We assembled back at the boat and headed off to Bororay – this is truly the Lost World – cloud permanently on its peaks and completely covered with sea birds. Skuas were attacking fulmers by harrassing them so much they would vomit, then the Skuas would tuck in to what came up – isn’t Nature wonderful. Sheep, and bird counters’ tents clung to the steep grass sides and the stacks, where islanders were shipwrecked and survived a year before being rescued by a passing ship (only to find that their village had been hit by smallpox so their isolation saved them), menaced above us. We were all stunned with the beauty and majestic views and it was with a twinge of sadness we all saw the islands sink into the distance as we motored across to the Monachs. Rosie was still smiling though.
The most amazing thing happened then – and I am certain it was just Murty’s chums in scuba diving equipment as he had promised we would see them – first one and then many rare basking sharks were around the boat. We counted 7 or 8 – one baby and two were mating! Twenty feet sharks circling the boat and all caught on countless camera shots and video. Magnificent and then whilst filming them a minke jumped out of the water a few hundred yards in front of us, twice, and not a single photo. Fortunately it is more Gums than Jaws as they only eat plankton but magnificent all the same.
We reached the Monachs after an amazingly calm and flat Atlantic to find the wind starting to get up and we locked everything up for the storm. The Monach lighthouse is back in business after 50 odd years of being disused and what a magnificent building it is. We awoke the next day to see a stormy sea and Murty eager to get us in the water! We went rock hopping around the island with Murty shouting paddling advice and then it was out into the sea – we put in to a smelly seaweed bay after some tiring crossings and decided to walk for a while in the strong winds to a bay for lunch before paddling back to the boat with biscuits and more chocolate from Andrea on a slip of sand that was disappearing fast.
The weather now got really bad – we motored northwards to Scarp but couldn’t make it and put in to a sea loch to recover – force 9 gales were slamming the boat and it didn’t make sense to press on in these conditions – we were leaving the floor on several occasions. The next day didn’t improve so it was a case of living with big waves on the beam tipping us up to the gunwhales until Scarp and then it was not really kayakable so we continued on up to Uig on Lewis. We stopped at Pabbaigh Mor where Jim, Linda and I clambered up a small cliff from the rib (wot no jetty) and walked around the island in torrential rain and strong winds – discovering lobster dams and the place where Monty Hall had visited in his Hebridean programme. The others kayaked out from the boat to harvest cockles and mussels for a starter and Murdani steamed them to perfection and we devoured them eagerly.
It was the last night so we finished off all the malt and sat telling ghost stories till the small hours. All packed up and kayaks on cars we found that Linda had decided to stay on as cook, working her passage with 10 dutch folk for the next week – we were all a bit jealous.
The others headed to the Stornoway festival as I headed southwards to Harris to meet Gail in Tarbert. First I had to sort out my return ferry – ‘the islands were busy did I not know the islands were busy, do you not have a reservation?’ said the ferryman. I had parked in the disabled bay outside the office so perhaps I could get the disabled place on the ferry? It turned out they had just had a cancellation and to everyones surprise I got a reserved ticket – woo! I jumped in the car and reversed straight into the ferry barrier pole and drove off to the Harris tweed shop. I texted Gail ‘am outside the Harris Tweed shop’ to which I received the reply – ‘I just saw you reverse into the pole!’ It turned out a ferryman had come out, shook his head, then kicked the pole back into a horizontal position. Must be a regular occurrence.
