Friday 8:31am
Tim Darlow and Rory Campbell about to start our sailing/running adventure – 1st leg Oban to Mull to run up Ben More. If you’re interested you can follow us on the YB races app, boat name Kea, although we might not be moving far today! We’ll carry the tracker (photo) on the run as well so you can see hill progress, not sure if it links to Strava!
Saturday 7:16am
A wee race report from the Scottish Islands Peak Race.
With about 1 1/2 hours to go before our first big run, Tim and I (mostly Tim, really) began preparing our pasta meal while standing at a jaunty angle due to the wind picking up and the boat assuming a bit of a tilt! Very quickly the time dropped to 20mins eta. Then 10. Then 5. No meal was had as we rushed our kit-pack and got ready for the dinghy to shore.
What an amazing run, though. Clear sky, lovely temperature and Tim and I kept ourselves going right from the start. The climb up to Ben More was spectacular as clouds passed over the summit. And it was a climb! A real mix of terrain over the course of the run: road, trail, scree, boulders, rock scrambling, bogs, steep descents.
Tim was a demon with the navigation, we made all the checkpoints and he had us at the bottom of Ben More as darkness began to take hold, so head torches on and then the slog back to Salen to join the crew.
Wind has been poor so sailing has been tough and slow (apart from screaming in to Salen at 7 knots).
On our run, however, we managed to pass 12 teams. Woo hoo!
Pasta on the boat and then sleep (after ibuprofen and paracetamol due to THROBBING knee pain).
Bring on Jura!
SIPR – Jura
Sunday 10:42am
So, Saturday was a slow day spent mostly zig-zagging across water channels trying to find a tide or breath of wind in our favour. All places gained from the previous nights run were lost but there were plenty of other boats, erm, in the same boat as us, so to speak.
Tim and I headed off from Craighouse, Jura just before 11:30pm to head up and down the three Paps of Jura. We could barely see them which was far from ideal but Tim managed to enchant glorious directional decisions with words like “This way!” or “Let’s head for that clump” and “Can you see a lochan over there?” I could see a lochan, despite the darkness.
Steep ascent followed by steep descent X 3. Head torches spotted bobbing around at varying altitudes around the difficult terrain.
At times, as we descended through rockfieds you could see the sparks fly as the rocks crashed into each other. At other times we skated through scree like Torville and Dean, I think.
All in, it took us longer than if in daylight but we did make up some places and got back to Craighouse in roughly 5 hours as day was dawning.
Right now we are careering towards Arran at, literally, a rate of knots. Our incredibly able sailing crew have found the wind. I know this because I’m too scared to get up from my sleeping position as the boat tilts, lifts and smacks back down. Sleep deserts me but, hey-ho, onwards etc.
Monday 12noon
Tim Darlow and I as part of our team, Kea, finishing the Scottish Island Peak Race in Troon at 1:46 this morning.