Photos from Scotland and Seathwaite

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Here are some photos from our recent trip to Scotland (most of which is described in the post below).

After escaping from the Onich traffic jam, we made our way to Glenfinnan to position ourselves for a round of the two Munros there, Sgurr nan Coireachan and Sgurr Thuilm, the next day.  After a nice walk up the long track to Glenfinnan Lodge, the weather got us again, and we spent the rest of the day battling rain, wind and snow in the clouds.  We were glad to follow a couple of sets of footprints, which we later found to have been left by Michael and Alex P two days previously!  We made it round slightly quicker then expected due to favourable snow conditions, and as we descended out of the blizzard, the sun shone incredibly over the glen.

After four “quality winter days” we were very glad to spend the evening and welcome the new year in the company of friends at Borrodale House near Arisaig, where we were warmly welcomed with tea, sherry, enthusiasm, and a singing lobster.

The next day we got up in the light for the first time of the trip, and enjoyed a stroll along the beach before heading south.

Two days later we were back in the hills, this time joining CUHWC at Seathwaite in Borrowdale for the weekend.  The weather was no better than it had been in Scotland, but there was considerably less snow on the ground.  Our walks took us from Buttermere to Seathwaite via Robinson, Hindscarth and Dale Head, and over Eagle Crag and Sergeant’s Crag.

Glen Lyon Munros
Meall nan Aighean
Bridge on the way to Bheinn Fhionnlaidh
Glen Etive from Bheinn Fhionnlaidh
North ridge of Ben Starav
Descending into Glen Finnan
The viaduct
The beach at Borrodale House
Buttermere
Heading for Dale Head
The snow ghost of Dale Head
The road to Seathwaite
Summit of Eagle Crag

Last few days of 2013

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As we’re currently stuck in a traffic jam near Fort William I thought we should blog. We’ve been here for three days and dispute the weather have had some good days out.

Firstly we spent a day in Glen Lyon, doing a high level traverse of 4 Munro’s. Having blown away the cobwebs and had a long day we opted for an easier next day. Beinn Fhionnliadh from Glen Etive was not as short as expected. We had an initial false start having camped in the wrong place and had to relocate down the Glen. Then we found the bridge has been washed away so started the long walk towards the col. At 12 we eventually got across and started climbing. As we were higher up than expected we took an alternative route into the corrie and onto the north east ridge. A great ridge followed by the expected summit ridge with some interesting winter steps.

Today we had a longer day around Ben Starav and Glas Bheinn Mhor, with the unexpectedly fun ridge descent from Starav. Great mountaineering day.

Snow is a bit wet but firm in places, nice and calm but cloud making us navigate occasionally.

Our  van is excellent, having not been to a campsite, we haven’t been cold once although we are getting slowly wetter as the trip goes on.

Pictures will follow once we are at a computer. All spelling mistakes curtasy of the tablet keyboard

The accident has now cleared, so I’ll post this.

Slight delay as the car in front breaks down and blocks traffic in both directions…

It’s now a campervan

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The last few weeks we’ve been too busy to post, and the few weeks before that were frantically finishing the van.

We spent a few weeks varnishing at every available moment  – sometimes squeezing a quick coat in before work, while dinner was cooking or just before bed.

We then spent a weekend putting all the furniture in van – which was surprisingly difficult to ensure things were vaguely straight and upright. We also had to incorporate fixing the water pump, pipes and gas regulator at appropriate points to ensure we had room to fix things down.

During the next week Dave spent most of his spare time working out how the sliding table rail and leg (that were meant to work together) would ever fit nicely in the van. After a few days, the table leg was cut in half. Drastic, but it works very well, although we do have the lower half of the leg floating around the van ready to be used when the table is put up.

This all meant that we had everything needed to change the DVLA status of the van to a motor caravan. It also allows us to change the insurance to that of a motor caravan rather than a motor caravan in conversion.

It doesn’t mean the van is finished though. We still need to connect some of the electrics (mains charger and usb chargers for our electronics) and fit removable things such storage boxes, pots, pans, plates etc etc. The window insulation also needs some thought.

Further plans include some major renovations to the cab interior and maybe the addition of a sound system for the rear.

We have spent a few nights in it though – a quick trip to Scotland for a wedding, and a CUHWC trip to the Lakes. We found the van a bit cold on some nights, but lovely and warm on others. Living in it has shown us what we need to add to the van – but doing those things may take a while in the cold Cambridge evenings.

The build starts
Essentials – drill, screws, and ‘stixall’
some final adjustments…
The gas box with magnets and seals
Trying to keep the pipes and electronics clear of the build
Shelves in
water pump in
installing the water pump
piles of varnished things waiting to go in
Gas box with regulator being installed
so the gas box needed a little extension to meet the drop out
in place – looks surprising good!
glue to seal the butter tub in place
end of the day – everything looking good, but still quite a bit to go
checking the stove top lid works
view of the bodge that keeps the worktop tied down the correct level.
Stove connected
It works!
Attempting to get the table level
sink all plumbed in
The living area
Seating area
Sleeping area

Norway

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For six weeks from the middle of July, we went to northern Norway with the British Exploring Society – Dave as a Mountain Leader and Jo as a Science Leader.  We were based in Nuvsfjorden, near the town of Øksfjord, some 200 miles inside the Arctic Circle.  The expedition consisted of 16 leaders, 14 trainee leaders, and around 50 “Young Explorers”, split into smaller groups for science work and adventurous activities.

We were part of the advance party, which established various camps and carried out an initial recce on the access glacier to the Øksfjordjokelen ice cap, around which we hoped to undertake a week-long journey.  Unfortunately we were subsequently plagued by a week of very hot, sunny weather, which – while being very pleasant for swimming in glacial meltwater and similar activities – meant that the upper glaciers became inaccessible as their snow covering melted and exposed some rather serious crevasse fields.

Despite this setback, the expedition carried out some worthwhile exploration of the surrounding valleys, ridges and coasts, and science projects including geology mapping, biodiversity surveys, hydrological measurements, and marine sampling to investigate ocean acidification.  We did some mountaineering training on the lower glaciers and nearby boulders, saw the midnight sun, ate a large amount of bilberries, learned bushcraft skills, and caught mackerel from the fjord.  There was also a lot of companionable tea-drinking and chatting with new friends, as well as the opportunity to properly relax away from the demands of life back at home.

A highlight of the trip was a sub-expedition to the island of Sørøya, during which we ran a Gold DofE qualifying expedition.  The island was beautiful, with rolling rocky hills, clear lakes, exciting geology and several stunning sunsets – highly recommended.  We also got a good taste of Norwegian culture and history here, spending some time in the main town of Hasvik and visiting a cave in which local residents sheltered for several months during the Second World War.

Jo’s and Dave’s photos are online in the usual place, with a selection below to give a flavour of the trip.

Furniture Finished

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All is built, it just needs varnishing and the final glueing together.

We’ve got a yellow cool box
Checking the sink fits
Part build mess
The bed is a really useful shelf already
Slightly strange shaped gas box. We later stapled the last joint as we could screw it.
The most annoying piece of wood to cut
All in place!
We like this a lot.
Back shelves
Lights are on
Bed out
Bed is a bit short, but very comfortable
Jo testing the bed

Furniture build – the shelves and bed

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We spent today building the bed and shelves out of ply. Still needs varnishing and sticking together, but well on the way.

It was highly entertaining trying to make things vaguely horizontal and vertical when the van has no straight edges and nothing truly vertical.

Shelves, with boxes that just about fit
shelf across the back
shelf is actually part of the bed
Bottom shelf has a hidey hole underneath
Piece of wood to fit in hole

Conversion (and life) update

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Quite a few things have happened since the last conversion-related post, both to the van and otherwise.  To sum up: we finished the carpeting, put the lights in (mostly), had windows and a seat/bed professionally fitted, started planning and buying the furniture, went sailing (see previous two posts), and spent six weeks in Arctic Norway (see next post…coming soon).  Jo also passed her viva, did her corrections and got a job, and the van passed its MOT.

The silver carpet went on with barely a hitch – Dave did some of it while Jo was away in the Lake District assessing silver D of E groups for Cottenham Village College, and both of us finished it off the following week.  We’d been using less than the suggested amount of adhesive for the walls, but made sure we used the full quantity for the ceiling!  Dave also fitted eight spotlights with individual switches into the ceiling carpet, though the battery is yet to be connected.  Some trimming, tidying and white spirit later, the inside was looking very smart, and the van was ready to be taken to Bletchley near Milton Keynes for the summer.

We left it in the care of Young Conversions, who had kindly agreed to look after it while we were in Norway, even though the work we’d asked them to do on it would only take a few days.  Having had to move it out of and back into their workshop every day for six weeks, they were quite glad to see the back of it when Jo picked it up at the end of August!  Thanks to their efforts, the van is now equipped with two large privacy-glass windows, one on each of the middle panels, and a crash-tested seat (meaning we can legally transport two passengers in the back) that folds down into two thirds of a bed – Dave will explain this one in a future post about furniture!

Our priority now is to get the van into a state that our insurers will accept as meeting its conditions for a camper van, which include a fixed stove and gas supply, running water and an attached table.  We’ve pledged most of our weekends in the coming month or so to the project in the hope that this will be done by the end of October – we want to spend our first night in the van on the first weekend in November…

Here are some pictures of the new developments:

Trying to keep the carpet near the roof long enough to glue it up
Smoothing it down (or up?)
Lights installed (and working!)
New look!
Privacy windows
Extra seats!
Almost a bed – we need to install the last 3rd ourselves.
We also got a new mat for the front of the van. Dave got excited and ordered it with yellow trim
Windows. Lots of them.

Rite of Passage

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Sailing in good weather

Sailing in good weather

We were enjoying a sunny Thursday in the Scilly Isles when we got news of a storm brewing. North-westerly winds were building through Friday to around F7/8 on Saturday, before easing on Sunday. We had around 130 miles to get to Cork for our Monday night flight, which at 5 knots is 24-36 hours. We decided to get going immediately (i.e. after dinner) allowing us to be in the shelter of Ireland for the last 12 hours as the storm built up, and into a marina by Friday night or early Saturday morning.

We quickly posted a postcard from St Agnes, swam back to the boat and motored to Hugh Town on St Mary’s to pick up supplies. We motored straight past all the  other yachts and anchored. Our skipper elected to stay on board once he realised we had anchored at a chart datum of +2.5 m in a falling tide. This bold anchorage did allow us to get supplies on board rather quicker than had we anchored elsewhere.

We started off after a dinner of fajitas and the additional cooking of Friday night’s bolognese. The first couple of hours were spent leisurely sailing along, reefing and unreefing the sail as we tried to get the best speed but not need to reef overnight. We soon got into the swing of watches – having 3 hours on watch then 4.5 hours asleep worked well. The next 24 hours passed remarkably quickly – sleeping or on deck, with occasional excitement of passing trawlers and watching fluorescing sealife. 

We were heading upwind the whole time, so staggering around the boat with everything at 30 degrees was difficult – this meant usual tasks were delayed and snacks were more favoured than proper meals. I wasn’t feeling fantastic by this point (despite it being the only time I have taken seasickness tablets). Soon I diagnosed myself as being hungry (harder than it sounds when rocking around in the sea). I swung down to the cabin and quickly ate more than my share of pasta, bolognese and cheese – just what I needed, and luckily the others weren’t feeling up to proper meals so there was plenty of it.

Without a chart plotter, we had the fun of occasionally plotting our position to find we weren’t getting very far. Puffin is less than ideal when sailing into the wind, so we took slightly longer than expected – after 24 hours we were around half way. The storm had begun to build as forecast, and Ireland (being a good 60 nm away) gave us no protection.  A most interesting night was had – Jo and I were on overlappingwatches – we were having fun handling the boat together into the night, but then the seas and wind rose.  I went to bed and left Jo with a capable novice. I got no sleep, crashing around in the cabin hearing the water slosh around below and above me. Jo got soaked through repeatedly as wave after wave came across the bow and crashed across the entire deck. Colin, our skipper,was unlucky enough to stick his head above to ask for a bucket just as one of these waves crashed over – getting soaked while standing inside really didn’t help the seasickness.

My next watch started at around 4 am, and we quickly saw lighthouses. Trying to count flashes as we careered up and down waves, making the horizon disappear every few seconds took all my effort while not helming. In reality it took until daylight to figure out what was actually going on. Helming was seriously hard work as we were often overpowered. Although knackered, cold, wet and hungry, we were almost on dry land so we all stayed up. After a couple of tacks, we realised we were going close to backwards. I was trying to navigate and was repeatedly thrown around the cabin, once landing on top of the charts and covering them in water. My concern for the charts lasted all of 30 seconds – they were soon lifted off the table and dumped in the bilge water around my feet. There was no hope for them any longer. Soon enough our skipper was woken and came up – he successfully got Puffin going upwind, slightly. For the next 6 hours, we continually thought the next tack would be the last, but Puffin defied us at every turn by not wanting to go upwind.

During these hours Jo and I descended towards hypothermia, fell asleep upright in the saloon wearing soaking wet and cold waterproofs. I eventually pulled myself together enough to have a hot drink and start to be of use again on deck and navigating. More often than not I was the bearer of bad news as I found that we would require yet another tack. Luckily Colin seemed infinitely better at helming under these conditions than us, so stayed on deck the whole time often alone. An interesting time, which wasn’t particularly enjoyable and really showed how we should have kept to the watches as we approached land. We became lax not only with watches but eating, sleeping and trying to keep warm as well – all of which are near impossible in a rocking soaking wet yacht.

We later realised that we should have put the storm jib on. We’d looked at this earlier in the week and decided we didn’t know how it attached, and quickly put it back in the locker without figuring it out. We really didn’t want to work it out in the storm. Also, no one on board had ever used a storm jib, so we weren’t sure what benefit it would have – we’ve now been informed it would help going upwind!

We eventually arrived in Crosshaven at 11am on Saturday. We slept, showered and ate. The restaurant was fantastic with good local food and ale for reasonable prices. The marina bar was brilliant – with a map of lighthouses all flashing in the correct manor, mini canons  and beer barrel seat. The only thing lacking was people – we were the only people there. The next day (Sunday), the wind had strengthened and we doubted our ability to safely vacate our mooring so instead of sailing to Cork we took the bus.

Puffin, post-passage

Puffin, post-passage: there was a lot of kit to dry!

We’ve learnt a huge amount about sailing passages, and sailing in heavy weather, and will be much more prepared the next time we find ourselves in a similar situation. Dave (and perhaps Jo not quite as much) is looking forward to doing more exciting things in the mountains and at sea to replicate the feeling of adventure.