057:32.121 N
005:59.427 W

Acarseid Mhor anchorage, Rona Island

Last night’s anchorage was an absolute gem. Being there on TC was like being on a floating bird hide, there was spectacular wildlife all round and once anchored, everyone ignored us and continued on with their lives.

Seals came and went all evening and this morning, and a very loud Cuckoo was the last to sleep and first to wake; neither of us have been so close to its haunting sound which was coming from somewhere in the canopy. At low water, a large rock at the entrance was being used by 10+ grey seals; as the tide rose, one by one they flopped off into the water. When we left today it was low water again so they were all back in position and watched us as we ghosted past.

It was a short hop today across Skye’s Inner Sound, going downwind with the afternoon tide and the only yacht visible.

Today’s passage was a bit more eventful that we would have liked as the route went between two rocky islands south of Rona. The passage looked great on the chart but in reality we had full rig up and were hit by strong gusts just as we entered. Weaving our way through with the swell that was picking up our stern as we met wind against tide turned gentle goosewinging into quite a surreal 10+ minutes.

And that was just the warm up; we’d found Rona Island on the chart and thought that looked like a lovely sheltered spot. It is, but only because it is via a tortuous rocky route into a hidden cove with high sides. Four boats at anchor meant it was ‘full’ so we have now anchored in the fairway and are trusting no-one to come in here after dark. Thank goodness for electronic charts which give so much detail, we wouldn’t have dared come in here otherwise.

But it’s a treat to be in another stunning anchorage, not many photos today as we were both so focussed on getting here but we’ve included a detail snapshot of our fiddly route into the anchorage.