Very breezy, yes, Force 6 at times, but stormy? Four boats from the club set sail for Gairloch on the traditional Storm Cruise on September 18th. Kumari with Sandy, John and Andy aboard, and Sally with Adrian and Paul, set off on Friday afternoon, and after some discussion as to whether they should press on, opted to raft up in Tanera Beag for the night, where corks were drawn.
Another early start on Sunday saw some tremendous (indeed record) speeds recorded by Sally: peaking at 8.7 knots in surges, with full main and working jib, once round the corner, broad reaching for Greenstone. The Green Boat under headsails for a while was a couple of leagues behind, while Kumari was tucked in under Cailleach Head, hanging to a creel raft, her crew well into the second can when Sally pitched up around lunch time.
Far from the usual thrash back up the loch, the wind had dropped to a whisper for the motor home to Ullapool. Highlights of the trip were dolphins, a basking shark and (yes!) twites. Lots of them.
Short, at times rough, fast, hard on the wind, bowling downwind in big seas, under engine - a typical sailing weekend in these high latitudes and a fitting end to a mixed season.