The highs and lows of life in Camas Mor, Muck.

We had now started the final stage of our Small Isles adventure. As we rounded the SW point of Muck we started to paddle east again.

 Muck is generally low lying but the ground rises in the SW towards the summit of...

...Beinn Airein. It may only be 137m high but it is a proper little mountain nonetheless. It falls steeply into the sea at the headland called Sron na Teiste. The roots of this name are both Gaelic and Norse. Sron is Gaelic for headland and Teiste is Norse for black guillemot. The Norse name is a reflection of the Viking influence in the Hebrides' past. Sadly we saw only one black Guillemot in the bay, it was just changing from winter to breeding plumage.

The swell was washing the rocks at the foot of Sron na Teiste and the shores of Camas Mor beyond, so there was no prospect of a stop.

 We set off across the great sweep of Camas Mor towards  the wall of cliffs on its far side.

In the middle of the bay, we became the focus of attention of the local fulmar colony.

 They amazed us with the skill and beauty of their flight..

 ..which we tried to capture on our cameras.

One minute they would rise high in the air with scarcely a  wing beat before swooping...

...down and skimming the swell with their wing tips. Unlike the black guillemot  the fulmar population has grown spectacularly. In the late 19th century there was only one British breeding colony on St Kilda. Now they are widespread. Perhaps Sron na Teiste should be renamed Sron na Havhest?

"Breaks", "breaks heavily" and "breaks very heavily" on the west coast of Muck.

Although it was only the first of March, Fulmars were already pairing up for the breeding season on the NE cliffs of Eilean nan Each (Horse Isle) which lies off the north west coast of Muck. The calm seas and almost complete lack of wind could easily have lulled us into a false sense of security but I had in mind the Magicseaweed surf forecast for nearby Tiree...2.5m SW!

 Whoohoo we had just turned the north end of Eilean nan Each when the swell hit us. Fortunately...

 ...it passed under us and it was actually the rocks it hit! Spray was thrown high in the air and we felt a near continuous rumbling in our chests.

We needed to wait a while before we entered the gap between Eagamol and Eilean nan Each as the bigger sets surged through with some degree of vigour.

However, patience was rewarded and soon we were in the sheltered lee of Eagamol.

We now came to the exposed west coast of Muck.

We were glad there was no wind as the chart warns of...

"Breaks"

"Breaks Heavily"

and "Breaks Very Heavily". We felt very lucky to experience the pounding surf in such a remote place but in such benign conditions. Even, so neither of us suggested putting in a little rescue practice.

There now followed a gap with no photography as the many basalt dykes that radiate out from Muck threw up many unexpected boomers. But once we approached the SW corner of Muck the swell seemed to die as the north going tide  increased.

We now enjoyed a distant view of Coll and looking back, we could see...

.... the outline of Rum through the gap between Eagamol and Eilean nan Each. Eigg, where we had spent the previous night, rose high above the low lying northern rocks of Muck.

Taking a gander along the north coast of Muck

As we left Camas na Cairidh on the north coast of Muck the Sea of the Hebrides was glassy calm and in the clear air the mountains of Rum were dappled by broken sunlight which broke through the low clouds.

 We left Eigg far in our wakes as we paddled along the north shore of Muck.

We arrived at Gallanach Bay where a significant new building is taking place. It is Gallanach Lodge and will replace the island's existing hotel at Port Mor when it opens on 27th May 2013.

A little further west and we arrived at Gallanach Farm. The four Small Isles have very different ownership arrangements. Canna is owned by the National Trust for Scotland (a charity), Rum by Scottish Natural Heritage (government funded agency), Eigg by a community buyout and Muck is currently privately owned by the MacEwen family whose predecessors have owned it since 1897.

It is very interesting to compare how these very different owners have managed the development of each island.

 As we left the bay in front of the farm, the clouds cleared but the air filled with hundreds of...

 ...geese which flew off in...

 ...the direction of Rum. This is the lovely view which will be enjoyed by visitors to the new Gallanach Lodge.

Ian and I had booked a couple of rooms in the somewhat less grand Muck Bunkhouse so we still had some way to go. As we looked for a gap between Muck and the island of Eilean nan Each the clouds opened a a front stretched away as far as the eye could see.

Unfortunately the gap shown on the ordnance survey 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 maps is no longer present at low tide. It is filled by a great bank of cobbles washed up by storms. We now set off to add a Eilean nan Each to our circumnavigation of Muck.

Mucked about by the tidal information in the Sound of Eigg.

As Ian and I set across the Sound of Eigg towards Muck the ebb tide was already running like a river in the channel between between Eigg and Eilean Chathastail. We knew (from the Admiralty West Coast Pilot) that we would be in mid channel at the peak of a big spring tide that would be travelling at 3 knots to the SE, increasing to 4 knots as we approached the west coast of Muck. As a result we set off on a high ferry angle to the north but when we stopped in mid channel, the tide was only running at 0.6 knots!

 The marbled sky was reflected in a mirror sea. Between the two the Ardnamurchan peninsula stretched away as far as the eye could see. It was only 12 days previously that we had paddled that coast with Mike but it seemed such a long time ago.

 Gradually we cleared Eigg and the Rum Cuillin were revealed.

 In the distance Canna could be seen to the lefdt of Rum, some 30km to the NW.

 As we crossed the Sound of Eigg we slowly began to make out the Arnamurchan lighthouse at the end of the peninsula. It was silhouetted against Mull by a fog bank which was lying in the Sound of Mull.

 To port, Ben More on Mull rose above the lower Ardnamurchan Hills.

 To starboard the complete profile of Rum could be seen as we left Eigg behind.

 As we approached the west coast of Muck, we still expected to meet a significant tide but it never materialised. To the south the MV Loch Nevis was heading for the jetty at Port Mor on the south side of Muck.

 Given the highly favourable conditions (it was winter!) we decided to leave Port Mor till later and circumnavigate Muck in an anti clockwise direction..

...but first it was time to take first luncheon in the delightful bay of Camas na Cairidh, we had arrived on Muck. The machair to the right of the beach has a permanent composting toilet and in summer a yurt is erected, which can be rented from Isle of Muck farms. The tide was still ebbing and as it fell (leaving our kayaks high and dry) it revealed an old fish trap that had been built from a stone wall between rocky outcrops. Camas na Cairidh in Gaelic means "bay of the weir".

We enjoyed a superb view of Rum from our chosen luncheon spot. After warming homemade soup and bread, washed down by some 10 year old Jura or 12 year old The Singleton (I can't remember which, maybe it was both) it was time to make our way back down the rocks. There was just time to float the kayaks over the fish trap. As we waded through the pool behind the wall it was obvious that there was not a single trapped fish. Maybe it was because it was winter, maybe the seas are empty. Fish traps like this have been used for thousands of of years and in the past the seas were full of shoals of herring.

The Winning Greenland Roller Paddle Review

My good friend Duncan Winning is a long term exponent of the Greenland paddle in Scotland. When he heard that Ian and I were going to the Small Isles he asked if we would care to review his new paddle the innovative Greenland Roller.

Ever modest, Duncan said that the original idea had come from Alistair Wilson, former K1 Olympian and founder of Lendal Paddles. However, Alistair had left Duncan to do all the development work as he was about to retire from Lendal.

Ian and I have pretty catholic tastes when it comes to paddles, we use Euros, GPs and Wings interchangeably and we have never understood why some people restrict themselves by limiting themselves to paddling just one type. For example if I want to do some rolling practice and muck about bracing in an Anas Acuta, I will take the GP every time. If I want to do some rockhopping in the Delphin then the Euro is a much better tool. If I want to cover distance or paddle-sail fast downwind then the Wing is the natural choice.

Anyway Duncan has been trialling the Greenland Roller for about 18 months now and thought it was ready for some wider exposure. He has designed it to be more powerful and faster than the traditional GP. One of the problems with the GP is that you don't get the nice laminar flow across the blade that you get with a Wing. If you attempt to load it too much it develops flutter and looses power. You can overcome this by canting the blade but this looses further power and efficiency. To address these problems Duncan and Alistair have come up with an innovative solution. The Greenland Roller has a slightly bigger blade area and inset into this are three rotating balls. There is a 2mm gap between the ball and the circumference of the hole within which it sits.

As the blade is drawn through the water the balls rotate and water can pass through more easily on only one side of the ball, depending on which way the ball is rotating. The beauty of the design is that the balls can rotate in either direction and you end up with a wonderful in built auto-correct mechanism that almost completely eliminates flutter and ensures smooth water flow.

Ian and I were sceptical at first but we each used the paddle for about 50 km on our 100 km paddle round the Small Isles. It really was a revelation...

...especially on the roughest day, crossing from the south coast of Canna and Sanday to Rum we had to cross the tide race and it was springs! An evil mixture of swell, clapotis, tide and wind created a confused sea. Ian was using the Euro I was using the Greenland Roller. It was noticeable how I was having a much easier time of it. In fact I had to slow down as Ian was falling behind as he had to put in so many brace strokes. A great advantage of the Greenland Roller is that it auto braces while you carry on with power strokes, the volume of the balls definitely helps here. Lastly, the Greenland Roller is the best rolling paddle I have ever tried. If you are having difficulty rolling this is the paddle for you. Paddling in a wind is also a breeze. The Bernoulli effect round the balls all but eliminates wind snatch and aerial flutter in stronger winds of about force 6.

So Ian and I award the Winning Greenland Roller 10/10 for both innovation and function. Patents are currently pending and licences are being negotiated with a number of well known paddle manufacturers. It is hoped that production models will reach the shops in about a year's time. We were sorry to hand it back.

A longer review of the Winning Greenland Roller will appear in issue 36 of Ocean Paddler magazine.

Silly Sammy seal snapped in Sound of Arisaig sunset splendor at Samalaman.

 We were just about to land at Samalaman when the sky seemed to turn to fire.

Ian, Jennifer and I decided to stay on the water to catch the end of the day. I noticed a bobbing head of a seal in the Sun's reflection...

 ...so I started paddling backwards. Silly Sammy seal started following me, thinking I couldn't see him!

Gradually the Sun sank below...

 ...the horizon but then the...

 ...sky to the east took on a wondrous pink glow.

 We really did not...

 ...know what way to...

 ...look as the palate of colour...

 ...changed with every...

 ...dying minute of the day.

 Ian's face says it all...

 ...sometimes we drifted alone, sometimes...

 ...we rafted up to better share the drama of the sunset.

A final flash of crimson on the underside of a low cloud signalled that it was time to end our day in the Sound of Arisaig.