Carbost, Isle of Skye - 07/08 July 2006 (day 48/49)

Yacht Gothik

At Mooring

Carbost

Loch Harport

Isle of Skye

Highland

08 July 2006

Click here to see a map.

Logged distance: 22M

Chart distance: 24M

Time under way: 4h30m

Friday 07 July 2006

The wind continued to blow harder still. At around some dark hour in the morning, for no particular reason, I hastily put on a T-Shirt and poked my head out of the companionway - we had dragged anchor. It was a shock, there were only 25 metres left between us and the rocks, my mouth went dry and all feelings of drowsiness fell away in an instant. Lining up two lights on shore (to make a transit line) I stared at them for a full five minutes to be certain we were not dragging any more - it was difficult to tell in the dark. Now I was shivering, it was raining - if it was difficult to tell whether or not we were dragging then the situation could not be changing very fast. I could at least get dressed and don waterproofs. Keith had by this time stirred and offered to help. I let him know that things were of concern but probably stable - there was no need for more than one of us to be awake.

Having sat out there for another ten minutes I was convinced we were no longer dragging anchor. The major concern to me now was another yacht who was dragging anchor. I could see lights on in the cabin and the frantic activity of people getting ready to come on deck. The engine was started and they quickly hauled anchor, just in time - they were within 10 metres of disaster. This boat had arrived since we had gone to bed - they could not have had much sleep and were probably exhausted having been out at sea in heavy weather. I was now a little worried as they were careering around the small anchorage in a large boat attempting to anchor in front of us. They would drop anchor, drag, weigh anchor again, fall off the wind and come flying down our starboard side, tuck in between our stern and the rocks and motor to windward on our port. During their fourth or filth attempt, as they swung round our stern, the skipper called to me in a cheery clear voice over the noise of the wind "Morning! Lovely day for it!". This was the best reassurance he could give me - they were alert, taking things into their stride, doing it properly and not taking any short cuts or risks. I waved and with relief sat back down in the cockpit. Looking around I could see every other yacht had a person sitting outside. Each boat had a torch twinkling from time to time. After an hour or so the light of dawn had become too strong for the clouds - the wind and the blackness both begun to subside. All was well, I managed another few hours of sleep in a warm bunk.

By the time of our departure the solid layer of clouds had broken, on occasion blue patches shone through.

A few more pictures for you...

A beautiful gaff rigged traditional scottish fishing boat (now converted for cruising).

Old gaffers I'm sure will correct me if I get this wrong; but if I'm not mistaken this is a 'Zulu' class fishing boat. Zulu's had a near vertical bow, a steeply raked stern and were built in Lossiemouth. This example has the stem and stern of a Zulu and I guess the 'L' in the registration number derives from Lossiemouth.

The south facing green cliffs just outside Canna Harbour.

A picture of us underway. The land is the Isle of Skye - the Cuillin Hills are still shrouded by cloud.

We had a fine sail today. The sea was moderate (the formal definition for wave heights averaging between 1.25 and 2.5 metres) with a moderate to fresh breeze (force 4, 11-16 knots to force 5, 17-21 knots) on a beam reach port tack (wind coming directly from the left).

The tops of the Cuillin Hills finally made an appearance. Here they are 10 miles distant as viewed from the entrance to Loch Harport. Sgurr nan Gillean (964m) is in the centre, Sgurr Alasdair (the tallest at 992m) is to the right but out of the picture.

Our destination was the small town of Carbost about two miles from the head of Loch Harport on the western side of Skye. The loch has a wide entrance with no hazards to speak of. We continued all the way up the loch under full sail, playing with the lulls and the gusts.

The view from our anchorage outside 'The Old Inn' pub at Carbost.

The view from the pub - as you can see, we were not far away!

By three thirty we had finished all our chores; the boat was provisioned, we'd filled the diesel tank, we'd even filled the water tanks. The plan was to eat dinner in the pub but the pub didn't start serving until half past six. There was also live music, but that didn't start until half past nine. Three thirty seemed a bit early (and a bit dangerous) to start drinking but there was nothing left to do - you can't sit on a boat when the pub is so close it is visible from where ever you sit. Three thirty then saw us nursing a pint of Guinness in the sunshine of the beer garden chatting to a local chap who had spent his years in the merchant navy.

By seven o'clock the bar was taking food orders. We'd had a few pints by this time and were pretty bored of Guinness - the scottish beer just was not an option. Since we were having food, wine seemed to be the way forward. The food was very good, aside from a rogue piece of broccoli.

By eight o'clock the pub was very busy. Everyone was sitting at shared tables and chatting, the atmosphere was very friendly.

By nine o'clock we were in good spirits. Ben ordered himself and myself a 25 year old Talisker - Talisker being the distillery next door to the pub. Honestly, it was wonderful but I must say the 16 year old Lagavulin and the 14 year old Oban we have back on the boat were more enjoyable. Ben mentioned in passing the cost of the Talisker - £9 a dram!!

By ten o'clock the band, "Heartlands", were in full swing. 'Scottish modern traditional' so someone told us. They were fantastic.

By eleven o'clock the pub was in full swing but no one was dancing. Ben decided to change all that - he got up, encouraged me and Keith to do the same. Before long the three of us were joined by others.

By twelve o'clock there was no sign that anything was about to slow down! The band were having a short break, the bar was still serving and people were gearing up for the next phase. However, we were finished. We'd paced ourselves up to this point but now it was time for bed - either that or turn into a pumpkin.

Here is a picture of the band - no, the camera is not out of focus...

I also have a 20 second video of us dancing - but sadly you will have to wait until I can post that!

For the time being a single frame will have to suffice:

Saturday 08 July 2006

We had a quiet day today.