Dunvegan, Isle of Skye - 09-11 July 2006 (day 50-52)

Yacht Gothik

At Mooring

Dunvegan

Loch Dunvegan

Isle of Skye

Highland

11 July 2006

Click here to see a map.

Logged distance: 37.5M

Chart distance: 30M

Time under way: 7h

Sunday 09 July 2006

Bad weather was on its way, mind you - the forecasters had been saying that for the last few nights. When I say 'bad' weather I don't mean rain or cold - we seem to be having a lot of that anyway - I mean force 6 and above, 'rough' sea (waves averaging 2.5 to 4 metres) and above. Today was a day to leave or else we would be stuck in Loch Carbost for a while longer. Dunvegan was the destination. It wasn't a great distance to sail but the sailing distance was much further than a would crow fly (or even a car would drive). We set off under engine with no wind. The ripples from our wake extended to both edges of the loch.

Once out of the loch and into the sea the wind gradually begun to increase but still remained light and variable for a while. Here is a picture of 'MacLeods Maidens' - MacLeod being one of the three clans of Skye (the others; MacDonald and Mackinnon). The maidens are statue like stacks of rock, named to commemorate the drowning of the wife and two daughters of a MacLeod chief.

A closer view of the maidens.

When the wind came it came from the NNE, as it strengthened it backed until it was finally from the NW. This was exactly as forecast - I was able to take advantage of this knowledge of the wind shift when planning our tacks. In the end our logged distance today was a lot shorter than it could have been. What was most enjoyable was having a downwind run toward our final destination in Loch Dunvegan. The sun came out and with our drop in apparent wind speed we were bathed in warmth.

By the time we had got to the head of the loch and the town of Dunvegan the clouds had begun to descend, the rain came and the wind begun to freshen further. We safely tied up to a mooring making no attempt to go ashore - it was likely we would be here for a few days with the weather closing in. Instead we settled down to a lazy evening.

Monday 10 July 2006

Today was a 'long' day. It was raining, the wind was howling and since our mooring was a long way from shore we thought we'd wait until after lunch before getting the dingy out. This was the last place before Stornoway where we would be able to buy food, fuel, take a shower and do laundry and we wanted to take advantage of it. It was cosy inside the boat - it would have been quite easy to read, drink cups of tea and play cards all day while the rain lashed against the deck. The only thing preventing us from postponing our chores from today until tomorrow was that there was a small chance a break in the weather would present itself tomorrow and we would be able to set sail.

Shortly after lunch the rain had stopped. With our laundry wrapped in plastic bags, with ourselves wrapped in full offshore wet weather gear (including wellies), with our wash bags under our arm and with a book to read each, we stepped into the dingy. The wind still howled and whipped up choppy surface to the loch. To get to the jetty we had to head straight into it - we would have been soaked from head to toe with salt water if it had not been for our wet weather gear.

I reckoned the best bet for laundry and a shower was at the camp site. It was quite close (if you were a bird) but it was a route march of a least a mile to walk to, it being on the other side of a river that opened into the loch. As we were heading down the road, making a mental note of where all the shops were and what time they closed, I registered that I'd forgotten to bring the empty gas bottle. My mood swung a little lower. By the time we arrived at the camp site our arms were dropping off from carrying the laundry and we were soaked with perspiration inside our wet weather gear. It was time to ask at reception to see if we could use their facilities.

The campsite reception had a notice saying "Back at 3pm". It was just before two o'clock and it had started to rain. I was not in good humour. A man from a camper van approached and said "Are you guys on a boat?". "Yes" I said, not really wanting to get in a conversation about boats. "I used to sail boats, I used to have an XYZ24. What kind of boat do you have?" - oh dear, here we go. After a quick exchange of words I somehow managed to finish the conversation and told him we were just going to look around.

We found the shower block. It was locked and with a notice saying "Closed for cleaning from 2pm to 4pm". It was now two o'clock and raining harder. Next to an outside washing line was another door - the laundry? I guessed so but it didn't matter what it was - this door was also locked. There was nothing for it - we were just going to have to wait at reception.

The man from the camper van came to greet us as we got to reception. This is it I thought - what ever he says I'm going to tell him to piss off. "Would you guys like a cup of coffee?", well of all the replies "Piss off!" was not one I could honestly verbalise. He was just being nice. Instead all I could manage to say was thank you but I was going back into town (Ben and I had decided to make a trip back to the boat and pick up the forgotten gas bottle). He then piped up with "Can I give you guys a lift?". Hang on a minute I thought to myself, this guy is a god-send, he really is okay - it's just me in a bad mood - however, this really was an offer that was too kind. This time I thanked him properly. Keith, who had time to kill, responded with a bit more grace (plus a genuine need for a hot drink) and took the camper man up on his offer of coffee.

I felt lifted, I was suddenly in a good mood. Ben and I headed toward town, this time taking a short cut, avoiding the bridge and walking directly across the river in our wellies and through a bog. It turned out to be a very profitable short cut. We'd shaved possibly 20 minutes off a 30 minute walk. The rain was pelting down but by now we couldn't care less. Instead we got on with our shopping. As we were about to walk out of the last shop and into the heaviest rain I have ever seen in my entire life in Britain, a man asked us if we would like a lift. We'd had so much in the way of kindness and friendly people in the last 30 minutes that I honestly did not know what to say. Our dingy was just over the road down by the water - it would be faster to walk. Ben managed to get the words out before I could and we left the shop.

With the wind behind us the dingy ride back to the boat was easy. We dumped the food on the boat, picked up the empty gas bottle and headed back headlong into the weather. The petrol station offered to look after our new gas bottle (to save us lumbering it around while we continued with our errands). Ben and I arrived back at the campsite reception around three thirty and were met by a very eccentric Mr Campbell who ran the place. He said the showers were now open, fully paid for and to go and help ourselves.

Keith was surprised to see us so soon. He'd already started the first load of laundry. The showers were bliss, however the laundry took a great deal longer than we were expecting. There was only one washer and one (inefficient) dryer. We were here for the best part of three hours. Good job we had our books, although Keith finished his and had to spend time twiddling his thumbs. In these three hours of waiting, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Our dripping wet weather gear flapped away on the clothes line while we sat in a sunny spot sheltered from the wind.

By the time we'd got back into town it was late. We couldn't take the shortcut since the tide had come in. The penultimate drama of the day was Ben trying to get cash out of a cash machine. He'd only got half the notes he'd asked for. Fortunately the cash machine was inside a shop and there was someone to complain to. The first thing they asked for of course was whether he had a receipt. Ben said it was sod's law that the one time he didn't ask for a receipt something went wrong. After some delay, with reluctance and possibly some disbelief, the shop assistant decided to open the machine. I found it surprising that they even had a key. There was some evidence that "there may have been a jam but it was impossible to say" until the shop had closed and they were able to look at the transaction log. We didn't want to hang around - we were hungry - and so exchanged telephone numbers.

The delay had caused the sun to go in and the rain clouds to come back. The wind was still in force. The main objective now was to get back to the boat as quickly as possible and to keep our fresh clean laundry dry. On the way back the rain started... and the engine stopped. "Paddle! Paddle!", Keith and Ben started paddling while I checked the engine. Fortunately it had stopped very close to the boat but by the time the oars were ready we had been blown past and now got a taste of what it was like to point the dingy into the wind and waves again. Nothing was obviously wrong with the engine, I tried it again and it started on the first pull. Ben quickly tied the dingy painter to the boat and we were safely at home.

Later that evening, shortly after dinner, we got a phone call from the shop to confirm Ben's money was still in the machine and "would we like to come and get it". By now the wind was howling again, it was raining, it was dark and gloomy... and the engine was possibly on the blink - "No, not really, we would not like to come and get it". The shop keeper was very gracious and offered to send it on but if we were still around in the morning we could pick it up. Fine. We settled in for the evening and listened to the weather.

Tuesday 11 July 2006

Not a good forecast today; force 6 occasional 7. The outlook for the following 24 hours was better; force 5 occasional 6. We decided to stay put and leave tomorrow. With all our chores done we could relax. Dunvegan itself is quite sheltered from the wind. Although we had plenty of wind yesterday it would have been nothing like that out at sea. Today the weather felt warmer and more inviting. A shift in the wind last night made it feel calmer still. Today we would be proper tourists and visit the castle.

Although I said all our chores had been done there was still the dingy to inflate. In the wind last night it had nearly taken off. This event, combined with the hope that we may be able to leave early today, caused us to deflate it and pack it before going to bed. Now we had to reverse the procedure. Inflating the dingy and mounting the engine is not one we relish as these pictures will probably show.

On our walk to the castle, the camper man and his wife passed us and stopped - "Would you like a lift?". It was easy to say no today, the sun was out and it was a pleasant walk. We got to the castle, it was a beehive of activity, cars, coaches, people. Dunvegan castle was a popular place then. I can't say I was overly interested in seeing the castle itself but a stroll round the gardens would be good. Sadly we couldn't purchase a ticket for just the gardens and ended up paying the full fare of £7 each.

The gardens in all honesty were about worth the £7 entrance fee. This was not a landscaped, well manicured garden but one full of trees, flowers, ferns, rocks and water. In fact it was one huge 'rockery' with half an acre of lawn in the centre. There was also a large walled garden with many herbs, flowers, shrubs and features. I'm ashamed to say we half hitched a quantity of dill from their herb garden - there was so much of it and it was so fragrant. Having spent a very pleasant hour in the garden we thought we may as well take a look inside the castle. Not much of it was open, it still being the residence of the MacLeod family. What we saw of it though was interesting, the paintings and photographs especially, I'm glad we had made the effort.

Once out of the castle grounds and onto the road it began to rain. Ben said "Where's that camper man when you need him?" (or words to that effect) when suddenly "Beep! Beep!", a camper van stopped behind us. Yes, it was our friend and this time we gladly accepted a lift into town and to the pub.

The pub we entered, "The Dunvegan Hotel", was as cheesily 'British' as they come. Magnolia emulsion paint on anaglypta wall-papered walls, burgundy carpet heavily patterned with flowers, Radio 1, scampi and chips and a selection of imported lagers. It was amusing to be here, but also sad at the same time. This was the Isle of Skye, why should it be like Clacton-on-Sea? (or vice versa... now there's a thought). Since there was nothing better on the menu I had a pint of Stella Artois and a plate of Scampi and Chips. But why? I'd just reinforced the opinion held by this establishment that they were serving the right thing. Were they? No they weren't.

Or were they? Who's to say I'm right and they are wrong? It just made me feel discontent. Eating stereotypically crap food in a stereotypically crap pub. But I had sat down and ordered it. After our meal we moved to a table outside. This at least removed us from Radio 1, the magnolia walls and the burgundy carpet. An American, who had just eaten the Prawn Cocktail (after he learnt the marie-rose sauce was not spicy), clambered into his rented car outside and shouted to us "Hey guys! Nice life you have here". It then occurred to me it was a Tuesday lunchtime and he must have thought we were local. We were not working so life must be cushy. As he drove past he gave us a chummy wave.

Blimey. Where are we sailing to next? Let's get out of here and back to nowhere!