Eclipse in the Sound of Arisaig.

This morning dark low clouds obscured the skies above Glenuig. The fresh wind was blowing from the NW where the skies over Eigg and Rum appeared lighter. In order to try and see the eclipse we paddled out into the Sound of Arisaig. This photo was taken at was taken at 09:28. Unfortunately the clouds were too thick to see the sun and moon at maximum eclipse which was at 09:34.

But at 09:56 the clouds thinned, just for a moment. I whipped the 5D mk3 out and got three quick shots. It was a tad tricky getting a non waterproof full size DSLR out in the water conditions.

I now have three eclipses burned on my right retina, I just need to close my eye and I see them so clearly...who needs photos?

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar 2014.

I wish a very Happy New Year and a great 2014 paddling season to all visitors to seakayakphoto.com. As way of a celebration of the last year and in anticipation of sea kayaking adventures yet to come, here is the 10th annual sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar from seakayakphoto.com. I apologise for its late arrival. Neither my computer nor myself have been in the best of health.

As in past calendars, all the photos were taken during the previous year (2013). Unfortunately I have not been paddling over the last 6 months so the choice of photos has been more limited than previous years. Nevertheless I have been able to choose photos from north and south of Ardnamurchan Point, the Inner Hebrides, the North Channel, the Firth of Clyde and the Solway Firth.

January.

The Little Cumbrae lighthouse in the Firth of Clyde proved surprisingly popular despite being in the depths of winter. We met friends from the Drumchapel and Clydebank Kayak Club there.

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February.

Rubha Carrach is on the exposed northern coast of Ardnamurchan. This coast is not paddled as often as it should be. Most circumnavigators of the British mainland cross to Eigg or Rubh' Arisaig on their headlong dash north. Paddlers staying in the area are faced with a circumnavigation of the whole Ardnamurchan peninsula if they only have one car, or a very long shuttle (over very slow single track) if they have two cars.

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March.

Glenuig Bay opens into the Sound of Arisaig and views extend along the Ardnamurchan peninsula and to Muck and the other Small Isles. One of the great joys of winter paddling is returning in the dark!

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April.

The north coast of Rum in the Sea of the Hebrides is a wild place. This is the sad wreck of the Jack Abry II, a French trawler that ran on to the rocks here just before midnight on the 31st January 2011. Fortunately, despite a gale and the surrounding cliffs and mountains, all 14 men on board were airlifted to safety by the Stornoway coastguard helicopter.

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May.

The Mull of Kintyre is a rather committing paddle. The tide was moving at  6 knots and even in benign conditions there was no landing for 25km. It sticks out into the North Channel which separates Scotland from Ireland. On this misty day there was no sign of Ireland and we felt like we were paddling round the edge of the World.

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June.

Kylie the dolphin can often be found near Ardlamont buoy at the

mouth of the the Kyles of Bute.

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July.

Murray's Isles lie in the mouth of Fleet Bay on the Solway Firth. In early summer they host noisy colonies of cormorants and gulls. The cormorants need to keep a watchful eye on their eggs and chicks as the gulls swoop down on any unguarded nest. It is a wonderful experience to drift in the tide past the colonies in kakak and watch, hear and smell the constant activity.

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August.

Nothing can be finer than paddling across the mouth of Loch Fyne on a summer evening.

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September.

The surf beach at Machrihanish is exposed to the North Atlantic swell and extends for over 6 kilometers. It is probably wise not to surf a fully laden sea kayak in amongst the surfers. The dune system behind the beach is one of the largest in Scotland.

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October.

Shoe Bay is easily missed as it is hidden in the skerries at the mouth of Loch Moidart. The name comes from the very soft sand which swallows footwear!

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November.

The dramatic outline of An Sgurr is the highest point of Eigg in the Sea of the Hebrides.

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December.

This is the view to the Small Isles from the silver sands of Morar Bay.  The bay is shallow and tidal and in a westerly wind, steep breaking waves build up as the ebb tide rushes over sandbars. On this trip the wind was from the east and all was calm.

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Caught on the wrong foot, retreat to Ardtoe.

Leaving the north channel of Loch Moidart we ignored the tempting sight of the Small Isles, Eigg and Rum and turned to the north where...

 ...we entered a turquoise lagoon where we...

 ...stopped for a well deserved second luncheon.

 We had intended continuing north and spending the night in a bothy in the Sound of Arisaig but two events changed our mind. The first was a phone call from my wife telling me that a family member was undergoing a life threatening major surgical operation. The second was the MSI weather warning on the VHF. It warned of imminent gales and heavy snow. Although we would have chosen a bothy in a relatively sheltered position in Loch Ailort, the medical news left me no option but to turn back. Ian is such a gentleman that he made it very easy to make the decision. We looked back wistfully to the mountains in the north but we both knew that we would return.

 We passed the hidden channel of the north entrance to Loch Moidart and the...

 ...the rocky ramparts of the west end of Eilean Shona before...

 ...rockhopping among the skerries and...

 ...channels to the hidden...

 ...sands of Ardtoe...

 ...which require maze solving skills...

 ...to finally find.

As a footnote, Ian and I faced blizzard driving conditions on our separate roads home and the March snows proved to be the worst of the winter with their drifts persisting well into April. Ian returned to his work at sea shortly but we will hopefully paddle again in late summer. Ian's account of this trip can be read here, here and here.

"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.