A Milestone Day

We slid out of our tight berth at 0630 this morning to make the most of the helpful tide down Kerrera sound. Julian was much more awake than me and got the bowsprit out before going down to cook breakfast while I helmed Robinetta under motor through some lovely scenery. Kerrara Sound is the first “familiar” coast to me since we passed Southwold, as I sailed here about six years ago on Prospero. It's all new to Julian though, and the bright morning helped him appreciate it; high cloud that cleared slowly to reveal blue sky ahead, but when we looked back north the it seemed to be raining. The first other yacht we'd seen moving that morning motored past and shouted out to ask were we were heading. When we replied Colinsay they gave us the thumbs up.

We got the main up after clearing Kerrera, but the wind was light, and pretty much on the nose, so had to tack too far off the best line for the extra speed to be useful. We headed towards Mull for a while, but tacked back towards mainland before getting too close to Dubh Sgeir. It was time for the motor to do back on if we wanted to reach Colinsay before midnight.

Julian had set a course that led west of Inch and the Garvellachs, but when I reminded him we'd planned to go through the Sound of Inch he changed course, and helmed us through a lovely bit of coastal scenery. Easdale and Ellenbech looked really attractive, and a yacht headed down the Sound of Luing, where the tides looked too strong for us!

Around half nine this morning, at the southern end of the Sound of Insh we passed two significant milestones. Robinetta crossed tracks with her cruise north in 1938, so has now completed her circumnavigation, having taken 76 years, 1 month, and 5 days to do it. We had hoped to cross tracks further north, at Isle Ornsay, but staying two weeks in Orkney made the timetable a bit tight to go round the top and down. The other milestone was having travelled 1000 nautical miles on our journey this year. It was sheer coincidence that had both happen at about the same time and place.

As we changed course to go outside the Garvellachs the wind came abeam enough to try sailing again, but we only managed it for quarter of an hour before deciding that getting to our destination before nine tonight would be a good idea. The engine went on again.

Colonsay appeared as a low line on the horizon, and we headed slowly towards it.