This is not about the whisky but the decisions you make whilst bobbing outside the Talisker distillery
Every moment spent at anchor is a mixture of tranquility and bold adventure, especially when holding fast in a bit of a blow.
Many questions come to mind.
Where is the safest place?
What will be the strength and direction of the wind?
Anchor, Mooring buoy or Marina
And the list goes on.......
We constantly watch the forecast via both Predict Wind and Windy. Together with listening to the inshore forecast on the radio. We can see the forecast about 4 days in advance, unlike years ago when such modern weather forecasting technology did not exist. Often the day before a blow it is so calm and still, quite creepy really, "calm before the storm" as they say. Whilst the forecast can change and so often does, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
The last time we had to explore options to aid a good nights sleep in a blow was only last week, when we found ourselves with an approaching low with gusts of 45 knots and above. Over the period of monitoring the forecast the low changed wind direction several times and its duration moved out from one day to four days.
We were in Loch Harport at the time and had been there for 5 days prior to seeing the low approach us. Familarity with a place starts to give you some comfort, we knew the tides and depths of the loch. The holding was good with thick black mud. The anchorage had little fetch and was well protected in all directions. Although the locals told us winds could funnel from the south west should it get fiesty. The hills to one side have plenty of trees, breaking the wind as it comes over the tops. A blessing in disguise for sure, no one likes an accelarated wind over the tops! Carbost village bay in the loch is a well respected anchorage with 5 moorings by the pier. The moorings are in a trot and perhaps a wee bit close together for our liking but for a smaller yacht these moorings are convenient and well maintained at the time of our visit.
All of this taken into account staying put seemed like the right option for us but we still considered ever other anchorage and marina in the area first. Could we out run the high winds and get to a place where the winds were less fiesty and where the protection was more certain. Mallaig was an option but booking ahead was necessary and the winds looked no less to be honest. We are not keen on bashing a pontoon in high winds and would rather be at anchor.
Every other boat had made a run for it, but we were staying put. It takes courage not to run with the crowd but we had assessed the situation and decided that we would stay on anchor here in Carbost. Even if our 25kg Spade anchor did move a bit we had faith she would reset. We knew the condition of our chain was good and all the shackles were secure. Safe in the knowledge that we had plenty of room around us should we drag thus giving us time to react before hitting the shore. This above all was good reason to anchor and not moor. The locals did look a little perplexed by our choice and when the local landlord offered us his mooring it was difficult to decline without offending. Gary lengthened our scope from 5 /1 to 7/ 1 and as always backed down hard before retiring for the night. I hate the waiting game for the winds to arrive which of course they finally did. We endured 3 days of gusty winds of 40 knots (less than predicted) and thankfully all was well. The anchor was so well bedded in that when we lifted it a few days later it noticeably pulled the bow down before it released. Often the anticipation of what might be is worse than the reality.
To see Carbost and the local area in all its glory visit my next post Ep 34 it is another must visit place and one where we felt quite at home.
Fearless Inspiration
Our fear of messing up should give way to the only real danger there is, that of never trying.
Alain de Botton
Hope you enjoyed this insight into our world and I wish you happy times, fair winds and great adventure. Until next week stay safe xxx
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