The Outer Hebrides

I left Skye for the Outer Hebrides with a brisk breeze 

behind me and a promising looking day. Sailing past some huge sea cliffs I was looking hard for a pair of Sea Eagles that I had been told nest there, the biggest of eagles with a wingspan of a massive 8’ but sadly there was no sign of them. 

There was an angry looking sky behind me but all was well ahead; the sun came out and I had a lovely sail for the 30 miles to North Uist, roughly in the middle of the 100 mile long string of islands that are the Outer Hebrides. I dropped anchor in a lovely shallow inlet. The evening was beautiful, the sea oily calm, the sun reflecting off the water and the only company a bunch of squawking sea gulls and the nattering of terns as they swoop around me; tranquillity indeed.

I telephoned ashore this afternoon in search of a physio. I triggered a spasm in my back a couple of weeks ago. Despite many attempts by both Rob and David to ease it, the spasm stubbornly resists. Now that I have no one to rub it (which did help) it is getting worse and I am starting to find it difficult to move about the boat. There is no private physio on the islands so I have got hold of the local hospital (NHS) and after much blagging and despite being told that it is highly irregular I have an appointment to see an NHS physio!

The next day I was on my bike at 7 o’clock on a beautiful morning (after a very early night unable to keep my eyes open after tea!). Is the summer here? A 40 mile circuit took me round most of North Uist. Rocks and peat bogs dominate the islands but they have a remote beauty about them; a funny mixture of harsh rocks on the east coast and island beauty on the Atlantic west coast with green field, cows, sheep and golden sand beaches.

An old crofters house that has been renovated.

Rush hour on North Uist,                                                   and a sign less usual!

These fellows may need a hair cut but there was definitely a feeling of 'don't mess with me' about them.

I was back for my afternoon physio appointment at the hospital on Benbecula. She has diagnosed a pulled muscle (it doesn’t feel like that to me) and recommends a few days rest, yeh right!

Nigel, a friend from university was due fly out to Benbecula and join me but has had to cancel due to work issues sadly so I have pulled up the anchor and headed out for South Uist. The forcast was the standard ‘force 5-7’ which usually produces a force 6. Within an hour it was gusting force 7 with white caps all around me and spume starting to be blown of the wave tops. I was running with the wind so it doesn’t feel so strong but it was starting to become quite a sleigh ride; an hour later it was gusting force 8 and getting a little too thrilling! I pulled in to South Uist somewhat relieved to be out of the sea way but the wind was still whistling through the anchorage. 

I dropped the anchor which happily took first time (thank goodness for a seriously over sized anchor!) and we began swinging like a mad thing as the wind  picked up still further and  Moondance did the little dance around her anchor that she does in a gale. She swings 45 degrees one way as the wind grabs her head, gets pulled up by the anchor then swings 45 degrees the other way, rolling from side to side 10-15 degrees as she goes with the rigging clattering in the wind, its quite a cacophony. The ferry turned back; it didn't like the look of mooring alomgside the pier when it looked like this!

This is the worst gale I have sat out to date. As gusts came down from the mountain that I was sheltered behind the water was whipped up and whisked by me.
Even the water in the anchorage is white with the wind blowing a fairly steady 35-40+ knots (force 8/9).

The wind started picking up the dinghy (secured to the back of the boat) and flipping it over, that’s a first. Tying it in really close behind the boat seems to have stopped it. It’s all pretty spectacular but a bit scary too. I had hoped to go ashore to find a pub with some live music but I wasn't  going anywhere unless this wind abated an awful lot!

It had calmed to 15 knots by the next morning. An inspection of the boat revealed 2 minor casualties. The dinghy had lost its wooden seat whilst being turned upside down (goodness knows how it had come out, it is a two man job to get it in it is so tight a fit) but I found it in the seaweed after scouring the downwind shoreline.

The second casualty was the bow line, used to take the strain off the anchor chain, it had chaffed through its protection, put there to stop the rope chaffing through. It is 2mm thick reinforced tubing, such is the power of chaffing in strong winds. I met a local fellow who said the gale was the worst he had seen in a while; that is saying something for up here!

Fruits de Mer for tea; mussels from the pier and mackerel from off the headland!