Corpach Bay to a stag do at Shian Bay, Jura

 We had hardly left Corpach Bay before...

 ...we came across another stunning beach backed by a huge dune system at Traigh a' Mhiadair. (beach of the meadow). The dune system is enclosed by a wall of steep cliffs and the rabbits here are all black.

In a rock arch at the south end of the beach, the environmental artist Julie Brook lived and worked for a year between 1993 and 1994.

 The northeasterly breeze began to pick up and to the north the distant hills and mountains of Mull looked magnificent in the clear air.

 However it was the amazing cost of Jura which held our attention.

 The only other sign of human life on this stretch of coast was the creel boat Challenger SY46 from Skye.

 As we passed beach after beach, the Paps of Jura...

 ...gradually came into view.

 The sea became shallower as we approached Shian Island and...

 ...the clear water made it look like the reefs were...

 ...just inches from our keels.

 Our sails sped us on under a glorious blue sky which was broken only by...

 ...a pair of honking greylag geese.

 We were now within the reef system which guards Shian Bay (stormy bay).

...the turquoise water in this bay was stunning. Ian and I were tempted to stop for a swim and second breakfast.

However, there was still a cold breeze so while Mike enjoyed his lunch with a view to Colonsay, Ian and I had a quick, actually very quick, dip in a pool of the Sruthan Glac na h-Atha (burn of the narrow valley by the drying kiln). Feeling very refreshed I enjoyed the view with Mike while Ian went beachcombing.

He was delighted when he found an antler from a stag. Unfortunately it was not one of a pair but...

...it became a feature of Ian's back deck for the rest of the trip!

Dead beat and washed up at Corpach Bay, Jura.

Well in need of a break, we were delighted to find a breach in the NW cliffs of Jura at Corpach Bay.

The name tells a little of the history of this lonely spot. "Corpach" means place of the corpse and it was here that the people of Kintyre, Jura and Islay would leave the corpses of the deceased if it was too stormy to cross to the burial isles of Oronsay and Iona. Caves near Ruantallain to the SW were mostly used for the passage to Oronsay to the south of Colonsay. The caves at Corpach Bay were used for the passage to Iona. One of the largest is called Corpach Challuim-chille which loosely translated means place of the the corpse of the church of St Columba.

 Anyway after our hard paddle through the Corryvreckan the previous day and our early start, we were feeling dead beat and so where better too rest than Corpach Bay?

 After swapping paddles over, (we are currently comparative testing the excellent new VE Voyager paddle) we...

 ...unpacked our second breakfast things...

 ...and made our way up the beach.

Corpach Bay was easy to land on when we visited but it is often exposed to heavy surf and I would not like to meet these boulders in a loaded boat being driven in by surf.

 We could hardly belive how quickly the swell had dropped as less than 48 hours previously, the ferries were not running.

 I  thought this boulder buried in the sand looked a bit like a misshapen skull.

 Anyway, the sky was blue, the sun was shining and what a spot...

 ...we had found for second breakfast. Ian and briefly considered a quick swim in the sea as a wash up but a chill wind from the north had picked up. We were not the only ones to be washed up on Corpach Bay...

...these lobster pots and cobbles from the beach had been washed up by winter storms and were now left lying well inland from the beach.