Tuesday 7/2/19
Dep. 11.31am arr 7.41pm. 40nm. 8 hours, 10 minutes.
For a higher-resolution map of this route, click HERE:
You Can’t Always Get What You Want….
Thanks to Messrs Jagger and Richards for that sentiment, which was foremost in my mind after our adventures in Modermagan Bay. I had promised Kevin he would have at least one bows-to experience during his trip on Arcturus and I had scoped out Modermagan Bay as the perfect place to do it. It was a longer stretch (40nm) than usual but it would leave us well placed to fetch Talinn the following day. By now Kevin was used to the boat and I could trust him to helm calmly and efficiently for hours on end. We again had steady winds on our starboard quarter in the 12-14kt range which was perfectly in the Arcturus wheelhouse and made for an enjoyable and drama free sail to our destination. When we arrived it was picturesque enough but we were disappointed to find there were no good granite rocks to tie up to. The only decent area on the north end of the bay was dotted with green buoys, and a passing yachtsman dropping the hook told me this indicated it was a private club. But on the way in I had seen some promising looking rocks that would have provided good shelter from the wind, which had now moved to the north west.
It was also starting to rain a little and the clouds were darkening the skies more by the minute. It was also closing in on dinner time so I determined to attempt a bows-to mooring here and see if we were sufficiently sheltered. And so we were. Working in concert we dropped anchor and secured the line to three points off the bow. Kevin was impressed with my skill and frankly so was I. We hunkered down for dinner and enjoyed our sheltered little spot in a wide bay with nothing but granite rocks, pine forests and gun metal grey water to keep us company. As Mick Jagger so aptly put it, you can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.
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