Whales and radar

Saturday 27th June

A couple of slightly disappointing days from a sailing perspective, but there were compensations.

Thursday started with a short sail, but the wind quickly died off and we motored about 60 miles to Lossiemouth under greyish skies and occasional rain showers.  All a bit of a slog really, but we were then delighted by 'Lossie' itself which is a lovely small town with an amazing sandy beach which stretches into the distance - almost as far as the eye can see.

The forecast for Friday was much more promising, with Southeasterly Force 3 to 4 on the menu. Sadly the  Clerk of the Weather had other ideas and again we had to motor.  That said, the coastal scenery continues to be spectacular and quite varied.  Multicoloured cliffs with green hills beyond and also sand dunes and mountains lit by watery sunshine.

And then (YES!) a small 'Minke' whale came to say hello.  He stayed around for a short while and then dived away.  Quite a welcome to the highlands.

Later in the day the rain and mist became heavier and we needed to resort to radar for our approach to Inverness though the Chanonry Narrows.  The tides run hard here and it meant we had to take great care, but it was a great team effort and all went well.  And then, just as we were running down the Firth, the clouds lifted and unveiled spectacular mountains all round us. Really lovely and exactly what we came for!

Debbie joins us today for the trip down the Caledonian Canal and beyond.