Sea Change

What a difference 24 hours can make. The wind and rain have gone and the sun is actually shining. After a big storm I am always keen to see the difference the pounding waves have made to the sand bar at the mouth of the river. Five years ago it never existed and we would follow the rocks in our wee boats as we headed to sea. Then after some particularly bad storms a sand bar appeared about 100 metres from the mouth of the river. Since then it has moved progressively nearer the river and got to the stage recently that you literally had to steer 90 degrees to port to stay in the channel to the sea. I half expected to see it gone, but no it is still there and flattened out with even more sand piled behind it. Just shows the power of the sea in moving thousands of tons of sand and gravel in a matter of a few hours.

Today's blip is from a familiar spot but the foreground has changed with the sand bank now wider with more gradual slopes that surround some of the rocks. The top of the bar is where the gentle wave is breaking. The sky and clouds have also totally changed to much more pleasant hues of blue and white.

After blipping the wind got up a bit and presented an ideal opportunity for some early autumn sailing down to Torrisdale and beyond and then tacking back between the Point and the Bay. With the odd wave breaking over the bow it was an exhilarating sail and greatly lifted the spirits after the depressing weather of late.