That day, we want to leave the anchorage of Broadford on the Isle of Skye, where we spent a few days. The weather forecast is not ideal for sailing. It is forecasted to be almost calm with 4 to 6 knots of wind from the southwest and gusts, so to speak, at 10 knots.
But, we are starting to know a little bit about the Scottish weather and doubt these forecasts. Indeed, the day before was forecasted the same weather, and we had in reality a good 10 to 15 knots of south, which made us regret not to have weighed anchor.
Wind shifts in all directions
In short, in the beginning of the afternoon, the weather was very nice. The wind finally picks up and we decide to leave for the northwest anchorage of Raasay, an island located northwest of our starting point. There is no swell, a good south wind, we hoist the anchor under sail. The beginning of the navigation, under the wind of Skye, is very quiet at 3 knots, wind from south.
As soon as we leave the bay, things change. A westerly wind, channeled by the Loch na Cairidh separating the islands of Skye and Scalpay, reaches the boat which suddenly starts at 6 knots, happiness.
We continue our route leaving Scalpay to port. Unfortunately, as soon as we were downwind of him, he jumped to the northwest, right where we were heading. Arthur tacked, the genoa went against us, and our speed dropped immediately.
We made a complete turn, trying to avoid some fishing traps here and there, then we picked up some speed and headed east, before trying our luck again to pass between Scalpay and the small island of Longay. Luck is with us, this time the wind is from the North-East, we are moving forward at 5 knots.
Almost arrived at the height of Longay, we are going to engage to pass between the island and the reefs which are in the north of Scalpay. But of course, the wind suddenly jumps and it is again north-westerlyâ?¦ The genoa goes against and again. We are too close to Longay, not very handy and surrounded by traps. We decide to turn east and pass under the island of Longay.
Change of destination in perspective
We are waiting to see on the other side of Longay the wind that awaits us, to consider the best route to follow. To the east of the island, we see that the sky has darkened. In the middle of the afternoon, it is now as dark as at the beginning of the night. Sheep are starting to cover the sea, the wind is definitely - or not - from the northwest. We give up the idea of going to Raasay.
One of the anchorages we had spotted is located a few miles away, in the Crowlin Islands, between the islands of Eilean M ò r and Eilean Meadhonach. It is northeast of our position which is perfect with our northwest wind. A few dolphins cross our path while the sky is falling more and more.
An arrival under the rain!
There is no lack of it. While we had left under a radiant weather, we arrive under a driving rain! This is not a bad thing, we install the water recovery system to feed our tank. The quantities are far from being negligible, a good shower can easily provide us with a hundred liters. But we have to admit that it's a less pleasant time to put the anchor and discover our anchorage!
Without being absolutely representative of Scottish sailing, this type of day remains quite classic. It is better to have plan A, plan B and plan C for the anchorage and to stay very attentive to the sails to manage the erratic manifestations of the katabatic winds, in a very rocky décorâeuros¦
A nice quiet anchorage between two islands
The next day, we anchored at the bottom of the sound that separates the two islands. The southern part dries up at low tide and forms a very quiet cul de sac, inhabited by some seals. For more security, the captain will strike two mooring lines on land to immobilize the sailboat.
On the banks, a small expanse of soft grass, sheltered by a low wall of dry stones, seems to us ideal to plant the tents the time of a night. The place is perfect, if we forget the midges which harass us in the evening for a while. Fortunately, the wind and the smoke of the campfire quickly put them aside. They had, despite everything, the time to devour us well...
