Doing the Morven Loop

[The Gurnard]

But when they sneak up on you .. a solid six feet wall of vertical water .. ready to dampen my day if Im not observant .. and take action .. I want to know what hit me



Yup.. the Force 6 gusts were now hitting the Sound of Mull ..and I thoroughly enjoyed my passage .. as did the kayakers ..although they did drop their sails.



I put my camera away in the real ruff stuff too..as I didn’t want it damaged..its not waterproof. Our original plan was to cross over the Sound to Tobermory for a Fish Supper ..but perhaps you can appreciate why we decided to keep going..with the sea on our stern.



There will be a break now in this adventure..as Im heading for the wilderness again tomorrow..but I have to be back on Tuesday..so will hopefully continue it then

Thanks for reading my prattle.. and I hope you have enjoyed the show so far.

[The Gurnard]

Looks like the wind blew the post before that last one away :-o

Either that..or I didnt press submit when I cut it because of too many images in the one post ?

So read this part first..then the previous one..may make sense




I awoke to the noise of a companion’s VHF .. it was the coastguard weather warning ..

“Coastal waters south of Ardnamurchan Point .. Force 4 to Force 5 winds increasing to Force 6 later”

I knew I was just south of Ardnamurchan point .. but everything was well. The midges were still enjoying their breakfast as we readied our boats for the journey up the Sound of Mull. Sea state was flat calm.



As we set of again on our adventure ..a gentle breeze started blowing the gravy cobwebs from my head.. as kayakers hoisted sails to assist their passage up the still quiet Sound.



Passing Loch Aline which is the ferry terminal for the smaller Mull car Ferry crossing ..pangs of hunger started to hit my now empty stomach.. so we pulled over and landed at the rear of the Ferry ramp..well clear of its busy passage.



The snack bar was open for a welcome break



Back on the water..I felt a lot better with a full stomach of coffee (without the faff of stoves and hot water) and bacon rolls. The sun was starting to shine too..and the breeze was getting better at pushing the kayaks along



In fact..the sea began to do a little dance as the morning got better and better



Then I noticed the yachts were reefing down their sails in the ever freshening wind.. Jibs were dropped and boats started to lean away from the blow. The kayakers still kept theirs fully rigged though.



Soon I was enjoying surfing on the ever increasing waves.. I sat on their tops and tried not to fall over them.



I even noticed the car ferry beginning to slowly nod longitudinally .. as it ploughed up a bigger bow wave than normal ?



I kept a close eye on my rear end.. as I started to see five foot high waves following me..not a problem when three wave lengths back.

[breezeblock]

cracking pics and story as usual

[The Gurnard]

Thanks Breezeblock ..glad you enjoy the adventures.

Im a member of a couple of forums ..and my brother who is one of the kayakers started to add some of his photos and text of the adventure over on another channel. If you are interested in reading the full version from both our perspective ..you can find it here. I can’t copy and paste his stuff to this forum ..hence the reason for the link.

F-Ribs And Sibs.Com • View topic - The Morven Loop

[duggie12]

Cheers for posting that donny, not had the boat round movern but it's on the to do list now. Scotland is an amazing place for a boat isn't it. I never get bored of it and I go back to the same places all the time.

[The Gurnard]

Yup..its my favourite place in the world for boating Duggie ..it can get a bit rough at times but the wee Frib 275 holds her own in the rough stuff.

If I am heading into the waves ..sometimes they come over the front .. despite the Spray cover. Water finds its way under the cover and over the tubes. It happens with the original F Rib cover too. So I made a wee modification and it keeps things far dryer. However ..it is a permanent modification..so not for those who don’t like altering their boat from original spec.

Its a piece of my old Seago Slat floor..glued along the front with left over PVC glue from a repair to my Quicksiler earlier this year. I didn’t want to waste the glue as it was starting to go off. Gluing PVC with glue is not a black art..its very easy to do. It works as I expected and in effect increases tube size by 2.5 inches at the front on the boat. The boat still folds up as before too







I have not unveiled this mod on the other forum yet as Im meeting up with them in Oban at the weekend..and will show it then..so mums the word

[duggie12]

Looks good Donny
On thursday I'm heading to Corpach bay on jura then colonsay if the wind permits - but taking the honwave, which I've not used since I bought the frib, which i I think is a testimony to how capable and handy the fribs are

[Maximus]

Missed most of this thread as I was traveling (North) at the time...Pleased to see the trip and coverage up is to you're usuall high standards Mr G
I know the the Sound of Mull quite well and in those conditions the "Guppy's" performance (as well as you're Helming) is pretty impressive Mate!

[neil.mccrirrick]

Love innovations especially when they work and are neat 👍 top job there


Sent from my iPad using my finger

[The Gurnard]

Thanks for looking in guys...its appreciated

Duggie..I would have loved to join you on the Jura jaunt.. but I have to be in Oban on Thursday evening..then on Monday Im off to the Solway Firth for a week.

Maximus..its not me that is the seaworthy one..its the wee F Rib.. I can honestly think of no other 9ft SIB that performs the way it does.

Yup..Im happy with the job too Neil.. takes a bit of getting used to... look wise..but it is neat and functional and that is what matters to me.

For clarification.. it is a very dry boat as these photos will show.. she holds her nose up high when on the plane. Remember is a 6HP that keeps her going too..so very efficient hull. Photos taken by my brother





However ..there is no way I can keep on the plane into six foot waves..and I doubt any SIB can despite some folks claims



I approach at fast displacement speeds .. watching and judging these waves .. then cross when they fold over. Hitting that wall of water at 16mph would be suicidal in a small boat

Its at displacement speed her nose drops and sometimes I can slightly misjudge the wave’s timing ..hence the reason for my modification ..you can see the gap the water enters when nose down .. in this photo before my modification



The mod is basically just a copy of the grab rail that is glued round the Quicksilver.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Truly amazing little boat gurnard and the performance is brilliant with the 6 hp yam interesting too is how you are modifing it as you go not just bespoke to your own needs but to add to the design to make her more capable in certain conditions.

Cheers

[kerny]

As always super report and pics Mr G :thumbup:

[Fenlander]

>>>However ..there is no way I can keep on the plane into six foot waves... and I doubt any SIB can despite some folks claims... I approach at fast displacement speeds .. watching and judging these waves .. then cross when they fold over... Its at displacement speed her nose drops

Same here Gurnard. When we have to drop off the plane in rough water I keep to a fast displacement so the bow is held a little high and we stay dry... bad for fuel economy though. Move daughter a bit towards the transom too if needed to get the trim spot on.

As you say drop the speed right off and it gets very wet... and in my case the crew complaints start.

Running with waves like that is huge fun though.