Living Spirit - The Adventure

Cape Wrath......

Cape Wrath, the most northwesterly point of the UK mainland, lived up to its name.

Brown Eyes was pounded all over the place as we approached, rounded and passed the most rugged of coastlines, but she kept going as I stood at the helm trying to keep her on course and grab the occasional photo.

Leaving Loch Inchard

Cape Wrath - Lighthouse of the day.

My first look along the rugged north coast of Scotland.

The wind was up at F7 and this seemed to increase as we entered Loch Eriboll, our chosen anchorage for the night. The wind was funneled along the valley and finding a suitable place to drop the anchor was difficult. In the end I had to reposition the anchor 4 5 times before I felt Brown Eyes was secure and it was safe to switch of the engine. A very, very tiring day.

Tomorrow the journey begins towards John O’Groats and then it’s all south from there!

Entering Loch Eriboll, looking for an anchorage.

The days route.

Gale Warnings......

Luckily there was mobile phone coverage in the anchored and was able to get the shipping forecast for the area. There have been gale force warnings up to F9 issued for both Hebrides and Fair Isles (41-47Kts and wave height up to 10m possible), which was good enough reason to stay put.

Even in the sheltered cove I felt the increased strength of wind and on Saturday afternoon the anchor came loose and Brown Eyes started to drag it back into the main channel and into the stronger current. This called for immediate action; I started the engine and put the engine into a slow forward drive whilst I could go forward and pull the anchor back up onto the foredeck. I had to dart back and forwards between the cockpit and the foredeck, keeping Brown Eyes on course and safe whilst also getting the anchor and chain back on board. Once this was done I could reposition Brown Eyes in the cove and drop the anchor again, this time with additional chain paid-out to give a stronger hold to the seabed.

The wind continued to push Brown Eyes around throughout the day and night and I had a restless night as I kept checking to ensure we stayed in the safety of the cove.

In the morning the wind had slightly subsided and the forecast was down to F8 with very rough seas predicted; this meant another day in Loch Inchard.

The seals continued their normal daily routing of swimming around the cove and laying out on the rocks, probably keen to have their territory back to themselves.

Loch Gairloch to Loch Inchard.....

A more civilised start this morning and I set sail with the aim to get as close to Cape Wrath as possible, bearing in mind that there are warnings of gales in the next day or so.

The scenery became more rugged the further north I got.

The fishing looks good here.

It will not be long until that one topples!

Lighthouse of the day.

I pulled into Loch Inchard in the early evening and slowly entered the anchorage that I had found marked on the chart. There were several seals swimming around the cove and they even stayed around after I had dropped my anchor.

Heading into the loch.

The gales are due tomorrow, along with very rough seas in this area, so I may have to stay here a couple of days before venturing around Cape Wrath and along the northern shore of Scotland before turning south and the run back to home.

Todays route.

Mallaig to Loch Gairlock, via Skye....

Mallaig Harbour

A misty start to the day.

Getting up at 5am seems to be getting more difficult - it may be something to do with my age or this journey is starting to take its toll.

My training for my 100km race in mid-September (my second challenge) has definitely tapered early and I think the daily sailing is starting to have an effect on my legs, as I can feel the tendons and ligaments shortening!

I had originally planned to leave Brown Eyes at Fort William and to travel back to Suffolk by train for the race, but as you can see I am well past Fort William and the plan is now to try and reach Ipswich early in September or to get as close as possible. This is all dependent on the weather and as I get closer to Cape Wrath there are warning of gales on the horizon.....

Other early risers.

Getting back to today, the aim was to get past the Skye road bridge and the early start was necessary to catch the north going tide that would take me to the bridge. It was one of those days when you feel like you are on the inside a cloud and everything was wet from the start. With no wind I had to motor for most of the morning, but as I reach the bridge the sun broke through and the clouds started to burn away.

As I had made such good time, I decided to push on further north and a little closer to Cape Wrath.

On route, I paused to check with the Range Control that there were no live firings in the torpedo range and was given the “All clear” to continue as the firings were not due until later that day.