Last day of the cruise

 

The anchorage gave us good shelter, and although I heard the anchor chain grating against the triced up bobstay a couple of times in the night Robinetta was rock solid on her anchor. We woke to bright sunshine, and a breeze that promised sailing once we were out of our sheltered bay. Since we were lying head to wind Julian raised the main sail while we were anchored, then went forward to haul up the chain. I let Worm back on her line (we have been keeping her moored alongside each night) and tidied up the cockpit while the engine warmed up. 

Three seals watched calmly as Robinetta moved closer to them. I steered a little to help keep the chain on the bow, and Julian asked me to go astern as he thought we had overrun the anchor. My burst of power did not seem to move us at all, but it may have helped free the anchor, as before we knew it we were sailing gently away. Julian finished getting the anchor on board, then laid out the chain on the deck to dry.

Approaching the 1st narrows

I turned off the engine as we ran slowly down the loch, gybing gently with the twists and turns of the 2 sets of narrows before we turned north west into the outer loch.

The wind came onto the beam for a little, but mostly it stayed astern, funneled by the mountains surrounding us. We sailed quietly along, in flat water, at between 1½ and 2½ knots, reveling in the sunshine and scenery. Julian put the anchor away as it had dried in the sunshine, and as we were passing the fish farm he spotted a pod of common dolphins. They were very small (I thought they were harbour porpoises at first) and very playful, tail slapping and leaping totally out of the water in a way I am not used to. They entertained us for a good five minutes before heading back up the loch towards Corran. We heard a startled exclamation from a couple in a Canadian style canoe echoing over the water as they caught sight of them.

By 12:30 we were clear of the Loch Hourn entrance and heading across the Sound of Sleat. Outside the shelter of the Loch we could feel the full force of the South Easterly wind. A very pleasant force 3-4. We really wanted to be heading down the Sound, and at first we made good progress, but then the wind shifted a little and lost its easterly edge. We could no longer point towards Eigg, but only towards Armadale. Once the tide turned so it was no longer in our favour we could no longer even make Armadale. Then the forecast South Westerly kicked in and we were hardly making any progress towards Mallaig. It was time to turn the engine on and use it to help us head up wind. Luckily the sea state was still slight, so although Robinetta was butting into them, they were not stopping her.

 We dropped the main sail well clear of the harbour, then called on the radio to ask permission to enter. We got no reply so Julian phoned instead and was told to proceed unless we say three red lights. This was the first time we have tried transmitting on the old radio since we brought it back into action. We have been receiving the weather reports without problems so assumed it was working....

When I phoned the marina yesterday I had been told to put Robinetta on a pontoon berth when we arrived, and there, waiting to take our lines was John from Suzelle. The marina master then appeared, and pointed us at a different berth. After a hurried resetting of the fenders and lines we went in. It turned out that our prebooked mooring buoy was not available, so Robinetta would be left on a pontoon while we were away.

We were putting the sail covers on and chatting with John from Suzelle when we we were hailed by an unexpected visitor. Kate Phillips, an East Coast OGA member, was there sailing on their new boat, a Rival 38. She and her husband had been moored at Canna the night before, and were sailing in the area for three weeks. It was lovely to chat and exchange news over a glass of wine.

A much needed shower was the next thing on the agenda, and once clean we tried to find somewhere for dinner. The first three places we tried were full, and we ended up at the almost deserted Fish Market restaurant. This deserved to have more customers, and I thoroughly enjoyed my dover sole while Julian had mussels. Half a bottle of wine washed it down nicely before we headed back to Robinetta. The rain started to patter down on the cockpit cover as we got the bedding out, but we were dry inside (for the moment at least!).