Monday 17 August Portree to Kyle of Lochalsh 20 nm

Portree looked a lot prettier this morning. Didn’t sleep well as Trixi ( the windmill) was whirring away at varying decibels during the night. We didn’t really have the option of turning her off as we need her to charge the batteries, just wish she would work during the day rather than the night shift. we had to be away by 1300 to catch the tide down the sound of Raasay and through the narrows there. Tides are difficult where large bodies of water are squished through narrow gaps, so you have to be aware of what’s going on! Tide tables tell you what the bodies of water are doing when , In a particular place , ….,, so you can plan your route and deadlines. We decided we needed a look at Portree anyway before we left, so got the dinghy down and went ashore. A nice little place. A lot of tourists and all the buildings looked well cared for, so the local economy appears to be alright. They’re just obviously not that bothered about sailing boats. We had a coffee at a cafe in the square. All very normal. After posting some cards we made our way back to the boat and got ready to go. The sky was looking a bit threatening but Still mostly blue. As we poked our nose out into the sound, you could see the clouds gathering to the south , and an eerie whispy muddy yellow colour settling over the mountain landscape. The Kind of light that never bodes well and the barometer is dropping and says “change “☹️! I was getting quite used to the lovely weather this past week! We had to motor most of the way as there was little wind and what there was was on the nose. The landscape down through the sound of Raasay and beyond to the inner sound, past Sligachan, is stunning and especially in the funny light, the mountain are huge and look very threatening. Passing out of the sound and around ( another) island called Scalpay, we could see the Skye bridge in the distance. Our destination was just on the other side of the bridge which joins Skye to the mainland. We were heading for Kyle of Loch Alsh pontoons situated on the north side and had a really good write up in “ welcome anchorages 2020” saying it was a brilliant place to moor up and great for crew change overs etc. WiFi and electric on the pontoons with nearby hotel etc. Turned out the pontoons had gone!!!! Very fortunately we espied in a little bay just this side of where they were ( supposed to be) , a boat on a mooring. We thought we would investigate and the chap on that boat proceeded to tell us about the non-existence of the pontoon. We very happily picked up a big orange mooring which had a label attached saying “Kyle harbour authority “ giving you the feeling that it was an official mooring, and might be attached to something substantial on the sea bed. Just the job as we have be up early …. less ropes etc means a quick getaway tomorrow. ! Hopefully a quiet night awaits!

What I have learned today………COVID is getting the blame for everything!

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Sue x

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