Arctica Cruising Blog

A Change in the Weather | Click photo to enlarge

Originally uploaded by arctica

We were joined for lunch by Ken and Ann, who drove over from Kirkwall in
their open-top sports car. A Caterham 7, its dark green body, yellow
nose and red leather seats drew admiring glances in Stromness. Soon
after, Seol na Mara arrived with crew of Peter, Neil and Angus. In the
evening we had a lively ceilidh with everyone in good form. We left
early next morning for the crossing to the N coast, and motored in
bright sunshine and a smooth sea across to Talmine, at the mouth of the
Kyle of Tongue. Five miles out from Hoy and in deep water we were caught
on a fishing buoy, but fortunately got it detached without difficulty.
After dinner some showers started drifting over – the first rain for
many weeks. Another still, bright morning saw us motoring again, west to
Cape Wrath (photo) and south to Kinlochbervie. On the way we saw the
spectacular sight of killer whales breaching repeatedly. Once berthed,
we watched the cockpit thermometer rise steadily to an oppressive 99.7F
(37.6C) but before it could reach 100F there was a dramatic weather
change. In the space of minutes the sky darkened, lightning flashed,
thunder rolled, a sudden howling wind shook the boat and the rain beat
down in torrents. It was certainly dramatic if not downright scary!