Mackerel at Last!

We set off from Muck at midday, to catch the north-going tide.
Our route took us past the east coast of Eigg and on past Rum to the southeast corner of Skye.

Passing the East Coast of Eigg

The day was sunny and  we sailed slowly in light winds.  I decided this was a great opportunity to try out my new Scottish mackerel lures (purchased in Tobermory).  Maybe these would work where my English ones had been a complete failure so far..

I set the line as we sailed between Muck and Eigg and very soon felt the line go taut...   Hey, hey, hey I had 3 mackerel on my line!  Unfortunately, one jumped off as I was pulling the line in but never mind.  So Scottish mackerel need Scottish fishing gear - maybe?

Our First Mackerel - at last!
It was strange to be sailing past islands we now knew so well but we continued north towards the jagged outline of Skye and her impressive mountain ranges.

We sailed up the west side of the Sleat peninsular on Skye and then turned east to tackle the tricky entrance to Lock Eishort.  At this point, we dropped our sails and motored carefully through the winding passage with its unmarked rocks that leads to the anchorage at Heast Island.  We relied on our GPS chartplotter and Bob Bradfield's "Antares" chart of the entrance, displayed on our iPad.  Bob has made it his task to produce specialist local charts of the more difficult areas of western Scotland frequented by yachts.

We were glad to have arrived safely as we dropped anchor at 7:00 pm amongst the prawn fishing boats.

Anchored At Heast in Loch Eishort
With its difficult entrance and lack of local facilities, Loch Eishort is not often visited by yachts.  However, this was the place where Doug had spent a very enjoyable holiday 43 years ago and he was keen to take a trip down memory lane :)


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