Saturday 29 June

We woke late as was only to be expected. After breakfast I wandered over to the bakery for a loaf only to find they don’t bake bread on Saturdays. The co-op came to the rescue. On the way back I succumbed to the temptations of Tobermory Chocolate and bought a few treats for later.

Temptress departed just before eleven. After much discussion last night and again this morning we had to admit the unsettled weather predicted for the foreseeable future was not going to be conducive to cruising Skye let alone the Outer Hebrides. Another batch of strong winds looks likely during the coming week and in between the winds have a stiff westerly component. So where else? We have two weeks before we need to reach Bangor. Seonaid and Gus recommended a few pleasant anchorages around the Firth of Lorne but were a bit horrified when we suggested Puilldobhrain (“Pulldoor-an”) on a Saturday afternoon! You’d best have a backup plan they advised, it gets very crowded.

The sail south east down the Sound of Mull was a fast one. The rain that had threatened before we left scooted across basically from west to east behind us rapidly hiding first Ardnamurchan and then Tobermory. The wind turned more north westerly so was behind us and Temptress ran down the sound at over eight knots. Eventually we had to tuck in the 2nd reef and partially furl the genoa to remain in control as the rain clouds slide south toward us. We watched the over canvassed boats astern rounding up, feeling rather holier than thou about our reefs which had made little difference to our speed but meant George the auto-helm wasn’t overpowered. Threading our way around the port hand mark Yule and the rocks off-lying Sheir na Gobhar, Temptress crossed Duart Bay. The wind died as the mountains of Mull came between us, then it was back with a vengeance on the nose. It was a starboard beat across the Firth towards Kerrera, only just clearing the little island at its southern tip. A small motor sailor was attempting a similar course but at a far greater angle to the wind, making very little progress. They kindly tacked away to let us speed past.

After a bumpy time head to wind dropping the mainsail we motored into Puilldorbhain, the Pool of the Otter, mid afternoon. It was busy but we found a spot and dropped the hook. An hour or so later a party boat just south of Temptress headed back to Oban with its crew of pirates. We quickly re anchored in the space they left, putting us at a wider distance from the boat to our north. Over the next few hours more boats arrived. Soon the quiet, long thin stretch of water between the islands was crowded with over a dozen boats. The rain showers didn’t seem to have put them off but at least we hadn’t needed to think of a backup plan!

For supper I made a stew of chicken, smoked bacon, leek & carrot with some cider, herbs like tarragon and some of the gammon stock. It was pressure cooked for 5 minutes or so then left til we were ready to eat. At that point some pieces of Jersey Royals were thrown in, the whole simmered to reduce the gravy and cook the potato, then a handful of chopped coriander stirred through. A small apple sliced and caramelised in butter provided a bit of decorative interest.

After that last two late nights an early one was called for, once the washing up was done.