Day 1

02 July 2007 - Ferry leaves at 0715 and I have to holler at some sleepy campers to get into gear. They are stiff and reluctant! Kayakers leave a little late and get the sharp end of Jeff’s usually gentle tongue, too. Late starts, we know if they don’t, have a horrible knock-on effect throughout the day.

sleep ends for me at 0420. Rain is pounding on the outer of my new Terra Nova Voyager (what a good idea it was to retire my old Quasar and splash –excuse the pun –out!) which is holding out well. We’re dry and comfortable. Meli is out cold next to me or I’d commend her on her choice of site, for which we were mocked as it is rather distant from the others, but it is on higher ground from which the torrential rain is clearly running away unhindered. Peter opens the café and loos at 0600 but not so many takers –they are asleep or cowering in tents, peering out thro sheets of rain and mist. Not promising but at least it is not cold. Ferry leaves at 0715 and I have to holler at some sleepy campers to get into gear. They are stiff and reluctant! Kayakers leave a little late and get the sharp end of Jeff’s usually gentle tongue, too. Late starts, we know if they don’t, have a horrible knock-on effect throughout the day. Paddlers set off to bag the little ‘summit’ of Fuday innocent of the fact that it can be a hard slog through deep undergrowth, as I recall. Our ferry departs with a deck full of sleek road bikes and only a couple of cars. The lounge is sauna-like with steaming racers and a few Joe-publics regard them with amazement. Ferry crew cheerful and helpful as ever –bless ‘em! Lots of craic –Donald’s wife about to give birth –but due a scan in Glasgow… Swim is getting under way as we arrive –Charlie’s Strand must be one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere, though our Tuesday and Wednesday swims at Northton and Seilebost are also spectacular and hard to beat. Rain is still torrential and I pause for an hour at the Pollochar to strip off, shower, change and eat the generous plateful of toast Morag provides –OK, pity those who can’t but I am very cold and soaked through, which seems unwise on Day 1. As I head on up the islands there are signs of huge activity everywhere. Unseen, up on the magnificent mountains of the E coast of S Uist racers are struggling to navigate accurately through dank mist. On the roads there is some swift biking going on and mountain bikes are in action elsewhere. In lay-bys and passing places team vans hover expectantly… They disgorge or welcome in wet team members. Our ‘number plates’ are proving less than successful on the soaked racers but are very useful on dashboards and windows to identify team/pair vehicles! The kayakers, when they have recovered, will need to paddle around the E side of Benbecula –from Oitir Bheag to Ceallan jetty. Due to the chronic shortage of marshals, Hollie (aged 14 and daughter of SAS prog champion GillWatson) and I find ourselves sorting a traffic hotspot at Oitir B. She is entertaining company –together we admire a graceful bird gliding and tracking some small, doomed mammal on the ground. We’re later told it may be a hen harrier. I launch the kayaks after a prolonged effort to get everyone onto the water –receding unhelpfully on the spring tides to a far glimmer on the horizon. We knew this might be difficult! Sorry guys, but I have helped to carry several boats! I now have arms like an Orang Utang! The paddlers, being paddlers, are chipper about it all. I speak to Jeff on the VHF and dispatch my motley crew off on the bearing he gives me, hoping they will all reunite (they do!). Later, back at Iochdar hall there is now a thriving campsite and a hall full of hungry racers. J.J. MacDonald, local builder, (bless him!) true to his word has supplied an additional outside loo. DJ’s café is doing a terrific job of filling racers up on suitable racing fare… Martin (CM) has had a ‘nasty’ with a hire van, hitting a rock on a small side road that everyone else is using without incident. The sump is haemorrhaging. Luckily MacKinnons efficiently supply another for us to continue, all we need to do is transfer the vast selection of kit from the sick van to the substitute… ‘Bed’, is a dusty floor. Do I care? I sleep like the dead!