On July 6, we left Bangor near Belfast and crossed over to Stranraer, a small town at the bottom of Loch Ryan in Scotland. We spent about a week around the Firth of Clyde including the beautiful Isle of Arran. Despite our concerns about crossing the infamous Mull of Kintyre (which has a very strong tidal current and can result in a washing machine effect if the wind is opposite to the tide), we had an easy and comfortable sail from Campbeltown to the Sound of Jura. Going north, we entered into the Firth of Lorn and finally went through the Sound of Mull stopping a few days in Tobermory, the largest town on the island of Mull. There we were able to join the locals and enjoy their Highland Games with a beautiful day of Scottish sport, dancing and music. Also in Tobermory, we met a wonderful couple, Peter and Virginia, on Saildance II who we docked next to in the marina. They had been around the world in their Oyster 62 and it was great to hear about their adventures and it was fun getting to know them. After a few days, they left to sail north around the top of Scotland while we sailed southeast to Loch Linnhe and then north to Corpach, the entrance of Caledonian Canal which is a short cut to the east coast of Scotland.
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