In the picture: a blaze of glory in Glen Etive

By the time we launched from Achnacloich, on the south shore of Loch Etive, the sun had set. With the approach of night, a layer of cloud flooded the sky from inland and the summit of Ben Cruachan was lost from view.


After a while, I turned round to see where Jim W was. I was amazed to see that the sun, which was by now well below the horizon, was illuminating the advancing edge of cloud in a fiery glow above the distant mountains of Mull.


I quickly got the camera out and shouted directions to Jim, to get him in the picture."North, North, North!" I shouted. He was some way away and could not hear properly. He changed direction but had no idea what the excitement was about...


...until he too stopped in his tracks...


and looked over his shoulder.


The four of us agreed it was one of the most spectacular sunsets we had ever seen but all too quickly its ephemeral beauty was gone and the glen was left in the gathering darkness.

Last supper at Dun Creagach, Loch Etive

As the sun sank in the west a golden light suffused the wintry mountain scene to the east. Jim W and Jim B were dwarfed by the scale of the landscape.


As we paddled on, shapely Ben Cruachan (1126m) came to dominate the horizon but its size belittled the distance still to cover to our destination, which lay at its feet.


Second luncheon seemed a long time ago, it was time for a break. We paddled past the sheltering Abbot's Isles into a delightful stony beach under the gardens of Achnacloich House.


As the sun set, we prepared and ate a fine supper finished off by the last of the Christmas cake, freshly brewed filter coffee, a selection of fine malts and finally, a poke of chocolate caramel sweets provided by Jim B.

As I cast my eyes about this beautiful scene, I noticed the tell tale flattened conical shape of an ancient fort. It is Dun Creagach and is probably at least 2,000 years old. It never ceases to amaze me, but even in the remotest parts of our travels by sea kayak, wherever we land was also where our ancestors would have landed. If you look round carefully, you will often spot signs of their presence in this ancient land. We could see why our ancestors had chosen this spot to live their lives.


The day was drawing to an end, the sun was nearly set and the temperature was now plummeting like a stone. It was time to return to the kayaks. We did not realise it at the time but this was to be our last supper with Jim B. What a fantastic memory to have of a special friend.

Of time and tide at the Falls of Lora

We drifted under the bridge at the the Connel Narrows on Loch Etive at 5km/hr.


It was 16:13, two hours before the start of the ebb.


It was a neap tide and despite the current, it was like a millpond over the shelf of the Falls of Lora.


At a spring tide on the flood we might have expected some decent standing waves here. On the ebb on a spring tide, the Falls can be very spectacular as Loch Etive drains into the sea over a rock shelf.


We were now being carried into the inner part of Loch Etive and the horizon ahead became closed in by the mountains.


Watching the bridge, we drifted backwards in the current for some way...


...until the bridge became obscured by a bend in the loch.


I am not the only member of my family to have enjoyed this view from a small boat. This photo was taken in July 1927 by my great grandfather, who explored many of the west coast lochs and islands by rowing boat. The view has hardly changed at all, despite the passage of 83 years.


This photo shows the Falls of Lora on the ebb tide, 2 days after springs at 12:08, when the best waves were predicted to form between 11:09 and 12:56.


Photo copyright Simon Willis www.seakayakroutes.com

This photo, by my friend Simon, was taken from a platform under the bridge at the 2006 Storm Gathering. It is one day before springs, on the ebb and shows the Falls in an altogether different light.

Its amazing the difference a few hours can make, if not 83 years!

Flat Earth Kayak Sails preview

David enjoys the Flat Earth Kayak sail on a Quest LV.


My friend David and I have been experimenting with kayak sails for nearly two years now. We are both keen sailors and windsurfers so it seems very natural to us to put a sailing rig on a kayak. Indeed when "sea canoeing" took off in the west coast of Scotland at the end of the 19th century, nearly all were fitted with sails. Note, those who fancy experimenting with a Mark I brolly, please wrap some pipe insulation round the handle. It is more comfortable to hold and when the inevitable happens and you let go, it won't sink!


Sailing rigs on sea kayaks are not that common in the UK but are very big in Australia and New Zealand. We got in touch with various people over the Internet and have tried a variety of different rigs including the Pacific Action V rig (above). This is quite heavy and not particularly aerodynamic, although it is great fun downwind in a strong wind, it is not much fun in lighter winds and you really can't reach across the wind with it. The sheeting system, which adjusts the angle of the two masts is not exactly intuitive, unless you are dead downwind. The sail is also really just a flat triangle, with little shape in it. However, in a force 5 with a good sized swell, we got the old Aleut Sea II double up to a burst speed of 22km/hr by a mixture of paddling, surfing and sailing!


Next we tried Mick MacRobb's Flat Earth medium sail from Australia. We have used these sails on long open crossings such as to Ailsa Craig, long lochs such as Loch Fyne, Loch Linnhe, Sound of Mull, Loch Sunart. We have used them in coastal chop in the Firth of Clyde to open Atlantic swell off the west coast of Islay and in winds up to force 5 and in strong tidal waters such as the Sound of Islay and the Solway.

What we can tell you is that Mick's design is absolutely stunning. It's a proper sail, made by an expert sailmaker, as any sailor/windsurfer will see by the way the roach is bending off nicely towards the head of the sail in the bottom photo. This twist gives the sail a very broad range of usable wind strength, which other sails, without a sailmaker's skill in shaping, simply can't match.

All the fittings such as the mast, the mast foot and the goose neck have all been custom designed for the purpose and are not simply bits adapted from yachts and dinghies. The battens are even sewn into the sail with just the right amount of tension, saving you more guesswork using a tensioning strap.

The deck fittings are easy to fit using a drill, bolts and washers. On some kayaks you might be very lucky and not need to drill too many holes, because you can use existing recessed deck fittings.

You don't need a rudder to steer with Mick's rig, you raise the skeg and it points up into the wind and you drop the skeg and it bears off downwind. You don't need outriggers either! We carry on paddling when using the sail but in a force 4 you can expect to make about 9km/hr on a broad reach without paddling. So far the maximum we got on a GPS burst speed was 23km/hr sailing and surfing downwind on a broad reach. With a sailing rig you don't wait for the right swell, you overtake them then take your pick! 14km/hr is an easily achievable speed in force 4 to 5 and 9km/hr at the bottom end of force 4 and, again without paddling 6-7 km/hr in a force 3.

When broad reaching or beam reaching, paddling has a synergistic effect, increasing the apparent wind, so sheet in and go! We did not experience a "death roll" with Mick's rig though we did with the Pacific Action V sail. If anything, the Flat Earth sail steadies the kayak in difficult conditions. The sail won't beat into the wind, so tacking only happens if you want to change direction, round a headland say. We found if you raised the skeg but kept sheeted in the kayak would gently nose into the wind, the sail would depower and a couple sweep strokes would get the wind filling in on the other side of the sail. Downwind, gybing was easy using stern rudder/sweep strokes to turn the nose of the kayak through the dead downwind position. Because there is no kicking strap, the boom rises during the gybe, depowering the sail so there is little risk of capsize and the gybe is a slow, gentle sequence. You can speed the boom on its way over with a deft flick of the paddle on the sheet and then the gybe will happen more quickly. However, you need to have sorted out in your mind before hand how and where you will put in a quick brace, if required.


The V sails are really downwind only but as you can see in the above photo, you can close reach with Mick's Flat Earth rig.

Kayak sailing is a really dynamic and exciting activity so watch this space, our little group will soon have 5 of Mick's sails. Once my knee is better and I can get round a bit easier, anyone who fancies a shot would be most welcome to come along on one of our trips. You will need to swap kayaks as some of the rig fittings need to be bolted to the kayak.

I really can't understand why there is so little interest in sea kayak sailing in this country. There is not a single mention in Gordon Brown's otherwise excellent book Sea Kayak. I am not a great one for sea kayaking badges but as far as I recall, there was not a single mention of sailing rigs in either the 4* or the 5* syllabus either.

Friends have suggested that this lack of interest in the UK is because previous rigs have basically turned your simple sea kayak into a complex, heavy sailing boat with outriggers etc. and then you end up sailing instead of paddling. That is clearly not the case with Mick's rig which is quick to rig, light, simple and an adjunct to paddling, just as catching a swell is.

Others have suggested it is because your kayak must need a rudder because a sailing dinghy needs one. That is clearly not the case, a skeg helps but we have used the sailing rig quite happily with the skeg kept up.

Another concern is capsize and entrapment and when I started using sailing rigs I did have my knife to hand! I am not worried about entrapment because in Mick's design, all the lines are well forward of the cockpit. There are two control lines, an uphaul to pull the mast forward and up (when it then becomes a fore stay) and a sheet. Both are connected to the mast or sail by shock cord so there is some give, in case of gusts. With the rig up, control lines are all out of the way of paddling/rolling paddle arcs so you are free to carry on paddling. The sail can be raised and lowered very quickly. When rolled up on deck, they are very unobtrusive and are unaffected by rescue practice.

You can roll with the sail deployed. I have not tried this yet myself, because of my knee injury but here is a rolling clip on Gnarly Dog's blog. It is actually quite easy to prevent a capsize because, at the speed you are going at in windy conditions, there is a huge amount of lift generated by simply trailing a paddle blade out to the side in a static low brace position.

Once my knee is a bit better I will get back to testing and hope to submit a full review and long term test to Ocean Paddler magazine which will also appear here after the magazine has been published. At the moment there are no UK dealers and you need to order direct from Mick but I hope that very soon a well known UK dealer will start to import and distribute these really excellent sails. I am afraid this preview can only give you a brief idea of these sails's abilities and because my knee operation got in the way, much of it is through the experience of others. What I can say is that I have literally been blown away by these sails and I can't wait till my knee gets better enough to give them a thorough long term workout!

I have posted detailed fitting instructions for Flat Earth Kayak Sails here.

Sea kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar, July 2010

July, sunset over the Outer Hebrides from Coll.

The seakayakphoto.com July desktop calendar is available for download here.

Made in Scotland from girders and glaciers.

We now entered the outer part of Loch Etive. The loch stretches away for 30km into the mountains, where it becomes the most fjord like of the Scottish sea lochs. It was cut by a massive glacier that gouged a U shaped trench through the mountains and was flooded by the sea when the glacier melted.


At the Connel narrows the view is dominated by the Connel bridge. It was built in 1903 to take the railway from Oban to Ballachuilish and its slate quarries.


In 1914 a roadway was added, which allowed vehicles to cross when no trains were on the line. The railway was closed in 1966 and since then it has been used only for road traffic. A one way system controlled by traffic lights is required as the bridge is not wide enough for two lanes. When it was built in 1903, no one could have expected the explosion in road traffic, even in this relatively remote part of Scotland.

As we approached the bridge it looked as if a light plane was going to try and land on it, but it was on its final approach to the small airfield just north of the bridge.


The Connel narrows formed where the glacier met the warmer sea and melted. As a result the narrows are very shallow and if the sea level was only a few feet lower, Loch Etive would have been a fresh water loch like Loch Lomond, Loch Shiel and Loch Morar.


The bridge is of cantilever construction and like irn bru was made in Scotland from girders, not to be drunk but to last!


We drifted under the bridge just an hour before HW slack and there was hardly a ripple to disturb the surface. However, there is a shallow sill, just below the ducks, over which the spring ebb tide pours as the Falls of Lora. A series of standing waves creates a very testing playground for play boaters. Tony Hammock of Seafreedomkayak has produced an excellent guide to kayaking the Falls of Lora.

All quiet at Dunstaffnage

Leaving Ganavan Bay the conglomerate rocks of Ganavan Hill tumble steeply into the sea. Silver birch cling to the steep slopes and survive on ground that is too steep for sheep to get at their seedlings.


Rounding a headland a strip of low lying ground links Ganavan Hill to an isolated hill called Chapel Hill which was once probably an island. On the flat ground, the modern buildings of the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory of the Scottish Association for Marine Science are being extended with the construction of a new teaching building.


We had now reached the point in our voyage where we turned east through the gap between Rhuba Garbh to the north end of Chapel Hill and the island of Eilean Mor. In the distance the snow covered slopes of the Benderloch mountains rose into patches of drifting cumulus clouds.


Through the trees, at the back of a delightful gravel beach, we could just make out the grim curtain walls and towers of Dunstaffnage Castle . The name has mixed Gaelic and Norse origins, Dun means fort in Gaelic and staffnage is derived from "stafr nis", staff headland in Norse.

There has been a fortification for at least 1500 years. In the days of sea communication, this site, at the junction of Loch Etive, the Firth of Lorn, the Sound of Mull and Loch Linnhe, had incredible strategic importance and the castle walls would not have been hidden away in trees. They would have dominated the landscape from every direction. Dunstaffnage was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Dalriada, which was founded by the Scots, who came to this coastline from Ireland. They brought with them the Stone of Destiny, upon which their Kings sat to be crowned. The stone reputedly came from the Holy Land via Ireland and Iona to Dunstaffnage. It was moved inland to Scone Palace in 843 with the advent of Viking raiders.

Most of the current castle was built in the early 1200's by the McDougall clan, who paid homage to King Hakon IV of Norway. In 1249 Alexander the II of Scotland assembled a fleet in Oban in order to seize Dunstaffnage as part of a campaign to regain control of the Western Isles from the Vikings and their allies. He died unexpectedly on the island of Kerrera and the attack was aborted. Unfortunately for the MacDougall's the respite was short lived. Dunstaffnage was captured after a siege by King Robert the Bruce in 1309, after the MacDougalls had backed his rival John Balliol. In 1470 it was transferred from the Royal estate to the Cambell clan.


A little further round, we could see the more modern addition to the castle, the Gatehouse, which is still the occasional private residence of the Captain of Dunstaffnage. The rest of the castle is open to the public for a small charge to Historic Scotland who now care for it.


Nowadays Dunstaffnage is a quiet backwater and we drifted past the castle in peace, to enter Loch Etive.