Sailing to Save My Soul: Circumnavigating Scotland on a 23ft Sailboat

A 12-part logbook series from a summer spent sailing around the Scottish Isles to recover from burnout.

Sailing into the shadow of the Black Cuillins on the approach to Loch Scavaig.

“I continue [sailing] because I am happy at sea, and perhaps also to save my soul.”

—Bernard Moitessier

A World Within
There is an ocean within me,
unknown quarters of my soul,
new worlds to explore.
Distant shores.

I gaze out from the helm, afraid,
sensing unseen rocks and maelstroms,
treacherous forces and currents that flow,
threatening to overwhelm.

I gaze out from the helm, infinitely curious,
searching for what hides beyond sand shores.
Mossy trails of peace and ancient glades,
hidden treasures.

The ceaseless currents of time expand the wild edges.
Some dangers are mapped, new islands discovered.
Others are still unknown, hinted at,
beyond the horizon.

Alexander Gunnarsson, 2026

Join me for a sail around Scotland aboard Kismet

This week a year ago I completed a three-month sail around Scotland, returning to Edinburgh a different person in many ways. A year later I’ve had the chance to reflect and write a lot, and my appreciation and wonder at this whole experience has grown exponentially. I’m in awe of the natural wonder of the experience, all the amazing places in Scotland that we got to visit, from the Caledonian Canal to Kintyre, Islay and Mull to Skye and the Outer Hebrides, and further north still past Cape Wrath and the Pentland Firth. Along the way we were accompanied by dolphins, whales, puffins and gannets, immersed in the reality of wind and waves.

I am currently finishing my full narrative memoir but I don’t want to wait that long to share more of the experiences we enjoyed out at sea with all of you. I have been thinking about writing this series for a while, but wasn’t sure when the right time would be.

However, I recently posted a note sharing the route I sailed as I circumnavigated Scotland and it’s generated a lot of interest and questions.

The note in question in case you missed it:

So now seems like the perfect time to share the complete logbook of my circumnavigation of Scotland in Kismet, my 23ft sloop.

I will bring you along onto the deck of Kismet and the wild shores of Scotland through images and words, showing you the beautiful and epic scale of all of it. I’ll share details and pictures of the routes and places and write short vignettes and impressions of all the varied experiences!

I will publish twelve entries each covering roughly a week of the voyage. You can look forward to the following logbook entries every other week through autumn and winter, bringing you some wonderful summer seafaring when the nights get cold and dark again.

Please consider subscribing to support this series and to get each new part to your inbox, and share and restack to help others who might be interested find it.

A 12-Part Journey Around Scotland:

I. Braving the North Sea: Edinburgh-Inverness

II. Ancient Lochs: The Caledonian Canal

III. Ancience: Oak and Salt in Crinan

IV. Alone at the End of the World: The Mull of Kintyre

V. Whisky and Fog: Islay-Mull

VI. Puffins and Basalt: Mull-Skye

VII. Guided by Dolphins: Skye-The Outer Hebrides

VIII. Across the Minch: Outer Hebrides-Torridon

IX. The Ancient North Coast: Assynt and the Summer Isles

X. Off the Edge: Cape Wrath-Pentland Firth

XI. Autumn Storms: Wick-Peterhead

XII. Homeward Bound: Peterhead-Edinburgh

As always, this series will remain 100% free, available to everyone, no paywalls.

Join me in The Captain’s Quarters

For those who want access to additional behind-the-scenes footage and videos of the passages, paid subscribers (£4/month or £35/year) will have access to The Captain’s Quarters Subscriber Chat along with several other perks and gifts:

• The Soulfaring welcome pack: A free set of physical Soulfaring postcards, plus a 50% discount across the Etsy print shop.

• The Captain’s Quarters vault: Additional pictures and videos from life aboard Kismet sailing the beautiful shores of Scotland for all the upcoming instalments in this series.

• Book club access: Full access to discussions in the Forgotten Voices seasonal book club along with free e-books (4 per year).

• A place in the story: Your name in the acknowledgements of my upcoming memoir.

Chapter I - Braving the North Sea: Edinburgh-Inverness, will be sent out next Saturday followed by one every fortnight. These chapters will alternate with my other original essays, stories, poems and book club posts.

If you're excited for this voyage, let me know by liking this post and dropping a comment below: Which chapter are you looking forward to the most?

Fair winds,

Alexander

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