11. The anchor and the mooring rope

They are, it has to be said, nicely entwined. It's not that I wanted it that way but in the recent blows the anchor chain was swept overboard on the mooring and when I went out today to sort it, I found the little enmeshment.

Try as I might to lift the chain of the anchor, it was firmly wrapped around the mooring lines. The whole job lot was beginning to come up, the chain was taught across the rubbing strake on the front side bit while the mooring rope was slack. I did a bit of jiggery pokery and dropped one end of the chain down into the depths and hung the other end on the end of the anchor rope in the water to take the strain off the side of the boat. In retrospect, perhaps I should have hung the anchor chain on a buoy and sorted the thing out in a low tide. In fact I shall have to do that in the end anyway!

Luckily, I saw Trevor  of Iron-Bark fame coming out of the newspaper shoppe and told him the tale. He intimated I had done the right thing for the moment so I came home relived although somewhat tired after my extertions.

I haven't mentioned the mechanical paddling device on the blow-up stopping in the middle of the harbour have I? Well I have now as it did. I rowed purposefully looking relaxed as I could to the nearest pontoon by the lifeboat as it happens - hoping the coxswain wouldn't see my antics where, in a cloud of oil smoke I got the O/B going again.

10. I need another trip to the wee tub

Took a stroll out with Eve in the 'weather' today to see if Freyja was managing in the inclement weather of late. Constant gales have been battering the island. A fishing boat sank off the north end of the isles recently but all hands were saved by the wonderful coastguard helichopter people.

We gazed out from the pathway on the castle grounds over to Sober Island near where Freyja is parked. Something didn't look quite right but it took a while to work out what it was. The mooring bauble had gone and, the anchor chain seemed to be in the water making the wee tub lay oddly. I shall have to pop out, when the weather in kinder and sort her - or better still, bring her in to a nice dry barn.

Eve, bauble holding looks out to Freyja and her pals

Luckily, Eve found the offending bauble and we retrieved for re-attaching at another time. Would welcome some thoughts how we should attach the thing better to the mooring string if you have any ideas!

9. She is still there

I took a chance to shoot out to the good tub Freyja in the blow-up to check her well-being after the near constant gales of late. Found her needing a bit of TLC to be honest.

Took in things that had fallen off, sorted the boom that had somehow slid down the mast groove thing and re-taped the pudding bowl that is the temporary ventilation cover. Nothing but the best. I noticed too that the blow-up mechanical paddling device seems to dropping oil as we went - so there's another just.

It started raining again moments after I set foot on land!

At least Freyja is fairing better than my pal's boat which got blown off her trailer in the village onto her side.

8. I think it's officially winter.

Coming back in the late afternoon afters a Christmas Week sail

See, the sky was a tad brighter earlier on

The weather is still a little brisk at the moment. Todays vaguely planned trip out to Freyja on her swinging mooring in the blow-up was thwarted as soon as I looked out the window this morning if I'm honest. The plan was sort of there but the thought of carrying the mechanical paddling device from the wee housey to the car and later to the blow-up - once I'd emptied the thing of accumulated rainwater - soon wore off. Especially since I was a tab weary from a couple of days mad driving around the island at night chasing miscreants from here to there - in the wind and snow and what have you. 

So, hopefully the tub Freyja is still ok. She looks ok from the harbour side anyway :-)

7. a bit of a breeze

She is still afloat and seems ok after the 113 mph gusts last night. House seems ok too but car took a bashing and The Cat-HHHCB- has a cut foot from broken glass. Eve and I are tired after a sleepless night!

6. The year ahead

Freyja is still in the water - bobbing about on her swinging mooring over by Sober Island in Stornoway. As it happens it is fairly sheltered there which is just as well as there is another blow coming in.

She needs to come out and be tickled back her glory so I am waiting for the day when the man with the car to trail the trailer is available, when some more muscle is also around, the tide is right with not much wind or ice. And so on. Hoping this might happen before the end of the year. 2015. You know, this year.

There's Freyja's bottom to clean and coat with a fresh coat of anti foul. The woodwork needs a slight bit of attention before it all falls into the harbour and there's other things to do too.

I do rather like this winter sailing lark though - when it's calmer that is. And now we have some warm gear to wear too it's doubly lovely. The sun is surprisingly warm when the breeze is soft - a far cry from last summer whn I found myself having to hide out of the direct sun and Eve took to her sun hat!