4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg

What a night! We had carefully selected Plockton for its position in relation to wind direction. However during the evening there was a change in wind direction and all boats on the anchorage spent the night bobbing up and down in the resulting waves that ran into the bay.

In the morning, after a bright start, it became overcast as we left bleary eyed to find a different safe haven. I chose an anchorage near Dunan on the Isle of Skye which appeared to have enough cover to from the surrounding hills to give us a quiet night. We arrived just before lunch after a comfortable sail and anchored in about 3 metres of water in very good holding.

There were some small wavelets but the wind was due to veer behind the land and reduce in strength. During lunch it rained quite heavily and there was some strong katabatic downdrafts from the surrounding mountains. Far from reducing, the wind just got stronger and the waves grew considerably even though we were only 300 yds from shore. It had turned into a squally evening with huge winds and downpours. We couldn’t see a soul on shore and there didn’t seem to be anywhere interesting to go. Besides getting in a dinghy in those conditions would have been dangerous, so we stayed aboard and played scrabble into the evening as the winds continued to howl.

The hook was holding well, in possibly the strongest winds we have ever anchored in. An anchor alarm was set as an additional precaution. Then just before bed we were treated to a big rainbow and a spectacular stormy sunset.

The Wessex Kidney Patients Association is a charity that helps patients and their families deal with the upheaval caused by Kidney disease. If you enjoy reading our blog please consider giving to this cause . Many thanks Louise & Martin