Superb video, brought back many happy memories 😊of a similar trip we did in 2016 (minus the ascent of Tamanaisval). The anchorage between Scarp and Kearstay is well worth visiting if you are back in the area again.
We are looking at getting a kayak to use with our Fisher 34 and wondered which one you have? Many thanks for the videos, lovely to see the views of Scotland - one day we will sail up there.
Hi Esther. We looked at Fisher 34 when buying our boat as we imagined their wheelhouse would be perfect for UK cruising and Scotland in particular. Our Kayak is from Advanced Elements and our model was called the Convertable and we added the optional solid backbone, which I think is good idea when using with any kind of swell. Their uk supplier is Vortex who we found to have excellent customer service (they were very pro-active when we had a minor issue) and are at www.advancedelementskayaks.co.uk. I am sure their are other good suppliers and more rugged, better and expensive models, but I would personally not go with cheaper makes than Advanced Elements if you are thinking of using our of sight of your Fisher somewhere remote. Multiple inflation chambers, multiple layers, reinforcing frames and backbone does give u a sense of ruggedness, although it does make it VERY heavy. We have only had one Kayak, so others will have other valid opinions. Happy shopping!
Taransay looked as lovely as expected but I’d never even heard of Loch Tamnabhaigh and it is now on my hit list! Just need to work out how I can sail for long enough to get out the west side of the outer Hebrides! How settled was the forecast when you went? My concern would be getting stuck out there and how secure the anchorages would be in a strongly westerly. Thanks for another great video.
Glad u liked the video. Yes, you do need a bit of time to be able to safely get to and from the West side of Harris & Lewis, so this was our first time. The good news is there are lots of anchoring options for shelter from different directions as long as you have plenty of chain. There are lochs in all different directions and a few islands to hide behind like Scarp and Taransay. We only went there because there was light winds forecast. In our case it was mainly NW. As soon as there was even a bit of wind (F4/5) in forecast, we ran for cover to East of Harris and you will see that we had a lively sail back in the next video. As it turns out, we would probably have had just as safe and anchorage at Taransay than we did in Loch Stockinish, which turned into a wind tunnel when we arrived! But the West of Lewis was not part of our original plan, and had just been a pleasant detour.
Hello. We have a Rocna Anchor, Galvanised, 20Kg (45lbs). Windlass is a Lofrans Tigres 12V 1500W. We have 80m x 10mm DIN766 grade 40 calibrated chain. Hope that helps. When we bought her, we had 16Kg CQR with 8mm chain and manual windlass. It was a lot of effort to weigh anchor and was marginal on holding as Spearax is heavy for her length with a lot of windage.
@@Spearax I think I'd favour a manual windlass, just for its simplicity. The boat has no windlass at present. We anchor so rarely, but we do want to anchor more often in settled weather. If the wind gets up, we run for a pontoon or mooring somewhere. Thanks my friend. Fair winds.
Probably a good decision. It was a big investment and a fair bit of work to go electric. It would not be worth it if you are OK hauling chain for occasional anchoring. Our last boat was 26ft Sella (which have virtually no windage) and I would haul her hand-over-hand without a windlass. Spearax is a different beast and would kill me to haul hand-over-hand.
Fantastic channel and video uploads 👍🏻🇬🇧
cracking music cracking views. Taransay is on my list now too. looking forward to the next video
Glad u enjoyed.
Superb video, brought back many happy memories 😊of a similar trip we did in 2016 (minus the ascent of Tamanaisval). The anchorage between Scarp and Kearstay is well worth visiting if you are back in the area again.
Taransay looked beautiful and the views from the hilltop of Lewis and Harris spectacular. Great video and eagerly awaiting the next installment!
Wow
Great stuff. Thank you.
Wonderful as usual.
I got the CCC Outer Hebrides out to follow where you were and am now wanting to cast off and head up that way.
We are looking at getting a kayak to use with our Fisher 34 and wondered which one you have? Many thanks for the videos, lovely to see the views of Scotland - one day we will sail up there.
Hi Esther. We looked at Fisher 34 when buying our boat as we imagined their wheelhouse would be perfect for UK cruising and Scotland in particular. Our Kayak is from Advanced Elements and our model was called the Convertable and we added the optional solid backbone, which I think is good idea when using with any kind of swell. Their uk supplier is Vortex who we found to have excellent customer service (they were very pro-active when we had a minor issue) and are at www.advancedelementskayaks.co.uk. I am sure their are other good suppliers and more rugged, better and expensive models, but I would personally not go with cheaper makes than Advanced Elements if you are thinking of using our of sight of your Fisher somewhere remote. Multiple inflation chambers, multiple layers, reinforcing frames and backbone does give u a sense of ruggedness, although it does make it VERY heavy. We have only had one Kayak, so others will have other valid opinions. Happy shopping!
Wish I had a kipper for breakfast! Cheers, Dan
Taransay looked as lovely as expected but I’d never even heard of Loch Tamnabhaigh and it is now on my hit list! Just need to work out how I can sail for long enough to get out the west side of the outer Hebrides! How settled was the forecast when you went? My concern would be getting stuck out there and how secure the anchorages would be in a strongly westerly. Thanks for another great video.
Glad u liked the video. Yes, you do need a bit of time to be able to safely get to and from the West side of Harris & Lewis, so this was our first time. The good news is there are lots of anchoring options for shelter from different directions as long as you have plenty of chain. There are lochs in all different directions and a few islands to hide behind like Scarp and Taransay. We only went there because there was light winds forecast. In our case it was mainly NW. As soon as there was even a bit of wind (F4/5) in forecast, we ran for cover to East of Harris and you will see that we had a lively sail back in the next video. As it turns out, we would probably have had just as safe and anchorage at Taransay than we did in Loch Stockinish, which turned into a wind tunnel when we arrived! But the West of Lewis was not part of our original plan, and had just been a pleasant detour.
What's that windlass model you have? And the chain size and anchor weight? Thanks.
Hello. We have a Rocna Anchor, Galvanised, 20Kg (45lbs). Windlass is a Lofrans Tigres 12V 1500W. We have 80m x 10mm DIN766 grade 40 calibrated chain. Hope that helps. When we bought her, we had 16Kg CQR with 8mm chain and manual windlass. It was a lot of effort to weigh anchor and was marginal on holding as Spearax is heavy for her length with a lot of windage.
@@Spearax I think I'd favour a manual windlass, just for its simplicity. The boat has no windlass at present. We anchor so rarely, but we do want to anchor more often in settled weather. If the wind gets up, we run for a pontoon or mooring somewhere. Thanks my friend. Fair winds.
Probably a good decision. It was a big investment and a fair bit of work to go electric. It would not be worth it if you are OK hauling chain for occasional anchoring. Our last boat was 26ft Sella (which have virtually no windage) and I would haul her hand-over-hand without a windlass. Spearax is a different beast and would kill me to haul hand-over-hand.