As we left the lighthouse, the container ship MV Canopus J was making her way down the Firth of Clyde from Greenock to Bilbao. She was built in 2004 and measures 140m x 20m. She is equipped to carry dangerous cargo in hold 2.
Back at sea level we had time for a second luncheon and enjoyed the silence of our isolation and escape, from the everyday World...
...before hitting the sea again. As we paddled below the 1995 lighthouse, Tony noticed the lighthouse spoil heap below a gap in the cliffs. No doubt this will make interesting digging for future archaeologists.
On our left the rocks of Little Cumbrae fell steeply into the sea.
To our right the low winter sun was dipping to the horizon in the SW.
The low sun gave the cliffs a warm glow which belied the winter chill in the air. We felt remote from civilisation but the wild SW coast of Little Cumbrae is only 40km from the outskirts of Glasgow!
Alan got his camera out again in the calm of the lee of the island.
As the cliffs fell away to Gull Point, we slowly returned to civilisation. Above the point, we could see the wind turbines on the mainland were turning quickly in the north wind. It would be a stiff cold paddle back to Largs and reality...
