Escaping Dunstaffnage, Loch Aline again and a soggy Tobermory

The Welsh connection - Andrew and Linda said that they would bring some sun with them. This was their offering:

However, it didn't seem to be working too well as we headed off in grey gloom (a pattern building here) to escape Dunstaffnage and the lovely memories of our stay. The only sad bit was saying bye to John, Irene and Archie. Escaping into the grey:

As you can see, we were still going topless. Only force 6 gusts but we didn't have the time to refit the bimini cover and get to Loch Aline before low water when the entrance gets a touch shallow and interesting. (Thanks to the crew of Genesis for the pictures!)

The trip over there had a hint of bump with some residual waves and no great views thanks to the unending grey stuff called the sky up here at present. As before, they had reserved a nice hammerhead berth for us which we gladly popped onto/ Less exciting was hearing stories of how sheltered the Loch Aline folks had been 2 nights ago when we were being beaten up in Oban!

Before we refitted the bimini cover, Andrew did his mountain goat impression, climbed the stack and cleaned off the accumulated green goo:

He is quite a star. Then he got closer to them:

 A wander around the village was then needed and enjoyed, a good leg stretch for all of us.

With more biblical rain forecast, we decided to hole up in Tobermory for a while on the theory that there are a few shops and other bits and bobs there unlike Loch Aline which is very beautiful but a bit bare in driving rain! So, the next morning we got ready and headed west again, hoping to make it to Tobermory just as the people who had berthed there were leaving and making some space. Another gloomy grey trip so no nice pictures, However, as we were approaching the bay, a Canadian flagged large Halberg-Rassy yacht put on a spurt and headed past us under engine. Guess what, they were "rushing" to get into the harbour before us. Later on we met the German owner and realised that he was behaving that way as the harbour authority would not let him put a towel on the pontoons to reserve them......

Despite his best efforts, there was still space for us and we trussed ourselves up ready for more rain and wind. Lovely. Welcome to Scotland Andrew and Linda.

Whilst there, we amused ourselves in the Western Isles Hotel. A beautiful building in need of some serious TLC which, the new owner explained, they were now arranging. Once finished, it will be quite a spot. We found that he also owned the West Loch Tarbert hotel that we had visited for the Captain's birthday last year. Here is a reminder:

The Tobermory place is not quite up to that standard yet..... However, the coffee was good and the WiFi way better than the harbour offering (ie it worked) so we whiled away a happy few hours there avoiding the downpours.