Anchorage: Loch Mariveg
Position: 58° 05’.300N 006° 23’.400W
Distance Travelled: 46 NM

A rainy morning followed a rainy night at Loch Maddy, but a wee otter bobbing around the boat as we lifted the anchor was a good start to the day. We left the loch, turned left and headed north, alternately motoring and sailing, making our way past the rugged scenery of Lewis’ east coast via the Shiants. Lots of good porpoise sightings, in spite of the marginal conditions, as well as a small group of common dolphins, one of which was repeatedly tail-slapping. The rain rained, then the sun shone, and the rain rained again. Then the wind blew and, all-too-late, the crew realised the fatal flaw in the idea of serving up popcorn on deck, as a whole bowlful swiftly took flight and distributed itself across the Western Isles. However, by the time we reached Loch Mariveg, the weather had calmed, turning into a beautiful evening. We won’t tell you how peaceful and pretty our anchorage is tonight, because we want to keep it a secret. Suffice to say, the Skipper thinks we’ve left the planet, as it’s so sheltered there’s no GPS signal. We’re pretty happy here, and have had a gorgeous trip ashore, watching the seals bobbing and the terns swooping.