No restriction on draft at Portavadie Marina.

 From Asgog Bay, Mike and I took a little detour...

 ...round the island of Sgat Mor and its little lighthouse before turning north into the mouth of Loch Fyne, the biggest sea loch in Britain,...

 ...towards Portavadie Marina where we had...

 ...booked lunch for 12:30. The marina is the largest man made hole in the World. It was made to construct giant...

...concrete oil rigs even bigger than this one at nearby Ardyne, which I photographed when it was near complete in 1977.

 The huge dock cost £14 million to excavate in the late '70s but by the time it was completed the industry had moved on to cheaper steel rigs. Portavadie never built a single rig! For a while it was used by a fish farm but it has been home to the excellent Portavadie Marina for quite a few years now. The hole is so deep that the marina proudly boast "There is no restriction on draft"

We paddled to the head of the marina and there we met David and Phil. We had originally planned a trip to Islay or Tiree but last minute commitments meant David and Phil could only manage 2 days and one night. Mike and I then decided to go for a more local paddle so that David and Phil could join us.

Where better to meet than the Portavadie Marina restaurant and bar? No restriction on draft? We can test that. We'll start with four pints of Guinness please.

We decided to go for a two course dinner and I started with the Taste of “Argyll Smokery” seafood and shellfish, pickled vegetables, watercress and wasabi cream. Service was excellent, so what a great second luncheon, highly recommended.Yes, sea kayaking can be a most arduous activity when one can be exposed to great hardships.

Some considerable time passed before we set off once more on our sea kayaking exploration of Argyll's secret coast.

Michelin starred pow wow at Knockinaam

We had been paddling along the remote Rhinns of Galloway peninsula for what seemed ages. Our stomachs were groaning with hunger pangs. 

At last we came across a break in the previously relentless rocks, Port of Spittal Bay. We have several times passed this spot without stopping. There appeared to be a house standing a little way back from the beach. We started drooling with the thought that perhaps we could beg some morsels of food.

On this cold January day, the North Channel tide race was pumping on the horizon. There was a little shore break in the bay...

...and it was good to feel our feet on the beach of coarse, grey sand and shingle.

Weak with hunger, our faltering steps took us up the beach towards the isolated house...

...we opened the creaking door and stepped inside. We were warmly greeted and told we were to be the only guests at the Knockinaam Lodge hotel that night. We were told a previous resident had been Sir Winston Churchill, who held several secret meeting here with President Eisenhower during the dark days of WW2.

Even better, we discovered that the hotel has a restaurant (though it only has a solitary Michelin star). Despite there just being just the two of us, Tony Pierce the chef, put on the full menu. We dined exceptionally well that night then slumbered in the warm, comfortable room with the waves crashing on the shore as a lullaby.

End of the day at Traigh Mhor, Islay.

 Beyond Soldier's Rock, the coastline of the Oa peninsula is riven by a series of basalt dykes in various states of erosion. Some like this one are still in place.

Others like this one, through a stack off Rubha Mor, have eroded away leaving channels just wide enough for a kayak to sip through.

When we rounded Rubha Mor we saw the great sweep of Traigh Mhor backed by the distant Paps of Jura. It is one of the biggest beaches in the Hebrides.

Our two day trip round the south coast and the Oa peninsula of Islay came to an end at the commercial camp site at Kintra. While I pitched the tents and unpacked the gear, Tony cycled the 21km and 360m of height to recover the car at Claggain Bay. If you arrive by sea kayak, check in at the farm before you pitch your tent as there are a limited number of pitches by the sea and you might need to carry your gear about 100m inland.

That night we enjoyed an excellent curry in the unprepossessing Maharani Restaurant in Port Ellen all washed down with lashings of ginger beer (it is not licensed). We both agreed that the west coast of the Mull of Oa is one of the best paddles that we have ever done.