Scotland, Wales, Ireland

[Phantom Corsair]

Anyone have experience cruising these parts? By sailboat - not the canals. My bride says, "all warm azure-kissed beaches are alike," and gently waving palms bore her, so consequently she eschews the Islands. I'll tolerate her heresy, but only because I love Guinness. It's we, plus three, and I can fathom the lingo, having studied the BBC as a small boy.

[MarkJ]

I read some article about a cruise around Scotland that stops in at whiskey distillaries

So between that and the Guinness in Ireland thats 2 out of 3... you could drop Wales

[ughmo2000]

Psst! Hey! Dude!! Shisssh!! I've got a buddy!

Irish captain I sailed trans-At with. Extraordinary sailor, and world record holder for the fastest decent of the river Shannon, Ireland's longest river. (tell him I said that, he'll know right off who said it and you'll see him sigh and roll his eyes... lol).

Hellofa nice guy and not afraid to buy a few rounds to boot! Anyway, I'm sure he can answer any question you may have. His site, WWW.Globeyachting dot com also has links to area weather, etc.

Have a great sail!

[swagman]

Hi,
Suspect you'll be more than surprised at the scenery in both western Scotland and southern / western Ireland. Get the weather right and both are unbeatable sailing locations. Wales (God bless it) is not in the same league.
Good luck
JOHN

[mickmul]

Hey Phantom, I can give you some good pointers. . When do you hope to sail here? charter/own boat? length of stay? there's many a welcoming friend and harbour!!

[Phantom Corsair]

We are aiming to depart Fall 2009 aboard a Pearson 424 ketch (mine) out of Brooklyn, NY. Wife & me, plus what will be 9 (almost 10), 7 and 3-year-old boys. No itinerary yet, but we have been talking idly about hitting (among other places) Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Greece, the Dalmation coast and N. Africa/Morocco-ish. Figuring on 9 months to a year out.

[mickmul]

Ok, for my 2c worth, the three distinct areas I would visit are the Kerry and Cork coasts in Ireland, (especially Blasket Islands/Dingle, Lawrences Cove, Sherkin/Cape Clear Islands, Baltimore, Castletownsend, Glandore, Kinsale, and Cork Harbour) the South Western coast of England, (esp the Scilly Islands, Falmouth, Dartmouth etc) and the islands/highlands coasts of northwest Scotland (esp Kyle of Lochalsh/Isle of Skye areas, and possibly a trip up the Caledonian canal to Loch Ness). There are dozens more gems to visit, but plenty time to mention them - my only concern is the timing of your departure - season pretty much closes over here come September end, and these are rugged North Atlantic coasts, easily navigable but not pretty as lee shores go . . . do you intend to begin further south and work your way up here?? Fair Winds . . Mick

[Phantom Corsair]

Much obliged! I'll have a look at all these suggested venues. Not to worry about us trying to enjoy Wales in Late December (although certainly the crowds will have thinned by then); this is the Spring/Summer return loop (leaving us to maybe ARC or similar earlier route back homeward).

[JimB]

Have a look at my website, which compares many of the more pleasant cruising areas of Europe. And some areas are covered in quite a lot of detail. It's designed to help people planning a long cruise . . .

JimB
JimB's sail Europe - or - Google 'jimb sail'

[swagman]

Hi Phantom,
We've just spent part of last three years going from UK to Med, then onward to Turkey and back via Croatia etc to ARC and so to the Caribbean . Most is on our blog with almost daily updates, personal views and pictures of places visited. You might find it useful.
Good luck with your own trip
JOHN

[Chiroeurope]

Live on the east Coast of Scotland and unfortunately have not gotten to do any sailing. We have been told the West side is the better side of Scotland to Sail. Hope this helps and there are some very big marinas on the Clyde and we don't get as bad as the South does when it comes to Sea storms coming in (Thanks Ireland)

[Joli]

You guys are killing us. Three more years till the last one is off to college and we can drop the dock lines. The Med is on our list for sure as is the Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Nova Scotia, via the St Lawerence and then Maine et al south to the spice islands. Later the Azores and the Med.

Three more years of shoveling snow..........

[ssullivan]

Once the boat is paid off, I would like to cruise this area as well. Since I'm on a much slower time frame than the guy from BK, I'd probably winter over up in the UK or Ireland or something.

Question:

How much does good pete from the bog cost, is it still available and do people still heat with it?

[Weyalan]

When I was last living in Scotland (a dozen years ago or more) you could still buy peat (not "pete") pretty readily on the west coast and highland areas. When I was at University, my friends and I used to go climbing and stay in bothies (mountain huts)... we used to buy a 20lb bag of peat each at the last shop before we walked in and add it to our already heavy packs... ah to be so young, so fit and so foolish again!

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by Joli

You guys are killing us. Three more years till the last one is off to college and we can drop the dock lines. The Med is on our list for sure as is the Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Nova Scotia, via the St Lawerence and then Maine et al south to the spice islands. Later the Azores and the Med.

Three more years of shoveling snow..........

Seven more years for us Joli. When you're upbound on the St. Lawrence River look us up. We're in Iroquois, the last seaway lock on the river before Lake Ontario.