Saturday 11/02/06

The rain subsides by daybreak, but the wind only slowly drops. The Met Office reports windspeeds of 27 knots sustained at 9 am, which goes down to 22 kts at 1pm. Gusts are up to 37 knots, which is galeforce. It's very busy with ships going in and out. In spite of the weather, Muirneag shows up at 9.30. The lifeboat dashes out at 10.10, preceded by a tugboat. The lifeboat encounters heavy seas at the Arnish Point bar, and is covered by waves. Next, a French fishing boat, the Jack Abri II from Lorient calls in for a crew change. She arrives at 10.30 and leaves at 12.15. The new crew will have been flown in on a chartered flight, and the relieved one will return to France on the same plane. This saves the boat the 1500 mile return trip to Lorient. A fast crew change, within 24 hours, also brings a 25% reduction in harbour dues. Stornoway Port Authority encourages shipping companies to use this facility, in view of the proximity of the airport (4 miles away). The gastanker Sigas Champion leaves at 11.15, again aided by a pilot. Took the mickey out of the Small Isles folk, not half helped by Westword. Muck recommends crushing plastic by running the tractor over it, Canna didn't have a boat for a week, so the residents were staving off urges of cannibalism and Eigg spent its days watching whales in the bay.
Later on, an occasional light shower drifts by, but nothing too serious. The wind decreases slowly. Northern England reports snow. The ferry is its usual 20 minutes late coming in and leaving. Still the Clansman. Notice the webcam being viewed from Montevideo, Uruguay; Tenerife, Canary Islands and Northern Norway. The Uruguayan viewer is placed in the Avenue General Flores, which leads NNE from the Aguanda in Montevideo. The Tenerife viewer is on the northern side of the island, between Puerto dela Cruz and Los Realijos. Ostensibly in the middle of a vineyard! The Norwegian visitor has been before, and is resident in the town of Budejju, 775 km north of Oslo. Go to Somerfields for papers and a copy of the Scots Magazine. This contains a letter from Donald MacLeod of Aberdeen, about the Iolaire Disaster. I cook spaghetti bolognese for Mrs B. Later on, I point the webcam inside. Position it on a small lamp, high up on a wall and direct it at the fire and the keyboard. Only 3 people actually see it. I reposition the camera to its normal position by 11.15.