Day 38 – Thursday 20th May
Reading Time: Three Minutes
I arrived early in the morning to the Transit Marina in Oban and at the last moment found a portside-too berth. I was mildly taken aback at the price of the night’s stay but it was walk-ashore with showers, so the convenience was great.
It happened to be the day of the start of the Three Peaks Race which brought memories flooding back of when I entered in Sumara – that was quite a thing.
The Waverley Paddle Steamer was also in town and that meant Colin would be there too! Sure enough I did meet Colin who was enjoying several trips on the fabulous paddle steamer.
But the reason I was in town was to meet Jannicke, and she arrived on the train as planed.
We sailed to Tobermory the following day. It was a windy beat down the Sound of Mull but we arrived at a civilised time. Jannicke hadn’t been there before, so it was fun to show her this favourite spot of mine. It was decided we should eat ashore whilst we could and so we demolished a tasty large meal in the cafe which occupies the old Church. It gave us the false impression that cafes in churches are always a good thing.
There was no wind the next day so we took the opportunity to motor around Ardnamurchan Point in flat calm. We headed up to Isle Ornsay in the Sound of Sleat to anchor for the night.
The forecast for the next day was for strong winds from the south east. In the morning it was blowing hard but there wasn’t any south in the wind. That 15 kg anchor and 8 mm chain is getting a struggle to haul up by hand with no winch. I am showing my age.
We headed straight into the wind under power with the boat pitching heavily. I hoisted the main with a triple reef and we managed to get a slight cut on the wind. As we headed a few degrees further north we hoisted the Yankee and cut the engine. We planned to get the end of the strong tide that runs through the Kyle Rhea, it was crucial we weren’t late because the stream can run at about 10 knots. We were on time and were swept through at 8 knots with flat water. The wind moderated as we passed under the Skye Bridge and we had a pleasant downwind sail eventually shaking out all the reefs and wafting slowly along as pilot whales and dolphins entertained us. We picked up a yellow buoy in Portree. The pick-up line was in a right old state. We tied ourselves on with two of our ropes.
Portree is a funny place. It is a harbour town but the harbour is, to be frank, rather scruffy. Just where you might expect a few benches to sit on to enjoy the view, there are commercial rubbish bins. It is just all a bit weird, slightly as if no one cares.
However, do not be put off, there are some cracking walks to be had, loads of interesting shops* and cafes.
*Skyeskins was a very well designed shop selling some interesting sheep skins. I was very tempted to treat myself but refrained. Msybe next time.
We were hungry and spotted a cafe in a church. Unlike the cafe in the church in Tobermory, the cafe in the church (1824) in Portree scrapes along the baseline of expectations. If you order vegetable soup and a tuna mayo sandwich, that is indeed exactly what you get. A small bowl of soup, no buttered bread to accompany it and a tuna sandwich on Sunblest white sliced bread filled with smashed tuna with perhaps a hint of mayo. No salad on the side or even a few crisps – nothing, and it cost £11.90. Can’t complain, it was exactly what we ordered but….
By the way, if you are in Portree and fancy a shower there are several options. Some hotels offer showers, there is a fine swimming pool and library up the hill where you can get a shower but maybe best of all would be…
Right now we are back onboard and Jannicke is knitting me a pair of pink socks. We spotted a spool of wool in a charity shop. She will weave in a bit of qivuit that I had and some raw wool we found on our walk. What talented crew I have!
We also picked wild garlic on our walk and that will help flavour our omelette for super.
It is blowing old boots right now and the forecast for tomorrow is for windd of around force 6, but from the south. We will get up early, hoist the Yankee and head towards Ullapool for the Lugger Fest. Let’s see what happens!
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