Date: Tuesday 15th September
Anchorage: Loch Scresort, Rum
Position: 57°00’.747N, 06°16’.194W
Distance: 43.3NM

Our mornings seem to begin with the same routine: breakfast around 7:30, reeling in the anchor, and a nice welcome-to-the-sea by a basking shark within minutes of our departure. Today was no different. However, having had an unforgettable and unbelievably rich day yesterday, the sea seemed to be void of marine life except the random rubbish spotting, creel, and occasional bird losing the battle against the Aeolus. Most of the day was spent in shoddy weather and choppy seas. Compared to the other days of the trip we went out, the sea was quite choppy, but according to Nienke, this was about an average sea for this area. We got to Rum safe and sound around 5:30. To our dismay and frustration, the windlis was out of order and the anchor was dragging. This problem proves especially aggravating for the two ladies, Laura and Sharon, inhabiting the front room, for the anchor locker is behind their mirror. They probably should be lauded for their efforts because the inoperable windlis makes the job of stowing the anchor excruciatingly longer than usual. However, thanks to the amazing supervision of Federico the ladies enjoy classic tunes with lyrics about chains as they are stowing the chain - thanks Federico. Hah! We went onto Rum’s remote shore and took advantage of a nice, hot, luxurious shower in a castle! From the looks of it, Rum has population of approximately 12. With most of the island kept as a preservation site, we deduced from the few houses dotting the shore that the population was smaller than most of our primary-school classes. Oh, and how could we forget the pub and wild blackberries. Dinner was a delicious meal of stir-fried chicken and rice prepared by Sharon. MMM! As any other night, the crew spent hours laughing, talking, and debating about various topics in the saloon after dinner. Tonight’s discussions included the origin of Rum’s name, discrepancies between the various international higher-education systems (with American schools being despicably over priced), the violations of EU law by many mainland Europe youth hostels implementing an age limit, and a variety of other ear-perking topics. Tomorrow is our last full day at sea, and we expect it to be a glorious day!