... and then

Then we were out on Freyja again, dodging the incoming traffic - yachts, fishing boats and things that looked like they were fish farm related - to have a little sail around the outer harbour with our new deckhand Catherine.

And a lovely sail it was too going this way and that, breezing along at up to 5.5knts and doing the usual fighting with the mechanical paddling device.

All worth it hough as everyone enjoyed the day.

Now!

Oh what a lovely days sailing from Cromor to Stornoway. Once the reluctant Parsun outboard had been removed and the Honda 2.3 put in it's place. Was wasted before we started after doing that lot. The Parsun came along for the ride in the blow-up towed behind.

Yes that's sunshine. Eve with her sun hat on and the sea 'raging' behind. This was going out of Cromor and Loch Erisort with what wind there was in our faces. You can see our flag was nearly ripped off its hinges.

The breeze got up once in the Minch and the sailing was grand. Porpoises came our way and watched our interestingly executed tacks out and up.

Oh, twas grand. Just enough wind for 2-3knts an a easy sail to our home mooring.

We got there, just beating the ferry home and annoyingly being over-bobbed by a  leaving French fishing vessel out of Stornoway. Gets us everytime !

Home, to the mooring where we put the Parsun o/b back on the big boat [Leisure 17 ] and typically, it started first time.

I spent the rest of the day varnishing bits of boatee wood and resting while Eve cycle back to Cromor [25 miles] to pick the car up. What a lovely day.

56. Not yet

Look, we had laid plans to get Freyja back. Arranged a lift to her parking place and all but, the weather didn't play ball. Granted the win was in the right direction but perhaps a tad strong. And the water in the Minch was a tad boobly.
Perhaps Tuesday.....

55. Still doon there

There's the wee tub Freyja, nestling as she does onto a buoy in Cromor, a big flash blue boatee keeping her company in the dreich that was the weather. I think it may have been the boatee that was next to the flash Katherine from Aus in Stornoway. Maybe.

Hoping to have Freyja back home in Stornoway before the year is out - weather permitting!

54. Camping aboard

Yes, we did stay aboard the other day in this quiet and calm spot down Loch Erisort way. We like it too.

Looking good from the blow-up.

Looking back to Freyja

53. All flash

No, not our new boat but some tub in from Darwin, Northern Territories. I think that's Australia. Flash as.

52. Oops. It's that time of year again

Almost this time exactly to the day, we had a little mishap on the wee tub Freyja. The forestay came apart whilst out in the Minch. Luckily all ended well despite a nice bruise or two.

Today, we had another - although all ended being sorted easily - for us.

Had a call from William of Cromor earlier at 7am after he in turn had received calls from other locals of Cromore to say our wee tub Freyja was adrift in the harbour after a night of winds and rain. Bother I thought as we got up in a rush and shot down to Cromor [ 40 miles by road] thinking all the time the wee tub was on the rocks or drifting out to sea or something. We arrived in pouring rain and wind to find her tubship on a mooring!

What a relief I can tell you. Apparently, Freyja had dragged anchor and gone over to one side of the harbour but Kenny the Kindly Krofter went out with someone else - believed at this point to be his son - and brought it back to a mooring. We caught them coming back across the land from their boat. Would take nothing for their efforts. What wonderful people there are in the worl. Many thanks Mr Kenny the Kindly Krofter.

Gemma and William made us a welcome coffee, we walked their doggie Benn in the rain and came home - relieved

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