After careful consultation of of weather forecasts and tidal stream diagrams we left Stromness at quarter to eight to catch the first of the favorable tide west through the Sound of Hoy. Fog patches made for a dull morning, but the wind direction promised to be good, and we raised the mainsail as we motored out of the harbour. Our intended destination was Loch Eribol, 55nm away.
As we left Hoy behind I went below of made bacon sandwiches for breakfast while Julian helmed. We could see nothing ahead to aim at except a single yacht sail, and as he was on a different course (probably heading straight for Cape Wrath) we could not just follow him. Once breakfast was eaten I took the helm and steered a compass course of about 240°M. The swell was getting up, so it varied between 210°M and 250°M as Robinetta’s bow swung about. We hoped that the tiller pilot would be able to do better, so Julian set about getting “George” set up.
Julian got George working again electronically, but he also needs a new mount, and there is no telling when it will arrive. Every time we need George on duty Julian devises a new way to mount it. It took nearly an hour to secure him this time and the constant rubbing against the bulwarks revealed a patch of rot. One of our chopping boards spread the load, so the crumbling bulwark did not degrade further, but that is another repair to put on the list.
Almost as soon as George went on the helm the wind came in from the south east. We motor sailed for a while, then decided to shake out the reef and change up the jib to the no 1, as the wind was light, but usable. With the reef gone we could rig the preventer and use it as a kicking strap to stop the boom lifting in the swell.
We managed a couple of hours of pure sailing with no engine when the wind got up again, but cross swells developed to throw us about. We ended up putting the reef back in.
There was fog all the way along the north of the Scottish mainland, but we began to catch glimpses of the mountains above it. Then we went into a fog patch and Julian went forward to raise our radar reflector. We are not sure how much more visible it makes us to radar, but it is better than nothing.
By 14:30 we had centred the mainsail and put the engine back on. Radio reception was not good, and we could not hear the coastguard broadcast of the most recent weather forecast so Julian went on his phone and managed to pick it up. Once we heard it we decided that heading straight for Kinlochbervie would be safer than splitting the trip, so for the next 3 hours we motored straight for Cape Wrath. By the end of that time we were both aware that it was not a good idea. Helming was very hard work in the cross swell, too much for George to cope with, and the thought of not getting in until the small hours of the morning was daunting. We decided to return to our original plan of going to Loch Eribol, and if we had to stay there to sit out a possible force 7 then we would.
I stayed on the helm, and the direction change and knowing there were only 2½ hours of rough seas rather than 10 made everything seem easier. We reached the entrance to Loch Eribol at about 8pm and knew we had made the right choice. The place is stunningly beautiful, and the swell went down really quickly so we could relax.
On reaching the anchorage we found 4 boats already there, meaning we anchored further out than we hoped, in 9m of water. With 30m of our new chain out we knew we were safe. There was no trace of swell or wind and we lay calm. Bliss.
Julian cooked perfect scrambled eggs with smoked salmon for a late
dinner. Perfection. After passage planning for the next day’s
proposed rounding of Cape Wrath we went to bed, knowing we did not
need to get up early to make a tidal gate.
Island with an old lime kiln sheltering the anchorage
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