Directly speaking, it wasn’t very far but we did a bit of exploration on the way. We were going to go onshore for a walk but weather had got up and there was a wind in the wrong direction to leave the boat. So waited around a bit before setting off for a sail round Loch na keal until the time was right to approach Ulva ferry pontoon. the wind was bizarre. The pilot books warn of catabatic winds that if in a SE direction ( which they were) , sweep down the mountains causing severe and unpredictable squalls. They absolutely did! We went from 6 or 7 knots to 20 in a few seconds. We put a reef in and as soon as we were in more sheltered waters behind Eorsa, all was peaceful again. We anchored for lunch behind the island of Inch Kenneth…. interesting because of the very grand cream coloured house on it apparently owned by the Mitford family. We had to get to Ulva Ferry on a rising tide as the entrance is shallow. We could see A lot of masts already in there which always instils fear 🙄
….. however as it happens, all turned out well. We stooged around looking for where to go and there were already other boats in there doing the same. In the end we slotted into a gap potentially s bit shallow … but everyone thought it would be“okay“
And it was, the wind and the tide blew us perfectly into position making our landing peaceful and easy.. for a change! The rest of the day was spent enjoying the ambience of the pontoons, the very friendly harbour master Mark, and generally enjoying the sunny evening until the football came on. For the majority I guess we’ll all remember where we were when England lost another penalty shootout. ☹️ poor things.
What I learned today ….. putting out masses of fenders and lines on both sides pays dividends! (!last years lesson)
Angelique 