Shiants to Loch Shell

Leaving the Shiants was disappointing but the right decision. I had made sure there was a plan B and Loch Shell was less than two hours away. Outside the narrows we really got into overfalls and the wind was nasty too, and we had an uncomfortable ten minutes before things settled down.

After a while Alison noticed I was sailing very badly. I realised I was tired too and had been resting rather than concentrating. We got the jib out and trimmed the sails, picked back up to 4-5 knots and headed towards Loch Shell. The sun shone on Lewis, and then on us, so we had a lovely sail back across the Little Minch. Once in the shelter of Loch Shell we were soon getting the sails down to pick a careful path through rocks to an anchorage tucked in behind Eilean Lubhard, north west of Sgier Ghlas.

Anchoring two nights in a row, with a brunch anchorage thrown in, has certainly given us both practice at anchoring. So far the fisherman's anchor has worked well for us. We put out 3-4 times scope of chain (sometimes 5 if we are feeling anxious), and have not dragged once.