Monday, February 16, 2015

The eastern wind and the den of the wild beast in Loch Sunart.

Aws we made our way west along Loch Sunart a little breeze got up from the east.

 It was enough for Ian, Mike and myself to get the sails up.

 It was a wonderful feeling to be out on the loch on such a day.

It was a much better day for Ian to get the hang of paddle sailing than the stronger winds of the previous day.

 As Simon and Liz didn't have sails we covered more ground by tacking downwind.

 The north shore of Loch Sunart is surprisingly wild as the road lies some way back from the shore. This headland is Sron na Saobhaidh.

Roughly translated it means "promontory of the den of the wild beast". Brown bears roamed the Sunart woodlands until about 1000AD and wolves hung on until about the early 1700s.

 We arrived at the Laudale narrows as the last of the tide was ebbing west. The ingoing spring rate is 3 knots and the outgoing rate is 3.5 knots.

Once through the narrows the wind picked up and we...

 ...sped past the woods os sessile oak and...

  ...Caledonian pine.


 It was tempting to blast straight on down the loch but it was...

 ...getting near luncheon time so...

...we broke out into the lee of ...

 ...Garbh Eilean.  Here we...

...enjoyed an excellent first luncheon  while sheltered from the cold eastern wind.