I weighed at 05:15 and headed down the Sound of Mull with a light wind from the NE, that progressively changed to a light south westerly and just before arrival to F3-4, but on the nose so I motored in. Even at this time of day with 2 boats having just left the anchorage and another going as I entered it was still quite busy but with a few spaces left for me to wait for the tide down the Sound of Luing.
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| 17 miles in just under 4 hours. |
The latest forecasts are showing fresh NE winds on Saturday which with F6 today rather puts the kybosh on The Treshnish Islands. It also shows rain most days for a good while and not very helpful winds to get south next week.
After a shower and some last minute shopping I left at 11:20 earlier than planned and against the tide to perhaps give me the opportunity to get to Loch Spelve to make a passage through Luing a possibility, with a very early start, on Friday. If things go to plan I'll be in shelter if and when the stronger northerly wind arrives on Saturday, probably on the Jura side of the sound or east of Ghia, most likely the former as I am not in that much of a rush.
There was absolutely no wind in the harbour that was rapidly emptying out of cruising yachts, outside there was about 8 knots but with more forecast and heavy squalls about I stuck to headsail only. Soon after it was up to 15 knots and varied from that, occasionally less, up to 20+ and at one time 25 which was a bit nerve wracking with the dinghy in tow.
Apart from having to avoid a freighter and two large ferries the trip was generally uneventful but I decided against Loch Spelve as the wind had steadied to a brisk F5 and would be on the nose and against the tide at charted over-falls at some point between Duart Castle and Lock Don. So into Loch Aline with a swift 360 degree turn and a lurch towards the shore when the ferry, which had been alongside for at least an hour, decided to come out just as I got there.
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| Entry delayed by the ferry, we would have collided just south of the red can buoy, another yacht and a large motor boat coming from the east also had to take avoiding action. We entered in line astern with me leading, probably frustrating them as I stuck to 5 knots, 6 over the ground, they both over took me as soon as they could whilst I was getting the anchor ready. |
Facebook post:
The plan for tomorrow is to leave when I wake up to take the last of the tide out of the Sound of Mull and then cross to the east side of the Firth of Lorn 6 or 7 miles N of Fladda and anchor there, leaving early afternoon to get the first of the S going tide down the Sound of Luing stopping for the night at Crinan or a bit further S.
If the weather is as the models showed in the evening I should have light adverse winds on Friday but tide all the way after the stop for lunch, then a north-westerly on Saturday to take me down the Sound of Jura. I will need to find a safe spot later on Saturday as a F6 is forecast.
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| 14 miles in three nd a half hours. |
The urgency is off my return, at least for a week or two as my wife has been referred to a different consultant for a different type of surgery.
However, the weather for next week around these parts is not good. It is miserable here at the moment raining with light occasionally quite fresh winds but should be improving, contrary to Wednesdays forecast, Friday looks OK to move so, assuming that does not change, I will head south tomorrow to Tobermory before stronger winds Saturday. Or to the Small Islands or someplace else for a night if Saturdays weather gets delayed.
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| Models for mid day Friday. I will probably be motoring. |
The Minch - Strong wind warning
24 hour forecast: Cyclonic becoming northwesterly, then variable later, 5 or 6 at first in south, otherwise 2 to 4. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in south. Rain or showers. Good, occasionally moderate or poor.
Outlook for the following 24 hours: Variable 2 to 4, becoming southeast 3 to 5, then veering southwest 4 to 6 later. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in south. Showers, becoming fair later. Good.
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| Tuesday is not looking good. |
Kyle Rhea
This is the key one, the tide though here can run faster than the boat will go and there can be overfalls to the south and strong eddies, so has to be done with the tide and although slower for a mile or so it is usually best done close to slack water as it turns favourable so as to give the best tide on leaving if going any distance. South going from HW Ullerpool so be there at c 10:20.
Extract from chart insert 2540-2 Kyle Rhea Working backwards.
Skye Bridge:
The tide under the Sky Bridge is not insurmountable but can run at up to 4 knots so it is best to plan for it. It is very variable, at springs (neaps are different) usually east going HW Ullerpool - 3:00 to +3:30 but it depends on air pressure and particulalry on the wind.So friendly from 07:20, best not to pass after 09:30 so as to be at the Kyle Rhea at slack water.
Point of Ardnamuchan.
Whilst not extreme the tide around the point will definitely slow you down significantly if adverse and can cause rough seas especially wind against tide, it is SW going from HW Ullerpool - 00:10 till +05:50 = 10:10 - 16:10. There is nothing to be done about that as even at better than 6 knots I would miss the tide, I'll just have to hope it is not that rough and stick it out.
Only being 8 miles from Skye bridge and another 4 with the tide to the Kyle Rhea the first part is easy, slip not later than 07:45 to give some time to clear the anchorage to make the entrance probably a bit before the tide turns (it could turn a bit early) at 10:20. Plug that into the route I already had from previous visits and let Seapro crunch the numbers and we get this.
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| SeaPro is only as good as the number of tidal "Diamonds" permit and how unambiguous the interpolation between them is so in this part of the world especially it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt in places but this should be a reasonable plan (times UTC) |
Having given up on Loch Mariveg I decided to head for the mainland, the alternatives of heading back to Stornoway or further south did not seem sensible, both would have been a relatively late arrival with further to go next day. The question then was where to go so I set course to clear the Shiant Islands and gave it some thought.
Lochs Ewe, Gairloch or Torridon were all possibilities and easy to get to and into but I could then get stuck there and end up moving anchorages as the wind was likely to be coming from different directions in quite short order. I dismissed Loch Ewe, not for it's anchorages but the need thereafter to go round Ruba Reidh when moving out.
The wind was forecast to back so I hedged my bets a bit and opted to aim for west of Rona, if the wind backed I could go for Torridon, if it didn't, or didn't much, I could go down the Sound of Rassay, preferred as there are anchorages there and Portree although that is an uncomfortable anchorage / mooring in a strong wind, especially from the SW. Or I could go down the Inner Sound, and once well south by either route I would have options to suite all winds from Broadford to Plockton to Loch Alsh.
Facebook post a short while later:
Pleasant sailing at the mo in W F5, sea smooth but that’s likely to change when I get past the Shiant Isles. I suspect the wind will be less by then which may help as long as it doesn’t go completely and I end up motoring.
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| The Shiant Islands |
Another post [expanded a bit and with a few edits for language etc.] at 02:42:
A quick and comfortable passage so far except for a squall at about 01:00, I saw the cloud but no rain coming my way so put a few more rolls in the headsail, to smaller than a working jib, and the 2nd slab in the main.
It was a good job I did, a few minutes later there was torrential rain and for a few minutes the wind veered 30 degrees and was well over 30 knots. I was making > 7 knots (I'm not sure the of the top speed or wind as I was literally keeping my head down to try and stay dry), I was on a beam reach before the wind veer, then over sheeted, and with perhaps only 10 degrees of heal, Sancerre went dead straight and the autopilot had little work to do. This boat still surprises me at times 🙂
02:42 and Rona Light House will be abeam in half an hour, making 5 knots in 10 knots of wind, should be back to 5.5 knots shortly as the wind will surely come back.
Although I have seen them all in daylight I had not really appreciated how well supplied with light houses the Minch is, previously I have only crossed in daylight or with visibility restricted. Although so far north and a few weeks from the longest day it was never darker than Nautical Twilight (when you can see the brightest stars and have a clear horizon) I could see lights from multiple directions.
The wind had not yet backed so I went down the Sound of Raasay and was able to sail until Portree, albeit somewhat slower as the wind dropped. The question now was where to go? The available forecasts still showed strong winds from various directions, the best option was Plockton and a relatively cheap mooring rather than risk having the anchor screwed out by the changing winds.
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| Under engine for an hour to get through the Raasay narrows then running in light winds until just before Plockton. |
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| Approaching the turn into Plockton |
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| Into and later out of Plockton. |
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| Here is an example! No damage but they were there for a tide cycle. |
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| The disused light house |
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| Stornoway to Plockton via Witches Pool. 75 NM in total in 18.5 hours |
The wind was lighter than forecast and very variable, I lost count of the number of times I turned the engine on to make the tide at Stoer Head but it was at least half a dozen, and I still didn't make it as the tide turned foul at least an hour ahead of schedule, again I suspect due to the high pressure. The waves were awkward and on the quarter, generally not big but every know and then a big set would come through.
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| The Old Man of Stoer |
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| Close in to Stoer Head for comfort, reducing the angle of the quartering sea. |
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| Still the occasional big set coming through as I leave Stoer Head. |
Afternoon:
This morning the inshore forecast at 07:00 was F2-4 occ 5 at first (that’s what I had coming here) I was tempted to go direct to Stornoway but all 3 models (UKMO Global, ECMWF & GFS) that have gust predictions, showed gusts in excess of 25 knots late afternoon. I couldn’t reconcile them 🤔 so carried on with my plan.
The lunchtime forecast now says “North-easterly 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first [this afternoon] in north [where I am]. Feeling smug 😏😏Shows why it is best to have multiple sources of info and take the worst credible rather than the one you like.My problem now is the 12:00 forecast also has a strong wind warning for tomorrow, hopefully that is the bad weather in this mornings model for Wednesday (gust >30) arriving tomorrow evening after I would expect to be in Stornoway.
Evening:
[..] looking good for tomorrow
The Minch
24 hour forecast: North or northeast 3 to 5. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in north. Fair. Good.
Outlook for the following 24 hours: North or northeast 3 or 4, increasing 5 or 6 later. Smooth or slight, becoming moderate in north. Mainly fair. Good.
The UKMO Global and ECMWF are also fine at least until quite late tomorrow. Assuming no big change on the midnight forecast I’ll be off when I wake up, certainly before 07:00. I must remember to go carefully out of here as low water is 07:20, we are close to neaps so some rocks will not be showing, just lurking under the water to get me.
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| 27.5 miles in 8 hours. |
The weather is not cooperating, again. Strongish winds have been forecast for later today (Sunday) for some time but last night stronger winds in the late afternoon and evening on Monday came up on the UK model with a lot more on Wednesday. In both cases the headline numbers were not terrifically high and not a problem off the wind but the gust maps showed it would be very variable with gusts to 30+ knots. And coming late in the day would make getting into Stornoway town marina a challenge as its quite tight and the wind on the approach can be very gusty and variable in direction,
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| The UKMO gust map on Sunday morning for 17:00 on Monday with a little more later. |
The Minch - Strong wind warning
24 hour forecast: Northeast, veering east later, 3 to 5, increasing 6 for a time. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate. Mainly fair. Good, occasionally poor at first.
Outlook for the following 24 hours: East, backing northeast, 3 to 5. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate at first in far north and south. Fair. Good occasionally moderate.
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| By Sunday morning the models had changed again for Tuesday with lighter winds in the evening. |
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| Wednesday still looked rather windy although again the ecmwf was not as bad. |
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| A Danish yacht going into Loch Eriboll as I left. |
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| Starting to struggle with light variable winds, Cape Wrath in the distance. |
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| Cape Wrath in sunshine for a change, as close in as I have been there was only a knot of south going tide but it managed to form a small rip even in the benign conditions. |
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| The wind keeping me busy, direction was almost as variable going from NNE to SE and back more than once. |
The anchorage at the head of the Loch. Note the trip line buoy, probably not necessary but there is and has been a lot of Mussel farming and pot fishing in the Loch so it seemed a sensible precaution despite the aggravation of setting and later retrieving it.
Change of plan: Its blowing F5 with, as expected, F6 later tomorrow, the anchorage I was thinking of going to is very secure but not that big and has lots of moorings, work and fishing boats etc.
Whereas there is plenty of space here and good shelter unless the wind turns NW which is very unlikely so I am staying put and avoiding F5 into a foul tide in the morning. The trip to Stornoway might be an hour longer from here but that is not an issue on a c 12 hour trip.
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| 35 miles in seven and three-quarter hours. |
zStill pics to be added if the computer can recover the corrupt camera disk with over 2 years worth of hi-res pics on, fortunately most to Kerkwall and from Eriboll sothbound and a few others are either OK or backed up to the lap top, and those from before this trip are separately backed up to two other locations.
I left at 04:30 to arrive at Aiker Ness, east of the Burgar Rost in the last hour of the ebb tide, earlier is definitely not recommended on a spring tide. I arrived 50 minutes before the advertised turn of the tide as there was an unplanned head tide out of Kirkwall. As it happens I could have gone through 30 - 60 minutes earlier as the tide changed early, probably due to the high pressure that has been around for days. A 34 footer, that had started closer having followed me from Sumbough but who had gone to N Orkney, was about half an hour ahead of me. I then had to motor to past Brough Head a little over 50 NM from Loch Eriboll before some wind set in.
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| The potentially tricky bit from Kirkwall. |
I had to have the engine on for a couple of hours but back under Spinnaker again. Dead run but managing 4.5 knots in 9 knots. It’s always a bit frustrating in these winds, they are never quite right, with the wind at c 165 degrees I will usually make 4 knots in 7 -8 knots of wind over the ground, but at 9 knots it would be 4.5, at 10-11 knots > 5 knots and at 12-13 6 - 6.5 knots. So much extra speed for so little extra wind. Then at c14 knots single handed it’s normally time to take the kite down.
But I’ll take 9 - 10 knots! Naturally now the sails are blocking the sun from me and the solar panels and it’s back to winter gear in the cold wind - from shirt sleeves or less.
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| 77 miles in 16 and a half hours. |
The afternoon at anchor was quite peaceful although the boat was a little lively from the wind which was swirling down off the hills, it was not helped by the shallow water, whilst a scope of about 7:1 gives a good angle on the anchor it allows the boat to swing more. I had considered backing the anchor up which would reduce this but decided that it the wind changed more to the south (as it did) if there was a problem I would not have time to get the anchor up before hitting the shallow water or rocks 150 – 200 yards away.
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| The scene of the crime: Left initial attempt at anchoring in a recommended location. Right - where I was for c 12 hours. Centre when I ended up. Note the channel into the head of the loch is =< 100 yards wide. |
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| Where is happened, off John Ridgeways adventure training centre. Note the anchored rib, another is off frame right. |
After a quick look outside I got dressed, including waterproofs
although it was not raining and at the time quite warm, and only for the second
time in over 300 nights at anchor sat anchor watch.
The sky was clear but with no moon and I could see nothing except
the loom of the mountains and the intruder alarm lights on the adventure training school that would later be helpful
in getting orientated. I turned on the chart plotter and got an iPad on deck
with the Antares chart active so I could see where I was and were I was going
if things went pear shaped.
The problem was the wind, rather than the predicted 20 knot winds as the
instruments came on line there was a gust of 39 knots, probably somewhat less than it had been when I was woken up. After that the wind was going from 12 knots to over 30 pushing the boat about with the
bows swinging through about 70 degrees. There was not a lot I could do but
hope, trying to change anchorage in those conditions, in the dark and in a
relatively small anchorage was not to be contemplated and where to go? I ran the engine
for a while to warm it up and ensure an instant start if needed and I set an
anchor alarm on a second iPad as a backup and kept the plotter and instruments
on. Then waited.
By about 01:30 things were calming down so I went to my
bunk, fully dressed and with the wash boards out so I could get on deck quickly.
20 minutes later an alarm went off and I was slowly moving
back and missing the 100 yard wide passage to the wider and deeper
anchorage that had been down wind. The wind was back up to near gale force
after a lull. I guess a sudden increase after a calm caused the anchor to fail.
I tried resetting the anchor and it gripped once for a while
but then let go. There was nothing for it but to get the anchor up (in case it
was choked with weed or something else; it was clean) and try again. Not easy under pressure,
in the dark and with the engine controls at one end of the boat and the anchor
at the other where I needed to be raising the anchor, and although I can lower it
from the cockpit you do need to be forward to see what is happening before
setting the anchor.
The first problem was the snubber which somehow had got a loop
of chain round the chain hook so I had to haul the chain in far enough to get
the fouled section over the bow roller and past the chain stopper but before it
got to the windlass. With chain stopper engaged and the pressure off it came
undone easily and I got the anchor just clear of the water before dashing back to the cockpit to get
into deeper water, I now had to decide where to go, I could not see the two
large ribs moored a hundred yards away from my original position and it was
dead low water with only just over a metre under the keel at times. The best
move was to try and get sea room by moving west which I managed by GPS and with
difficulty in the strong swirling wind.
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| Big splodge: at anchor, top left struggling, bottom the escape. |
I tried three times to anchor there, the problem being the speed the boat was making downwind when the anchor hit bottom causing it to “skate”, the first held for about 10 minutes and would not reset when it dragged so up it came, the final attempt worked after I lowered the anchor from the cockpit for 25 seconds, about 12m of chain in 7 metres of water, whilst motoring slowly ahead then dashing to the foredeck to see what was happening and to let the rest of the chain out. Trying to rig the snubber in those conditions would have been asking for a crushed finger or worse so I suffered noisy chain movements and some snubbing until daylight.
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| Three attempts to anchor, the big splodge where I ended up. Squiggles bottom centre, the first attempt. Just left of the final position the 2nd attempt, trying to reset. Incomplete as I turned the alarm off when manoeuvring. |
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| 06:00 as the gale abates |
I did not get round to updating this post and, perhaps after all the problems explained in the next post, I can't remember much about this leg - a good reason for keeping the blog in a timely manner! It was certainly blowing quite hard when I went up Loch Laxford and I could not get the anchor to hold at my first anchorage choice. The afternoon and night are in the next post.
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| The Old Man of Stoer |
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| Turning into Loch a'Chadh-fi |
25 miles in six and a quarter hours.
For more pics of the entrance and Loch see the next post: Click here for a big problem (solved) that night.
An excellent sail, a quick reach down the loch then a slightly uncomfortable but quite quick run north. I could have been in Loch Ewe for lunch but the weather was too good to spend half of it at anchor so I headed for Loch Roe, listed as one of gems of the north. The risk was the wind dying before I got there and potentially several hours motoring. It did drop but only about 90 minutes too soon so it was a short motor on to the Loch.
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| Rubha Reidh, I hoped this would be the end of dead running. |
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| However, care is needed, this seal is sitting on a rock in the middle of the visible channel exposed by 1.8m at LAT and waiting to get you closer to HW. |
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| About to make the first turn. |
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| Some precision anchoring to my planned spot 😀 |
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| I counted over 30 seals, mainly Gray at one time and I'm sure there were many more. |
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| 39 miles in 9 hours. |
