2025 12th April, Day 14 - ? Tobermory.

Updated daily.

Friday 12th

After arriving late morning and wanting to get the hard work done early and before showering I made two shopping trips with particularly heavy loads, partially due to the COOP only selling non-alcoholic beer in glass bottles that are heavy to carry and a pain to store when empty.

Also 2 loads of diesel which with the trolly is not a problem until back at the boat lifting it on board and filling the tanks / stowing it.

I was pleased that my discipline of cruising at an economical speed of just over 5 knots, with a pretty clean hull, even after 3 months at Milford, it paid off with low fuel consumption, I filled to the brim so a very good check point.

I had not exceeded the economic speed for any significant period since leaving Milford and there was a very close match between calculated fuel usage at 1.4 litres an hour and the tank reading each day (only once greater than 1.7 litres), this compares with an average of 1.5 - 1.7 litres an hour throughout last year.

Then a much needed shower after all the hard work

Started on the blog and loading pictures to the blog and Flickr.

The weather models are all over the place but seem to agree I'll be here till at least Tuesday and probably Wednesday.

Rather poor Pizza.

Saturday 13th

A quiet day, one small shopping trip for lunch and dinner - a very disappointing Pizza. And got the blog up to date.

Dinner: Left over Scratch made Spag Bol.

Sunday 14th, a.m.

Calm at the moment here but that is going to change, this mornings inshore forecast:

The Minch - Strong wind warning

24 hour forecast: West backing south or southwest 4 to 6, increasing 7 for a time later. Slight or moderate, occasionally rough later near southern entrance. Showers, perhaps thundery. Good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: South or southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first. Slight or moderate, occasionally rough until later in south. Showers, perhaps thundery. Good, occasionally poor.

---

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath - Strong wind warning

24 hour forecast: West backing south or southwest 4 to 6, increasing 7 for a time later. Rough, but mainly moderate near Ardnamurchan Point. Showers, perhaps thundery. Good, occasionally poor.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: South or southwest 4 or 5, occasionally 6 at first. Rough, but mainly moderate near Ardnamurchan Point. Showers, perhaps thundery. Good, occasionally poor.

[Moderate near Arnamurchan is a relative term if you are fairly close in where a nasty sea develops.]

A detail from Admiralty chart 2540 that
unusually includes a specific set of
chartlets showing tides. Note the eddies
and rates.

The models are beginning to agree, at least for Monday and Tuesday. I might be able to get out late on Monday but it is probably not worth it as the only viable anchorage short of Arnamurchan Point within range would be Loch Drumbuie which is deep and a bit further from likely destinations.

Tuesday now looks reasonable for the sound of Sleat although it will likely to still be bumpy round the Point of Ardnamurchan. After that the models start to diverge, at least on timing and strength of the wind which is likely to be west turning north. Unless things change the Western Isles and the Shiant Isles are going to have to wait for the return trip.

The plan currently but subject to change is to leave quite early on Tuesday to get the favourable flood tide around Ardnamurchan and into the Sound of Sleat, that will last till about 09:00. To avoid a long day, I could stop somewhere just short of the Kyle Rhea and go through early Wednesday morning on the favourable tide but I would then likely have a foul tide under the Skye bridge and possibly a brisk head wind. 

So, depending on the weather forecast I may go through that evening, anchoring somewhere in Loch Alsh or if the wind is likely to be strong and changing overnight (most anchorages are exposed to wind from either the west or north), perhaps continuing past Skye Bridge, if I don't it will either be another early start or a very late one on Wednesday to get past Skye Bridge with a favourable tide.

The 17th is a spring tide so currents will run at up 8 knots through the Kyle, perhaps more according to the CCC Pilot. The tide starts north 6 hours before HW Ullapool ends at or slightly before HW.

HW Ullapool / Tide starts north - Tide turns south.

Tue 15th 21:10 / 15:10 - 21:00

Wed 16th 09:20 / 03:20 - 09:00

Wed 16th 21:40 / 15:40 – 21:2 

Dinner: Scratch made Beef bourguignon

Monday morning

It looks like a change of plan, its generally calm here with some wind coming north up the sound, although the general wind direction is probably SW. The forecast for today is a bit better, at 07:00:

The Minch - Strong wind warning

24 hour forecast: Southwest backing mainly south, 4 to 6, decreasing 3 or 4 later. Slight or moderate, occasionally smooth east of skye. Showers. Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: South or southwest veering northwest, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 t first. Smooth or slight, occasionally moderate in north and south. Showers. Good.

---

Ardnamurchan Point to Cape Wrath - Strong wind warning

24 hour forecast: Southwest backing mainly south, 4 to 6, decreasing 3 or 4 later. Moderate or rough. Showers. Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: South or southwest veering northwest, 2 to 4, occasionally 5 t first. Moderate or rough. Showers. Good.

However the models from a bit earlier and the domestic forecast are showing somewhat less around  Ardnamurchan and I would be running before the wind or at worse reaching, so the plan is to risk a bit of surge in the anchorage and when the tide turns this afternoon to head for Sanna Bay, just round the point, that will be well sheltered from the wind and enable a later start in the morning, probably around about sunrise. 

I should then be able to sail to The Kyle Rhea possibly arriving a bit early and to have the option of taking the tide past Skye Bridge which is favourable till 18:00.

I'll make the decision after lunch with the lunchtime inshore and domestic forecasts are updated.

Click here for Sanna Bay.