You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are gray
You’ll never know, dear
How much I love you
Please don’t take
My sunshine away

Jimmie Davis

A warm, bright light fingered its way under my eye mask and I scrunched my eyes up as I flipped the mask over my head to see what this was. Sunlight flooding through the hatch! At last!

I got up and made us both a cup of tea and for the first time in days  didn’t feel the need to pull on a jumper while I made breakfast.

I quickly gathered all the sodden slightly whiffy clothing that had been hung around in a fruitless attempt to dry out. The cycle clothes were wringing, literally and I had to pour water out my trainers. It all went out on the bright, warm, breezy deck, pegged and tied tightly. The boat looked like a carboot sale, all colours and shapes, clothes, shoes, towels and bags everywhere.

The boat had a diesel heater and plenty water storage but we are always sparing with both though I treated myself to a warm hair wash as I knew the warm breeze would dry it over the day. No chance of styling but those luxuries were long gone at sea. Comfort was the priority and vanity well down the list. I was really glad that an upside down head position under the shower spray was ok and I felt no spinning or nausea so that was good. The mornings felt better too. It was only a quick look up and then straight down that seemed to trigger it so that was manageable. I was longing for it to be gone completely though. I wanted to get back to my yoga and Pilates classes which I’d been absent from for nearly two months and that was unheard of in recent years. Also wanted to play around with my grand daughters uninhibited when they come to stay and always involved contortions. My slow mornings allow me to come to gently and allows my brain to calibrate movement. However one of my favourite but slightly alarming events, was when my elder grand daughter bursts into my bedroom at dawn and yanks off my eye mask so she is eyeball to eyeball with me then yells ” Hello, its me, wake up!”

It’s effective though and the heart pounding moment is worth that adorable round face with rosy cheeks and green eyes beaming at you. I wanted to be ready for this!

It was delightful setting off in the sunshine, blue skies and any clouds around were high and white, not the low grey we’d been used to recently. The wind was strong though and unfortunately against us so it was a rough ride, well healed over at times and despite the captain’s insistence we leave the laundry out I was not convinced as it was blowing wild and tugging around. I took in what I could and flung it down below to avoid it being lost to sea. We knew it’d be a longish passage down towards the Applecross peninsula but were happy about our course and stuck to it. It would mean we could have a night there then get through the Kyles between Kylerea and Glenelg the following day and achieve our plan of being home by Sunday.

I was able to sail in only two layers and no outer wet gear for once and it felt good.

We were visited frequently by skuas checking us out and the ubiquitous gullimot and some puffins seemed to be enjoying drying out too. Everywhere the land seemed to be expunging itself of the water that been pouring down on it for days.

It was a long day at sea but it felt different in dry sunny weather but we were glad to nose our way into the pretty bay at Culduie and drop anchor just off skerries acting as haul outs for fat seals who eyed us suspiciously and a sea eagle was bring harried by some gulls overhead.

I rehung the damp clothes out now it was calm and still some drying in the air then finally was able to bring some piccies and drinks up on deck.