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....

Sea kayaking desktop photo calendar 2007.

January
Looking northeast from Sgeir a'Ghail, Loch Nevis, to Knoydart.


February
Cailean Macleod at Coldingham Bay, Scottish Borders.


March
The distant Cuillin mountains of Skye are seen to the south west from Eilean Stacan, Loch Carron.


April
The Scarba shore of the Gulf of Corryvreckan at slack water. 15 minutes later we were doing 18km/hr without paddling!


May
No, it's not Scotland! It is the wonderful reef of Les Ecrehous 10.5km NE off the NE corner of Jersey in the Channel Islands.


June
Looking towards the grey hills of Lewis from Scarp.


July
The entrance of Loch Rog, Lewis.


August
The Sound of Harris from Bearnaraigh.


September
Sea stacks at Cliobh, Lewis.


October
Paddling out to Bearasaigh and Seana Chnoc, Lewis.


November
The tidal Clachan Sound runs under the "Bridge over the Atlantic", Nether Lorn.


December
Sunset down the Sound of Jura from Loch Caolisport, Knapdale.

The photos here on Blogger are 640x800. If you would like high resolution 1024x1280, 1024x768 or 800x600 copies, please visit the Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery.

May 2007 be good to you.

Easdale islander initiative

The little island of Easdale (which I recently described ) has been cut off from its larger neighbour, the island of Seil for nearly a week. Winter storms have shifted the slate spoil at the mouth of its sheltered harbour. The open passenger ferry boat has been unable to access its jetty and islanders have been stranded on the mainland and schoolchildren have been unable to get to school. The local council were not making very fast progress to dredge the harbour but The Herald reports a story of great island initiative. Islander Mike Mackenzie bought a 12 ton JCB excavator on the mainland and had it shipped to Easdale on a landing craft. He then spent 36 hours excavating the harbour mouth himself and restored the islanders' ferry link. Wonderful!



Easdale has 60 permanent residents and 13 of these are children of school age or younger. The island is car free and the passenger ferry takes just 5 minutes to cross to Seil.



The harbour was built in the 18th century and its beautifully constructed walls are now protected by an architectural "B" listing. There is a great deal of interesting industrial architecture and heritage on Seil as it was once a centre for slate mining.



It is easy to kayak through the narrow harbour mouth and explore the sheltered jetties and inlets within.



The little harbour is dominated by the bulk of Dun Mor on Seil and by the initiative of the islanders.

The bridge over the Atlantic.

In a recent post on Easdale, I mentioned the Island of Seil. Since 1793, a single arch bridge has connected Seil to the mainland of Lorn south of Oban. The delicate sandstone arch on Tanera Beag brought the Clachan Bridge to mind. It spans the tidal Clachan Sound which is connected to the ocean, hence its common name "the bridge over the Atlantic". The narrow Clachan Sound runs straight for 1.5 kilometers before it joins the Seil Sound to the south to the Firth of Lorn to the north. Some think it must have been dug out as a canal but it is natural, occupying a fault line. It is a sheltered highlight on a circumnavigation of Seil but you need to get the tides right as the Sound can run like a river!