Friday, January 17, 2014

Crossing to the Garvellachs, the Isles of the Sea.

A big spring tide was ebbing down the Firth of Lorn. Soon we were making good speed at 9-10km/hr towards our halfway point the lonely rocks...

... of Dubh-feith. From the rocks we had a wonderful view...

.... to the south over the Slate Islands of Lunga and Eilean Dubh Mohr to the bulk of Scarba beyond.

However, our main attention  was drawn to the Garvellachs, which we were rapidly approaching. Despite the SW direction of the ebb tide, there is a NE going eddy, which curls round the NE end of Dun Chonuill (the first of the Garvellachs). It then joins the main SW flow, which goes down the SE of the islands. In a wind this eddyline can be an excitingly rough area. Even in no wind there was enough disturbance on the eddyline to get our faces wet. Our progress slowed to 2 km/hr until we entered the calm beyond. We had arrived at the Garvellachs, the Isles of the Sea..