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..