Loch Skipport, South Uist - 12 July 2006 (day 53)

Yacht Gothik

At Anchor

Wizard Pool

Loch Skipport (Loch Sgioport)

South Uist

Outer Hebrides

12 July 2006

Click here to see a map.

Logged distance: 43M

Chart distance: 27M

Time under way: 9h

Wednesday 12 July 2006

The weather forecast for today had been changing every time we choose to listen to it. 72 hours ago it sounded like the end of the world was going to happen. 48 hours ago the met office had reduced the doom and gloom to a gale 8. 24 hours ago force 6 occasional 7. 12 hours ago force 4 to 5 decreasing 3 overnight.

Then again, we could have been subconsciously hearing the weather forecast differently simply because we were getting a little bored with where we were. Dunvegan being fine for a night, but three nights was pushing things (Clacton-on-Sea). Last night was blowy - in fact I slept very poorly, listening to the wind howling in the rigging and the mooring lines creaking. This morning seemed positively quiet, there was wind but of no significance. Last nights forecast for today sounded a tad over the top. Whatever the weather today, the common feature of all forecasts was that there would be a gradual decrease in wind throughout the day. With this in mind we prepared the boat for a 10 o'clock departure.

By half past ten we were in the outer reaches of Loch Dunvegan, past all dangers and under shortened sail in gusty conditions on a smooth sea. I didn't expect any of this to last though. There had been gales for the last two days - as soon as we were out of the loch I was expecting the sea to be a little different, rough in fact. The wind would be steady at least but our trip today was directly into the wind and so would be a long one.

Just before lunch things started getting a little eventful. We were now 'offshore', neither the wind nor the sea was affected by the land. Keith looked at me and with enquiry in his voice said "The depth here is only 19.2 metres?". Nineteen point two metres - no, that's no right. The three of us turned our eyes to the depth sounder, it was now reading slightly less... and it was dropping... slowly but steadily. I rushed down to the chart table - no shallows were charted. In fact the depth should have been more than one hundred metres. By the time I came on deck we were in 12 metres of water and it was still going down. We were traveling at more than six knots. If we hit bottom at this speed then who knows what would happen.

"Ready about!" - we tacked. Still the depth continued to decrease. I checked and rechecked our position, plotted and replotted it on the chart. While there was no actual depth marked for our precise location the water all around was deep - very deep. By now the depth gauge was reading 7 metres and still falling. We fell off the wind to retrace our steps and proceed along the path we had come along. 6.5 metres... 6.2... 6.0... 5.6...!! I turned the boat into the wind and hove to. Our speed dropped and we drifted. By now I was convinced that something must be wrong with the depth sounder but wanted to be certain. Out came the lead line (a lump of lead on a string), over the side... no bottom.

Cautiously we resumed course. The depth gauge continued to fluctuate between 5 and 10 meters. For a brief moment I considered turning back for Dunvegan. Loch Skipport, our destination, was no place to enter without a good knowledge of what was passing beneath us. At least I knew how to get in to Dunvegan. But this was madness, idle thoughts. We had the lead line, generations of sailors had done this kind of thing with a lump of lead and a bit of string. It didn't make me feel any more comfortable though.

The uncomfortable feeling passed with time, a bit of lunch and a visit by dolphins. We were in a sizeable swell. Beating to windward meant Gothik was being bounced around quite a lot, despite this Ben managed to produce a fine spread of delights from the galley. Nothing like a bit of grub.

North and South Uist are two large islands separated by the third, slightly smaller island of Benbecula. Our first line of sail put us off the coast of North Uist. Not ideal since we were trying to get to South Uist. It meant we still had to make 20 more miles southwards. The wind veered in our favour (which was half expected) but with it came an increase in strength (which was not). It was now blowing a force 6, the tide running from behind made the sea short and choppy. Beating into this, Gothik would rise on a wave and slam her flat belly on the other side. It was almost fun but for the fact we knew there was a lot more of this before we would be able to relax with a beer glass in hand. Miraculously, Ben produced a cup of coffee.

Despite being close hauled to the wind with two reefs in the main and the short seas slowing us down, we still managed to keep up an encouraging 5 knots. It had been cloudy most of the day but as we approached the entrance to Loch Skipport the rain started to come down in squalls. We made a series of tacks to take advantage of each change in the wind direction and slowly edged our way into the lee of the land. Here the sea was a little softer but very confused, coming from all directions. The wind, now affected by the mountains, would occasionally gust to force 7. By this time though we were nearly in the Loch.

We flew into the loch and hastily took the sails down. Originally I had intended to take us into an anchorage in a remote corner close to the entrance but there were many hazards and with a faulty depth sounder this seemed unwise. However, when heading for the deeper part of the loch, the sun came out, the sea was illuminated and the land bathed in a majestic light. I could see into the anchorage - it just looked too good to miss. Since being in shallower water the depth sounder seemed to be working - was it worth the risk?

It certainly was. The remote corner was aptly named 'Wizard Pool' and this was our chance. Toward its flat water and good shelter we turned and let go the anchor. It took two attempts; on the first anchor dragged but on the second it held firm. Engine off - it had been quite a day, now we were in a truly beautiful spot.

I prepared dinner, a Brittany dish; apples, potatoes and black pudding all cooked in cider. By itself a heartwarming dish but it was cold outside so a dram of Lagavulin was in order before trying to find a bath.

It didn't take too long. Ben and I found a fresh water loch just a short rise from the burn that ran into the anchorage. It looked cold, however the sunshine and the surroundings and the whiskey overcame the desire to stay dry and clothed (and dirty). In the end the water was warm - the sensation of washing away the salt in my hair on on may face was well worth the effort.

Our surroundings in 'Wizard Pool' at the entrance to Loch Skipport in South Uist.

Another fine end to a fine day. One we had to work at but no less enjoyable. We were snug in a warm boat with the heater on full blast.