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| Morning brings dense fog yet again |
Bumper boats and and crystal waters
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| Onyx watching the action |
We decided it was so beautiful, we’d stay an extra day in
Tinker’s Hole. Besides, overnight a fog settled in so we used that as an excuse
– we wanted to be able to actually see Iona! We’d been moving about every day
and sometimes twice a day, and we just needed to chill. That’s what cruising is
supposed to be. Drop anchor and stay awhile. So we were permitting ourselves an extra day.
It was a beautiful sultry morning, people postponed departure until the fog lifted, but all the boats eventually left except one other.
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| Cleaning the waterline |
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| Young girl rowing dog ashore and back |
The wind had died completely as predicted, and we were now
just floating aimlessly, drifting around in circles with the current. At slack
water, however, things changed. We were on overlapping circles and with no
wind, we were now heading toward each other.
Fortunately, things like that happen slowly, and Alex happened to go on
deck and was able to fend off. We decided that we would move because the other boat
had been here before us. As we describe in the etiquette chapter of our book,
Happy Hooking, the first boat has
precedence. We have to follow our own
advice! So we pulled up anchor and found another, much better spot a bit further
back. Perfect. Now we could swing and not encounter anything solid along the
way. As long as no one else came in.
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| Boaters swinging, fishing, and relaxing |
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| Kids climbing and jumping in |
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| Boats leave as fog lifts to reveal stunning beauty |
It got progressively warmer as the day went on. One boat
came in, anchored, then left. Another of the original boats came back after a
visit to Iona. So we were three for the night. How fortunate. It was hot and
humid and still. We sat and read and
enjoyed each other’s company all day.
Alex, as usual, futzed with projects as he got antsy, and I toyed with
the thought of a swim but never got past my toes. Instead, I made great progress in reading,
having finished Lin Pardey’s
Bull Canyon
and moved on to the next
Game of Thrones
book. I imagined being surrounded by wildlings high above
us along the walls of rock.
It was a perfect day in the perfect anchorage.
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| A group of kayakers passing through |
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| One other boat spends the night |
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| We get the anchorage almost to ourselves |
We thought about going for a hike up the rock walls, but
watching people scramble up the giant boulders looked like too much work for
such a fine day (and for bad knees). We learned later that
the vistas from the top of Erraid down to the anchorage and across the Sound of
Iona in one direction and to the Paps of Jura in the other, are stunning. There is an old observatory at the top of
Erraid that used to be for communications with the Dubh Artach Lighthouse. It is unlocked and contains a bench in front
of the windows where you can gaze out and imagine waiting to see the light back
in the days before radio. Oh well. Another time. This time we did not feel compelled to do much at all.
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| Seaweed in crystal waters |
The water here was crystal clear and the most beautiful
shade of blue against the red rock canyon. Seaweed forests were swaying
seductively in the current, beckoning from below. I suppose that snorkelling here would be
delightful, but neither of us could bear the thought of cold water, even though
Alex had brought his wetsuit.
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| Beautiful night in Tinker's Hole |
Another beautiful day. Another gorgeous sunset. Another
night in the cradle. Onyx was happy once
again.
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