2025 25th April, Day 27. A very close shave in Loch a'Chadh-fi

Draft

More pics etc likely to follow.

The afternoon at anchor was quite peaceful although the boat was a little lively from the wind which was swirling down off the hills, it was not helped by the shallow water, whilst a scope of about 7:1 gives a good angle on the anchor it allows the boat to swing more. I had considered backing the anchor up which would reduce this but decided that it the wind changed more to the south (as it did) I would not have time to get the anchor up before hitting the shallow water or rocks 150 – 200 yards away.

The scene of the crime: Left initial attempt at anchoring in a
recommended location. Right where I was for c 12 hours.
Centre when I ended up.
Note the channel into the head of the loch is =< 100 yards wide.

I was tired so was in my bunk by 21:30 to be rudely awakened at about midnight by the boat cavorting all over the place and healing significantly.

After a quick look outside I got dressed, including waterproofs although it was not raining and at the time quite warm, and only for the second time in over 300 nights at anchor sat anchor watch.

The sky was clear but with no moon and I could see nothing except the loom of the mountains and the intruder alarm lights on the adventure training school that would later be helpful in getting orientated. I turned on the chart plotter and got an iPad on deck with the Antares chart active so I could see where I was and were I was going if things went pear shaped.

The problem was the wind, rather than 20 knot winds, as the instruments came on line there was a gust of 39 knots. That was exceptional but the wind was going from 12 knots to over 30 pushing the boat about with the bows swinging through about 70 degrees. There was not a lot I could do but hope, trying to change anchorage in those conditions, in the dark and in a relatively small anchorage was not to be contemplated and where to go? I ran the engine for a while to warm it up and ensure an instant start if needed and I set an anchor alarm on a second iPad as a backup and kept the plotter and instruments on. Then waited.

By about 01:30 things were calming down so I went to my bunk, fully dressed and with the wash boards out so I could get on deck quickly.

20 minutes later an alarm went off and I was slowly moving back and missing the 100 yard wide passage to the wider and deeper anchorage that had been down wind. The wind was back up to near gale force after a lull. I guess a sudden increase after a calm caused the anchor to fail.

I tried resetting the anchor and it gripped once for a while but then let go. There was nothing for it but to get the anchor up (in case it was choked with weed or something else; it was clean) and try again. Not easy under pressure, in the dark and with the engine controls at one end of the boat and the anchor at the other where I needed to be raising the anchor, although I can lower it from the cockpit you do need to be forward to see what is happening before setting the anchor.

The first problem was the snubber which somehow had got a loop of chain round the chain hook so I had to haul the chain in far enough to get the fouled section over the bow roller and past the chain stopper but before it got to the windlass. With chain stopper engaged and the pressure off it came undone easily and I got the anchor just clear of the water before dashing back to the cockpit to get into deeper water, I now had to decide where to go, I could not see the two large ribs moored a hundred yards away from my original position and it was dead low water with only just over a metre under the keel at times. The best move was to try and get sea room by moving west which I managed by GPS and with difficulty in the strong  swirling wind.

Big splodge: at anchor, top left struggling, bottom the escape.

I had considered a shallower area in the large section of the loch coming in, but the wind was as gusty there as at my original spot behind Eilen d’Chadh-fi that I had moved out of when I started to drag there on arrival. But it had to be the best option and with the slight change in the wind it was no worse than any other place.

I tried three times to anchor there, the problem being the speed the boat was making downwind when the anchor hit bottom causing it to “skate”, the first held for about 10 minutes and would not reset when it dragged so up it came, the final attempt worked after I lowered the anchor from the cockpit for 25 seconds, about 12m of chain in 7 metres of water, whilst motoring slowly ahead then dashing forward. Trying to rig the snubber in those conditions would have been asking for a crushed finger or worse so I suffered noisy chain movements and some snubbing until daylight.

Three attempts to anchor, the big splodge where I ended up.
Squiggles bottom centre, the first attempt. Just left of the final
position the 2nd attempt, trying to reset. Incomplete as I
turned the alarm off when manoeuvring.

That has held till the time of writing this in draft on Friday morning. At daylight the wind was relatively stable and appeared consistent throughout the loch at 18-20 knots gusting to 25 and by late morning it was down to 10 - 15 knots with the odd gust.

I’m now short of sleep and cold from trying to sleep with the wash boards out, even fully dressed in the sleeping bag.

2025 24th April, Days 26 Loch a'Chadh-fi, Loch Laxford

 Place holder, 

details to follow when I have a better internet connection

Click here for a big problem (solved) that night.

2025 22nd April, Days 24 & 25 To Loch Roe.

 WIP 

An excellent sail, a quick reach down the loch then a slightly uncomfortable but quite quick run north. I could have been in Loch Ewe for lunch but the weather was too good to spend half of it at anchor so I headed for Loch Roe, listed as one of gems of the north. The risk was the wind dying before I got there and potentially several hours motoring. It did drop but only about 90 minutes too soon so it was a short motor on to the Loch.

Rubha Reidh, what I hoped would be the end of dead running.

But 10 or 15 minutes after posting on Facebook to

say I had finished running and was heading for

Loch Roe I was running again, initially under the 

boomed out headsail.

The wind continued to veer and dropped so I was

soon flying the chute.

The comment on the Antares chart says "access to the

inner areas is about as challenging as it gets on the

west cost but is well worth it". I went in at high tide

so could take some liberties taking photos etc. (see

the slide show) but in truth it is not that difficult

if you have their chart and is a doddle compared with

many anchorages in the western isles.

However, care is still needed, this seal is sitting on
a rock in the middle of the visible channel exposed by
1.8m at LAT and waiting to get you.

About to make the first turn.

Some precision anchoring to my planned spot 😀

I counted over 30 seals, mainly Gray at one time
and I'm sure there were many more.

Many more pics and videos in the slide show hosted on Flikr.

39 miles in 9 hours.

Scratch made Chicken Curry tonight, could have done with being a bit hotter.

Update Wednesday 23rd.

There is no wind and when it comes it will be on the nose so I am staying put, tomorrow should have a good sailing breeze from the SE to move north and there is a reasonable chance of getting round Cape wrath on Friday or Saturday, 

Sunday has strong southerlies close to the west but on the Met Office video they said what would happen to the depression causing it was uncertain, if is doesn't extend further east than this mornings models I might be able to get to Orkney on Sunday,  the tides should be OK  are good for the Hoy Mouth but I need to get the computer to do some number crunching. turning east around 17:00, so a reasonable sensible start time and arrival in daylight at 4 knots.

Click here for the trip to Loch a'Cadh-fi

2025 21st April, Day 23 To Loch Kerry, Loch Garloch.

WIP

Awake early, some wind so left. Last night I was hoping for Loch Ewe but the forecast this morning was not hopeful and predicted rain in the afternoon with high confidence but as I write this at 14:00 it has not arrived.

Heading up the Sound of Raasay when there was

some wind.

It was a good start but was not to last and before I passed Rona the wind had gone and was boxing the compass.

Rona and no wind.

With no real chance of getting east of Loch Eriboll before the weekend there was no point in motoring all day and getting wet so I diverted to Loch Garloch and, with south westerly winds forecast for later I went Loch Kerry rather than Flowerdown for more protection.
 

Loch Kerry

There was enough Beef for last nights Beef Bourguignon to make three good portions so it is on the menu for tonight as well to make some room in the electric cool box. No hardship as it was a particulalry good one.

28 miles in 6 hours

Click here for Loch Roe.

2025 20th April, Day 22 To Kyle of Lochalsh & Oskaig Bay, Raasay

WIP

Pictures to follow

Its not so cold today and quite pleasant in the afternoon with no wind and warm when the sun is out, but know enough to clear yesterdays snow from the higher peaks. 

A pleasant sail from the anchorage past Skye Bridge after which the tide and wind messed me about a bit, with tide due to be westbound and the wind offshore I rigged fenders and mooring lines before I left on the starboard side so I would be pointing into the current with the wind neutral fore and aft but pushing me off (a pain) but when I went under Skye Bridge the tide was still going east and the wind veered and increased to for F4 - 5. There was no way I was going to come alongside down wind and down tide as I would not be able to stop the boat so everything had to be changed over and I was along side at 09:20. 

It turned out that the tide was well adrift as it was still east bound when I leaft 3 or 4 hours after it should have been against (confirmed form the automated admiralty chart and the plotter).

Two loads of shopping, fortunately the big co-op is very close albeit up a lot of steps, then a much needed shower and I was off again.

There is going to be a lot of chick on the menu in the next couple of days as all of the chicken was on relatively short use by dates but it will be Beef Bourguignon tonight as the button mushrooms are even more perishable.

Initially I was sailing but a couple of miles out and as forecast the wind dropped to 3 - 5 knots so on went the engine for a couple of hours to get to Oskaig Bay on Raasay. The forecast is for southerly winds tomorrow so hopefully I can make some progress up the sound of Raasay ending up at Loch Gairloch or perhaps Loch Ewe. From there it is one fairly long days sailing to be positioned to round Cape Wrath the next day if conditions permit.

The anchorage at Oskaig Bay.

Just over 20 miles in five and a half hours excluding the stop.

Click here for Loch Kerry.

2025 17th April, Days 19 - 21 To Eilian Donnan Castle and Bag an Strathaidh.

With rain forecast for lunchtime with a 90% probability (at 15:52 I am still waiting to see any) I left at 08:15 for a quick gander at east Loch Alsh and in particular the Castle at Eilian Donnan, in theory I would have the tide with me both ways once east of the Kyle Rhea but that didn't seem to work out with variable conditions due to big eddies. But with no wind it did not take long to get there, initially it did not look that impressive as it was merging with the background, up close it was clearly more substantial.

 

 

With the forecast rain I did not hang about and decided to go straight through Skye Bridge against what turned out to be a modest knot or so of current.

The usual optical illusion of a near miss going under the bridge
despite an air draft of 29 metres.

Another few miles to a previously unexplored anchorage at Bag an Strathaidh, it is quite exposed to the west but the wind was northerly and and westerlies expected during the afternoon were meant to be light, as I write this it is a steady westerly at 14 knots, higher than the forecast gusts, and the boat is pitching somewhat but with no tide she is lying into wind so there is very little roll. Hopefully the forecast overnight is correct which has the wind backing to the ENE at 4 knots or less before increasing to 7-10 knots by lunch time with gusts in the afternoon into the mid 20's.

My track in shown on the Admiralty 1:25,000 chart last surveyed
between 1850 and 1905 (further out it was surveyed in 2018-20),
the vector chart plotter is based on this and shows a slightly larger
area above water. Both have me going over a drying spot - not an
issue with 4 metres of tide.

But the much larger scale Antares chart surveyed in 2011 & 13
shows a different story.

The Inner Sound from the anchorage.

I don't like the look of this mornings weather models

Sure the mountains will provide some shelter but strong-ish winds that close to the west could make life uncomfortable here with any waves in the Inner Sound refracting around to here. I think I may move to Upper Lochcarron for a day or two, I'll have plenty of time to get through Strome Narrows before the tide turns foul at 10:40, getting back out in 2 or 3 days will be more of an issue but managable.

There are some indications that I should be moving north early next week so I could get the dinghy out to restock with food there or go back to a pontoon at Kyle of Lochalsh to visit the big COOP.

Dinner: Scratch made chicken and egg fried rice.

Update Friday 18th.

A nice quite night.

Posted on Facebook: 

Change of plan. This mornings 6 weather models don’t agree on the strength of the wind overnight tonight (it could be anything from calm to quite blustery) but they all agree that it will be NE to E, with more E than NE. And the domestic forecast for Plockton is 11 knts gusting 25 ENE. Upper loch Carron is reasonable in those conditions but this anchorage should be better so I am staying put. 

There are mixed signals for early next week but there is a chance I’ll be moving N on Sunday or Monday, shopping could be an issue but the co-ops at Kyle of Lochalsh and Portree claim to be open on Easter Sunday.

I double and triple checked and the rules are different in Scotland, all co-ops open as normal over the long weekend. The 10:00 opening rule also does not apply. Saturday is likely to be wet so shopping Sunday, a few days earlier than optimal given current stocks, and a short hop north. Possibly.

Scrambled eggs on toast with bacon for brunch 😀 to use up the past date bacon, now lots of washing up🙁.

I was going to give the cockpit and some other bits a good clean this afternoon but the sun has gone in and it’s too cold.

Dinner: chicken in sweet and sour cook in sauce.

Update Saturday 19th.

It’s darn cold here with a broken heater, 42 degrees in old money the last time I looked, on my bunk, fully dressed with a sleeping bag over me to try and keep warm. The oil lamp giving a little heat, fortunately I have a good supply of lamp oil.

The weather models are still not in agreement but I might be able to get round Cape Wrath to Loch Eriboll or Kyle of tongue later in the week to wait for better weather to get to Orkney. 

So the plan is to shop at the Kyle of Lochalsh then head north to the east side of Ramsay tomorrow and see how it goes for the rest of the week.

Dinner: Left over scratch made chicken curry.

Click here for the shopping trip and on to Raasay.