A turning point

Yesterday was another bright, sunny day. We had planned to head for Loch Laxford, just south of Kinlochbervie, but following a short anchor stop at the Badcall Islands, we decided that conditions were right for making for Cape Wrath. Despite what people may think, the name of Britain's most northwesterly headland has nothing to do with the angry, rageful seas that are common here, but is in fact derived from the Norse word 'hvarf' meaning 'a turning point'. And it really is a turning point for us. For the last 6 weeks our sole objective has been to head north, now we have turned the corner and are heading for a completely different part of Scotland, both culturally and geographically. Once safely anchored in Loch Eriboll we heated up our pre-prepared chilli (which was much needed as a cold northerly breeze was picking up) and cracked open the bottle of champagne which our friends Sam and Mags had given to us to celebrate this milestone. This voyage has been so much more challenging than we had anticipated and there have been times when it felt like we'd never get here, but we persevered and here we are, further north than either of us have sailed before.

Today we woke to a different picture. Grey, stormy sky, rain and a force 6 from the north. We weren't going anywhere so we stayed in bed until midday! We had an extremely lazy day - reading, preparing food for tomorrow, showering (more complex than on land believe me) and reading up on the next part of our journey. We were kept entertained by Isles Radio which is broadcast from Stornoway. It's not quite like Naked Video's 'OHBC News' sketch but not far off either! We are currently listening to the Indy music programme which sounds like it is being broadcast from a teenage girl's bedroom. Actually it probably is...

We're all set for heading for Orkney tomorrow. Weather permitting we'll be off at 0400 in order to arrive at the Sound of Hoy before the 6 knot tide sets in. If conditions are poor when we get out there then we'll make for Scrabster instead.


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