Tunnel vision and the consumption of alcohol when winter sea kayaking in Loch Sunart.

The east wind whistled straight down Loch Sunart from the icy slopes...

 ...of Garbh Bheinn at its head.

 To the west gathering snow clouds darkened the sky but...

 ...the view to the east continued to clear and patches of blue sky appeared and bursts of sunlight dappled the hillsides.

 Mike spotted a rare beach of sand so it was undoubtedly time for second luncheon...]

...which we enjoyed  on the rocks below the ancient oak woods of Sunart, which come right down to the shore.

We poured some excellent Jura, which went down extremely well. However this blog has been spammed recently by "a responsible seakayaker" who is very unhappy that I am setting a bad example by portraying drinking while sea kayaking. Here is this morning's example:

"I am a responsible sea kayaker and I strongly object to your repeated glorification of the consumption of alcohol on your sea kayaking trips. Have you no insight into the bad example you are setting to impressionable sea kayakers whose lives are endangered by your irresponsibility? You should be ashamed of yourself."

Just in case there are any impressionable sea kayakers out there who feel they are unduly influenced by our luncheon habits (we never imbibe with breakfast by the way), let me just say that:

"Alcohol can impair your judgement, affect your coordination, make you more liable to exposure and if you are male, make you impotent."

 I trust any impressionable readers have now  been well and truly warned of the evils and dangers of drink. Anyway back to a pleasant luncheon and a dram of Jura...

...Cheers "responsible seakayaker", slàinte mhòr!

Please see below for comments and also Ian's post on his blog with comments also.

 It was now time to return to the waiting boats as...

 ...yet more snow showers gathered ...

...round the loch but at least the...

...wind slowly dropped away.

As the clouds gathered, the only clear sky was to the east through the "tunnel" of Glen Tarbert. The sun was shining on Sgorr nam Fiannaidh 967m some 35 km distant. Its sunlit slopes acted as a beacon and guided us safely home, through the darkening skies and snow showers of Loch Sunart.

After saying goodbye to Simon and Liz, Ian Mike and I drove back to Corran where the ferry was crossing Loch Linnhe from the Lochaber side.

After a short ferry crossing and drive we arrived back at the Ballachuilish Hotel for a hot bath, an excellent meal and several pints of sports recovery drinks.

At only 20 kilometres this was a short trip but we felt we had made the most of an unpromising winter day and had enjoyed great company.

Wind, sun and snow through the Laudale Narrows, Loch Sunart.

We had enjoyed an extended luncheon in the shelter of Garbh Eilean but when it started to snow we decided it was time to return.

The east wind was still blowing and we had a stiff paddle across the bay to...

 ...the shelter of Rubha na Daimh.

 There were still blinks of sun through the heavy snow bearing clouds as...

 ...we approached Laudale House which can be rented by parties of up to 20! Laudale House was built by John Campbell of Ardslignish starting in 1755 and finally finishing in 1790. Then we entered...

 ...the eponymous narrows through which...

...we passed into the inner loch. The flood tide had just turned in our favour but had not yet built up sufficient speed to create wind over tide conditions.

The eastern wind and the den of the wild beast in Loch Sunart.

Aws we made our way west along Loch Sunart a little breeze got up from the east.

 It was enough for Ian, Mike and myself to get the sails up.

 It was a wonderful feeling to be out on the loch on such a day.

It was a much better day for Ian to get the hang of paddle sailing than the stronger winds of the previous day.

 As Simon and Liz didn't have sails we covered more ground by tacking downwind.

 The north shore of Loch Sunart is surprisingly wild as the road lies some way back from the shore. This headland is Sron na Saobhaidh.

Roughly translated it means "promontory of the den of the wild beast". Brown bears roamed the Sunart woodlands until about 1000AD and wolves hung on until about the early 1700s.

 We arrived at the Laudale narrows as the last of the tide was ebbing west. The ingoing spring rate is 3 knots and the outgoing rate is 3.5 knots.

Once through the narrows the wind picked up and we...

 ...sped past the woods os sessile oak and...

  ...Caledonian pine.


 It was tempting to blast straight on down the loch but it was...

 ...getting near luncheon time so...

...we broke out into the lee of ...

 ...Garbh Eilean.  Here we...

...enjoyed an excellent first luncheon  while sheltered from the cold eastern wind.

Good companions under a Strontium blue sky.

On the third day of our winter adventure we had originally planned to drive to the head of Loch Etive. However, when we had passed the minor road end on the drive north through Glen Coe it was completely blocked by snow. The day's forecast also promised heavy snow by the afternoon. Staff in the hotel told us that the road over to the head of Loch Sunart was clear so we decided to go there!

From Ballachuilish the quickest way involves a ferry across the Corran Narrows. The ebb had already turned and was streaming past the end of the jetty. It can get very rough here with wind against tide!

 The Corran Lighthouse was built in 1860 by Thomas and David Stevenson.It was automated in 1898.

 We had a short wait as the ferry was still at the Ardgour side.

 The main ferry is the MV Corran. She was built in Hull and entered service in 2001. The relief ferry lying at mooring is the MV Maid of Glencoul. She was built in Ardrossan and entered service on the Kylesku route in 1976.  She remained there until the Kylesku bridge was built in 1984 when she was transferred here to the Corran route..

 We drove to the Strontian slipway at the head of Loch Sunart. The element strontium was discovered here.

The day already looked better than forecast. This is the view east up Glen Tarbert to the distant Glen Coe hills from which we had just driven. The summit of the glen is 117m above sea level but at the end of the last Ice Age when sea levels where higher, Loch Sunart connected to Loch Linnhe through Glen Tarbert making what is now the Morvern peninsula an island, in fact one of the Hebrides! In 2010 we paddled round Morvern, shuttling across Glen Tarbert with the cars.

We had taken the chance and texted local paddlers Simon and Liz the previous evening. Ian and I were delighted when they agreed to come. We had not all paddled together since the filming of Sea Kayak with Gordon Brown Volume 2 in 2011.

In no time we were off and right on time...

...the clouds cleared leaving a Strontium blue sky!

I love paddling on the Scottish sea lochs in the winter. Here we were surrounded by snow...

...covered mountains and we would need to paddle 46 km before we reached the open sea!

The view was equally good looking back up the loch.

The bold slopes and ridges of Garbh Bheinn 885m rose high above the head of the loch. Looking at its snowy slopes reminded me of my late friend Dr John Tolmie who died in a climbing accident at the end of March 2014. John and I had been climbing the direct start to the Great Ridge of Garbh Bheinn on 11th August 1999 when all went dark, there was a near total eclipse of the sun!

Although about half my paddling is on my own, I much prefer sharing my time outdoors with like minded folk.

I had a great chat with Simon as he has recently also bought a Canon 5D mk3. I did notice he did not produce it on the water though! Mind you his is not off to Canon UK for repairs! I hope I get it back soon!