A pretty uncomfortable night. The tide and wind combined to cause a disturbing swell and a lot of slapping against the hull up to about 0300☹️ J got up to make sure all okay. Eventually it all settled down and we got some sleep. Bacon and egg bap for breakfast whilst watching the seal families. You can actually hear them talking to each other and see mother and baby nuzzling each other. So touching. We got the anchor up which was full of weed and headed out via the narrow gap in the rocks. Only a little wind going north so just using headsail as we didn’t have far to go. We enjoyed hugging the coast and checking our various other anchorages on the north east corner of Islay. A pod of dolphins joined us and played under the boat for about 20 minutes. It’s amazing how they are so proactive in coming towards boats and so obviously interacting with us. They are so close you can see their faces. Wonderful.. a very humbling privilege. The wind was fickle coming from one side and then the other, meaning we had to keep changing the sails. I did another tidal calculation which I got right for craighouse! It seems there is a very small tidal range in this part of the world. We spotted the easterly cardinal protecting some shallows off the entrance to the bay and arrived early afternoon. A huge round rather featureless bay but devoid of hazards which is the important thing! Having the Loch to ourselves, We anchored on the western side assuming that the weather forecast was correct and we could expect wind from that direction. It means you are blown away From the shore and not onto it! No wind, not a breath of breeze, just ripples on the water that made it look like a giant barcode. We were going to go for a row in the dinghy ( bit of seal spotting) but just then the wind got up….. typical . So we stayed put. Put up our cockpit tent and enjoyed a peaceful evening reading and I cooked a pasta meal. With seals swimming around… but they kept a shy distance. Weather still misty and drizzly but we are cosy in our little boat!
What I learned today…. you can pull the cars forward by the line but they pull backwards by the jib sheet. So don’t winch in sheet till they’re in the right place. I learned that last year too I think!
Sue x
Anchorage Ardmore islands
Lovely freind
Angelique 
How lovely to see the dolphins playing under the boat!
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It is always a huge privilege to be so close to nature…. and the fact they are not scared of us.. despite us being humans . Maybe they communicate with the boat instead?
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