Yearly Archives: 2020

This week’s episode lands us in our favorite place of Scotland by far, Lochaline inside the Sound of Mull.

If you wanted to know our favorite place in Scotland, we absolutely fell in love with a small fjord called Lochaline, on the Sound of Mull. It was recommended to us by a friend as a great hurricane hole, and since there were heavy winds on the way, we decided to check it out.

What we were not expecting was the sheer beauty around us. Settling in to a glass calm anchorage at the height of the fall color change, we were anchored next to a prestigious manor and sheep that grazed along the waterfront.

There were so many hiking trails to chose from, and one of our favorites lead out into the Sound of Mull to a set of castle ruins. We even had a number of sheep to accompany us along the way.

Bottom line, if you’re ever in the area, make a stop here. We promise you will not regret it.

*Sorry for the poor audio quality in the second half of the video. We were having issues with the audio of our primary camera, and went to shooting everything with our GoPro Hero5.

Much love from Scotland!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

We have not had our fill yet of exploring the harbor of Portree on the Isle of Skye, but it won’t be protected from the southern storms headed our way, and we need to find protection FAST!

On a sailboat, you could spend a good month (or more!!) exploring all the harbors and towns in the Isle of Skye, and as much as we were enjoying our time in the harbour of Portree, some nasty storms from the south our headed our way, and there is just no protection offered here.

After taking one last day to get off the boat and do some wandering around town (where we also check out the Apothecary Tower overlooking the harbour), it’s time to find a sheltered spot to wait out the next week.

This means passing under Skye Bridge, known for it’s nasty currents that can run up to 9 knots. We try to time all the worst parts so we pass through at slack tide, and find we didn’t have much to worry about. And once we’ve made it safely to our anchorage, the only thing left to do is wait out the never ending storms sweeping over us.

Much love from Scotland!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

We take our boat to the mythical Isle of Skye in Scotland, and explore all the hidden treasures it has to offer.

Making a day sail down from our previous anchorage in Lochinver, we enter the harbour of Portree just as the sun is setting, and do our best to find a spot to anchor that is hidden from the swell wrapping in. The next day is filled with cruising life chores, such as getting provisions, doing laundry, and filling up our diesel.

Once the chores are done though, it’s time to have some fun! We rent a car and drive to some of the biggest attractions on the Isle of Skye, including the Fairy Glen; Kilt Waterfall, the Old Man of Storr, and the Fairy Pools.

An absolutely enchanting place, we hope you enjoy the ride with us!

Much love from Scotland!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Leaving the Orkney Islands behind, we sail over the top of Scotland to take in the magic and cliffs of the western side of this island.

Parking ourselves about as far north as you can get there, we find ourselves in utter isolation, but with breathtaking views of cliffs and mountains surrounding us.

Just a little further down the coast we go ashore in a small town and take a hike along a riverside, full of rapids and waterfalls. If we didn’t know any better, we might think we were still in Norway.

Enjoy!

It’s been fun sailing the Northern Latitudes, but now we want to warm up!!
Finding VERY cheap airfare from London to the Canary Islands, we say goodbye to boat life for a few weeks as we enjoy all the spoils the island of Tenerife has to offer.

Instead of flying back to Michigan, and snow, to see some family members, we bring them out to us for their first taste of Europe and life in the islands. While Matt’s mom and step-dad are joining us for a week in our one bedroom apartment, we take in some of the highlights of this desert like island – including its black sand beaches, colonial Spanish towns, and miles of stunning coastline.

We wanted to test out our new GoPro Hero8, and gave it a test on a few of our outings, solely using this camera to record our Real Time Update. A proper episode will follow sequentially where we hopefully hike the forests of the north, enjoy an authentic Guachinche meal, and *possibly* meet up with a few sailors headed our way.

We hope you enjoy!!
Much love from Tenerife,
Jessica & Matt

Have we just stumbled upon one of the world’s oldest cruising grounds? The Vikings liked to use it to ‘winter over’, more than 1,500 years ago!

Orkney Island has such a large Neolithic history, that with our second chance to visit this island, we want to explore as much of it as possible. Scooting around on our handy new bikes, we were able to see the Scapa Flow, one of the largest protected harbors in the world, and a favorite of Vikings in millenia past.

Further inland, we visited places like the Maeshowe Chamber Carin, and Ring of Brodgar, all built around 2,500 BC, as well as the Stones of Stenness. Which are believed to be the oldest stone henge in the British Isles.

Once we’r able to see all we can by land, we bring Elements over to a protected anchorage next to a long sandy beach, where the fall weather changes from storms to sun just long enough for us to bring Georgie out for an afternoon at the beach.

Much love from Scotland!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

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Thank you!,
Matt & Jessica

It’s time for the daunting task of crossing the North Sea!
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Crossing the North Sea is a trial with weather and seas alone, but when you throw dozens of oil platforms in your intended path, it adds one more level to keep you on your toes.

The time has come to say good-bye to Norway for the season. A break in the weather is giving us 48 hours to move on, and we need to take advantage of it … even if it we’ll have light winds before the next storm comes through.

Due to an over-stay on our visa, the UK is pretty much the only place we can head to. So we’re off for a 250 mile passage across the North Sea once more, and trying to stay clear of all the oil rigs offshore as we slide into the Orkney Islands just before hurricane Dorian passes over us.

Much love from Norway!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.

To join the Patreon ranks, please visit http://www.patreon.com/mjsailing

or

Buy us a beer through PayPal!
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Thank you!,
Matt & Jessica

Do we spend time in a big city or find a secluded anchorage? We were about to skip Bergen altogether, but fate had other plans for us.

Between dodging squalls, we have one beautiful and sunny day as we cross into new territory on the coast of Norway. We’re prepared to wait out another strong blow in an anchorage just outside of Bergen..but find they don’t take kindly to people dropping the hook.

So, into the city center we go. Once the weather clears up again we tour the town and take the train up to the lookout for some spectacular views of the city and fjords.

Enjoy!

Much love from Norway,
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.

To join the Patreon ranks, please visit http://www.patreon.com/mjsailing

or

Buy us a beer through PayPal!

https://www.paypal.me/MJSailing

Thank you!,

Matt & Jessica

The weather is quickly deteriorating, and we need to get out of Norway!! The question is, what are the winds going to do, and where will it allow us to go?

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Wow, it did not take long for the season to quickly change from summer into an early fall. As we work our way back down the coast of Norway we’re faced with constant rain, heavy winds, and beating into seas.

While catching some rest in the town of Kalvag, we go over our route planning to show the options of where we can go from here and what kind of weather we need to do it. But before that, we take a hike through some beautiful trails around the island, with great lookouts over the harbour and heather lined footpaths along the shore.

Much love from Norway!
Jessica, Matt & Georgie

Thank you SO MUCH to our Patrons. These amazing supporters help keep us on the boat, our camera equipment up to date, and the videos coming. Without our patrons, these videos would not be possible.

To join the Patreon ranks, please visit http://www.patreon.com/mjsailing

or

Buy us a beer through PayPal!

https://www.paypal.me/MJSailing

Thank you!,

Matt & Jessica