Next Country: Scotland

[Kyle]The morning we left Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland for Scotland, the weather had turned back from warm and summery to thick, low clouds. Once we got out of the harbor, it started to drizzle and then rain. The visibility got worse and the wind died down to almost nothing. We put up the mainsail and the screacher to give them a good rinse. The current pushed us around the south side of Rathlin and then filled in from the north. As we were headed east, we turned a little to the north away from the South wind to maintain our course. As we got further into deep water, the current rose from 3 to 4, then 4.5 knots. The wind started to die off. Soon, we were headed 70 degrees to our intended course. Soon after that, we were enshrouded in rain and fog and being hopelessly swept toward Wales. The current would reverse in several hours but then we would be fighting both it and the wind to keep from being swept completely north of the Clyde. On came the engine. Oh, well. We needed the full set of electrics on for the fog anyway; radar, foghorn and lights. Fortunately, there was no traffic to worry about while crossing the shipping lanes. The radar only showed the areas of heavy rain that kept overtaking us.

When we finally arrived on the Scottish side, we could hardly see it. All that was visible through the fog and rain was mountainside with all of the contrast bled out. We found our anchorage on the north side of Sanda Island and found a spot tucked sufficiently behind the point to protect us from the next day’s forecast winds. Within ten minutes of our arrival, 3 more boats showed up out if the fog and anchored. We had all apparently planned to arrive right at high tide. Going ashore in the rain had little appeal so we took a much needed nap. (We had been up yucking it up with another boat a little late the night before). We were awakened by the sun streaming through the window. There were patches of blue sky!

We had planned to just stay in for the night and go ashore the next day but then we watched all of the other boats go ashore. Feeling conspicuous in our absence, we decided we should go as well. We went to the pub for a drink and to introduce ourselves. Having a boat flying an American flag around here is a great ice breaker. Usually, the first question we get asked is, ‘Did you actually sail that little boat here?’ When we answer ‘yes’, we suddenly become minor celebrities. We spent most of the evening chatting to three friends on another boat: two retired high-speed ferry captains and a schoolteacher from Northern Ireland. Before we knew it, it was dark and time for us to all head back to our respective boats and leave the Island to its three residents so they could get some sleep.

Sanda Island, Population 3! taken from nearby Sheep Island