A traverse of the Gulf of Corryvreckan disturbed only by a shoal of fish.

As we set off from Glengarrisdale Bay towards the Gulf of Corryvreckan which lies between the isles of Jura and Scarba...

...the morning's cold front began to clear leaving...

...Glengarrisdale in full sunshine.

Colonsay and Oronsay were now distant bumps on the horizon behind us.

All attention was now on the western entrance of the Corryvreckan ahead. As we approached, we could still see breaking standing waves on either side of Eilean Mor but our timing was impeccable and...

 ...as we slid our bows into the jaws of the 'vreckan, it had fallen fast asleep.

In fact at one point the water was so slack we had to resort to paddling.  However, within 5 minutes of slack water we were travelling at...

...8km/hr with minimal paddling effort. Even Maurice began to relax due to the mill pond conditions as we crossed the mouth of Bagh Gleann nam Muc (Bay of the Glen of Pigs) and inside Eilean Beag. It is at this point that unstable standing waves appear at the end of the flood (especially if there is any swell from the west) and a race and anomalous waves develop during the ebb.

All of a sudden the water beside Maurice's boat began to boil and he nearly jumped out of his dry suit. He thought the tides were about to engulf him. However, it  was just a large shoal of fish driven to the surface by either the tide or a predator such as a seal or a cetacean.

 Leaving the Bay of Pigs our speed increased to...

...12km per hour as we approached Carraig Mhor and a quick glance astern...

...showed that Eilean Mor was already over 2km behind.

This telephoto shot through the Corryvreckan shows our last distant view of Colonsay on the horizon beyond Eilean Mor.

As we rounded Carraig Mhor, the narrowest part of the Corryvreckan, at 14km/hr David had his sail up and then proceeded to take his legs out for a stretch. Sam's only comment was "Legend!"

I have been through the Corryvreckan many times but this was easily the calmest. Just in case you think it is always like this, have a look at...

...this photo, taken when Tony and I were entering the Corryvreckan from the NW, it might just give you second thoughts..

As we passed Port nam Furm at the east end of the Corryvreckan, we entered the Sound of Jura and the last leg of our journey to Jura, Oronsay and Colonsay.

Exceeding expectations on the NW coat of Jura.

We had a big day ahead of us so we rose before dawn at Glengarrisdale in NW Jura. The dawn light spread through the Gulf of Corryvreckan which separates Jura from the dark brooding cliffs of its northern neighbour, Scarba.

 After cleaning up the bothy fire and having our breakfast we had carried our things to the shore and...

 ...were on the water by eight am. The tide was rapidly emptying the bay so there was a bit of catch up involved as we carried each loaded bout to the water's edge.

 It was great to be floating and weightless again after the heavy work on land. It was a perfect day with a blue sky, light breeze and a dropping swell.

 We waved goodbye to our new friends, Tom and Frances, who were watching the sunrise from the rocks at the entrance to the bay.

 On a last look through the Corryvreckan, we spotted the still snow streaked...

 ...summit of Ben Cruachan some 54km away to the NE.

 Ahead the NW coast of Jura stretched away in a series of bold headlands to distant Islay on the horizon. The series of cliffs, headlands and deep rocky bays gives no landing for 10km until they are breached at Corpach Bay.

 Above our heads we spotted the first of many mimetoliths on Jura..Iguana Rock.

The island of Jura has always been one of the least populated in the Hebrides. This is due to it being formed mostly of metamorphic quartzite interspersed with igneous basalt dykes. It produces a thin acidic soil, which is not conducive to agriculture.

 As we travelled SW we left the stronger tides of the Corryvreckan area behind and it was a pleasure to...

 ...take our time enjoying the views of the bold headlands...

 ...in the early morning light.

 Sometimes we entered the deep shade below the cliffs and were surprised to see...

 ...goats scrambling along ledges above precipitous drops.

To our right, the low outline of Colonsay beckoned. It was within reach being just 15km away. We would have had time to explore Oronsay then catch the 18:15 ferry down to Port Askaig in the Sound of Islay. Both Ian and Mike had expressed an interest in visiting Colonsay during pre-trip planning. But as I expected, they had both already been captivated by Jura and had decided to spend time exploring this wonderful coastline instead.

We soon came to the first raised beach of quartzite cobbles. Ian and Mike started snapping away with their cameras but I told them they would see plenty more!

 We passed a wreck of a dinghy which had been tossed high above the beach by winter storms.

 We were so glad to be here in such benign conditions, just two days previously the ferries had been storm bound!

The coast is riddled with caves. This now dry sea cave has a waterfall running down its back, The burn enters it through an ancient blow hole in its roof.

We had an exciting moment when a white tailed sea eagle rose from a skerry just a few metres beyond us then perched on the clifftop after just a few lazy beats of its wings.

Low tide reveals many offshore skerries with long passages running parallel to the shore. Some were blind and we had to retrace our wakes but fortunately this one lead through a tight gap to open water beyond. My goodness we needed a break to take it all in!

A traverse of the Corryvreckan: "Beware of the flood in a sudden calm preceded by several days of strong west winds."

Slack water after the Corryvreckan flood was at 16:10 on 19/04/2017. To give ourselves time to get to the west end of the Corryvreckan where the incoming swell would meet the flood tide we set off from Port nam Furm at 15:24.

As we rounded the headland at the north end of Jura we came across the Sea Leopard II tour boat from Craignish Cruises.  Her alert skipper immediately throttled back to reduce her wake. This was very appreciated as wake combines with the Corryvreckan currents to produce very irregular waves. Several times in the Corryvreckan I have had to battle against such wake waves from thrill seeking power boats. To be fair I have never met anything but courtesy from the professional tour boats. Anyway after a big wave of thanks to the Sea Leopard II we set on our way.

Ahead, our eyes were now drawn to the open sea. I was quite glad that neither Ian nor Mike seemed to notice the large standing waves to our right which were forming over the pinnacle in the fairway of the Corryvreckan where the whirlpool forms.

It had been very windy from the west until the early hours of the morning, so we approached the west end with some trepidation. The pilot books warn: "Beware of the flood in a sudden calm preceded by several days of strong west winds. On the last of the flood an overfall can form as the tide meets the swell and form a solid wall of water across the Gulf." However, all was calm as we made our way through the narrowest part of the Gulf but...

 ...as we caught sight of the first of the islands on the south shore, we met the first of a series of large large swells that were marching in against the outgoing tide.

At this point the flood tide was still running west at 6km/hour though out beyond the islands it appeared to be approaching slack water.

 We were approaching the gap between Aird Bhreacain and Buige rock (just to the NW of the 68 on the map) and where the water is shallower when all of a...

...breaking standing wave reared up right across the channel. The tide was carrying me towards it at 6km/hour and there was no way round so I just dug my paddles in to pick up some momentum. I got a face full of water but I was safely through. As I was then left trying to clear my flooded sinuses I have no idea whether the others had to face the same. It was now 16:08 just about bang on slack and we had got through the Corryvreckan! However, the tide had now turned and was now trying to push us back into the Corryvreckan. I had set a destination waypoint on my GPS and the velocity made good fell until it was reading -1.6km per hour. Time for a sharp exit!

George Orwell nearly came to grief here in 1947 with his son, nephew and niece when his motor dinghy got swamped. Fortunately the tide carried them onto Eilean Mor where they scrambled up the rocks. Some hours later a passing fishing boat  plucked them to safety.

 After 2.5km of somewhat strenuous paddling we arrived in the shelter of Bagh Uamh nan Giall. We had made it through the Corryvreckan. I have traversed the Corryvreckan many times E-W W-E on both the north and south shores, NW-SE, SW-NE and straight through the middle. I have no doubt that exiting the SW corner is the most committing though in 2008 Tony and I had a somewhat thrilling entrance, W-E on the north shore while the west going flood was still in full pelt.

On that occasion we took advantage of an east going eddy that runs along the Scarba shore on the flood. This eddy then swings out from the shore into the vortex that forms the whirlpool! Your breaking out skills need to be pretty sharp to avoid ending up in the whirlpool!

I have written extensively on the geography, history, mythology, and route planning of the Corryvreckan in previous posts which you can read here.

Sitting it out in Port nam Furm while waiting for the tide in the Corryvreckan

As we made our way up the coast of NE Jura a southerly breeze began to pick up and...

 ...it was strong enough to take an occasional rest to admire the local inhabitants.

Goats and particularly deer greatly outnumber the human inhabitants. Indeed Jura is one of the least densely populated areas in Scotland.

 We made great speed up to the prominent house at...

 ...Barnhill. This remote spot was chosen by George Orwell (real name Eric Blair) to recover his health after the war. He rented Barnhill from the Fletcher family (who still own and rent it) from 1946 until he died in 1950. He wrote the novel "1984" here between 1946 and 1948.

Beyond Barnhill, the current in the Sound of Jura really picked up and it accelerated us up to 14.5km/hr and...

 ...on towards the eastern end of the Gulf of Corryvreckan which separates jura from Scarba.

Great boils of water rose from the inky black depths of the Gulf and given the swell we expected to meet at the western end, it would have been foolish to continue through the Gulf until the flood tide had eased.

 I knew of an eddy within the eastern end of the Gulf which is backed by...

 ...a tiny bay called Port nam Furm (Port of the Chair). I had told the others that this was Gaelic for Last Chance Saloon! I had camped here with Tony in 2007 and stopped here with Jennifer, Phil and Tony in 2010.

When Tony and I camped we had time to climb to the N end of Jura to watch the flood which was at neaps, on this occasion it was almost springs.

It was rather frustrating sitting in the shelter not being able to see round the corner to the dreaded west end of the Corry. We wanted to arrive there at slack water which was at 16:10 (see here for how to calculate slack in the Corryvreckan) so we decided to wait.

 Fortunately this otter provided...

 ...plenty of entertainment while...

...we sat it out in Port nam Furm.