From Canna we headed over to Barra – unfortunately no wind so we motored. Fortunately, the wind did come around and we had a nice sail for the last 2 – 3 hours on a gorgeous day.
We anchored in Castlebay – giving the ferry terminal a wide berth (I thought…). Another sailboat came close past us and told us that the Harbourmaster had suggested we might want to move Toodle-oo! since we’d be right in the road. So we did… Sure enough, a couple of hours later a BIG ferry comes in and would have most definitely plowed us under if we’d stayed!
Castlebay was a bit of a bust – though at least we were able to stock up on some provisions at the Co-op and got a wifi fix at the farmers cooperative – as well as doing some laundry. However, with significant winds from the north, it was the sensible option with good shelter.
After a couple of days we moved the 4 miles or so down to Vatersay – famous for it’s white sand beach – which could have come straight out of the Caribbean – though unfortunately everyone was wearing winter coats instead of skimpy bathers! We had a lovely walk around the island – the only complaint for which is that they tend to leave dead agricultural implements all over the place!
Deserted village on south Vatersay
Just one of the splendid beaches
Yours trully
Magnificent beach
After Vatersay, we had a lovely sail up to Eriksay and parked ourselves in a tiny natural harbour with a fishing pier. The fishermen were really pretty productive and we watched them unloading their catches of crabs and lobsters – quite the harvest. A couple of crabs and a lobster made it onto Toodle-oo! and we had a fine feast!
Delicious Crab and Lobster
Wind is due to come in strong from the north, so we set off a little earlier than planned, all the way up to East Loch Tarbert some 55 miles away. Again, we started off motoring but a fine wind filled in and we had a great sail into Tarbert where we anchored in a ridiculously small bay with seals all around us.
He sees me…
Ready for a swim?
We’ll probably move around to the pontoon in Tarbert (if there is one) so that we can grab wifi and hopefully partake of a laundry facility – the cruisers constant concern!