BLUEMOMENT

dooj65 wrote:Hi,
I now live in France

Dougie

Bonjour. Ca va bien?

Do you sail in France?

dooj65 wrote:Hi,
Nice to make contact with Ash...are you still at Ardlui?

Dougie

No, in 2011 we finally took the plunge and put Mistral on a low loader and took her back to Kip which is where we bought her.

Links - Mistral returns to Kip

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6141

Last summer we got round the MoK and got as far north as Balviar Bay before coming back through the Crinan Canal

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7845

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7872

Good to hear from you. This forum is quiet enough to be able to keep up with the postings. If you read through some of the posts you'll realise that many of the members sail on the west coast ( of Scotland )

Keep in touch.

Ash

Good to hear from you Dougie. Alauda is back in Dunstaffnage! She moved back there last September when son Jamie started a Marine Science degree at SAMS. Jamie is often to be found aboard her and managed to get plenty of sailing in over the winter. He has no shortage of volunteer crew from amongst his fellow students and all are impressed with Alauda's sailing qualities. Mind you, as an experienced dinghy sailor, he's happiest when the toe rail is under water! Call in and say hello when you're back there.

Next job on Alauda is a new sprayhood - the old one is now held together with gaffer tape.

Sorry to hear about the Konsort, we did wonder if it was the one in which you have a share. Jamie was out sailing that day in Alauda and heard some of the VHF traffic on Ch16.

Mike

Slight thread drift - This month's Sailing Today Gulls Eye covers Dunstaffnage - link - http://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/cruising/ ... ina-guide/

Ash

Bonjour and sorry for not replying sooner but haven't checked this forum for a while..I thought it would email me when there was a reply to my post..must check my settings again.

Anyway not sailing in France although sailing a plenty near Bordeaux (2hrs) and La Rochelle a bit further but haven't explored option of ownership here as still have a share in Westerly Fulmar (new replacement for Tangon our Konsort) in Dunstaffnage and when I was there last August got a nice surprise to see Alauda tied up.

Mike - Glad to hear Alauda is loved and getting used a lot. I will look out for your son if he is still there but your post was a while ago?

I am back in Dunstaff next week 23rd May 15 and hoping to sail once more down to Islay for the whisky fest Feis Ile..fingers crossed for the weather; New yacht is 'Le Harlequin' (funny coincidence getting a replacement yacht with a French name..c'est la vie!

Best,

Dougie

Dougie, I'm afraid you won't meet up with Alauda or Jamie next week - Alauda because she's going to be out of the water at Linnhe Marine for up to a year while Jamie is spending the 3rd year of his degree course in Svalbard; and Jamie because he's on a friend's boat sailing to Falmouth and then competing in the AZAB starting 6th June. He'll no doubt reply himself when he gets chance.

Mike

Flobbets wrote:Dougie, I'm afraid you won't meet up with Alauda or Jamie next week - Alauda because she's going to be out of the water at Linnhe Marine for up to a year while Jamie is spending the 3rd year of his degree course in Svalbard; and Jamie because he's on a friend's boat sailing to Falmouth and then competing in the AZAB starting 6th June. He'll no doubt reply himself when he gets chance.

Mike

Tell him to go say Hi to Jim McIlraith on Saboo. Also doing AZAB this year.

Regards
Donald

Aja wrote:

Flobbets wrote:Dougie, I'm afraid you won't meet up with Alauda or Jamie next week - Alauda because she's going to be out of the water at Linnhe Marine for up to a year while Jamie is spending the 3rd year of his degree course in Svalbard; and Jamie because he's on a friend's boat sailing to Falmouth and then competing in the AZAB starting 6th June. He'll no doubt reply himself when he gets chance.

Mike

Tell him to go say Hi to Jim McIlraith on Saboo. Also doing AZAB this year.

Regards
Donald

I see that Saboo is currently leading the race! Dragon meanwhile hung back at the start to avoid trouble and is now trying to work her way forward.

Mike

Still first on handicap after eight hours sailing.
Wonder if he can keep it up for next 1100 miles?

Donald

Warning, revival of an old thread.

I was in the Q to pay in the office in Crinan when the young chap behind me asked if my burgee was a BlueMoment, and then introduced himself as the skipper of Alauda.

We next came across Alauda killing time before Dunardry Locks because a flottilla of 8 big charter yachts were working their way up.

We all ran out of dawdling space and rafted on to the last 2 of the flotilla, when we found out that the charterers were all Russian.

Alauda shared lock 13 with the 2 big boats but was used as a fender in the maelstrom which ensued when the charter crew opened the sluice wide. The rooster tail was a metre high!

For the rest of the locks over 2 days , Alauda was 1 of 4 boats which locked up and down together. A 23' Pageant, a 27' Vega, a Shipman 28, and a Westerly Konsort Duo 29.

Aquaplane Bob was a temporary addition to our crew so we had 10 people with 4 boats, and it worked very well.

We even had time to tutor the Russians on the tips and techniques on using the locks. We also tutored them on canal etiquette, after they left the downhill gates open at Cairnbaan


Ash...

Yep, that was Jamie, off on a cruise before heading back to SAMS for the final year of his degree course, while living on Alauda. Alauda currently has no inboard engine - the old Volvo seized and has been removed for refurbishment courtesy of Nick and his JCB at Linnhe. Having said that, Jamie is happy using the 6hp long shaft outboard with saildrive prop, no drag from a fixed prop and lots of new storage space!

Mike

ash wrote:Warning, revival of an old thread.

For the rest of the locks over 2 days , Alauda was 1 of 4 boats which locked up and down together. A 23' Pageant, a 27' Vega, a Shipman 28, and a Westerly Konsort Duo 29.

Ash...

The Shipman 28 wasn't 'Foinaven' by any chance (since this is a that's my old boat thread)

I always wanted to buy a Shipman and call it Harold......

sahona wrote:
The Shipman 28 wasn't 'Foinaven' by any chance (since this is a that's my old boat thread)

I don't know what she was called, but my crew is fairly sure that it wasn't 'Foinaven'

I'll have a look through our photos.

Ash

claymore wrote:I always wanted to buy a Shipman and call it Harold......

I just love bad taste, but the grandkids and their parents don't approve. I'm the "not appropriate Gramps".

Alouda left Tarbert (yesterday now) as we entered on it's way back up to the canal to transit.