Sun, sea and …rocks

Sunday 8 – Tuesday 17 July

The sun shines – almost all day and night – it is still never darker than dusk, with a sunset glow in the Northern sky that fades only as the new day dawns. The wind…is mere zephyrs: when it’s in the right direction, we drift along under genoa, blissfully peaceful after the hours spent chugging along under motor.

The scenery is spectacular: small, isolated boulders make ideal perches for any number of seabirds; granite rocks in pink and cream, as well as grey, smoothed by ancient glaciers, somehow support and sustain substantial growth of conifer and birch trees, with occasional splashes of brightly coloured wild flowers at their feet; some islands are edged with several species of reeds, their feathery heads whispering in the breeze. We weave a careful track along well-marked channels, some wide like a lake, others narrow and high-sided like a gorge, and everywhere are wooden cottages, snug among the treetrunks or perched precariously atop the granite.

It is peak holiday season here, and the main water highways are crowded with yachts of all sizes, motorboats tearing around disturbing the peace and bouncing us around in their wake, and ferries plying the inter-island connections. Towards evening we pinpoint a cluster of islands, selecting a deeply indented bay to tuck into for our night at anchor, sheltered from whatever wind may be predicted. Local custom is that if the banner is flying, the neighbours are in residence (just like the Royal Standard over Buckingham Palace), and visiting craft are encouraged not to lie within sight of the windows.

Another local custom is to moor tied bows to a rock, with the stern secured to a buoy or anchor; we haven’t attempted that yet, and so attract curiosity by floating ‘free’ at our heavy bow anchor, unencumbered by land or too many unwelcome guests of the buzzing, flying variety. Apart from the stress of driving straight towards an unforgiving lump of stone (so far we’re maintaining our 100% record of not bumping into the scenery – at least that visible above the water surface), a great advantage of this method is that we achieve natural air conditioning, as the boat will always swing into the wind, which is scooped by the gaping hatches down into the cabin. As a bonus, the view from below is constantly changing.

From the decks, we’ve spotted a number of sea eagles, another bird of prey, perhaps a European variety of buzzard, or possibly an eagle? Water birds include grebe with chicks, swans and cygnets, heron, tern, cormorant and several species of gull. On land we’ve seen a doe and her fawn, a glimpse of another roe deer, and a small herd of Belted Galloway cattle. Further off was another group of cows, possibly Highland or Angus, horned and shaggy-coated.

Some anchorages are good for a second night, in case new sights every day are not relaxing enough. Mate takes advantage of Skipper’s designated ‘lazy days’ to work on mosquito nets, custom made to fit the various apertures needing protection.

Allures, and of course specifically l’Escale, are the perfect choice for this type of cruising: the lifting centreboard means we can slide through much shallower water than most yachts of our size, (even many smaller boats have much more restrictive draft) while our water tank volume, capacious fridge and appropriate sanitary provision encourage us to be completely independent for days at a time. We carry a flexible wardrobe of sails, suited to a range of weather conditions, and our powerful engine carries us effortlessly, thanks to generously-sized diesel tanks.