Not an inviting day. Couldn’t have started more dreak. Getting up 7 ish we needed to go the the harbour office to pay our dues and also 🤞 pick up our new clevis pin. Amazingly it had arrived! mr HM was a very jolly chap who did our little paper receipt for our berth, the cost of another night at the next destination Kinlochbervie is included. Basically both harbours are fishery owned by the same company. The marina very much a service to passing small vessels rather than a business in its own right. We asked the HM if we could be sure of a berth when we arrived and he said didn’t see a problem but to ring anyway. Which I did. We returned to Angelique and set off 10 ish into the waves and the rain. Fortunately the wind direction and strength meant we could sail just under headsail. We hugged the coast northward and it is spectacular even in those conditions. We saw lots of camper vans on the shore so wondering if it is the Northwest 500? We passed close to Stoer head lighthouse and then the old man of Stoer. A very dramatic eroded rock pillar which appeared eerily out of the gloom. Unfortunately the weather conditions weren’t great for getting the phone out for photos! We continued North and could ease the headsail as the wind went more behind us. This was definitely the most “ocean like “sailing I’ve done. The wind was a force 4/5 and Angelique barrelled along surfing on tops of swells and reaching speeds of 9 knots. Very glad we were not going the other way! The visibility was poor and much of the day you couldn’t see the land . It was just us, the big lonely sea, and lots of birds. Eventually we gybed the head sail and we pointed in the right direction for Loch Inchard. The land appeared and the wind started to increase a bit alarmingly.. we raced towards our destination under 30 knots of wind . With just a pocket hanker-chief of a head sail up. I rang again the Harbour master to inform him of our imminent arrival and he said no problem. We were therefore a bit disappointed when finally inside the fishing harbour basin, that there was no room on the tiny marina pontoon. ☹️ Another phone call later to HM confirmed that we could indeed go onto the “east pontoon “ in the other corner of the harbour, and there would be enough depth of water. No electricity or water but safety.
Once we were sorted, we went for a wander and went to report to the harbour office. The HM thought tomorrow wasn’t a good day to go to Cape Wrath so at least I might get a good nights sleep! We then went to the little Spar and had a look at the old harbour where all the camper vans are! A beer at the Hotel looking out on a very bleak and blustery scene. Glad to be here, on dry land.
What I learned today…… not to be SO disappointed when you have bothered to ask for something, been assured of it, and then just when you need it, it’s not there after all. ☹️
Sue x
Lochinver 
About to leave 
Little tiny headsail! 
Camper vans on NW 500 route 
Trees don’t lie! 
Alongside east pontoon
Angelique 
When we came the opposite way last year we joked about the amount of Camper vans we observed. We guessed that there would be at least one one each headland we passed and we were not disappointed. You rightly say it is the NC500 and no better way to do it than by boat. I always find Kinlochbervie pretty bleak and depressing (a Spar shop and a hotel well passed it’s sell by date) although a few years back when we pitched up the harbour master was retiring and we were invited to his party in the fishery sheds.
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If the weather would cheer up it would no doubt look better but atm pretty bleak! Thanks for the tips on anchorages .. may have to.
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Sounds a very adventurous day. The sea and the trees definitely told a story! Very impressive. I bet the beer tasted good! Xx
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