scot5

We towed Ananahi, our Swift 18, to Arisaig in N.W. Scotland and launched her at 11.00 hrs on Monday 22^nd July. We sailed out to the reef near the entrance to the channel and anchored off the white sands for a drink. Dave put his wet suit on and dived to inspect the keel, as we were intending to sell her when we get home. Everything was fine. We returned to a mooring for the night.

Tuesday 23^rd July: We were awoken by crowds of German backpackers. The marina is running the ferry twice as there are 150 of them all heading for the Isle of Muck. We loaded the boat and decided to sail for Canna, as the shipping forecast for today is SW 3-4 but a strong wind will arrive tomorrow. The marina at Arisaig has lots of boats doing the Talisker whisky cruise from Tobermory. We left the mooring at 10.45hrs in a light wind. We decided to sail between Eigg and Rhum and up the west coast of Rhum to Canna. The reason for this was that in light winds, Rhum, being so high stops the wind and you often have to motor sail, then beat into Canna. We had never sailed the west coast of Rhum before and it was very interesting, with a lot of different rock formations and caves and a good view of the large Mausoleum which belongs to Kinloch castle. We turned for Canna and goose winged NE to clear the eastern end of the harbour. The anchorage was very crowded with more than 20 Talisker whisky cruisers and other yachts. We headed right inside the bay and dropped our hook at 18.45hrs, in 14ft for the night.

Distance run 29km.

Wednesday 24^th July: It rained all day. A small Caf�/bar has opened here in the last 3 months and was doing a roaring trade with the Talisker cruisers. A chap on the boat next to us asked if we wanted anything from shore, (our dinghy was still half inflated on deck) we thought that it was very nice of him but assured him that we had lots of stores on board. We stayed on board all day as it was so wet and windy. The wind gradually increased and we let out more scope. Several boats dragged and we took it in turns to keep watch until dawn.

Thursday 25^th July: It was a lovely morning so we inflated the dinghy and went ashore to top up our water and dump the rubbish. Unfortunately the skip which used to be on the pier was not there so we left the rubbish in the dinghy. We went for a walk behind the church towards compass rock, and found a lovely beach and a castle which used to be a prison perched on a rock. Back at the waterfront we had a look at the caf� which was closed, but had a menu which was not too expensive. When we returned to the dinghy seagulls had split all the rubbish bags and made a right mess. We re-bagged it on the boat and stuffed it in the cockpit lockers until we found a bin. It was a lovely evening and there were only a few boats remaining in the anchorage.

Friday 26^th July: We prepared the boat to sail to Soay. We set off at noon in a good SW arriving of the entrance at 15.30hrs. We had the fishing line out but didn�t catch anything. It was difficult to see the transits which guide you over the bar, but as we approached slowly they became clearer. We arrived 2 hrs before high water and had 8ft of water on the bar. There was only one other boat there and he left at high tide, but 4 Talisker boats came in making the anchorage very crowded. It was a beautiful evening and we sat in the sun and opened a bottle of wine. We were anchored in 15ft and could see the bottom. Distance run 12.2nm

Saturday 27^th July: It was quite a nice day and we went ashore to fill our water carriers at the burn. We walked over to the derelict shark factory and followed a path across to the next bay east and discovered some ruined houses. We returned to our deserted anchorage and had sundowners on deck.

Sunday 28^th July: A really bad shipping forecast and torrential rain persuaded us to stay. We had a gale for 2 days and S.W. winds which was the direction that we wanted to go so we stayed, the only boat in the anchorage. With only the sound of birds, wind and running streams to keep us company. No-one passed the harbour entrance and it was as if we were the only yacht in the whole area.

Tuesday 30^th July: We got the forecast at 5.30a.m. and it was not too bad so we lifted the anchor and sailed out at high tide with 11ft on the bar. We had to push the tide in the sound as it is a constant west stream but once clear of the island we altered course for Loch Scresort on Rhum. It was quite calm and a slight misty rain was falling. A Minki whale swam close to look at us and gannets were diving all around us, and still we caught no fish. The coastguard vessel from Mallaig went past us at a great rate of knots heading in the direction of Canna. A breeze sprang up and we sailed at 3 knots to Rhum, anchoring opposite the old jetty at low water in 9ft. We turned on the local news on the radio and heard that a fishing boat had sunk near Canna and the crew were rescued by Mallaig coastguard.

Distance run 13.2nm.

Wednesday 31^st July: A hot sunny day, the kind that you dream of in Scotland. We went ashore to look at the castle and had tea and scones in the caf�. The shop was closed until 5p.m. but the caf� sold us some bread and eggs. We returned to the boat for the weather forecast and it predicted S.W.5-6 later. Dave went ashore when the shop opened for essential supplies, like vodka, biscuits and chocolate to sustain us through the stormy weather.

Thursday 1st August: The wind blew very strongly throughout the night. A lot of boats dragged. We took down the cockpit tent so that we had less windage.

Friday 2^nd August: The other yachts left today and one came over to say that he had just got a new forecast for gales and we would be better staying put. We had got the 5.30a.m. shipping forecast and had no intention of moving. Dave let out more scope. WE have 100ft of rope and 12ft of chain on our 5kg. Bruce anchor. We have 22 ft. at high water and 9f.t. at low. The weather was awful and we could see big waves and white horses out to sea. We spent the day watching sea eagles hovering above the bay, and the Manx Shearwaters were screaming overhead. The weather forecast is still bad but the barometer is rising slowly.

Saturday 3^rd August: We were the only boat which didn�t drag. The weather was still appalling with gales forecast, but tomorrow sounds better. A person from the estate came over in his work boat to see if we were okay. People all seem worried about us when the weather is bad, we must seem very small to the majority of boats cruising out here.

Sunday 4^th August: The forecast was 4-5 locally 6 but decreasing so we set sail. It was raining but we hoped that it would clear later. The anchor was really well dug in but we finally raised it by motoring over it. We put a reef in the main and had a fast beat to Arisaig. Between Eigg and Rhum we had some Atlantic rollers hitting our beam but it was quite an exciting sail. Halfway back to Arisaig we crossed our course to Canna and realised that we had just completed a circumnavigation of Rhum, not very impressive as circumnavigations go, but we were less than 6 metres long. 5 miles out we sighted the white mark that signifies the entrance to Arisaig channel and headed back, taking a mooring at 14.30hrs.

Distance run 16.5nm.

Monday 5^th August: A fantastic day but we had to retrieve the boat and drive home.

Total distance run 71nm.

On arriving home we put Ananahi up for sale and sold her very quickly. We have just bought Callisto of Parkstone, an Elizabethan 30 and hope to extend our cruising grounds next year.

Dave and Shelby.