Aleria's Jaunt to Scotland: 24 July 2013, Loch Tuath, between Mull and Ulva
Catabatic winds blowing down Skye as we depart The day of the winds It was heavily overcast, but a nice breeze of 10-15 knots as promised, as we prepared to get underway. We hoisted the main and mizzen and made way by 0830, heading down the Loch Harport with the tide but directly into the wind. As we turned the last corner by the light house where we thought we’d be sailing, the wind started cranking up really fast: 20, 23, 25, 27, 29, 33. Oh my, the boat ahead of us in full sail was getting hammered. Suddenly, it was slammed to the water, broaching as it rounded up. Alex puts two reefs in the mainsail Aleria is not as easy a pushover, but seeing that, Alex quickly went forward and double reefed the main as the wind stabilized at around 27 knots. The boat ahead of us did the same. We suspected katabatic winds, and so we power sailed through it, mostly on the nose. It suddenly dropped from 27 knots to 17, and we were sa...