An eclipse luncheon on the white sands of Ardnish!

Having got a photo of the eclipse. I set off to catch up with the others who were making their way into Loch Ailort past the north end of Eilean nan Gobhar. Because I had the sail up, I soon caught them as they were paddling hard...

 ...against the tide that was pouring out between the gap between and Eilean nan Gobhar and Eilean a' Chaolais. A solar eclipse, when the sun and moon are aligned, mean a very big spring tide is generated! As we got nearer Eilean a' Chaolais the conditions increased in lumpiness so there was no chance of getting the camera out!

Once inside the loch the tide races were restricted to narrow channels and most of the loch was pretty flat. Annoyingly the thick cloud that had so effectively obscured the eclipse now...

 ...began to lift and there was nearly full sun as we approached the delightful tidal beach to the east of Port na h-Aifrinne.

We pulled the boats clear of the swell then...

...made our way up...

...this glorious beach to the...

 ...rocks at its head. What a great place to welcome the return of the sun...

 ...it was time to celebrate with an eclipse luncheon! We don't have many of  these so...

 ...the cameras came out to record...

...the pouring of a celebratory dram in thanks for the return of the sun, which was now casting a strong shadow on the light sands of Ardnish.

The whisky went very well with our luncheon of tortilla bread, Edam cheese, humus, chillies, green olives and black grapes.

Slàinte mhòr, may we all enjoy great health until the next solar eclipse!