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Wednesday 9th June 2010-06-10We slipped the lines from Hugh and Rose's pontoon in Clachan Sound at midday and headed South on our journey North. Once through Easdale Sound we found a brisk NNE wind just ten or fifteen degrees off our course for Duart Point, so we resigned ourselves to motorsailing this first stretch if we were to make the most of the tide up the Sound of Mull. As we approached Duart we began to benefit from two or three knots of tide, but the wind picked up until we had a constant 30 knots over the deck and a substantiqal wind over tide situation. There was a lot of crashing about and a few items went flying down below then to cap it all a large chunk of the Firth of Lorne went right down my neck. As we rounded the point and headed into more sheltered water we began to enjoy a cracing sail, and approaching Lochaline at around 4 in the afternoon we shook out the two reefs I had put in when we raised sail at the Western end of Cuan Sound. Coming round the 'corner' opposite Salen the wind backed to the North and became very gusty, so we sailed the rest of the way to Tobermory dinghy-style, mainsheet in hand. By six thirty we were on the pontoons with a beer cracked. With a strong NNE wind fetching in from Loch Sunart the pontoons and their moored denizens were heaving like a fat maqn's chest after running for a bus, but we managed to bag our favourite relatively sheltered spot inshore on the S. side. After the beer and a quick splash to wash the salt off it was off to the chip van on the pier where we enjoyed a superb 'fish of the day' supper (not sure what it was, but not haddock) while watching the forest of masts bobbing in the breezy evening sunlight.. This was then washed down with a couple of wheat beers in the Mishnish before returning to the boat to spend an hour dealing with business using the free wi-fi connection from Taigh Solas. A late stroll - still light at eleven - and it was one last half pint in McGonchachs before retiring. 34 miles, 6.5 hours, 3.5 engine hours, wind F4-7. Thursday 10th June 2010-06-10
Ten miles from Mallaig the wind backed a little and we enjoyed a decent sail for a couple of hours, with reefs in and out again. Off Mallaig the wind backed West then died, before returning as a solid F5 blowing straight down the Sound of Sleat. We had originally planned to anchor at Glenelg and wait for the tide through Kylerhea just after midnight, but as the wind strengthened and a nasty little chop developed we decided to head for Isle Oronsay.I wasn't sure if it would be sheltered as in the Sound the wind was Notherly, but in the anchorage it was NW. There were a lot more moorings than we remembered from our previous visit eight or nine years previously, including five very substantial looking VMs which I assume are owned by the hotel. We picked up one of these and enjoyed a fabulous venison casserole that Kathy had created as we bashed our way up the Sound of Sleat before retiring early. Friday 11th June 2010-06-10
A long day. We dropped the mooring in Isle Ornsay just after half past three and headed up to Kylerhea to catch the last hour of the flood. It was flat calm as we hurtled through the Klye, which was busy with fish jumping and several seals and otters fishing for their breakfast. We arrived in Kyle at six, planning to to rest up and have a leisrely breakfast, but there was no space on the pontoons at Kyle or Kylerhea so we motored out under the bridge and headed North past the Crowlins, hoping to make Gairloch before the threatened NW 5-7 set in. We put the autohelm on and had bacon and egg. Just after half past nine the wind filled in unexpectedly from the South, and we were soon enjoying a great run goosewinged with pole and preventer. By eleven though the wind had changed to a North-Westerly zephyr. We were nearly abeam Gairloch by now, but we re-hoisted the iron topsail, determined to gegt as far North as possible before the weather broke.. By twelve-thirty we were in lumpy seas two miles off Rubha Reid with a proper N-Westerly beginning to build and after a few false starts we finally switched the engine off for the duration at half past one. We had a cracking sail for the next few hours, but by five o'clock the wind was gusting over 20 knots and the seas were huge, chucking the boat about and rolling us uncomfortably. After the usual gymnastics and shouting at the elements on the coachroof we got two reefs snugged down, and as the wind built we were soon doing six knots again . Helming became challenging, looking out for the odd threatening sea and turning into it to avoid being rolled to 45 degrees and pushed sideways off our track. As we approached Rubha Coigeach, the last headland before Lochinver, the promised F 5-7 arrived in earnest, with frequent prolonged gusts in the high twenties in sharp showers that reduced visibility to a couple of miles. 
The last five miles to Lochinver were challenging. The seas heaped up and the crests foamed as they felt the shallowing bottom, and we had to continually force our way back upwind when waves picked us up and chucked us sideways. We surfed in past Soyea, very relieved when the white knuckle ride finally eased. Coming into the pontoon in very gusty conditions we were blown off and went alongside the yacht on the opposite finger, then enjoyed some entertainment warping Fairwinds across and snugging her down. Never was a beer more appreciated. Haggis, tatties and carrots for supper. The Lochinver pub has not changed since the last time we came this way in 2005. Saturday 11th June 2010-06-10We decide we were definately not going to carry on North until the sea had gone down and the wind had either moderated or adopted a more congenial direction. Tevakenui, a tough looking steel boat of the sort the French are fond of came in mid-morning. The skipper turned out to be a Kiwi six years out from NZ and currently cruising with and schooling his 14 year old daughter. He and his wife had cruised he Pacific to Japan and wintered in Vladivostock, where only potatoes were reliable over the Winter as a foodstuff with meat occasionally available but no eggs or dairy produce until the Spring. They had subsequently spent the best part of two seasons in South Georgia and then worked in the Falklands for a year and a half to replenish their cruising budget. His wife was currently working on a ship near the Cape Verdes studying the processing of blufin tuna catches. In the afternoon a 24ft yacht came in from Harris with a Danish couple and their two young children on board. They had had to motor most of the way ' with just an outboard. It was a joy to see people cruising long distance on a boat smaller than Fairwinds. The other yacht that came in during the day was a HR42 called Swift that we had seen in Tobermory. She flew a white ensign and was on passage from Lymington to Shetland. Mostly a lazy day reading papers and books, though I also caught up with work by logging on at the community centre, which is only a couple of hundred yards from the pontoon. No crises, put out a quotation and dealt with a minor problem on an ecommerce site. I decanted the remaining diesel in cans into the tank, only to discover it was full of dirt and water. Luckily we always fill the main tank via a very effective filter funnel, and I was alerted to the problem when it ceased to pass diesel. I cleaned it by reverse flushing it with WD40 spray from close up and threw the rest of the dirtiest can away. After that I wandered down to the harbour office and had a shower. (Free, gents only). Pasta and veg for tea. After tea we went for a walk up Billy's Path, which starts almost across the road from the pontoon, then back by the Higgledy Piggledy path. Highly recommended. Lochinver Pictures
Sunday 12th June 2010-06-10The plan today was to arrive at the notorious Point of Stoer at slack water (16:40) . All seemed sensilbe ' the sea had gone right down, and though headwinds were forecast they were 3-4 NE, which would mean a bit of a lee and no big seas. A quick weather check at lunchtime revealed the possibility of 4-5 N or NE, but it was still calm. The guys on Swift had arranged for the diesel guy to come down and top them up at 2.30, so we decided to wait and fill our two empty cans. I checked the primary fuel filter 'p the bowl was nearly ful of water and gunge, which I drained. We got the cans filled and left Lochinver just after three in an almost flat calm. Off Stoer village the wind perked up a bit and we raised sail. We arrived at Stoerhead just as the tide began to pick up, and with twelve knots or so over the deck we were able to beat round close in with the tide helping us tack through 90 degrees or less. The tide race even in a F3 was enough to make you realise that you didn't want to be here in a stronger wind over tide situation. 
Swift caught us up here and took some pics of us under full sail against the cliffs and the Old Man of Stoer. They called us up on the VHF to let us know and we gave them our email address. They then bore away, still motoring with bare poles, intending to gain some searoom before rounding Cape Wrath and heading for Shetland. We tacked in for a closer look at the Old Man, but the wind ' and the sea- perked up and we decided to gain some sea room ourselves as the seas were building rapidly. Within five minutes we had the genoa rolled away and were motor-sailing our best course to windward with 21 knots over the deck. This steadily increased as we approached Handa Island until we had a steady 25 knots from the North. This meant the sea was coming all the way from Cape Wrath and the Arctic beyond, and it soon got very wet, crashy and generally unpleasant pounding into short steep seas of a metre or more. I couldn't help thinking abut what this was doing to the dirty diesel and spent the next three hours expecting the engine to splutter to a halt at any minute. By the time we were passing through Rock Alley on the approach to Kinlochbervie we had 27 knots indicated and had to motor-tack down the frothy toothy channel. Thank god for the plotter ' without it I would not have taken the inshore route in those conditions, which would have added a painful extra mile or so to the journey.  To my continuing amazement the Beta continued to beat and finally we got a lee as we turned into Loch Inchard. Coming into Kinlochbervie harbour we discovered a new pontoon, but with no space without rafting up. The original tiny pontoon in the top corner still said 'Visiting Yachts Berth Here'. We tried but there just wasn't room, so we turned back to the new pontoon and went alongside a nice looking big old wooden motor sailor which had a load of welcoming fenders out. Blissfully at rest we mopped out the starboard under bunk locker ' still inexplicably wet in hard windward conditions ' and enjoyed a beer. Tinned chicken curry with chilli pickle for tea, followed by cheese and wine. Our original plan had been to leave at five in the morning to round Cape Wrath at slack water, but we are going to give it at least another 12 hours for the sea to go down and the wind to veer or drop or generally improve in some way. Monday 14th June 2010-06-10
It was sunny by now and the North wind was becoming intermittent, but it would have been churlish to leave with friends in port, so we invited John and Sarah for tea and will head for Cape Wrath and points North in the morning. After diner we wandered up to the pub and got talking to Justin and Gordon off Surefin, a Verl 27 they were sailing anticlockwise round the UK. Talk turned to St. Kilda and we repaired to Fairwinds for a final beer and lent them charts of St Kilda and the Sound of Harris. At one o'clock when we went to bed it had still not really got dark. Tuesday 15th June 2010-06-10
It was grey, bouncy and resolutely not windy enough to sail and the engine was beginning to irritiate. We passed a trawler, then nothing but grey sea and grey sky. The leak under the starboard bunk was being troublesome, water sloshing over the saloon sole, so I mopped it all up. Normally this only happens when taking water over the bow ' which we weren't - so I was surprised, particularly as I had dried it out completely the previous day. I put newspapers down on the sole to mop up the residual dampness, and was dismayed to see them getting soaked just an hour later. I tasted the watyer and it seemed to me to be fresh rather than salt. We mopped it up again and moved tnhe water pipe from the tank to the galley sink up out of the lowest part of the locker, but son there was water in there agqain. Even if it is only fresh water we decided it needed investigated sooner rather than later. It was juist before four o'clock and a look at the chart showed that we were currently at our CPA to Stromness o0n our present course. I checked the tide for Hoy Sound and it looked good for an entry any time after half past seven, so after a brief discussion we altered course to 090 for Hoy Sound and the pontoons at Stromness where we would be able to investigagte the problem in comfort. One advantage of our new course was that it brought the wind well forward of the beam and made it possible to sail a close reach with an apparent wind of ten or eleven knots. The greyness intensified and Hoy intermittently disappeared I to the murk. We put thermal vests on. It was all a bit reminiscent of our last trip to Orkney in 2005. 
Finally we could see Graemsay and we accelerated down the sound on the two hour old flood reaching 11 knots over the ground before arriving in Stromness marina at 21.30 in mist and heavy drizzle. A couple from Connel on a MoBo gave us the gate and loo numbers (los and showers are in the ferry terminal but there is a back door) and we went off in search of chips but to late, so had a bag of crisps and a pint of Scapa in the Flattie Bar before returning to Fairwinds for a cheese on toast frenzy with a glass or two of wine. Wednesday 16th June 2010-06-19Mopped out the under bunk area only to have more apparently fresh water appear even after we had drained the water tank. Much bafflement until Kathy looked in the starboard cockpit locker and discovered that the 10l fresh water container I had filled at the last minute in Kinlochbervie now only contained five litres of water. Oh well, at least the under-bunk area was now as clean as it has ever been. We resolved to organise the space better, and Kathy eventually spotted the very thing ' cat litter trays from the pet shop and internet caf'. Stromness is such a friendly, helpful place ' they let us take one back to the boat to see if it fitted. It did, so Kathy returned for three more while I dealt with some business on the pet shop's wireless connection and drank very good coffee. Other purchases included steak and sausages from the very excellent butcher e remembered from our previous visit ' highly recommended. After a general tidy-up and a shower for me we slipped our lines just after five in the afternoon and headed out into Hoy Sound in the middle of the ebb with a nice little wind over tide situation. We were expecting it this time though and fifty minutes later we were through the lumps and heading North under full sail with the Navik helming for the first time on this trip. We were only makin g 3-4 knots in the light Westerly under grey skies, but we were sailing and comfortable. Sadly within the hour the wind went light aqnd the sails began to slat and bang in the chop ' so down they came and on went the engine again. Shortly after eight we began to overhaul another yacht, the Eilean Dubh. She was also motoring, crossing our course heading in towards Eynhallow Sound. Shortly after crossing her track we saw that she had stopped and appeared to be hauling creels, so we went over to see if we could assist. She had a rope round her prop and enquired if we were heading for Kirkwall. I said no, Fair Isle, and they said they would just sail slowly round to Kirkwall. I have to say that I would not fancy braving the tides and rosts between them and Kirkwall under sail in light winds, but they were local and said they would be fine. If they had been more distressed we woujld have offered to tow them to Kirkwall, but she was aa much heavier boat and it would have been a major undertaking. We wished them luck and said our farewells, then only a few minutes after getting under way again we looked back to see them under way once more. A call on the VHF confirmed that the offending rope had mysteriously come free and all was well. Next on the agenda was another attempt to sail as the wind went dead aft at six or seven knots apparent ' still light, but maybe just enough to goosewing without the sails constantly slatting as we rolled. I worked up a good sweat setting and tweaking the pole, but after half an hour's noisy sail-wearing and very slow progress the whole lot had to come down again. Just after ten we were motoring again, and at midnight we were off Noup Head (Westray) with one and a half knots of favourable tide. Thursday 19th June 2010-06-19
Once Kathy came on watch we finally lost the tide after nine or ten hours of having it with us, so I got a full three hours in my bunk, coming back on watch to find us at our waypoint. Navigating round the tide race off the S. of the island d by eye we were making over 45 degrees leeway and doing less than two knots over the ground. It was a grey misty morning with glimpses of land and the tops of the cliffs in the mist. Finally we cleared the tide rips off the rocks known as the Keels and began to make progress up the East coast of the island. The sun shone briefly and weakly on the exposed flank of Sheep Rock, where unlucky sheep were once hauled up to pasture on ropes from the local yoals. Soon we were rounding the North Gavel and heading past the Stane in to the narrow entrance of North Haven. 
No less than six masts greeted us as we came in and we ended up rafted fourth yacht out ix beside a Danish boat which left an hour later, leaving six boats in the harbour again ' most planning on leaving in the morning on the forecast Northerlies to head South to Kirkwall. The latest forecast showed that we either left immediately to continue on to Lerwick or resigned ourselves to a few days on Fair Isle, as a period of strong Northerlies seemed inevitable. We decided to stay. It was only later when we got off the boat and wandered up that we discovered that the Bird Observatory ' with the showers, bar and meals promised in the pilot ' was not open yet. The old one had been demolished and a magnificent new building was almost complete but behind schedule, with the firm who built it having gone into receivership just the day before, leaving a few unpaid bills on the island. We walked a short way up the track leading North but gave up after coming under repeated attack from nesting bonxies. 
Back on board we ae and had just settled down to a game of crib and a dram when the Good Shepherd IV, the island ferry, came in fromSumburgh at about eight o'clock. She unloaded and then hauled out on her trolley on a railed slipway. It was a bit disturbing to see a vessel the size of a large trawler hauled out of the water because ' as the skipper informed me ' there was a ten foot swell expected. The skipper suggested we moved to the top of the harbour in the Good Shephers's berth as it was the most sheltered, and of course that meant we would not be disturbed by our neighbours leaving in the morning. We borrowed three of the big fenders thoughtfully provided for visiting yachts lying alongside and snugged Fairwinds down for the night. Then North wind was getting up now but we had a reasonable night, completing our disturbed game of crib and having a couple more drams. Friday 19th June 2010-06-19In the morning a serious swell was entering the inlet and beginning to refract round the corner to where we were berthed. It was getting bouncy, but one of the Good Shepherd's crew came by and offered us an extra heavy bow line attachyed to the breakwater opposite, saying that it would 'take some of the bounce out'. He was right, it did. I also added a big orange ball fender and a couple of extra breast lines with snubbers. Satisfied that the boat was secure for now we went for a walk round the South of the island. Near the village hall a couple of the island kids were playing on their bikes, dressed in their Summer finery ' anoraks, woolly hats, heavy tights etc. The North wind was bitter, not so bad as we walked South with it at our backs but promising a challenge on the return journey. We walked down to the South Harbour where hauled out yoals live in special nests, like a smaller version of the Good Shepherd's hidey hole. Crossing what must be the roughest 'green' on any golf course in Scotland we reached the Southernmost point at the South Light, Britain's most bombed lighthouse and the last in the UK to be automated. Walking back it was good to see that most houses had a cultivated garden, wth several greenhouses and tunnels. One croft had hay drying on tripods. We stopped at the surprisingly well-stocked shop to buy something for tea and a bite for lunch and had a long chat with the shopkeeper, who also works on the island d power system ' two vintage aerogenerators with diesel backup ' among his other jobs.. . Back on the boat it was spag bol and Yahtzee, interspersed with line checking and adjusting as the tide fell. I slept surprisingly well for a few hours in spite of snatching and squeaking and groaning. (And the ropes were making a noise as well). Fair Isle Pictures
Saturday 19th June 2010-06-19
The good news - from our point of view anyway - was that the Good Shepherd didn't launch this morning so we didn't have to vacate her berth. Just as well because at that time the swell was right up and the wind was gusting to maybe 40 knots, and I think that if we had tried to take the boat off the wall in this confined space it could have resulted in some damage. We went for a short and extremely breezy walk in the morning on the cliffs above the harbour an d watched puffins flying in with beakfuls of sand eels for their chicks. We were marauded by clouds of arctic terns and divebombed by a pair of bonxies before retreating to the increasingly rocky boat for lunch. The surging, snatching and wall-bashing was starting to get alarming when the skipper of the Good Shepherd appeared and suggested we used their heavy stern line to attach our stern line to as a damper. It worked, and the situation appeared tenable again ' for now at least. The skipper of the Dutch Tradewind 35 came along to see if we were OK and told us that there was an 'open afternoon' for the locals to see round the new observatory. He seemed to think we would be welcome, so after a few more adjustments to lines we disembarked (itself not as easy as it sounds) and wandered up. I had to nip into the loos to remove my thermal underwear in order to avoid a meltdown, then we were shown round the place by Tim, one of the directors of FIBOT, and his wife. It really is a very impressive building, with superb facilities for visiting yachties including laundry, showers, bar and evening meals. Just a pity it is not opening until we leave . . . The Good Shepherd is launching tomorrow late morning. I hope the swell is down a bit by then, as I am not looking forward to moving the boat if it is still like this. The GS' crew and the Dutch boat will be on hand to help though. Sunday 20th June 2010-06-19Got up to find the Danes behind us gone, so pulled Fairwinds back off the ferry berth with the help of Paul, the Dutch guy off Layam, and had breakfast while discussing our options. Decided to leave at lunchtime, and finally got off the wall and headed out of North Haven just after one. Hoisting sail was a bit traumatic and sweary as it was so lumpy, and the main halliard shackle ended up going over the side when I realised I had forgotten to move it from the end of the boom back to the headboard. We had a reasonable sail for a couple of hours, then the breeze dropped and the swell rolled all the wind out of the sails. We wanted to get to Sumburgh Head before the tide turned, so the engine went on again and we motored on under grey skies. We carried a knot or so of fair tide all the way to just East of Sumburgh then hoisted sail as the seas calmed in the lee of Shetland and the wind picked up fitfully.
We had a fantastic sail all the way in to just off Victoria Pier, when we decanvassed and rafted up alongside a Norwegian boat just after eleven o'clock. Music was belting out from a nearby pub, but we had a beer aboard and retired to bed. Stage one of the trip was over. Distance from Balvicar: 386nm THE LOG
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