The Lady of Avenel is an 102ft square rigged brigantine, currently based near Oban, on the west coast of Scotland.
Every year the Lady of Avenel needs a refit to prepare her for her working season. This year I went up there to join the working party for the refit.
I travelled by overnight train from Euston to Crianlarach.
I drew some sketches on the journey.
The boat was at Dunstaffnage Marina. In between work sessions I drew some pictures.
On the boat was a sea dog, Shona. She had to be locked indoors while crew members were hoisting the engine out. I was not part of the engine-hoisting gang. So I kept the dog company and drew her picture.
I travelled back via Fort William. The High Street caters for climbers and walkers and has a large number of shops stocking all brands of outdoor gear. I examined some of them, then rested by the Old Fort.
Near the train station there is a park with several war memorials, and a poignant plaque from the young people of Hiroshima:
Here are a few photos of the Lady of Avenel during the refit.
Scotland is beautiful.
I have sailed on the Lady of Avenel in previous years:
Outer Hebrides 2017
I took my sketching things on a swimming expedition to the Outer Hebrides with Swimtrek. We were on the wonderful Lady of Avenel 102ft square rigged brigantine. We started in Oban. It was raining when I…
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Lady of Avenel at Heybridge Basin
Here is Lady of Avenel, 102ft Brigantine. This was the third of three sketches. Here are the first two. I have drawn Lady of Avenel previously: Outer Hebrides 2017 See also these pages for pictures of and…
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Sketch notes from maritime Holland
This is Noordermarkt, as seen from Café Hegeraad, in the Jordaan district of Amsterdam. It was a lovely autumn day, warm with a light breeze. I had the apple cake and a coffee. I had arrived from…
Read more…I’ve written about my experiences of sketching and swimming here:
Jane Sketching 
Reblogged this on penwithlit and commented:
This must have been a brilliant adventure! My parents were in Oban during the war where my father was an aircraft fitter making modifications to Bristol Beaufighters and Blenheims. Fortunately, your trip was much more peaceful!
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It was indeed an adventure! How interesting that your parents were there. There seem to be many military connections in the region. I walked up a hill in Fort William to “The Highland Hotel” a lovely Victorian Hotel which was used as one of the shore stations of “HMS St Christopher” a base for trainees learning coastal operations skills in the 1939-45 conflict. I read on Wikipedia that “Most of the courses lasted a number of weeks and involved such activities as firing torpedoes from Motor Torpedo Boats. A Westland Lysander or a Blackburn Skua would occasionally fly over the base to allow practices on anti-aircraft guns.” That sounds rather alarming. I hope your father’s planes were not damaged in target practice…
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