An evening departure

Julian had a work meeting this afternoon, so we stayed in Lochinver with its good internet access.

Creole

I got chatting with several people on the pontoon while Julian worked. Most were visitors, cruising up or down the coast, and it was good to swop stories.

I also had a good talk with the owner of a local boat that I had seen on the way into Lochinver, and going out both days we were there. Creole had caught my eye for a number of reasons. First off, she was wooden, and painted exactly the same colour as Robinetta. I am not sure I have seen another boat painted with Toplac Lauderdale Blue.... Apparently she was built in 1962 in Frazerbugh by a well known fishing boat builder. She has fishing boat lines, but has always been a yacht, and her owner for the last 4 years is a retired fisherman who can not quite leave the life behind.

View of Suilven from the Lochinver pontoon

The weather was gray and cold, with little wind, but the evening tides were good for heading round Rubha Coigeach, so we set off at 5pm aiming for the Summer Isles. The whole trip was done under motor, but was enlivening by a group of young common dolphins playing "look how high we can jump"as Robinetta rounded the headland. They were more interested in playing with each other than us, but they did come close a couple of times.

We anchored in 5m, an hour after low water. The expected rise of tide is only 2 m, so much less worrying than the 4m we had to plan for earlier in the week. We could see 2 other yachts in the anchorage between Tanera Beg and Eilean Fada Mor, but there were probably 3 as another mast was just visible round a corner. The Summer Isles are a popular place, so I was slightly surprised there were not more!