Day 8 Thursday April 18th At sea!

 Our mystery tour continues - at the moment I would not say it is magical but it is proving very interesting.  We were due to land on Vatersay via the revised itinerary but we learnt late last night that would not be the case because of sea conditions by talking to another passenger.  We learnt early this morning that we are now going to the Isle of Skye, to Dunvegan Castle, which is situated on a sheltered loch.  The castle has good history and some gardens to peruse and so we were happy with that.  We continued northwards and turned into the loch 

Loch Vendegan shore

and settled on an anchorage at about 1130.  No Hurtiguten ship had ever been in this loch before and anchored here.  We stopped and we could see that the water round the ship was still choppy and we said at the time we did not think it was fit conditions to travel in the inflatable boats to the quay.  We sat for a time and then it was announced 

white tailed eagle

that the boat crew were still assessing conditions.  One good point was that a white tailed eagle was spotted in a tree on a nearby islet.  We could see the castle near the coast but at this point were unable to visit.  Eventually it 

Castle Vendegan

was decided we would not be able to land because of wind conditions.  We heard the anchor being pulled up and we changed our position several times but did not make much progress.  Soon one of the ship's ribs was launched with men with strops and rope, they went to the bow of the boat and after a few minutes returned and we were underway.  We are assuming that the anchor became stuck and needed some help to be released - another little bit of drama for seafaring folk.  

Outer Hebrides Ferry

We progressed OK from then on, the sea was a bit rough and a ferry from the Outer Hebrides passed near us on her way to the mainland.  The rest of the day passed peacefully in the restaurant (excellent meal) and in our cabin.