Maritime conditions moderated but the 5D mainboard didn't much like the Moidart moisture.

It was not possible to take photos for some time after we left Ardtoe but as we paddled north we came into the lee of Eigg (some 18km away to the NW) and...

 ...the seas gradually became calmer. We took it slowly and steadily as submerged reefs were creating unexpected breaking boomers.

On several occasions we had to divert round particularly disturbed areas of water but as we passed the...

...south entrance to Loch Moidart the conditions moderated. You can  just see the sands of Shoe Bay hiding behind the skerries. Beyond Moidart, some seventeen kilometres to the SE, the snow flecked slopes of Beinn Resipol, 845m, rose above the lands of Sunart .

A watery sun appeared over Ardnamurchan when we were in the lee of Eilean a' Choire. I got a couple of nice photos of Allan...

...but I got caught out by a boomer coming over the reef and had to put my Canon 5D mk3 away very quickly. I did not have time to do my deck bag zip up before bracing and unfortunately sea water got in without me noticing. The next time I took the camera out it was dead. We stopped not long afterwards and I took the card and battery out. When I got home I sent the 5D off to Canon UK and they replaced a corroded main board for £256. I thought this was pretty reasonable.

The following photos are taken with my 2mp Sony U60 (2004 vintage!).

The wild west cost of Eilean Shona is always an enjoyable place to paddle especially as...

...there is a great place to stop just beyond the North Channel of Loch Moidart. The beach at Port Achadh an Aonaich is so nice that we were not going to pass it twice in one day without stopping.

The stop at Ardtoe could not really have been described as a luncheon as no malt whisky was consumed. So...

 ...this was our second luncheon and Alan dug deep into his bag  to find a most excellent Highland Park!

After a variety of home made soups and a dram were consumed, we stretched our legs and...

 ...enjoyed the view from the machair above the beach. The low sun was now slipping quickly towards the Ardnamurchan peninsula. All too soon, it was time to go.

A missed luncheon and a close call in the North Channel.

From the Sound of Arisaig we turned south past the abandoned village of Smirisary  and along the wild Moidart coast.

We were thoroughly enjoying the more lively waters which we found out with the shelter of the Sound.

We paddled past the magnificent...

 ...white shell sand tombola beach, backed by machair, at Port Achadh an Aonaich. The Gaelic means "port of the field of the steep place". It would have been a magnificent place to stop for first luncheon, whatever were we playing at?

Well the steep profile of Eilean Shona should give a clue. We hoped to circumnavigate this bold and rocky island, which sits in the mouth of Loch Moidart. However, we faced a slight impediment. It is a tidal island and the narrow north channel of Loch Moidart dries to reveal 1.7km of soft, glutinous, stinking mud. HW had been at 07:45 and it was already 10:45, three hours after HW! Not only that it would take nearly another hour to paddle the North Channel up to the causeway at its shallowest part!

So we passed by the delightful sands and machair and set off on a stiff paddle, trying to beat a falling tide in an emptying channel! You will note that Ian is looking resplendent in mango in his new Kokatat Expedition drysuit. There was not a hint of perspiration on his brow. Despite our exertions, his suit was so breathable he hardly noticed he was wearing it.

This brings me to a sad story about my own Kokatat dry suit. It was lying on my couch at home, some 150 miles away. I had not being feeling very well when I packed and I had clean forgot it. Fortunately Ian still had his old dry suit in his car and he kindly lent me it. What a difference  though, it was a true boil in the bag experience!

At least there was still water as far as we could see.

We kept out of the main ebb by sticking close to the rocky walls of the channel, almost as close as the limpets and barnacles!

Amazingly we were able to paddle right up to the causeway. where we arrived at 11:25. Water was pouring through the rocks of the causeway towards us but we were not out of the woods yet. The water east of the causeway disappears faster than snaw aff a dyke especially at springs (which it was).

After a short portage over the causeway, we had to walk the kayaks through the shallows for 120 metres on the far side. Fortunately,the ebb tide was with us and we escaped the clutches of the evil mud with minutes to spare.

Luncheon at Shoe Bay.

 Ian and I paddled across the south mouth of Loch Moidart towards Eilean Shona and a little inlet....

 ...which lies hidden at the back of...

 ...a cleft of...

 ...turquoise water...

 ...that runs deep into the grey rocks of Moidart.

The silvery sands of Shoe Bay are very soft...

 ...and have claimed very many shoes over the years.

 We climbed to a knoll above the sands where we enjoyed a view...

 ...of the Ardnamurchan peninsula along which we had recently paddled.

We enjoyed a first luncheon washed down by a dram of The Singleton. We found a cork from a bottle of Bollinger, which suggested that suggested that silver slippers and not just Lomo boots may have been lost in the soft sands of Shoe Bay.

Sea kayaking to Shoe Bay, Eilean Shona.

 The south coast of Eilean Shona proved to be a wild place with wooded islets and...

...rocks plunging straight into the waters of Loch Moidart. The transition of colours from the forest above to the sea below was very pleasing.

I slipped through rocky channels, where an otter was my only companion, while Donald kept well out into the deeper water of the South Channel.

At last I spotted a sliver of silver sand cutting through the grey rocks.

Donald took a longer way round.

We had arrived at the beautiful tidal inlet of Shoe Bay. The sand here is very soft and so has claimed many a shoe! We didn't dally long, as the tide was dropping fast.

We now left Loch Moidart and turned north up  Eilean Shona's even wilder more rugged west coast. Huge boulders have tumbled from the cliffs into the sea.

Noisy children banished in Loch Moidart.

Once we had entered the North Channel of Loch Moidart, we came across a substantial Victorian house nestling in a little north facing valley on Eilean Shona, the island which sits in the mouth of Loch Moidart.

It is Baramore school house and at one time about a dozen children were taught there. It is built on the opposite side of Eilean Shona from the other houses, reputedly because the wife of the island's owner did not want her peace to be disturbed by children! In August the purple heather and green bracken created lovely reflections on the still water but the hillside was silent. The children are long gone.

At the north end of Eilean Shona, a narrow neck of land joins it to the smaller Shona Beag. In the distance a wisp of smoke rose lazily in the still air. In the shelter of Loch Moidart, maritime forests of oak come right down to the sea shore.

As we made our way past Shona Beag, the view was dominated by the mist shrouded slopes of Beinn Resipol 845m, in the lands of Sunart.

We were now in a tidal channel, which dries to reveal a ford at low tide, Donald wound his fishing lines in but he still had 3m of water under his keel as it was high water.

Just as the ebb tide turned against us, we approached the east end of Shuna Beag and prepared to turn west, to continue our exploration of beautiful Loch Moidart.