A ferry glide across the Sound of Jura

No sooner had we launched into Tarbert Bay than we came across this otter. Tony and I had seen it in exactly the same spot a year previously. We now set off to paddle across the Sound of Jura. We had set off from Carsaig Bay some 14km to the NE and the SW going tide was now well into its third hour of ebb.

There was hardly any wind but it was forecast to get up to F5 from the  north in the afternoon when the tide would have turned to north going. This would make for rather unpleasant conditions so we decided to return via Loch Sween to Tayvallich where we had left one of our cars.

We decided to ferry across the Sound of Jura on the ebb. Mike was very keen to visit the MacCormaig Islands but although the current mid channel was only 1.5 knots, it increases as you approach the east side and runs at 4 knots round the MacCormaigs at springs (which it was). I have missed the MacCormaigs before due to underestimating the tide so decided to make use of a NE going eddy which took us 1km up stream before setting off on the crossing.

 We then ferried across on 110 degrees magnetic and that...

 ...soon had us in mid channel and then into...

 ...an eddy in a kelp bed to north of the isolated rocky isle of Carraig an Daimh where...

 ...we regrouped to discuss strategy. We were now in an ideal position to run down tide to the MacCormaig Islands but Ian and I both had 200 mile drives home. So we decided to give the MacCormaigs a miss and...

 ...paddle from the rocky islands towards...

 ...the Island of Danna at the mouth of Loch Sween where...

 ...we landed on a white sand bay to...

 ...take luncheon. Anywhere else this would have been another spot of Heaven but it did feel a bit of an anticlimax after the amazing beaches on Jura.

 After lunch we bid farewell to Dana and with increasing cloud and...

 ...wind we paddled south...

...with our sails up for the entrance to Loch Sween. We turned our backs to the Paps of Jura for the last time and...

...on the horizon ahead the...

  ...MacCormaig islands did tempt but...

...we left them for another time and turned into Loch Sween. The ebb tide was still pouring out of the channels at the mouth of the loch but...

...soon we were safely inside paddling north in the shelter of the increasing wind. The last leg of our journey had begun.

An unarmed portage across the Tarbert of Jura

After landing at the head of the inner part of West Loch Tarbert, Jura our first priority was breakfast.

We then set off on the 1.9km crossing which is 26m high but involves 40m of ascent. I was using the prototype KCS Easy-Haul Harness (which I have already reviewed here) and Mike and Ian were using portage slings with short contact tow lines to attach the sling to the kayak. Straight away there was a disadvantage to using portage straps. Mike's was dry but we had used Ian's to extract the boats from the muddy waters of the loch and so Ian got a wet, muddy shoulder. As you can see you do not need to use your arms while towing your kayak on the trolley.

 My asthma was bothering me quite badly so I soon had to stop and take a breather but...

 ...there was no stopping Mike and he soon forged ahead.

 Ian and...

...myself made more leisurely progress and as you can see we did not need to use our arms.

Soon we were across the summit and down to the Island's main road which we followed for a brief distance until we came to the sign for Tarbert.

There was a much older sign nearby this standing stone has stood here for several thousand years. We were hardly pioneers of this route. There is also an early Christian chapel nearby where the bereaved carrying their dead to Oronsay and Iona would stop and pray for their safe passage and for the safe passage of the deceased into the next world.

At the Tarbert track turn off a new sign has been situated.

 Our progress to the beach was watched by two sturdy garrons which are used to take deer carcasses off the hill during the stalking season. Deer shooting is a major part of the island's economy.

There are many places in Scotland called Tarbert or Tarbet. The name comes from the Gaelic word Tairbeart. In modern Gaelic this means isthmus but its origin lies in "over carry" or "draw boat". Of course sea kayakers were not the first to portage their boats over the isthmus at Tarbert.  In about 1093 Magnus Barefoot, King of Norway, had made a truce with the King of Scotland that allowed him to claim possession of any land he could "sail" round. Of course he didn't necessarily use his own Vikings as labour. Unlike this Viking publicity picture, he "recruited" the unfortunate locals to do the drawing. Any that were too weak to pull were probably used as rollers under the boat. Unlike the Vikings, we had come unarmed and so had to draw our own boats across the isthmus.

Mention of the Vikings brings me back to the origin of the name Jura. I have already mentioned that three Viking words are thought by some to explain the name (the words for beast, deer and udder). In fact the name Jura predates the arrival of the Vikings by at least 150 years.  Ecclesiastical writing in AD 678 recorded what we now know as Jura as "Doraid Eilinn".

 We now arrived at the beach. Unfortunately it is a trap for rotting seaweed and unsuspecting sea kayakers.

Photo 17/4/2015

When Tony and I were last here a year previously it had not been too bad. This time it was on the retching side of bogging awful. We put drysuits and boots on to wade through the foul mass each of the six times it took to get the three boats to the beach. Two of us at the rear used a portage strap to take some weight off the wheels.

What a relief it was to wade into the clear waters of Tarbert Bay. We spent some considerable time cleaning the stinking glaur off our boots, suits and trolley wheels. However we were in no rush, the south going ebb was in full flow and we needed to go north! We were now back in the Sound of Jura.

In the wake of the dead at dawn through Inner West Loch Tarbert, Jura

HW was at 06:41 and we needed to be in the inner part of West Loch Tarbert as close to HW as possible to avoid a muddy exit and also to be able to paddle through the narrow rocky channel of Cumnann Beag before the spring tide turned against us. There was nothing for it but to rise early and forgo breakfast. We emerged from the bothy at Cruib Lodge, packed the boats in the cold blue predawn light and were...

 ...on the water before sunrise.

 The entrance to the inner loch is very inconspicuous and the flash of low light as the sun broke the horizon...

 ...helped us locate it. We entered the narrows at 06:28 and the tide was still flowing gently in. Although you will hardly see a soul in these waters today, this route (through West Loch Tarbert and across the narrow portage to Tarbert on the east coast of Jura) was once a busy highway from Argyll to Colonsay and Oronsay.

It was used by both pilgrims and by the bereaved carrying their dead for burial on the islands. The route avoided the strong tides of the Corryvreckan to the north and the Sound of Islay to the south.

 It was eerily silent as we paddled through the maze of the inner loch's...

 ...narrow channels and shallow waters.

 Gradually the inner loch...

 ...opened up and as the...

 ...sun rose and...

...day truly broke, we arrived at the head of the loch at 06:56. It was near spring HW and fortunately we stepped out onto grass. As we prepared our trolleys for the portage I noted that the tide continued to rise and did not start to fall until 07:20, almost 40 minutes after HW Oban at 06:41.

No evidence of book burning or obsessive compulsive behaviour at Cruib Lodge, Jura.

 From the great raised beach at the head of outer West Loch Tarbert we set off in a brisk wind...

 ...through the narrows at Cumhann Mor which lead into...

 ...the middle loch. We were in the last hour of the flood so in addition to the wind we had some tidal assistance. This required some care as the narrows are riddled with rocks.

 We took the tidal inside passage behind Eilean Dubh before entering the broader expanse of the middle loch proper.

 Cruib Lodge is easy to miss but I had been before and we turned left after the right headland.

 Cruib Lodge was built in Victorian times as the deer larder for...

 ...the Ruantallain Estate. The right third is a store. The middle third is the MBA bothy with a sleeping platform for two. The left third is an airy bright room which is the former deer larder. The former ventilation vents in its three exterior walls have been replaced by large windows making it possibly the brightest and airiest bothy room in Scotland. There is a sleeping platform for three or four. It is left open outwith the deer shooting season but is locked for use by the estate during the season.

It was a joy to arrive at an empty bothy at HW as we did not even need to pull the boats up the beach.

 One by one...

 ...we rounded the headland until...

 ...all three were on the beach.

The sun was setting fast so we left the identical boats lined up on the beach while we dried our things in the last of the sun. Afterwards we hung our identical dry suits on individual pegs in the lodge and got our meal ready.

We chose to dine outdoors on the freshly painted table and sample some Jura Superstition whisky, which had been distilled a mere 16.47km away over the hills. One thing I like about sea kayaking is that the unpredictable and variable nature of the weather, tides etc. tends not to attract people with an obsessive compulsive personality...

 While we arranged our cutlery this is the view we enjoyed with our meal.

After eating we unloaded the boats of the driftwood we had gathered earlier and sawed it into equal sections for the fire. We had enough to leave for others (no driftwood reaches this middle part of the loch) so we felt justified in using some of the neatly stacked peats our friend Tony had cut and left on his recent visit. The fine library of books above the fire had escaped burning since Tony and I had visited exactly a year before. This is a sign of an appreciative and literate clientele.

As the moon rose into the clear sky the temperature plummeted and we were...

 ...glad to be in a cosy bothy. We planned to paddle through the next narrows to the inner loch the next day and portage over the track from its head to the east coast of Jura. At spring tides the ebb runs out at over 8 knots through a clean rocky channel with no eddies. There was nothing for it but to get up early.

After a final check of the moon and stars we went to bed. The only other sign of life was this yacht lying at anchor. Given the forecast F5-6 winds overnight, I knew her crew would get less sleep than us as they would need to keep an anchor watch and keep checking her position.

Ian and Mike used the large room with the windows but my asthma was bothering me a bit so I slept in the middle room beside the remains of the smouldering peat. I thought the air would be drier. I had forgotten about the bothy mice which kept me awake for a good part of the night.