Speedwell of Rhu Ship's Log

27 th of July 2010 - Anchoring adventures

We rowed ashore to the Co-op where we picked up more Tunnocks wafers and milk, the main sailing essentials. After stowing them safely away we set off and sailed on and off with just mizzen and genoa as the wind was quite gusty and changeable. We passed through The Raasay Narrows and headed up the sound between Skye and Raasay, with lovely views of the Red Cuillins.

We arrived at North Harbour between Fladday and Raasay around 1800. It was very windy and the anchorage was quite narrow. It also has a reputation for poor holding due to lots of kelp. We weren't particularly worried about this as our anchor is 33Kg, however, between the two of us we became pretty spooked and initially turned round to find somewhere else. However, another boat came along and radioed us for our impression. They decide to go for it so we followed suit. As we were anchoring, someone in the south harbour decided to join in on the VHF and told us we were in mortal danger should we anchor in the north harbour, and he should know because he always kept his boat there. Any way we both ignored him. Despite this Andy and I did anchor three times. The second time because we weren't convinced we had enough swinging room and the third time because I managed to trip the anchor using too many revs to set it firmly. We stayed on the boat for the evening listening to the wind gradually lessen.

Previous : Index : Next