The Voyages of Tra Bhui: Drascombe Rally Loch Lomond 7th/8th September 2013

Due to working overseas, Kathleen agreed to be the contact point for the 2013 Loch Lomond Rally. The plans for the rally were basically two days sailing around the islands within the south area of the loch, meeting each morning at Millarochy Bay on the east side of the loch and with an group meal booked at the hotel on Inchmurrin. Worryingly with only two weeks to go Kathleen had received very few enquiries but this changed just before the event. While it was great that there was late interest in the Rally it did not make planning a meal for 2, 4, 6 …. 19 people very easy!

I had arranged my leave to coincide with the Rally as this would probably be my last opportunity to sail Tra Bhui in 2013. It was disappointing therefore to come down with a severe flu bug on the Wednesday before the rally which put me in bed for a couple of days! With a number of large outstanding jobs to do on Tra Bhui before we could go sailing the last place that I felt like being that weekend was on the loch, however I knew I would regret it if I did not at least make the effort to get there.

A number of boats having launched on the Friday spent that evening at anchor amongst the many islands on the loch. Saturday morning saw the remaining boats launching from Balloch or Balmaha and heading to meet the boats, which were already on the water at the rendezvous point in Millarrochy Bay.

Looking northwards from north of Millarochy Bay

With the jobs completed my son Scott and I arrived early at Balloch on a windless Saturday morning in order that we could sail / motor around to the meeting point at Millarochy Bay. Unfortunately only 200m from the slipway at Balloch our outboard unexpectedly started to overheat. A quick inspection revealed that there was no water discharge from the head outlet. With no alternative we had to return to the slipway. A quick recovery and de rig allowed us to drive around to Milarrochy Bay to get to the meeting in time. Fortunately Kathleen as the Rally Organiser had decided to drive there with some friends who were joining us for a day’s sailing so she was on hand to meet the boats as they arrived.

This year saw an increase in the number of boats attending with attendees travelling up to the Highlands (the Highland Boundary Fault crosses Loch Lomond between Conic Hill at Balmaha and Arden) from England and Wales. As most attendees had previously sailed on the Loch a typical DA style plan was made to vaguely head off in the direction of Luss with the option of pulling in behind Inch Cruin or Inchmoan for lunch depending on the wind and weather conditions before arriving for the planned evening meal at the hotel on Inchmurrin later in the afternoon.

By this time all I wanted to do was go home to bed.

As the DA is not the most formal of organizations and with a number of the attendees having sailed on Loch Lomond before the loss of the organizers boat was not seen as a problem. Thanks must go to Bob Heasman who generally steered the boats off in the planned direction. While Kathleen drove our friends around to pick their own car back up and I headed back home to fix the outboard on Tra Bhui our Gig.

An hour later and feeling slightly better I dropped the bottom of the engine leg off the outboard to gain access to the impeller which I had only replaced a couple of days before. The impeller was fine so the garden hose was attached to the pipe leading up to the head and the water turned on. After a pause a goof flow came out of the outlet. With everything appearing to be working the leg was re assembled and the engine set to run in a barrel of water for 20 mins. Everything again seemed to be OK. I can only assume that there was silt or some other material in the system somewhere.

Setting off again I were back at Balloch 3 hrs after leaving Milarrochy Bay without Scott who had arranged to meet up with friends when it appeared that our sailing was going to be knocked on the head.

Launching for the second time from Balloch on Saturday

After meeting Kathleen and our friends Iain and Kathy at Balloch we quickly rigged Tra Bhui and set off down the loch under jib and mizzen to meet up with the fleet for dinner on Inchmurrin

Sailing (slowly!) under jib and mizzen

Unsettled weather produced varied and interesting sailing conditions. Typically with Loch Lomond sailing, some boats and crews sitting becalmed while a few hundred yards away others were reducing sail as the wind was overpowering! As we ran down towards Inchmurrin we could see a number of tan sails coming towards us.

Arriving just ahead of the fleet off Inchmurrin, the hotels small jetty which was exposed to the easterly wind did not look particularly enticing and so we anchored in the lee of the island to consider our options. Shortly after anchoring and having walked to the hotel, the wind shifted slightly making the jetty a bit more enticing. This coincided with the rally arriving and soon everyone was tied up with a number of the boats – ours included moored on the inside of the jetty and well protected from the weather.

Tied up alongside Tangram at Inchmurrin Jetty

With the wind appearing to settle in the south east the small jetty looked reasonably sheltered and so mooring lines were fixed and cockpit tents erected for the night. A number of crews had chosen to stay on the island either camping at its east end or staying in the lodges attached to the hotel.


Inchmurrin - Rally prepares for overnight stop

Tra Bhui's "Big Budget" tent is erected just before the rain gets heavy

As pre dinner entertainment it was decided (by whom?) that the clearly visible and shortly about to arrive heavy squall would be an ideal time to drop the rudder out of Coaster Prawn Pipe as it had bent its shaft striking the bottom of the loch earlier in the day.

With the boat mostly unloaded and numerous willing helpers on the jetty the squall arrived with a vengeance! With a bit of perseverance, and the help of Tangrams dingy and our friend Iain in the water (who luckily happened to be wearing a dry suit) and the weight of most of the rally on main halyard, Prawn Pipe was careened sufficiently to allow the rudder to be dropped out. After a visit to the small boatyard on the island it was quickly straightened and dropped back in again

Dinner was a resounding success with 19 skippers, crew and guests sitting down to an excellent and reasonably priced meal served in the Inchmurrin hotel. This was the first time that the Rally had used this venue and based on the feedback to date it will not be the last!

The Sunday morning saw calmer conditions and most boats headed out into the loch mid morning. While two boats headed back to Balloch the others headed north east past the islands of Creinch and Tominch to Inchcailloch for lunch before departing back to their various launching sites.