The Best of the West ..250 miles of it anyhoo ... - Page 2

The Gurnard · 27 July 2021, 16:02

A lot happened on my West Coast 250 trip..so it will be in several parts. Part one..Taynuilt to Jura is now attached..hope you enjoy it and thanks for watching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEdvgJSl_eA

Steve509926 · 28 July 2021, 00:13

Hi Donny, just watched part 1 and I've got to be honest it gave me the shivers!

I'm comfortable on a mountain in cloud and fog, whether I'm walking or skiing. I've done Anoch Eagoch a couple of times when you could just about see your hand in front of you and skied lots of times in thick fog, but I know I'd be crapping myself if I was in that fog in a SIB on the water! Guess experience tells!

Look forward to watching part 2.

The Gurnard · 28 July 2021, 08:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Donny, just watched part 1 and I've got to be honest it gave me the shivers!

I can understand that Steve ..I get the shivers watching some things Im not familiar with.

Example..you are happy going along the Aonach Eagach in a mist but 99% of people in the UK would be terrified even in broad daylight.

Things like plotters , depth sounders, easy access to VHF are all relatively new. I recall as a youngster standing in the bow of my fathers yacht with a plumb line shouting out the depth in places we knew could be tricky. We all relied on maps/ charts and compass back then. So it is not new to me. My kids could never imagine life without a mobile phone ..same thing ?

Im not recommending folk do it now ..but navigation is the easy part..a lot easier at sea than a narrow mountain ridge ..yet every single mountain body like the SMC , MTR etc recommend NOT relying on electronic navigation equipment but to use map and compass first and foremost. Many also say if you cant use a map and compass..you should not be in the mountains !! Im sure you will have heard that.

However the hard part in mist .. for me .. is avoiding collision with other boats. A plotter wound not help with that..nor will AIS as many boats wont be on it. A radar and reflector ? ..possibly the best ... but Im a small 4 meter inflatable so now we are getting ridiculous.

Its all risk assessment Steve ..and yes sometimes I take a little risk... we all do. Im sure some will think Im an accident waiting to happen because I know some fear going a mile off shore and I dont even think twice crossing to our islands. I know my parents (god bless them) thought that I was on a suicide mission when I was in the mountains.

This is me solo climbing Centre Post Gully .. no ropes or safety net for me in those days. Even back then, not many would do that ..but I have done things like that all my life ..and Im still alive. Its just me and in my nature. I can also honesty say there are some people still alive today because I had no problem climbing up to them to rescue them long before the helicopter arrived ... so some folks have benefitted from my “reckless” nature. Sadly ..arthritis in my feet joints has taken my love of the mountains from me now

Im certainly not on a suicide mission ..or trying to prove anything to anyone in my adventures. I have told my kids ..if one day they hear of me being lost at sea..dont feel sorry for me because I do what I love doing. Feel sorry for me in I end up in hospital for months with something like a crippling cancer.

However Im pretty certain I have a lot of adventures left in me...even though in four year time, I will be over 70 years old..simply because Im used to it and keep on doing it.

Steve509926 · 28 July 2021, 08:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Gurnard

This is me solo climbing Centre Post Gully .. no ropes or safety net for me in those days. Even back then, not many would do that ..but I have done things like that all my life ..and Im still alive

That looks one hell of a climb Donny

Is that the also known as Centre Gully, there's 3 of them in the Cairngorms, Centre Gully, The Runnel and ????

And 66 is two thirds of 99, so you've a long way to go!

The Gurnard · 28 July 2021, 09:07

Its on Creag Meagaidh Steve and I was around 28 years old. I only climbed it because I loved the deep blue colour of the ice ..it was like copper sulphate crystals colour. My climbing buddy around that time was Hamish MacInnes’s cousin. Sadly he was in a motor bike accident and lost a leg . He wanted to follow in his uncles footsteps

I was sent a link by one of the folks who enjoy my videos on Youtube and its another very interesting view point of the exact same journey and almost the same reasons for doing it. Its in complete contrast to my adventure though but makes for very enjoyable watching

Worth a watch until I get part two made

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGAvlLPa_Qc

Fenlander · 28 July 2021, 11:23

We have the lounge booked tonight post supper to watch your part one Donny but I've just watched the Fleming Yachts "Personal Connections" over a coffee and then his "How did it all begin". Very different to your adventuring but very enjoyable. Funny how the connections keep coming up... Tony Fleming was an apprentice at De Havilland (Hatfield) just as my late father in law left that company/location to take on the family business.

I'll look through more of Tony's Youtube over the next few days. Thanks for linking.

Steve509926 · 28 July 2021, 11:48

Never did much climbing, I was far too heavy back then. Mountain walking and scrambling was my thing and still is when my back and knee play ball.

I'll take a look at "Personal Connections" later tonight.

The Gurnard · 28 July 2021, 11:53

Thanks Fenlander and yes..I had never seen his videos before but have enjoyed watching some of them and will certainly watch more

I hope you forgive me for adding this ... but when you watch the video .. ask yourself.. is it not time I bought that dream cruising boat I often talked about ? Don’t nail yourself to a cross self sacrificing for others .. there is only so much you can do.

However..excuse my words as I know we are different people and I was always a selfish bugger

Fenlander · 28 July 2021, 12:27

>>>when you watch the video .. ask yourself.. is it not time I bought that dream cruising boat I often talked about ?

I think I'm lucky that the first part of the enjoyment for me is stepping out of the car at the coast with those sights, sounds and smells. Just being on the water and even better at sea tops that up with the nature of the craft being somewhat secondary.

We do often talk of a modest cruising style sailing boat but I think on balance the enthusiasm to think about it should be as far as it gets.

I was so lucky as a kid because Dad was Tony's "captain Chris" to a few folks and we were able to borrow their craft for our own holidays... the best craft similar to Fleming's 55 model but with less of a flybridge style. So I've seen a fair bit of the holiday live-aboard life anchoring off beaches and bays using the tender to explore.

Truth is were self and Mrs F to have done the cruising thing it should have been 30yrs ago... but we were frying other equally enjoyable fish then.

On an even more philosophical note we have neighbours either side just a few years older both having lost all their parents and with well settled children with own their lives. It would be too strong a word to say I envy their freedom but I certainly appreciate how it changes things... however for now I'm content to serve.

Steve509926 · 29 July 2021, 09:11

Diane and I watched "Personal Connections" last night, she now wants to know when we are upgrading! Good watch but as Fenlander says completely different to your adventures.

I didn't know much about Hamish MacInnes but after you mentioned him I did a little digging. I knew he "invented" a stretcher and an ice axe, but knew very little else. Read a few articles about him last night and I will be reading more, what a fascinating individual.

I've never been big on photography, but I knew I had a few pics of me and my walking buddies when we where last on Anoch Eagoch, not in cloud and mist, it was sunny but bloody cold.
It was 3 years ago, I was 58 but the older looking chap was 72, there's hope yet for us all

The third picture always amuses me. It doesn't look that high, but if you zoom in on curved line, top left, you can see a 40t artic on the A82

Nothing though in comparison to your "ice wall".

The Gurnard · 29 July 2021, 10:40

Nice photos Steve and I know ever single hand hold off by heart in the chimney .. although its been a while since I last did it. Its a truely magical walk in a full moon

When I turned 60 I wanted to celebrate the event by climbing 60 different munros that year. I actually did 82 in the year so I was delighted. Since then my health went downhill due to too much iron in my body. I find I can walk around 5 miles and after .. my feet joints become really painful.

Im hoping they improve again as two years ago my hands became that painful I could no longer play the keyboards which is another long time love of mine. Its the keyboard on the soundtracks of the videos now. My hands have loosened again so Im hoping my feet will too. The docs take a pint of my blood every couple of months to keep the iron levels low...its a hereditary condition I have.

Hamish (RIP) was a true character as is his cousin who I still occasionally meet.
Example his cousin..(also called Hamish) would wear his school gym shorts in mid winter walks when everything was covered in snow and ice ..just to prove a point. In those days we used to fill our big rucksacks with rocks to assist build stamina levels. We hung from the little edge trims above doorways to build up our finger strength so we could hang on small hand holds for ages. Nowadays folks want the lightest of gear and spend an absolute fortune on it ..so their walks are easier ..not realising it would be cheaper if they stopped eating so many pies .

Its a different ball game now and the younger folks have different ideas.

Its the same with boats ..the younger folks forget that displacement type boats were the norm a few years ago. We had to learn about tides and using a drogue in big following seas.. nowadays they know nothing other than.. you need to plane to be safe at sea .. and I do believe THEY do too

I gave up serious mountaineering quite a few years ago. It was the day after I held a young guy in my arms for an hour as I watched him die. He had just fallen 1000ft down Crowberry Gully on the Buachaille. I have never felt so alone or as helpless in my life as I tried to comfort him waiting for my brother to run back to get MacInnes and the other guys to bring the stretcher and the helicopter to get the unfortunate guys companions off the mountain.

I don’t recommend other SIB users to do the routes I take unless they have a lot of experience. I find them easy because of my life long experiences. ..however for many it would be suicidal.

Part two will hopefully be attached later today

The Gurnard · 29 July 2021, 20:44

Part two now attached ..and you will see .. it was a perfect sea for the crossing to Oronsay and Colonsay

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Vi9Ah9_3o

Brian · 30 July 2021, 11:52

.....and yet, another Masterpiece, Donny !

Bern Hanreck · 30 July 2021, 12:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian

.....and yet, another Masterpiece, Donny !

I'll second that

Steve509926 · 30 July 2021, 19:17

Great part 2 Donny, Jura looks beautiful.
You should get paid from the Scottish Tourist Board. Looks like another destination for the wish list.
We are looking at Mull for either May or Sept next year (obviously down to a video by your good self) There is a caravan site, whose name escapes me, I'm sure you've mentioned it in a previous post. It overlooks Iona, be grateful for the name if you can remember it.

Made me smile when I read about you hanging off the doorway architrave to build up finger strength. I think I would have brought the doorway down on top of me if I would have tried that when I was younger and much heavier. I doubt there was many 2nd row locks that ever tried one

Brinormeg · 31 July 2021, 01:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian

.....and yet, another Masterpiece, Donny !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bern Hanreck

I'll second that

And a third

Just spent a nice relaxed hour with a nice drink or two watching on the big tv a few times. Great stuff

Balthazar · 04 August 2021, 21:08

Amazing trip, thanks for sharing!!!

Once again, the proof that it is the captain who makes the journey, not the boat

The Gurnard · 12 August 2021, 09:24

Many thanks for your kind comments guys ..its appreciated and Im delighted you enjoyed the videos. I have been distracted lately..trying to catch up on some outside DIY to the house ..before the colder months arrive. However I have now got part three complete..and hopefully the last part will only be a few days before its ready

Enough said..part three.. enjoy it too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44yQwt08CeA

Brinormeg · 12 August 2021, 22:17

Your cracking videos almost make me too embarrassed to admit that I was born and lived in Scotland all my life, and have yet to see a tiny fraction of my own beautiful country which you showcase so well along with a wealth of knowledge, respect and understanding.

We really do appreciate the time and hard work you put into your videos and music........obviously like your sibbing ........a labour of love

jeffstevens763@g · 12 August 2021, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brinormeg

Your cracking videos almost make me too embarrassed to admit that I was born and lived in Scotland all my life, and have yet to see a tiny fraction of my own beautiful country which you showcase so well along with a wealth of knowledge, respect and understanding.

We really do appreciate the time and hard work you put into your videos and music........obviously like your sibbing ........a labour of love

Well said a lot of hard work going into these videos.