds and waves, our journey across Loch Ness was slowed down a bit by the fact that we wanted to take some CTD samples in a transect across the lake!  Science was a well-covered topic that day for the kids homeschooling!

Prepping the CTD for cast #1
Making sure it is ready to go
Hands-on science
Putting it all back away for cast #2
Prepping for cast #2
Dorian gets to do cast #2
Only the adults for cast #3
200m of spectra fun!
Covering some other homeschooling material

After crossing Loch Ness and possibly seeing Nessie on our depth sounder (Dorian is STILL convinced!), we made it up the set of 4 locks in Fort Augustus and then moved to stay near the one playpark we know of on the canal for the night.

Nessie was plotted on our chart
Urquhart Castle
Looking out over Loch Ness
Bottom of Fort Augustus
Getting locked in
Our young helper
Tight locks
Haul lines, repeat!
Passing time learning the ukelele
Kytra Lock
Weir
Wild flowers
Our favourite stretch of canal
Perfect day on the canal
My camera was stolen!
Beautiful clouds in the hills
We are going down now!

We then made our way out of the canal system, making sure to get in one more set of CTD casts as we went through the lochs.

Our first lock down!
Waiting for the lock to open
Ferns
Child labour
Great help
The kids took over
Lovely clouds over an anchorage
Another CTD transect
Boys and their toys
The crafty one made ring, crown and necklace
Misty afternoon
Baby duckling!
Family
Leaving the lock
Approaching Neptune’s Staircase

As we made our way into the final sea lock at Corpach, we were reminded that the Caledonia Canal is ‘sisters’ with the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Canada.  The flags above Angela (photo below) clearly show our voyage route from Scotland to Canada.

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The Caledonia Canals is “sisters” with the Rideau Canada in Canada.

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Descending into the final sea lock to rejoin the salt water at Corpach, Scotland.

Departure

The day had finally arrived… DEPARTURE!  Angela completed her last day of work and the kids finished their last full day of school on Friday the 1st of July – Canada Day!  After a quick turnaround (selling car, clearing out house, saying many goodbyes, etc), we fully stuffed the boot of our friend Jess’s car with our things and then headed to the boat the following Monday – the 4th of July!  Auspicious days for those bound for North America!  🙂

A very fully car!
Happy to be heading to the boat
Where will all this go???
Ready (???) to go…
Last night in Inverness
Beautiful parting gift
Last hugs for Aberdeen friends

After being dropped off at the boat and getting a few last hugs, we slowly worked to put everything away.  It is amazing how a boat can slowly “absorb” clothes and possessions.  While we have been through this once before, this aspect still amazes us. If homes were built as efficiently as boats, one would never want for storage.

One more night in Inverness and then we were off!  Still unsure if we realise this fact or not…

Citizen Oceanographers

The crew of Laridae are very excited to be part of the Indigo V Expeditions Citizen Oceanographer research program.  The Indigo V Expedition program was founded by oceanographers and sailors in an attempt to collect high-quality oceanographic data on water quality and microbial life from very remote places in the oceans.  Large oceanographic research vessels are very expensive to bring to all corners of the oceans, so the team at Indigo V have found a way to outfit voyaging sailors with high-quality scientific tools.  The sailors collect data while they are roaming the oceans for a small fraction of the cost of running a large research vessel.  The research team at Indigo V Expeditions have been making important scientific discoveries and getting recognized widely in the scientific community.  They have published a paper on the Citizen Oceanography concept and presented at the White House!

The Siegel crew on Laridae were recently interviewed to become one of the official Citizen Oceanographer Explorers with the Indigo V team.  We look forward to working more closely with them soon!

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The origins of Citizen Oceanography. (Credit: Indigo V Expeditions)

Microbiome

The Marine Microbiome – tiny, marine micro-planktons are the most abundant organisms in the ocean, yet they are the most understudied.  (Credit: Indigo V Expeditions)

IndigoV YouTube

25 days to go!

by Anneka

I totally freaked out the other day when I found out that there were only 25 days until we leave on our big adventure.  I cannot say that I am nervous about it all, because I am not.  I have to say that I am mostly excited about millions of things: sunny beaches, warm weather, and dolphins!!!  However, I am most excited about spending so much time with my family (and of course having only 4.5 days of school per week instead of 5!).

I am nervous about a few little things because I have never done this before.  Knowing that my parents did a similar trip before I was born makes me feel like they know what’s up.dolphins

I am SO excited about dolphins.  Once we went out and saw a few dolphins swimming about in the front of the boat.  I thought that it was totally the best thing ever!  But my parents told me that during the trip we would see at least triple th
e amount of dolphins right in front of boat, jumping about in the bow waves.  This sounded awesome!

My mum and dad have both shown me pictures of sunny beaches and blue waters.  I said “That looks so cool!  I wish that we could go there!” – and then they told me that we WERE going to go to those places on our trip.  Many people never get a chance to go to places like that. We are going to get to see so many things next year.  I am such a lucky kid!  🙂

– Anneka (10)

Final (fun) preparations

After spending the last year getting to know the boat, learning her multiple systems, and fixing/rebuilding/replacing/installing many, many, many items, it was (finally) rewarding to get to do some FUN boat preparation projects!

Our primary objective for the past year was to focus on the main systems that are important for safety – rigging, sails, batteries, charging systems, engine, pumps, anchoring, navigation, communications, spares, spares, spares, etc.  These are all very important aspects for voyaging, but there is only a minor amount of satisfaction to be gained when dull projects are completed.  Yay, the secondary, high-capacity electric bilge pump and alarm are installed – done.  Although, it was a good feeling to have finished the job of removing, replacing, rewiring and recycling 183 kg of AGM batteries!

One of many To-Do lists… mostly ticked off! 🙂
A long list of the items that have been replaced or added.
Before the Corian counter cutting began to install the new sink.
The mess after.
Measuring the old bolts for the autopilot.
Six new AGM batteries ready to be loaded onboard.

With the completion of the important, but somewhat boring tasks, we were able to spend the weekend doing the fun tasks.  We applied the name and logo on the transom and boom, and began loading it with food, and more important items such as Lego!

Proud of the new name and hailing port.
Carefully applying the new name.
Overwhelming the checkout clerk with shopping trip 1 of ??.
Loading the priority items – Lego and games!

 

Crinan Canal passage

In September 2015 we delivered Laridae (formerly named Happy Hippie) from James Watt Dock in Greenock (near Glasgow) to the Inverness Marina in Inverness.  We enjoyed a week of perfect weather (it’s rare to have seven consecutive days of settled weather!) and passaged through the Crinan and Caledonian Canals.

The Crinan Canal is 14 km long and was built between 1794 and 1801.  There are 15 locks and they are manually operated by the most friendly canal staff.  It was a beautiful passage.  Anneka and Dorian have done their best to create a short timelapse movie of our passage from Ardrishaig (on the south side) to Crinan (on the north side) and finally to Oban.