The shortest sea kayak camping trip ever? Just 7km!

Mike and I  found ourselves with a spare evening in the Oban area, I was due to meet Tony the next day for a trip over to Jura. So we went to Ellenabeich on Seil and set off to arrive at a great wee camp site before sunset.

 All was quiet when we set off from the harbour which is sheltered by Easdale island.

The calm did not last long. As we went round the outside of Easdale harbour it was three hours after slack water. We had some fun as the full force of a spring ebb was running against the wind and swell. There are no photos on the next short leg as my attention was taken by the sea conditions. As I headed for our intended landing spot the skerries were a mass of breaking water. I could sense Mike hanging back as I went into a dog leg between two skerries. I shouted it would be calm inside...

 ...and so it proved to be. We slid into an almost mirror calm harbour of a former slate quarry.

You can see why these are called The Slate Islands. We landed on a slate beach. The crystals are iron pyrites or fool's gold. When you break a slate open they are bright gold but soon turn to rust.

As soon as I got my tent up and got changed, I went off looking for something...

...and I found it! In October 2004, when I last camped here, I hid a stash of logs I had bought in a garage in a little cave. Nearly eleven years later they were well seasoned and bone dry! We would have a fire later!

We now only had seconds to go before the sunset. Mike was able to run up the hill and catch it but I was a bit slower as my knees were a bit sore after the long drive and the rushing about.

Although I very nearly missed the sunset I was pretty pleased to just catch the sun as it slipped behind Mull.

From the ridge above our camp we had a great view of the Garvellachs and Mull .

We could just make out Colonsay on the horizon to the left of the Garvellachs.

The coast of Luing stretched away past Fladda lighthouse, Scarba and Jura to Islay some 50km away. The inlet to the left is the Cuan Sound and the tide rored through it all night!

 We stayed on the ridge as the sky above Mull turned to gold.
 

 As night fell we got the fire going and baked potatoes in the embers of my rediscovered logs as Venus shone brightly in the cold sky above.

The following morning dawned clear and bright, the tide was ebbing fast. As the old slate harbour empties completely, we wasted no time and were...

 ...soon packed and on the water for our...

...short return to Ellenabeich. Mike and I both agreed that though this may well hold the record as the shortest ever sea kayak camping trip, it had also been one of the best!

The stirring sound of moving water in the Cuan Sound.

It was now three hours after the start of the spring flood tide and our course took us in a dog leg, round the north end of Torsa and into the Cuan Sound. We had told Phil that there might be a little slope (several feet or so) but there would not be any whirlpools (Phil has an unaccountable aversion to whirlpools).

At the entrance of the Sound, the skerry of An Cleiteadh, constricts and dams the waters before they accelerate and turn through a right angle into the main body of the Sound. I knew that Phil had got suspicious, when he asked "What's that roaring noise?" Jim explained it was just a little stirring of the waters and described paddling down "the V" to him as we all slid down the slope. As I was paddling quite hard to get my sinking stern out of a big rotating hole in the water, I overheard Phil say to Jennifer, "He can't fool me, that's a ****ing whirlpool!*"

Then we shot through the body of the Sound.

I know the photos look a bit tame, I obviously didn't risk my camera on the bouncy, swirly bits but the GPS showed we hit 18.2km/hr...

...just to the north of An Cleiteadh rock!

There was some more excitement at the exit of the Sound and we took a slight detour to savour some little overfalls. Both Jim and I got our faces wet.

*swirling whirlpool!

The Sounds of Luing and Cuan

On leaving the Grey Dogs, we entered the Sound of Luing and made our way up the east coast of Lunga. This is one of the surviving houses. We then entered the maze of tidal channels between the north of Lunga and its neighbouring islands.


Returning to the Sound of Luing again, we started a ferry glide across the now flooding north going tide. We were headed for the island of Luing on the east side of the sound. Looking north we could see all the way up the Sound to Insh, Fladda with its lighthouse, Easdale and Seil.


Looking south down the Sound, the tumbling crags of Scarba were lost in the mist.


Working our way up the east shore of the Sound the tide accelerated us north past Dubh Sgeir with its light and the lighthouse of Fladda.


We found the MFV Rambling Rose tied up in the sheltered inlet of Cullipool. In 2001 she went to the rescue of a yacht which went aground in a force 8 August gale, the family were saved including their 18 month old baby. The Rambling Rose was a scallop dredger operated by brothers Eoghann and Alastair MacLachlan. The Scottish Government recently banned scallop dredging in the Firth of Lorn and she has been modified for prawn fishing.


Rounding the northern end of Luing, we paddled east into the Cuan Sound between Luing and Seil. We eddy hopped through the Sound against the west going flood spring tide.


Turning round, we blasted back down the Sound..


...until we were ejected into the Firth of Lorn. The Island of Mull provided a backdrop as we made our way back to our starting point at Ellenabeich on Seil.

What a fantastic weekend in the tides between these glorious islands.

31/08/2008

The Oyster Brewery Bar, Seil

Tony and I are just back from a two day trip through the tide races of the Grey Dogs, Sound of Luing and Cuan Sound. It was incredibly thirsty work and our palates were dry as a bone by the time we reached sanctuary in one of the flooded slate quarries of the village of Ellenabeich on the Island of Seil. High above us, we spotted what could be an oasis of refreshment.


We scrambled out of our boats, leaving them moored as there was no beach, and made our way up to street level through a nice old lady's back garden (there are easier ways!). We came across not only a pub but The Oyster Brewery Bar which has an attached brewery; no wonder Tony is licking his lips!


The staff did not bat an eye lid as they took an order from two salty sea dogs dripping brine on the floor. We usually ask for Guinness but given that the brewery was next door, we thought it would be churlish not to order a pint of their finest. Our chosen brew was "Grey Dogs strong ale" in celebration of our recent passage through said tidal race. This race is very accurately depicted on the beer tap label.


We supped this delicious brew on the beer terrace which overlooks the Sound of Luing and brooding Scarba (to the north of which lies the Grey Dogs.) At this point I should issue a sea kayaking health warning. Grey Dogs is a highly intoxicating substance which only just avoids classification under the Dangerous Drugs Act. Our delicate constitutions are used to the mild effects of Guinness and I am not surprised that the establishment displays a safety notice about climbing on the balcony. Tony and I had visions of packs, of those driven barking mad by overindulgence, throwing themselves over the edge.

We decided to forego a hair of the dog and limit ourselves to one pint. So after a most enjoyable visit to this fine sea kayaking pub, we made our way very carefully back to the boats.


The water on the approach to the Cuan Sound was particularly rough and Tony and I were glad that we enjoyed our "Grey Dogs strong ale" in such moderation.

Tiderace Seakayaks.

Tiderace Seakayaks is a new name on the UK sea kayaking scene. Aled Williams (formerly of Rockpool kayaks and designer of the delectable Alaw and Alaw Bach) has decided to rename his new company (formerly known as In-Uit Kayaks) in respect of the tradition and culture of the Inuit people who come from the Arctic territories of Alaska, Canada and Greenland. Michael, who has spent a great deal of time with these people, has already drawn attention to the appropriateness of the name. I am sure Aled chose the name out of respect to the Inuit origins of our sport. I am equally sure that Aled has made the correct and sensitive decision to rename the company.

I like the name Tiderace and here is Kenny paddling an Aled designed boat in a tide race: the Cuan Sound.

Timed to perfection but nearly marooned on Luing!

This was 19:03 on 11th May 2006.

We had just successfully executed a remarkable sea kayaking day trip from Glasgow. The night before, I had noticed (as you do) that the tides were right for a trip out through the Grey Dogs to the Garvellachs then back to Scarba, round its south end, through the Corryvreckan and back up the Sound of Luing. The snag was that Mike and I were working the next day and David was meeting an ex vet student friend from South Africa for their 40th year reunion dinner. Her flight got into Glasgow airport at 21:30pm that night. The only way to do this was to drive from the mainland over the Bridge over the Atlantic, onto the Isle of Seil then take the ferry across the Cuan Sound onto Luing and drive to Black Mill Bay and launch there. A quick Google search for the ferry timetable brought up the Calmac website which showed regular sailings into the late evening.

We had aimed to get the 19:35 ferry and I was just congratulating myself on having half an hour to spare when an awful fact gradually invaded the euphoria of an amazing day. If you look closely at the photo above you will note that there is no ferry!



On our drive to the jetty I had noticed something that looked very like a ferry moored in a bay 1.5km to the south. Somehow I had managed to blot this unwelcome observation from my consciousness. Any sea kayaker that can work the tides through the Dogs and the Corry must be able to read a simple ferry timetable! I dug the Calmac printout out of my map case and we should have had another 3 ferries to choose from right up till 22:05. Something was not right and I soon found out it was when I walked over to the small waiting room. The Cuan Ferry is run by Argyll and Bute council and on their timetable (which was nailed to the wall) it was quite clear that the last boat ran at 1805.

David took it very well. Not only had I bashed his car getting off the ferry that morning, now I had got us marooned on Luing for the night and his friend would be stuck at the airport. A more highly strung party would have started arguing and shouting but not us. In the absence of a nearby sea kayaking hostelry, we cracked open three cans of Guinness from our emergency rations. Sitting on a grassy knoll in the spring evening sunshine, we pondered our options. First we found that our mobiles had no reception. Then we wondered if David should paddle across and try and hire a taxi to take him to the airport.



Then suitably refreshed, I decided to check out the waiting room. I noticed a small yellow notice.

"In case of medical emergency, call this number."

Well I'm a doctor. And it was an emergency! So I phoned it from the coin box phone outside. It turned out to be a call centre in Liverpool and the girl knew nothing about Luing or where it was. I asked her for the ferryman's number but she said

"I can't do that but I'll get him to ring you back."

I looked at the ancient rotating dial phone. There was no number.

"There must be a number." she said.

David cracked open another Guinness to assist in the search for the elusive digits but there were none to be found. Then the girl had a brainwave:

"Give me your mobile number..."

"There is no point", I said, "none of our three mobiles are getting a signal."

I could sense I was stretching her incredulity. This city girl had probably never been out of cell phone range since she had been born. Indeed, her developing brain may have been partly modelled by mobile microwaves.

Then I had a brainwave:

"Just tell him to phone the Luing call box"

"What's the point of that? He wont know the number, there must be thousands of call boxes on Luing."

"You don't know Luing! Please, just ask him to ring the call box, I am sure he will know the number."

About 5 minutes later the phone rang, it was the ferryman. I explained our situation and he agreed to come but he said he would need to call his mate who lived some distance away. He would then need to use a dinghy to get down to the ferry and fetch it back up to Seil, pick up his mate then come across and pick us up. (Then he would need to repeat the process to get the ferry back to the mooring.)


MV Grey Dog

We were ever so pleased as when he arrived. He knew all about the mistake in the Calmac timetable and said there would be no charge for the crossing. We had already resigned ourselves to finding bed and breakfast accommodation on Luing, which would have cost us about £20 each so we gave them £60 for their trouble. They were very reluctant to accept it but we insisted. They were obviously prepared (and pleased) to be able to help, for only a thank you in return.

Fortunately the 105 miles on the road to the airport were quiet and we pulled into the airport pickup area just as David's friend was exiting the arrivals hall.

What timing, it's amazing what you can cram into a day!

Cuan ferry: passport to the Grey Dogs and Corryvreckan!

MV Belnahua

The tidal Cuan Sound (between the isles of Seil and Luing in the Firth of Lorn) runs at up to 15km/hr. The little ferry, the MV Belnahua, makes the short crossing several times a day. It is very instructive watching her ferry glide. The captain only ever crosses the main flow at right angles to save fuel. He then uses the slacker water and eddies at the sides to make his way back to the jetty.


MV Grey Dog

I have not been able to get out paddling recently so this photo is from last May. When we arrived we found that the Belnahua was off on its holidays, leaving the tiny MV Grey Dog in its place.



It was just big enough for David's car and my trailer and it lurched alarmingly as we drove on. There is no turntable so you need to reverse off. David did not fancy this so I had a go. I did pretty well until the last moment when I clipped the front bumper on the ramp sides.



It did not spoil our day, it allowed us to have a fantastic day trip from Glasgow out through the Grey Dogs tidal channel, round the Garvellachs, back to Scarba then home via the notorious Corryvreckan. We had tidal assistance all the way!

There is one point to note about the Cuan ferry. Although Calmac list the timetable, it is actually operated by Argyll and Bute council. Calmac state "We cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions".

More about that another day....

Arduaine, gateway to the Isles

This sunset behind Scarba was taken from the pier at Arduaine (Ardoonie) in Argyll. The name means green point. This winter sunset was taken three years ago but in the summer, there is nothing more exciting than setting off from here as the sun is setting on a Friday night. Where will we end up? There are so many possibilities! Luing, Shuna, Seil, Kerrera, Mull, the Garvellachs, the Black Islands, Lunga, Scarba and Jura are all within a weekend's paddle and the waters to get to them include the tidal Cuan Sound, the Grey Dogs and the mighty Corryvreckan! You could embark from here 25 times and return having covered a new route each time. This variaty of possible routes is one of the reasons why I like sea kayaking on the west coast so much. This is not an A to B linear coastline!

For many years John Rintoul ran a campsite at Arduaine which was a favourite with sea kayakers. It closed before I took up sea kayaking but myself and friends used to camp here on the way north or south on motorbike touring holidays. Many years ago I watched three German kayakers carry their boats to the waters edge. There was a north east wind blowing and I was amazed when they each pulled a little rope and each kayak sprouted a mast and sail. They soon disappeared in the direction of Shuna.

The Arduaine pier was built to service the island of Shuna and we often leave cars on the broad approach to the pier overnight. There has never been any problem with this. However there are plans to build a new private house here. Its entrance will use the pier road. I do hope it will not restrict access to this valuable launching site which is our gateway to so many Isles..

Cuan Sound.

One of the most fun things to do in a sea kayak is to play in a nice tidal race. Between the islands of Seil and Luing lies the narrow Cuan Sound.



The flood tide is compressed as it travels up the great Sound of Jura and through Shuna Sound until it squirts out through the Cuan sound at up to 15km/hour.



As the tide turns the flow reverses and unlike the tide in more open waters it reaches maximum speed very shortly after turning.



In a recent post about wind farms Iona commented that tidal power is efficient and less intrusive. The Cuan Sound is one of the sites under consideration for a tidal barrage or fence to generate electricity.

We enjoy the Cuan Sound while it is still a free ride through!