Oa, what a place to see goats and sea eagles!

 The west coast of the Mull of Oa on Islay is rockhopping heaven. We paddled through geos and...

...under waterfalls that...

...tumbled straight into the sea from the hills above. But we were not alone...

...we were being watched from both the land...

 ...and the air, by the resident feral goats and a sea eagle.

There's a kind of hush, all over the Oa tonight.

We set of from Lower Killeyan Bay and were soon weaving through a series of offshore stacks and...

...channels through the skerries. To the north of the bay, the tidal eddy was running against us even more strongly than it had before.

We took a last look back at the Mull of Oa from Sgeirean Buidhe Ghil before we took a...

...well earned rest in the shelter round the headland.

From high on the next headland our progress was watched over by...

 ...rocky gargoyles until we were hushed...

...into silence by Shhhhh rock!

Taking a break at Lower Killeayan on the Oa peninsula.

The west coast of the Mull of Oa is characterised by many offshore skerries and stacks. The Mull forms the SE boundary of Loch Indaal. Despite the flood tide, a strong counter eddy was flowing south, out of Loch Indaal, and joining the west going Mull of Oa tide race. At several pinch points we found ourselves paddling "uphill"!

 We took a break at the lovely Lower Killeyan beach. Visitors are advised not to swim here due to the strength of the tide.

Tony went off exploring while I sat on the rocks looking over the mouth of Loch Indaal to Orsay and its lighthouse some 14km away. It was near there, at Portnahaven, that we had launched to paddle the west coast of the Rinns of Islay just a few days before.

The way ahead looked even more interesting than where we had just come from so...

...after a leisurely luncheon we returned to the kayaks. It was a good feeling knowing we had passed the tidal crux of the journey and could now relax and enjoy paddling the incredible coast to come...

Round the Mull of Oa.

We now approached the great rock blade of Sgeirean Buidhe, which lies in the centre of the SW coast of the Oa peninsula.

On another trip earlier that year, we had encountered a major tide race off these rocks but on this day, Tony and I zipped past the headland on relatively smooth water before...

...breaking out into the eddy behind the point.

Ahead lay the Mull of Oa itself. It was still 2km away and is topped by the prominent American Red Cross Monument. It was erected in 1920 in memory of those who died when two troop ships, the Tuscania and the Otranto were lost off Islay in 1918.

The sharp eyed might notice the dark line on the horizon off the point, with white water licking the dark rocks. We were fortunate that there was no wind because by the time we got there the race was rushing westwards with standing waves 2m high. There was no escape inshore so we gripped our paddles and paddled straight into the race. We lost sight of each other in the troughs then when we cleared the headland, we battled northward against a south going eddy...

...which was making its way down the west coast of the Oa. We breathed a huge sigh of relief. We were safely through the tides and now we could enjoy paddling what is probably the best bit of sea kayaking coast on Islay...the west coast of the Mull of Oa.

Cormorants, goats and cliffs on the Oa.

 We set off down the SE coast of the Mull of Oa, threading small stacks crowned by cormorants.

The coast is composed of increasingly bold cliffs. As we approached  Rubha nan Leacan at 09:40 (which was 40 minutes before HW Dover) the west going flood tide had already started. HW Dover is supposed to be slack water but, like many of the inshore tidal streams round Islay, it starts about 45 minutes before published times.

Rounding the point to the SW coast of the Oa, the cliffs fall precipitously into the sea. Despite this, they are home to several flocks of nimble feral goats.

The tide was fairly zipping along as we approached the next headland at the base of Beinn Mhor, 202m.

The water was bumpy till we entered the calm of an eddy beyond the headland. We were now on the remote SW coast of the Mull of Oa and with the tides building behind us, we were now committed to continuing round the next two headlands...

Kayak sailing round the Heads of Ayr.

 The forecast for the Firth of Clyde was for sun and wind so a little trip to Ayr seemed in order.

 We set off from Seafield at Ayr just as the SW wind was picking up.

 By the time we got to the Heads of Ayr  we were getting tired but kept going...

 ...for another 2km...

 ...until we turned and...

 ...started the down wind blast..

 ...back to Bracken Bay for a break.

This is a new prototype Flat Earth Sail. It is 0.8sqm in area and is made of a dacron, spectra scrim, mylar laminate. The cut is fuller than previous sails. Some area has been moved from low down to  the leach. The cut of the leach has been tightened, stiffened with mini battens but still allows twist at the head. I like it a lot! I also thought the Delphin would perform well with a sail in a decent breeze and I was not disappointed.

This video will give some idea of the fun that can be had when kayak sailing. We were hitting 18km/hr on the waves. This was my first trial of the new Flat Earth Code Zero 0.8 sq metre sail. I paired it with the P&H Delphin 155. The wind was averaging 15knots gusting to 21knots as measured with an anemometer.

It was only 16km but it was an adrenaline filled trip. This was also Phil's first sea kayak sailing trip, what an introduction!

Oa, if it wasn't for the midges!

 The dawn came gently on Islay's Mull of Oa. Banks of mist hung over the windless sea

 Although the mist slowly burned off with the sun...

...the humidity was high and my camera kept misting up.

Another  problem with the lack of wind was a ferocious midge attack. This made loading the kayaks a rapid affair before...

...we tackled the surf and studs to escape their myriad of fangs.

Oa, what a beautiful day!

We really had found a piece of Paradise on the Oa peninsula of Islay. The bay was ringed by jagged stacks and the beach was backed by sheltering cliffs.

The turquoise sea was crystal clear and...

 ...the sands were washed by the gentle beat of the Atlantic surf.

 We gathered driftwood from the high tide mark and as...

...night fell, we warmed ourselves by the fire. Oa, what a beautiful day!

And they say there is no "Oa" in Paradise!

 From Laphroaig we had intended paddling across Caolas an Eilein to the island of Texa. However, the north wind was by now rather strong and we didn't particularly fancy getting blown past the Mull of Kintyre towards Ireland!

So we hugged the coast round to Port Ellen, where the MV Isle of Arran was lying at her berth. The wind was whistling out of Kilnaughton Bay. We used the lee of a series of skerries to hop half way across the Bay. Then Tony and I had to paddle across the exposed other half using a very high ferry angle and a lot of puff!

It was a relief to get into the shelter of the Carraig Fhada lighthouse. It was built by the Laird of Islay in 1832 to commemorate his wife who had died aged 36 years. We rested here for some time till we caught our breath...

...only to loose it again with the breathtaking beauty of the Mull of Oa (pron. Oh) coast.

 It was only 4pm but we had arrived in Paradise so...

...there was no point in going any further.

P.S. Tony mentioned the built in shower...

At the back of the beach, a burn cascaded over the top of the cliffs to form a natural shower. This was not just Paradise, it was Paradise with mod cons!