Wednesday 14/06/06

Wake up at 3.15 am, at daybreak. The moon shines low over Arnish. Wake up once more at 5.20, to find a dense fog covering the basin. Fog lifts to about 40m at 6.05 am (no, didn't have a good night), but according to mrs B, it returned with a vengeance at 7.30. By late morning, the layer of cloud lifted to 200 m / 700 ft. TS Alberto is now heading northeast over Florida, increasing its forward speed. It is being downgraded to a Tropical Depression, and is in the process of losing its tropical characteristics. There are temperature gradients over your average Atlantic depression, which do not exist in a tropical depression. The extra-tropical remains of Alberto are set to head across the Atlantic to Scotland, and will be a vigorous depression when it reaches here by Monday next week. At 2.30 pm, I go out for a walk. This takes me up Keith Street, then up Lewis Street as far as Bayhead. Cross into the Castle Grounds to the Golf Club. Carry on north by the Bayhead River, which is reduced to a trickle. The watermill is not operating, for lack of water. There is hardly any water flowing down the lade. Walk onto the golf course and head over towards the Castle College. I walk down to the Bayhead Bridge and return to Stornoway Town Centre. Nice views over town, and country. It's busy in sunny Stornoway. I return to mrs B's at 3.40. Half an hour later, a flotilla of 4 Norwegian navy patrolboats speed into port for refuelling. I head for the King Edward Quay, where the Geir, the Gribb, the Jo and the Tjeld are tied up. A fleet of road tankers are standing by. The boats are small and packed with gear, must be cramped. Mrs B cooks a red cabbage dish. It's a bright and sunny afternoon, warm in the sun. Several people knock on mrs B's door, but there was no space at the B&B. One group of 5 people in a car is advised to seek accommodation outside SY. An SFPA [Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency] vessel hovers outside port for a while at 7pm.