We left Kyle of Lochalsh this morning after Hughie had
driven me to the garage to collect some diesel in jerry cans we got from a
workshop behind the garage. We replenished the gas too. We said good-bye to
Hughie and to Wolfie, and after a quick coffee at the hotel we were on our way.
As we approached the bridge to Sky it looked bl**dy close as to whether our
mast would fit under. Roger had done the calculations but even he slowed us
right down just in case! We needn’t have worried – there was plenty of room, as
calculated. We passed Applecross where Monty (whose surname we can’t remember)
made a TV series about living as a crofter. (Yesterday we had passed the spot
where Gavin Maxwell had written about in Ring Of Bright Water). The weather has
been like the scenery, just brilliant(!) – sunshine all the way! The sea was
mostly flat but picked up a bit as we cleared Sky and we could see out to the Outer Hebrides. We carried on under double-reefed
mainsail alone and Blue Star stayed almost upright and plodded on steadily at 5
knots in the 23 knot wind! David prepared a Spanish omelette for everyone for
lunch, which was delicious. As we approached our destination we wondered
whether there was any other way of getting to Gairloch – it seemed so isolated
with moon-scape mountains behind it!
The weather forecast for the rest of the week looks good,
and a plan is being hatched – to carry on after Kinlochbervie and go around the
Cape pressing on to Scrabster! But we shall
see.
Richard’s Joke:
A sailor was at work when they had the opportunity to leave
early. ‘Why are you leaving early?’ their colleague asked. ‘Well’, they said, ‘my
spouse has laryngitis’ they said!
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| David keeping watch |
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| Richard keeping watch |
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| Approaching Gairloch (Is there any other way of reaching it?) |
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| The crew in Gairloch (Kim, Richard, David and Roger) |
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| Blue Star in Gairloch |
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