18 and 19 June – Dunvegan, Isle of Skye and Tarbert, Isle of Harris

18 June – Carbost to Dunvegan, Isle of Skye

I served as today’s “navigator” and took pleasure last evening in laying out a multi-leg planned track to Dunvegan yesterday. We will start doing this more regularly aboard SY Encore!
Today was a good-winds and otherwise banner day starting with a short upwind leg, a second hour that afforded beating, a third hour and a half that was close-reaching, and the fourth and final two hours that was broad-reaching.
We initially passed MacLeod’s Maidens west-bound, came across a number of lesser waterfalls than we saw yesterday along a very steep coastline, marveled at sheep that seemed to love sky lining themselves grazing near the edge of greenery-topped cliffs, and passed another beautiful Stevenson family lighthouse built in 1908 that mobbed with tourists.

Harport Departure video

Sailing past Skye Stevenson lighthouse video
Once around the peninsula that formed the western shore of the approach to Dunvegan and its noteworthy castle, all six of us students executed successful upwind man overboard maneuvers using a technique John had developed and perfected over many years. John’s wife Paivi (“pi vee”) took pleasure tossing balled up sheets of newspaper the size of a person’s head into the sea for each one. In turn, each of us executed a simple five step maneuver to affect recovery: 1) one-half turn of the helm away from the wind to heave-to and slow the boat, 2) race to and deploy the Life Sling, 3) turn more in the same direction back toward the person in the water with the aim of passing them within 2 meters and instructing them on donning the life sling, 4) upon reaching them a second time, turn away again into the heaved-to orientation, and 5) drawing them to the boat with the Life Sling. The methodical steps with which one learns to parallel park blind-folded come to mind. All six drills went like clockwork.
No sooner had we completed them and turned toward Dunvegan, we encountered a large pod of Harbor Dolphins that swam to visit us close-aboard for a short time cavorting along both sides of Cloud Nine.
Dolphin video
And not long after that we observed Gannets dive-bombing for fish. One quartet of them wheeled over in unison from 40-50 feet in the air, stretched out their necks, and rocketed into the water at almost the same instant some 250 yards south of us.
Gannet2 video
While I didn’t capture the quartet dive, I did capture this nice video.
Soon we spotted Dunvegan Castle – the oldest continuously occupied castle and within the same family for a mind-blowing 500 years. In the following pictures, we approach the castle and document a portion of the anchoring process used three times during the expedition.

Anchoring video

I was a pleasure to drop the hook not far from a very large, well-preserved, and fully functional gaff-rigged ketch over which the sun set a few hours later.

Bird Notes: (Late Bird Note Entry – from 17 June: Manx Shearwater, Atlantic Puffin, Gannet)
Today: Eurasian Wren, Wood Pigeon, Eurasian Oystercatchers

19 June – Dunvegan, Isle of Skye to Tarbert, Isle of Harris

After a leisurely and delicious breakfast, we took the dinghy ashore to visit both the interior of Dunvegan Castle and its incredible environs of extensive water gardens, wooded gardens, and walled gardens. Several pictures follow taken both inside and outside the castle.

It is said that one of the early Leods grabbed by the horns a bull that was attacking a fellow man, wrestled it to the ground, and killed it, hence the family slogan “Hold Fast.”

The 19th “Chief” of Dunvegan Castle, “probably” Jan Breac, 1633-1693

The Great Sword above is made of Scottish, not German, steel. While not dated, it would have been used by early MacLeod clan chiefs. The punch line of the Dungeon plaque reads “In the thickness of the walls, between the Dungeon and the present-day Drawing Room is the staircase from which food was carried up from the kitchens into the Great Hall of the Keep in medieval times. This was a refinement of torture for the prisoners, who were able to smell the food through the slit window while slowly starving to death.” Pays to not screw up badly.

An impressive chair and foot stool (left), and the waistcoat of Bonnie Prince Charlie (right)

Snapshots of a wide variety of flowers in the Dunvegan water garden. The gardens in total were worth the price of admission, and we were fortunate to arrive in spring.

Two shots taken of castle and bay on the way back to Cloud Nine.

From our visit to this castle, we garnered a much deeper perspective of a significant portion of Scottish history dating to the settling of the Hebrides by Celts (“selts”) and, later, Vikings from which arose the MacLeod family.

We got underway on a glassy sea which persisted until around 1330 when a NE breeze began rippling the sea.

We spotted several small porpoises inside the bay whose behavior resembled that of our Dalls Porpoises in the northwest. We also met up with the same pod of larger dolphins seen yesterday at the mouth of the bay and not long after spotted the Shiant Islands visible as we crossed The Little Minch. There we also encountered a “bait ball” of small fish being dined upon by numerous diving birds including dive-bombing Gannets.

We set up for jibe preventer operations at sea but winds did not cooperate to execute them alas. Nonetheless, we now know the correct way to do this procedure to avoid breaking the boom in two!

Not long after tying up at the town wharf of Tarbert which lies at the junction of North and South Harris Islands, we took a short walk visiting the Atlantic Ocean a fifteen minute walk west and some shops.

The Atlantic Ocean lies behind us. Tarbert was a portage a millennium ago – a easier path to haul Viking boats than to row/sail them around Harris Island.

Many Scottish folk aren’t amused by our current administration’s fettish of attempting to buy other countries. I learned that the uncharacteristic red and white one is the flag of Greenland.

Tarbert has its very own distillery and right at the head of the bay near downtown! Drawn to The Harris Distillery by advertisement that a traveling trio, the “Hank Band”, would be playing this evening, we returned after dinner. I sampled their two whisky varieties, one aged in bourbon casks, the other, in Oroloso sherry casks, and found first very much to my liking. The distillery also produces gin.

Pepe, Donny, and Theo, left to right, were a total delight to listen to. We picked up a couple of their CDs.

The distinct portage notch between North and South Harris back-dropped at sunset.

Bird Notes: (observed at Dunvegan castle) Eurasian Wren, Eurasian Blackcap, Eurasian Blackbird, Arctic Tern, Song Thrush, Coal Tit.

20 June – the village of Erisort by way of the Shiant Islands

While we did not even make an attempt to sail out to St. Kilda Island, we did find magic in the Shiants. A two-hour motor sail northeast of Tarbert brought Cloud Nine to this most incredible marine bird sanctuary. at which we dropped anchor for lunch and admired the continuing spectacle of huge numbers of Gannets, Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Cormorants, and – closer to the islands – Fulmars.

Before departing Tarbert, we took a longer walk both up the hill to the south and around town captured in the snapshots below. The small red roofed house is owned by an older fellow named Jeff who purchased it five years ago and has turned it into a perfectly awesome little abode which he intends to offer as an Air BnB. There will be a line!

A most charismatic Sheep Dog!

Mailing postcards home

Cloud Nine across from the ferry terminal

View from the top of a lower hill. Wet feet from boggy peat!

Tarbert Bay from on high (left), Cotton Flower, of which there were many, (right)

Jeff’s house inside and out.

On the way out to the Shiants, we passed yet another Stevenson lighthouse. There are 97 of these incredible buildings throughout Scotland.

Though very hard to see (look for tiny white specs especially in the shadows), there are swarms of Puffins both flying over the north Shiant Island and all over the hillside.

For a more in-depth perspective, I encourage viewers to watch episode 189 of “Sailing Yacht Florence” on YouTube.

Bird Notes: Observed at and about the Shiant Islands: Gannet, Atlantic Puffin, Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar