There is hardly a more impressive environment to find for a meeting of yachts & owners than Scotland in the early weeks of autumn. The AGM 2022 was held in the Portavadie marina. 55 owners and 7 yachts showed up, the longest distance travelled by Jim who came from California (and left his boat there). Dan and Ellie James with SANITY (a Delta 94) had a shorter distance to cover from Milford Haven, but as they had sailed over from Vannes they’d added some 350 miles to their voyage. We sailed our Halftonner TOPAS (1971) with changing crew from Lübeck to Portavadie, although the initial plan was to bring her to the Mediterranean, at least down to warmer latitudes, e.g. Portugal or even further South. But then there was this invitation for the AGM…
After meeting the S&S folks in Portavadie, we could say, the trip was worth it, and Scotland is as beautiful as it is demanding from a nautical point of view.
The AGM, well-prepared and executed by Gavin, Karen and Mike, took place on Saturday morning. Nice professional atmosphere – the board members and the regional chiefs presented their reassuring reports, then Gavin announced that we would do some sailing in the afternoon “with 8 to 16 knots of wind”. One skipper later murmured, given this, he wouldn’t like to sail his boat in 20 knots. This Scottish sort of breeze was pretty challenging. At least two instruments showed peaks of 50+ knots in squalls.
“8 to 16 knots” - Aboard REINDEER
After a proper sail (Gavin even cast anchor under the coast and served biscuits & coffee on his Swan 76 Ketch TIGRIS ) we arrived without damage back in Portavadie and prepared for the dinner. Dress code was “no black tie”, so everybody looked nice and casual, several gentlemen in their dress kilts.
After a delicious dinner with Haggis and salmon as the main ingredients, it was time for a Scottish ceilidh, a mixture of dancing (“no excuses”) and military manoeuvre. We learned that the American square dance was definitely developed in Scotland.
After breakfast on Sunday, we squeezed ourselves into a bus which took us to the historical jail in Inverary. There have been substantial improvements in the last 200 years, although this jail already was an improvement in justice and law enforcement, compared to Shakespeare’s times.
Fruits de mer and a variety of potatoes & vegetables at the Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, before our bus driver, took us to Argyll castle. The driver was a former policeman, with profound knowledge of Scottish history. Who, for instance, knows that the first king of Great Britain was the Scottish King James VI, becoming the English King James I.? Well, our driver knew that and much more. Argyll castle was beautiful. Nearly a ruin some seventy years ago it was well restored, after the Campbell Clan, spread all over the world, put some money together.
On Monday morning after breakfast the S&S folk jumped into their cars or boats. The sailors – most of them – slipped lines, just in time before a short and fierce autumn gale came over Portavadie.
- Birke & Harry Schack (TOPAS)
TIGRIS - Swan 76, departing Portavadie, Scotland