2025 15th April, Day 17 To Bag Dunan Ruadh and Balmacara Bay, Loch Alsh

 DRAFT

Apart from the cold a cracking sail from the Anchorage until past Mallaig when the rain finally got me.

One of several squalls that missed me by a few miles tracking
 over the Small Islands and up the west coast of Skye, the
land in the foreground is the oint of Sleat, the southern tip
of Skye.

Fortunately the rain was not particulalry heavy and the bulk of it passed in 20 minutes or so although there were occasional light spells for a couple of hours. What did almost catch me out was the shift in the wind that veered from SSE at 15 knots to W at 20 in a few minutes, I was quick enough to gybe under control before it happened by itself but having gone from a broad reach the a beam reach I was busy for a few minutes putting two reefs in the headsail and one in the main, then a second in the main as it looked as if it might get worse. It didn't as the centre of the squall missed me. 

An hour or so later the wind was down to WSW at 5 knots and before long I was almost going backwards against the tide and didn't really have steerage so on went the engine for the last the last hour to the anchorage at Bag Dunan Ruadh where I waited for the tide through the narrows of The Kyle Rhea.

It is still pretty chilly up here, especially with a broken heater.
Snow on the mountains of Skye.

At anchor, looking up the narrows.

The anchorage at Bag Dunan Ruadh

35 miles in 7:15 the first 2/3 at 5.5 - 6.5 knots.

I left the anchorage 20 minutes or so before the tide turned and had a know against initially and up to two knots before I exited a couple of miles later. It was then a quick crossing of Loch Alsh to an anchorage at Balmacara Bay that is protected from the forecast northerly winds. Aa I write (Wednesday afternoon, the 16th) I am getting pushed around quite a bit by a not particulalry strong wind varying around ENE - it is meant to be NNE.

Video of the anchorage hosted on Flikr as it is a bit over the 100 MB limit.

Click the controls to view here or the body of the image to view in Flikr.

4.6 miles in 1:15.

According to ECMWF and UKMO models winds are not suitable to go around Cape Wrath to Orckney for a week or more so I'll be cruising around the area until making a dash the 70 miles north a few days before things are likely to be favourable.

Dinners:

Left over scratch made Beef bourguignon.

Scratch made chicken curry.

Click here for Thursday's bimble.