A Sleepless Night, a Foggy Escape, a Familiar Fav

After a very disturbed night at anchor, we woke up and just lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling and contemplating our life choices. We were shattered. The winds had been unpredictable, the boat had been swaying like a drunk flamingo, and every tap, creak, and gust had our nerves on edge.

Just as we finally drifted off, an alarm went off. Nick shot out of bed like a startled gazelle — Tracey hasn’t seen him move that fast in years — only to discover it wasn’t the anchor alarm at all. It was the battery pack politely informing us it had only 10% left. This boating lark is not for the faint‑hearted.

We decided there was no point sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves. It was raining, it was going to keep raining, and we might as well start heading back towards Tobermory and new adventures. Teresa and Martin were leaving home in their motorhome and we were hoping our paths might cross somewhere in Barra or Vatersay. Plenty of new anchorages lay between here and there — perfect for our challenge of visiting six new places before August.

We lifted the anchor, turned out of the bay… and straight into fog. Visibility wasn’t great, but we’ve had worse. We pointed the bow towards Lochaline — the best choice given the conditions — and arrived to find it completely empty. Meanwhile, Tobermory was hosting a whisky festival and was apparently bursting at the seams. Decision justified.

The weather improved over the next few days and we even saw some sun, though the breeze kept things cool. We spent a couple of quiet days in Lochaline, finally catching the Hub Café open and enjoying a delicious lunch. Tracey did some painting, Pepper tore around the beach like she owned it, and a few Royal Highland Yacht Club members arrived. We were invited aboard Richard and Ann’s boat for drinks on Sunday evening — a lovely end to a peaceful stop.

Now we’re heading back to anchor in Tobermory to restock before setting off again to explore new anchorages and new corners of this beautiful coastline. The adventure continues.Read more