 | 3 rd to 7 th of September 2010 - Tobermory again |
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| Crew : | Andy and Helen |
| Destinations : | Aros Bay, Tobermory. |
| Distance : | 33 miles |
We managed to disconnect our shoreline with Andy rowing ashore. We then swung back onto the anchor without running aground on the reef. We left the anchorage around 1000 in order to be able to see (and steer around) the rock at the entrance to Tinker Hole and then have enough height of tide to get through The Sound of Iona. The wind was good and we quickly had the mizzen and genoa set. The weather was forecasting force 6 and 7s for tomorrow, so we changed our plans and decided to head for Tobermory, past the west coast of Mull, Staffa and The Treshnish Isles. Apart from a short spell with a light wind on our stern, making for a bit of a rolly sail, we generally had the wind on our beam. As we headed around the north coast, the wind picked up and we had a fantastic sail, tacking across the Sound of Mull and into Tobermory. We anchored in Aros Bay in the south of the bay opposite the town. Remarkably the tide seemed to be working in our favour for the whole trip.
The following day we weighed anchor and headed for the pontoon so that we could do some shopping. There was a lot more space this time and it was nice to be sociable for a change. On the pontoon opposite was Stormdancer (another Oyster 435) waiting for passengers for it's next cruise. The skipper saw us and came over. He had to get back to his boat as his guests were starting to arrive. He told us he was hoping to take them across to Castlebay but the forecast was for south easterlies which would mean he wouldn't be able to get back again. Any way, despite the wind they left in the afternoon, heading (we supposed) north of Ardnamurchan Point.
After a noisy and windy night we decided to head down the Sound of Mull to Loch Aline. After tacking for about an hour and not getting far with the wind on our nose we decided to head back to Tobermory. We headed to the south of the bay again where we anchored well off in 20 metres with good shelter from the south easterly wind. We stayed put for 3 nights, finishing books and sewing. We saw a few boats arriving, but none leaving. One boat that joined us in our anchorage was full of young people, who were sent up the rigging for want of something to do.
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