In english below

Vi er ankommet til Kirkwall og er blæst inde her indtil videre. Vejret er usædvanligt blæsende: her til morgen registrerede vi 18 m/s - inde i havnen! Hvilket indikerer over 20 m/s udenfor. Det vil være ubehageligt at sejle i for besætningen, så vi venter her på et vindue på 3 dage, så vi kan komme hjem til Danmark på en sikker måde.

Rejsen hertil op langs den skotske vestkyst var udfordrende, men meget smuk. Vi besøgte flere destillerier: Arran, Laphroaig, Kilchoman, Talisker og til sidst Scapa her på Orkney.

Arran destilleriet ligger på øen Arran, som ligger mellem Galloway og Kintyre. Det betyder, at farvandet omkring øen er godt beskyttet, og for os som sejler, er det langt mere roligt og behageligt at sejle i. Kan sammenlignes med at sejle rundt i de indre danske farvande. Det kan også være hårdt, og hvis man ikke har prøvet andet, kan det være udfordrende, men slet ikke så voldsomt som farvandene nord for Irland og vest for Kintyre, som er mere direkte udsat for det nordlige Atlanterhav. Vi lagde for anker nord for Arran i en dejlig bugt (Lochranza). Destilleriet lå kun en halv times gang fra vores ankerplads.

Efter Arran sejlede vi tilbage ned syd om Mull of Kintyre for at gå nordvest mod Islay. Vores kyndige navigator havde planlagt det således, at vi ville runde Mull of Kintyre på et tidspunkt, hvor der var medstrøm. På dette sted er der specielt meget strøm, og vi sejlede meget tæt på land og kom op på 12 knob, hvoraf de 7 var gratis medstrøm. Det var en vild oplevelse.

Vi ankom senere samme dag til Port Ellen på Islay sammen med en flot regnbue.

Der har vi været før og oplevet en fantastisk smagning på Ardbeg, men denne gang besøgte vi i stedet Kilchoman-destilleriet. Dette destilleri er specielt, idet det er et af de eneste, som laver alle faser af whiskeyproduktionen selv. De har også et "local barley"-produkt, som dermed er fuldstændig og komplet hjemmelavet på Islay med udelukkende lokale ingredienser.

På Islay bliver der bygget flere nye destillerier: Port Ellen er lige åbnet igen i store industribygninger.

Og ved siden af Laphroaig åbner et nyt Islay-destilleri.

En del af bygningen er de traditionelle tage, som i gamle dage var på de bygninger, hvor malten røges og tørres, men i dag er det udelukkende kulisse, idet alle processer på dette nye destilleri kommer til at foregå fuldt automatisk inde i industribygninger bagved.

Vi besøgte også andet ud over blot whiskeydestillerier, således øen Iona, som er kendt for et aktivt, kristent kloster, hvor vi var til gudstjeneste, på rundvisning og vandreture rundt på øen. Turen til Iona efter Islay delte vi op i en 2-dages sejltur. Undervejs ankrede vi for natten på øen Colonsay og ankom til Iona dagen efter ved middagstid. Her lå vi for anker i et smalt sund næsten ud for klosteret. Strømmen skiftede retning her flere gange i døgnet, og vi frygtede, at vores ankerkæde ville blive syet ind i planter og klipper, men det skete heldigvis ikke.

Hvor Islay var et af hovedmålene for de whiskeyinteresserede, var Iona hovedmålet for Hanne, som selv er præst og havde set meget frem til at besøge samfundet på Iona. Vi var så heldige, at vi ankom på en søndag og tidsnok til at kunne deltage i gudstjenesten på klosteret.

Efter Iona sejlede vi til Carbost på Skye. Marinaen lå få hundrede meter fra destilleriet Talisker, som vi også besøgte. Det var et udmærket besøg, men smagsprøvernes størrelser var fornærmende små. Carbost kunne derudover byde på et rigtigt "Lobster shack", hvor vi kunne få friskfanget hummer og østers. Råvarerne var fantastiske, men de var serveret af uengagerede og livstrætte teenagere, der tydeligvis ikke værdsatte eller forstod, hvilke fantastiske råvarer de arbejdede med. Alt tilbehør (pomfritter, smør, saucer) var fuldstændigt smagsløst og forbavsende ligegyldigt tilberedt.

Carbost har en dejlig pub, "The Old Inn", som er et hyggeligt lokalt sted, hvor vi nød at opholde os så meget som muligt.

På Skye fik Hanne desværre underretning hjemmefra om, at hendes far var alvorligt syg, og hun og Gustav forlod os for at tage hjem og være hos deres far/morfar. Siden er Gustav kommet tilbage til båden, og vi er nu 5 mand.

Turen vest rundt om toppen af Skotland bragte os til Stornoway på øen Lewis, som er den nordligste ø i de Ydre Hebrider - det var første gang, vi besøgte disse øer.

Turen fra Skye til Stornoway forløb i stille regnvejr, mest for motor, men det var også rart at prøve lidt rolig sejlads. Stornoway var et dejligt sted at være. Fra vores plads i marinaen kunne vi se et smukt slot, som i dag er indrettet til hotel og restaurant. I restauranten spiste vi deres fantastiske pandekager med is og gik ture i parken udenfor. Der er flere dejlige lokale pubber og restauranter, men byen er bestemt ikke præget af turisme.

Fra Stornoway gik turen videre til Kirkwall på Orkney. Vi havde regnet med en tur på ca. 26 timer, men var heldige med vind og strøm og ankom allerede efter ca. 22 timer.

På Orkney har vi besøgt destilleriet Scapa. Det var en rigtig god oplevelse. Vi ville egentlig have besøgt Highland Park, men deres priser for rundvisninger og smagninger var uhyggelige, sandsynligvis fordi de ligger tæt på byen Kirkwall, som ofte besøges af krydstogtskibe. Scapa er et mindre kendt destilleri, der ligger omkring en times gang fra byen. Det var en god beslutning at besøge Scapa i stedet for Highland Park, da vi fik en rigtig god rundtur og nogle meget spændende dramme (5 stk.), nydt i et fantastisk lokale med udsigt ud over Scapa Flow, som er et sund/fjord på den sydlige side af Orkney. Drammene var dog alt for små, men sådan er de jo, de skotter.

Og nu er vores vejrheld løbet ud, og vi ligger her og venter. Der er lige nu ingen udsigt til, at vejret bliver bedre. Heldigvis er Kirkwall en dejlig by. I aften skal vi spise ude, og vi starter med en omgang bowling i byens nye lækre bowlinghal og arkade 😄

Windbound in Kirkwall

We have arrived in Kirkwall and are windbound here for the time being. The weather is unusually windy: this morning we recorded 18 m/s - inside the harbour! Which indicates more than 20 m/s outside. That would be uncomfortable sailing for the crew, so we are waiting here for a 3-day window, so we can get home to Denmark in a safe way.

The journey here up along the Scottish west coast was challenging, but very beautiful. We visited several distilleries: Arran, Laphroaig, Kilchoman, Talisker, and finally Scapa here on Orkney.

Arran is located on the island of Arran, which lies between Galloway and Kintyre. This means that the waters around Arran are well protected, and for us as sailors much calmer and more pleasant to sail in. It can be compared with sailing around the inner Danish waters. It can also be rough, and if you have not tried anything else, it can be challenging, but not at all as violent as the waters north of Ireland and west of Kintyre, which are directly exposed to the North Atlantic. We anchored north of Arran in a lovely bay (Lochranza). The distillery was only half an hour's walk from our anchorage.

After Arran, we sailed back down south of the Mull of Kintyre to head northwest towards Islay. Our skilled navigator had planned it so that we would round the Mull of Kintyre at a time when there was a favourable current. There is especially strong current in this place, and we sailed very close to land and reached 12 knots, 7 of which were free current. It was a wild experience.

Later the same day, we arrived in Port Ellen on Islay. We had been there before and experienced a fantastic tasting at Ardbeg, but this time we visited Kilchoman Distillery instead. This distillery is special in that it is one of the only ones that carries out all phases of whiskey production itself. They also have a "local barley" product, which is therefore completely and entirely homemade on Islay with exclusively local ingredients.

Several new distilleries are being built on Islay: Port Ellen has just reopened in large industrial buildings, and next to Laphroaig a new Islay distillery is opening. Part of the building has the traditional roofs that, in the old days, were on the buildings where the malt was smoked and dried, but today it is purely a facade, as all processes take place fully automatically inside the industrial buildings behind it.

We also visited other things besides just whiskey distilleries, including the island of Iona, which is known for an active Christian monastery, where we attended a church service, went on a guided tour, and took walks around the island.

After Islay, a 2-day sail up to Iona followed. Along the way, we anchored for the night at the island of Colonsay and arrived at Iona around midday the following day. Here we lay at anchor in a narrow sound almost opposite the monastery. The current changed direction here several times a day, and we feared that our anchor chain would become tangled in plants and rocks, but fortunately that did not happen.

Where Islay was one of the main goals for the whiskey enthusiasts, Iona was the main goal for Hanna, who is herself a priest and had been very much looking forward to visiting the community on Iona. We were lucky enough to arrive on a Sunday and in time to take part in the church service at the monastery.

After Iona, we sailed to Carbost on Skye. The marina was only a few hundred metres from the Talisker distillery, which we also visited. It was a decent visit, but the sizes of the tastings were insultingly small. Carbost could also offer a real "Lobster shack", where we could get freshly caught lobster and oysters. The raw ingredients were fantastic, but they were served by disengaged and life-weary teenagers who clearly did not appreciate or understand what fantastic ingredients they were working with. All the side dishes (chips, butter, sauces) were completely tasteless and astonishingly indifferently prepared.

Carbost has a lovely pub, "The Old Inn", which is a cosy local place where we enjoyed spending as much time as possible.

On Skye, Hanne unfortunately received news from home that her father was seriously ill, and she and Gustav left us to go home and be with their father/grandfather. Since then, Gustav has returned to the boat, and we are now 5 men.

The trip west around the top of Scotland brought us to Stornoway on the island of Lewis, which is the northernmost island in the Outer Hebrides - it was the first time we visited these islands.

The trip from Skye to Stornoway took place in quiet rainy weather, mostly under engine, but it was also nice to try a bit of calm sailing. Stornoway was a lovely place to be. From our berth in the marina, we could see a beautiful castle, which today has been converted into a hotel and restaurant. In the restaurant, we ate their fantastic pancakes with ice cream and went for walks in the park outside. There are several lovely local pubs and restaurants, but the town is definitely not dominated by tourism.

From Stornoway, the trip continued to Kirkwall on Orkney. We had expected a trip of about 26 hours, but we were lucky with wind and current and arrived already after about 22 hours.

On Orkney, we visited the Scapa distillery. It was a really good experience. We had originally wanted to visit Highland Park, but their prices for tours and tastings were terrifying, probably because they are close to the town of Kirkwall, which is often visited by cruise ships. Scapa is a less well-known distillery located about an hour's walk from the town. It was a good decision to visit Scapa instead of Highland Park, as we got a really good tour and some very interesting drams (5 of them), enjoyed in a fantastic room with a view out over Scapa Flow, which is a sound/fjord on the southern side of Orkney. The drams were far too small, though, but that's the Scots for you.

And now our weather luck has run out, and we are lying here waiting. Right now there is no prospect of the weather improving. Fortunately, Kirkwall is a lovely town. Tonight we are going out to eat, and we are starting with a round of bowling in the town's new, lovely bowling alley and arcade :-)