ON AN ADVENTURE CHARTER IN NORTHWEST AND ON TO THE MAGICAL FAROE ISLANDS, THE CREW, SCOTCH, SAILING AND SCENERY COULDN’T BE BEAT. by Herb McCormick

cruisingworld.com cruisingworld.com cruisingworld.com 34 Northern 35 may 2018 may 2018 may

On a gray day in the amazing Faroe Islands, the 60-foot cutter Hummingbird enjoys a

fast reach on sparkling seas. HERB MCCORMICK

Expos ure NORTHERN EXPOSURE

If the picturesque town of Tobermory looked like something out of central casting, that’s because it is: The popular British TV show Balamory is filmed there. The quaint harbor and village looked almost fictional, with colorful buildings lining the waterfront.

the 60-foot cutter Hummingbird, we’d set off from scenery was out of this world. of us paid a requisite tour to the Tobermory Distillery, where I Ferries zipped to and fro. A trio of Drascombe Luggers passed ­purchased a 10-year-old bottle of single-malt scotch for the boat, Aboardthe enchanting waters of Scotland some 40 hours earlier for the approximately 240-nautical-mile passage north to close by, hard on the breeze, looking like something from anoth- but which I wound up polishing off mostly by myself. er era. There were rolling hills, a patchwork of greens, ­dotted the remote Faroe Islands. With a fitful southerly breeze, we’d knocked off much of the trip under sail alone, though with sheep. The farther we sailed, the prettier it got, with wood- ur next destination was another 30 miles along the ed headlands and dramatic cliffs, a castle here and multiple track, to a nestled little crook in the coast called we relented in the truly light stuff and kicked over the auxiliary to make some miles while motorsailing. All was ­lighthouses there. The surroundings alone were amazing, but the Loch . We first had to round the western- sheer variety of sights made it special. Al summed it up perfectly: most headland in the , a promontory­ going according to plan right up to our final approach to the islands, when damp, dense fog enveloped us and our “This is Scotland at its very best.” calledO the Point of , identifiable by a towering We gobbled up the 25 miles from Oban perhaps too quickly, lighthouse. (In days past, it was customary for ships returning surroundings. We knew we were literally right on top of the stark, dramatic Faroes, but we couldn’t see squat. but if the picturesque town of Tobermory looked like something from extended voyages to display a cluster of heather from their bowsprits as a token of rounding this exposed, dangerous cape.) Hunched over the radar screen, we had a clear rendering of From there, we jibed down the vast but mostly deserted Sound of the pass we were aiming for when the fog magically lifted and the , where our only neighbors were three other sailboats and

island ahead was almost instantly revealed. The sudden scenery a minke whale. Compared to the previous day’s visual ­delights, was otherworldly, and the sense of accomplishment over tack- this stretch of coastline was stark and austere. ling the longest leg of our journey northward — with a group Each day aboard Hummingbird, the duties of navigation and of happy sailors I’d never met a week earlier — was palpable. cooking (that night, Hugo and I prepared a chicken curry, my Ahead lay new adventures in what is truly a remote, one-of-a- first) are assigned to different crew, and Paul and Erika had the kind archipelago, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Our unique, mission of piloting this leg and into Loch Moidart, the entrance thoroughly enjoyable cruise had originally commenced from a to which was a very tricky piece of water. The narrow channel picturesque Scottish town hard by the sea. was rocky and intricate — certain parts of Maine sprung to mind

cruisingworld.com — with relatively deep water in the navigable bits but not a single cruisingworld.com side from a friendly Glasgow cabdriver, whose accent buoy or marker in sight. Paul had rendered an amazing hand- 36 I unfortunately found completely incomprehensible, drawn chart that noted all the twists and turns, and did a fine job 37 the very first Scotsman I spoke with, at the of threading the needle among a labyrinth of reverse doglegs and Marina in Oban, offered this sage information: “There a series of . That said, just for good measure, a couple Aare three types of weather in Scotland,” he said, as I yanked of crew kept a close eye on the Navionics app on their smart- up my hood against an annoying drizzle. “It’s about to rain, it’s phones as we wound our way into the anchorage, labeled on the raining or it just stopped.” chart as . may 2018 may may 2018 may Well. And what an anchorage it was, fully protected with white-sand Moments later, I was tossing my sea bag aboard my home beaches and punctuated by the ruins of an ancient, formidable­ for the next fortnight, the 60-foot cutter Hummingbird (it was ­easily identifiable by the graphic depiction of its namesake Before taking off from Tobermory (left), we dined at a splashed across its topsides). The sturdy yacht had some miles quintessential Scottish pub called Mishnish and visited the under her keel, having completed three circumnavigations local distillery. Prior to setting sail for the Faroes, the crew in the Clipper Round-the-World Yacht Race, for which she of Hummingbird gathered on the bow for a team photo. was originally built. These days, the boat is one of two vessels owned and run by a company called Rubicon 3, which offers expedition-style trips ­focused on adventure and instruction all over the blue Atlantic (see “The Rubicon Experience,” page 38). The skipper for our trip, from the northwest coast of Scotland and on to the distant Faroe Islands, was one of the firm’s found- ers, the young but remarkably skillful Rachael Sprot, who was ably assisted by first mate Holly Vint. I’d already met Hugo, one of my shipmates for the trip, who somehow picked me out of the crowd at the Glasgow railway station (my foul-weather gear was apparently a dead giveaway) before we boarded our train to Oban. Soon after arriving, I was introduced to the rest of the crew, whose names I busily scrib- sailor. And several were a testimony to the Rubicon experience, out of central casting, that’s because it is: The popular British chil- bled in my notebook for future reference. Paul and Sharon and having already taken one or more trips aboard Hummingbird to dren’s TV show Balamory is filmed there. The quaint harbor and Al and Nikki were the couples aboard, while Erika, Tanya, Hugo diverse locations including Morocco and across the North Sea. village almost looked fictional, with colorful buildings lining the and I rounded out the contingent. With the exception of yours Our journey began with a leg from Oban to Tobermory, on the waterfront, fishing boats tied to the quay and twin-keelers drying truly, everyone hailed from the U.K. — the pay-for-a-berth northern flank of the island of Mull, via the open waters of the out at low tide. It was easy to imagine this as a spot where wee lads model on voyages like this is a decidedly British way to travel — Firth of Lorne and up a corridor of a channel called the Sound of and lassies could grow and prosper. That night, we dined on local and despite the fact that you need no experience on a Rubicon Mull. The long-term forecast was rather iffy, but the sailing on sea scallops (which were delicious) at a place called the Mishnish, cruise (they’ll happily teach you all you need to know once un- this day was ideal, with flat water, a following southerly breeze an iconic Scottish bar with a name so cool I couldn’t stop repeat-

derway), as I was soon to learn, everyone in our group was a solid and the sun occasionally poking through the clouds. And the ing it. Mishnish. And before setting out the next morning, a few HERB MCCORMICK

may 2018 38 cruisingworld.com sailing opportunities, visititswebsitesailing opportunities, (rubicon3.co.uk). and more.For moreinformationon Rubicon’s entirerangeof seamanship coastal cruising, incelestial navigation, instruction andenroute andocean onecanreceive voyages, hands-on sages Their tripscover arangeofcoastal adventuresto offshorepas Atlantic, theCaribbean Seato from the above Arctic Circle. 57, Oriole. Their itinerariesspanthewidthandbreadthof cutter,going yachts,a60-foot Hummingbird, andaBowman Rubicon two ocean has ­ 3,thecompany behindourvoyage, The Rubicon Experience the mainland,to , on Skye.Next stop: theFaroes. undertheSkye Bridgethatconnectspassing Kyle ofLochalsh, on forests stood to andstarboard.Soonenough,we were proudly port we went, wheresealsplayedinthewhirlingeddiesand steep then thesecond, making9knots.Into andwere still theSoundof ing into the“mist-ic”), windy: anditwas We tucked inthefirstreef, F Hummingbird fortots of, youknow, rum. ­Shining fame.Once we’d had agoodlookatRum, we retiredto seemed like aScottish versionoftheOverlookHotel ofThe tel of deserted atthetimeofourvisit)thatsort (thoughitwas hos aseasonal as run ­Castle, anEdwardianmansionsupposedly We wanderedalongthenaturetrailswithastop at­ apostofficeeven a­ and rentalcottages, rustic scale,withshowers, abunkhouse,few reasonable small, very amonumentto abitofrevelation, tourism— whichwas ona Heritage andhometo bothreddeerandwhite-tailed seaeagles yet anotherwindfarm). peaksandgrazingsheep(and impressive presence withcraggy able feature(except forawindfarm),andthelatter arathermore like Mutt andJeff, anotice- theformeralow-lying isletwithnary onthisday,aligned (alas, theyweren’t). Muck looked andEigg sands” onthebeachwhenwindandweather areproperly whereonecanhearthe“­ ­Arisaig foralunchstop offEigg, “Scottishas sunshine”)andmadeourwayacrosstheSoundof community, ofthemhadtheirownuniquecharacter. andall Muck. Islesparticularly EachoftheSmall inhabited was byasmall ­Canna, Rum, andMuck, ofwhichIalsoenjoyedsaying, all we decidedto make Isles hopto Small theshort theso-called of onleeshores.Instead, placedcause itwould ussquarely have ing flowofstiffsoutheasterlies, we had to abandonthatideabe- the Inner to theOuter Hebrides, butwiththecontinu- of Thrones. outing thatleftmefeelinglike memberofGame acast to alook,an and Ihoppedinthedinghywent ashore have definitely heldthehigherground. After dinner, Hugo, Rachael theloch. overlooking castle onceWhoever occupieditmost the island of Skye, the sky above was low and ominous(we were was sail the islandofSkye,skyabove the mouth,”saidRachael. It onto was theFaroes. window hadopenedup.“Maybe we shouldn’t lookagifthorsein were headed.Butin themeantime,itappearedthatafavorable winds,thedirectionwe al daysthatwould bring strongnortherly the west.” A to throughinthenextsever forecast roll was front oflurkingoffto sheputit,“sort had beenfendingofflows,as As luck would have it, my turn to it,my turn navigate hadcomeAs luckwould have up,a­ As we approachedthe tipof Aird ofSleat,atthesouthernmost From onto thereitwas Rum —ownedbytheScottish Natural It pouringbuckets was we lefttheloch(the rainisknown as to was sailfrom Our tentative planattheoutsetofcruise weather, wherehighpressureto oftheU.K. thenorth Faroe Islands. Rachael monitoring hadbeenclosely the forthe of theScottish coastline orpressondirectly rom Rum, we hadadecisionto make: continue ourtour community ­ Kinloch singing center. duty - - - - Wrath tip of Scotland, whichwe soonputastern. atthenorthern over Cape motorsailed ofamoonhovering under afingernail Forastern, so lightand we hours, thewindwas thefirstseveral Island theMinch,withLewis broad seawayknownas to port. whichithadn’t;out pointshadtheweather turned, andinto the Inner Loch Sound;thenpast Torridon andGair Loch,two bail- we continued firsttheislandof as and into north: the I sharedwithNikki. Together, we checked offthelandmarks by big waves from the captainsofthefishingboats­ from by bigwaves coast. east As we madeourwayinto we were theport, ­ Tvøroyri, thenation’s outofafissureonthe thirdlargest,carved sided hunkoflandindented withdeepfjords,thetown of sunny dayintheFaroes. of theplace. Igottheimpressionthatthisconstituted abright, mist soonlifted, partially, atleast ourfirstglimpse andrevealed forasliverofblueskytoin vaporandcloud,save thewest. The said, “Thatcould’ve beenshocking.” we trip.Butwe were knew easy lucky. aremarkably was As Hugo it Given crossedthe60thparallel, measure. ourlatitude,having we carriedonto theFaroes, sailingandmotorsailing inaboutequal Erika, kiddingly, whenIawoke after abriefnap.) And thatishow (“We’ve aroundandareheadedtoward turned the Azores,” said shiningbright. thesunwas pending sunrise,andbymidmorning, atdawn,bright-redbut still, stripesto signaledtheim- theeast mainand 8 knotsunderafull Yankee. It dark, didgettotally never Suduroy is the southernmost isle in the archipelago, aslab-­ isleinthearchipelago, Suduroy isthesouthernmost theislandofSuduroy, was Our landfall shrouded whichwas In inand theweewe broad-reachedat hours,thebreezefilled The anchorage at LochMoidart was spectacular, beaches ringedby white-sand punctuated by theruinsofanancient, formidablecastleoverlooking theloch. Whoever onceinhabiteditcertainly heldthehigherground. headed out. greeted

tiny homesare withthatch adorned roofs (below). like come aplace to goliaths play. In Tórshavn, manyofthe intheFaroeserything (left). isdifficult to describe It looks of Thrones.feel like acastmemberofGame now-abandoned castle(opposite), anoutingthatmademe At LochMoidart, we ventured ashore to havealookat the world thanthoseoftheFaroes, yetto butIhave meetthem. ty oflocalknowledge. peopleinthe There mightbefriendlier showers andplen- upwithoffersoffree the harbormaster turned After tyingupalongsideahistoric trawlerunderreconstruction, F what seemedlike to the islandofSandoy. pass ages Plus,thefog of fivehours to take a15-mile bite outofour75-milejourney, and anecessity.the passes Heading ittook north, usthebetter part upto 8knots,making timingthrough ­currents cananddorun where stunnedwhen lookingatthelocaltidecharts, lectively to circumnavigate. It outto turned beaslog. We’d beencol- planned islandgroup,which we basically bound forthenorthern theFaroemunity isdeep-seated. If was everywhere Islands. only night long,nonstop, until6or7inthe morning. The senseofcom- onthetablewithplatters potatoes.ly ofsmall all rage The parties of song. The traditional localfareconsists ofwhaleblubber, usual- schnapps, and theliquorbeerareflowing. is openandreadyforvisitors. People greetyouwithashotof alightonintheirhomes,itmeans it pubs, ifpeopleleave few ity isstrong.Duringfestivalsandholidays,becausethereareso walkto visittheir“neighbors.” a 10-mile The spiritofhospital- peoplewould thinknothingofmaking ments, butnotlongago, settle- roads andtunnelsthroughoutthechain,linkingsmall We to take were eager inandthenextdayleft itall Tvøroyri, It’s asingingculture,andwhenfolksgather, itbecomes afestival ly appreciatedly bytheislanders. These days,thereare sofarthattheyaregreat traveled visit theislandshave ofthelocalcustoms. soon gotanoverview Those who couple who’drom acruising spenttimeintheFaroes, we The scaleofev - -

HERB MCCORMICK

may 2018 39 cruisingworld.com Faroe Islands Y

A W N R E Islands O D N E

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r Ardnamurchan Raasay e do they do? What happens if you get into a serious beef with

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ound o Mull d Rum your neighbor? Pretend youROE live elsewhere? SNS The whole thing left I i Nautical Miles Oban r Kunoy ull me mystified. 57˚ N Aird of Sleat 0 30 60 Kalsoy Vidoy s As it turned out, we arrived in the fish-processing town of Eigg ound o l e Muck d Fugloy o Tórshavn ­Fuglafjørdur on the occasion of a national holiday, and the tiny i

r ound o Vágar ✪ Moidart village was basically closed. We enjoyed dinner on the boat and 56˚ N 62º N b risig e the following morning setFuglafjørdur forth for another little Faroes town Svínoy may 2018 may may 2018 may Point of

H

r Ardnamurchan called Vestmanna. It was yet another jaw-dropping day of in- e

n credible beauty. Sheer sea Vestmannacliffs plunged from great heights into

n ound o Mull Bordoy Nautical Miles I Oban the ocean. We passed a famous rock formation called the Giant ull and the Hag, a pair of sea stacks steeped in legend. Supposedly,­ 0 30 60 Sandoy the Giant and the Hag were dispatched from Iceland to drag the Tórshavn Faroes north, but no matter howVágar hard they tried, the islands had again56˚ Nclosed in, rendering visibility to just about nil. Ahead wouldn’t move. When the62º N sun rose, they were transformed✪ into lay a cluster of islands called Bordoy, Kunoy, Svinoy, Vinoy and rocks, which is how they exist to this very day. Fugloy. But all I could think was, Oh boy, I can’t see a bloody thing. After a quiet night in Vestmanna, it was time to make the ­final Eventually, we hoisted the spinnaker and ultimatelyTvøroyri escaped leg of the trip to the capital city of Tórshavn, a 25-mile jaunt the grip of the rushing current. Finally, less than a mile from the through a series of canals, the highlight of which was recording a pass we were aiming for, the veil lifted. Sort of. You couldn’t see top speed of 14.1 knots thanks to the sweep of a mighty current.Sandoy the tops of the tall peaks, but you could easily take in the steep It was a fitting end to an eventful cruise. Nautical Miles Suduroy masses, the cuts in between. And they were spectacular. After our tour of the rather far-flung islands, Tórshavn We finally made0 it to10 the night’s20 anchorage7º W in a deep fjord seemed like a bustling metropolis, even though it’s one of the on the island of Vinoy. We dropped the hook inside a natural world’s smallest capitals, home to about a third of the Faroese ­amphitheater of green cliffs, rushing waterfalls and striated rock. ­population of roughly 50,000. Still, it was a charming place, with In my notebook I managed two words: “unreal” and “stunning.” a busy harbor, tidy shops, colorful buildings and quaint homesTvøroyri It more than made up for the day’s travails. adorned with turf roofs, all circled by a ring of moorland hills. The next morning found us en route to the mouthful of a town Before leaving, with cruisers Ginger and Dick Stevenson as my called Fuglafjørdur. Along the way, we negotiated the northern- guides, I did as most Faroe residents do on a regular basis andSuduroy most point of our journey at 62 degrees 18 minutes. The size and took a long hike into the craggyNautical trails Miles above the city. scale of everything is difficult to describe. Basically, these are Still, at the end of the day,0 it’s10 the citizens20 of7º both W Scotland ­islands where goliaths could come and play. and the Faroes that I’ll probably remember most. Yes, as we Along the way, tiny settlements appeared in the most ­unlikely learned, both places can be wet, damp and cold. But the people? Motoring through a pass in the Faroe Islands, where cur- places: on headlands, in valleys, clinging to the sides of precip- They couldn’t be warmer. rents can rip up to 8 knots, we passed one of the many little itous mountains. It brought to mind unanswerable questions. villages that seem to crop up out of nowhere.

Who inhabits these little burgs? How did they get here? What Herb McCormick is CW’s executive editor. SHANNON CAIN TUMINO MAP BY HERB MCCORMICK;