Waiting for the ebb in the Corryvreckan.

We entered the great gulf of Corryvreckan just before slack water. There was no swell and we had never seen the SW of Scarba in such calm conditions.


Jennifer tried to look under the water to see if she could see the Old Hag that stirs the Corryvreckan but the witch must have been scared of Jennifer's goldfish hat.


Even at slack water there was some stirring as we paddled over the submarine pinnacle that throws up the "whirlpool".


Even Phil had found the whole experience somewhat anticlimactic, so we decided to stop for an evening meal...


...on a lovely cobbled beach on the NE tip of Jura.


We had a grandstand view of the Corryvreckan as we consumed our victuals and washed them down with a fine malt or two. We would now wait until the ebb had built up sufficiently for a little fun...

Sea Kayaking desktop wallpaper calendar August 2010

August, The Sound of Gunna.

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Guirasdeal, a miniature Scarba!

On leaving Lunga we approached the fair isle of Guirasdeal and Scarba beyond. It is like a miniature Scarba. One wonders what sort of cataclysmic geological events shaped this wonderful little isle.


We often take a break on its steep cobble beach but I knew my knee could not stand a landing there. At this point we had to decide whether to return to the Sound of Jura via the Grey Dogs (over Jennifer's left shoulder) or to carry on further south west and go through the Corryvreckan.


We decided to make for the Corryvreckan and crossed over to Scarba. There is another beach at the NW corner of Scarba but it is not suitable for dodgy knees either!


The cliffs, with their dry caves and raised beach, make Scarba's west coast a truly inhospitable place. This is the calmest we have ever seen it but there was nowhere to land, for anyone with the remotest sympathy for gel coat, so we kept paddling!


We came to the final headland before the Corryvreckan, what would it be like?

Givin' the Dogs the slip!

Although there was some growling from the throat of the Dogs and the occasional fleck of saliva, all looked remarkably calm and, much to Phil and Jennifer's relief, we slipped past the Grey Dogs on our way north to the tip of Rubha Fiola.


Scarba slipped astern but still dominated the skyline above the east coast of Lunga.


Ahead lay Fladda lighthouse backed by the island of Seil and the distant mountains of Morvern. Fladda light was built by David and Thomas Stevenson in 1860. The light flashes white from north through east to south and flashes red to the north and there are red and green sectors to the south. There is a large walled garden in which the keepers grew vegetables. Our speed increased as we passed Lunga and increased to 12km/hr before we reached our turning point of Rubha Fiola.


Rounding the point at the north end of Rubha Fiola, we were fortunate that the current on the west side was much less, even at the height of the tidal flow. We had now entered the Firth of Lorn and a dramatic coastline lay ahead, with the headlands of Rhubha Fiola, Lunga, Scarba and distant Jura all blocking our way back to Crinan.


It was about this point that Jennifer and Phil realised that we were now committed to returning either by the Grey Dogs or the great Gulf of Corryvreckan...


...so they consoled one another with some Jelly Beans!

Relaxing, with the roaring of the Dogs in our ears.

The tides carried us north at 8km/hr out of the Sound of Jura into the Sound of Luing, which separates Scarba on the west from Luing on the east.


The east coast of Scarba is sheltered from the prevailing wind and has a thick growth of deciduous woodland. Both red and fallow deer can be seen here. Kilmory Lodge lies 88m above sea level while the summit of Cruach Scarba 449m towers high above.


We had now been paddling for two hours and ten minutes. Even with tidal assistance, we were ready for lunch by the time we reached Poll na h'Ealaidh, Scarba's sole claim to anything resembling a harbour. The view to the north, through the Sound of Luing and across the Firth of Lorn ended in the distant mountains of Mull and Morvern.


We walked out to the end of the pier, hardly able to believe that we had just paddled all the way from the distant hills of Knapdale behind us.


We had a leisurely lunch while the tide built up to full speed in the nearby Grey Dogs, which lie between Scarba and the steep rocky knolls of Lunga to the north. Relaxing afterwards, with the roaring of the Dogs in our ears, Tony helped put Phil at ease by telling him about the huge standing waves we would encounter in the races ahead. "You'll be fine Phil, it's easier when the waves are bigger than 8 feet, they're more spaced out!"

A hidden lagoon in the Sound of Jura.

From the Dorus Mor we paddled towards Coiresa with some difficulty.


The current was carrying us inexorably straight towards the Corryvreckan.


Eventually we broke out of the flood and an eddy carried us up the SE of Coiresa towards Reisa Mhic Phaidean and into the lagoon between the two islands.


The lagoon was a magical place, its clear waters were full of little fish and its bottom was studded with starfish. The flood was pouring out its NW entrance. We dallied for some time, ferry gliding back and forwards, breaking in and out of eddies and enjoying the sensation of holding ground against moving water.


Once we had cleared the islands we found ourselves in another flood stream, which carried us NE up the Sound of Jura and away from the Corryvreckan.

Trying to hold a straight course in the Dorus Mor.

We crossed the Sound of Jura towards Eileen na Cille. We had predicted that the flood tide would start at 10:25. Initially the last of the ebb carried us SW...


...but at 10:20, without any perceptible period of slack, the transits showed the flood had started to carry us NE. Because I hadn't been out recently, I quickly fell behind the others but soon hit on an excellent delaying tactic. "Hold it there for a moment! I see an excellent photo, if I was just a little nearer!"


We broke out of the tide and entered a sheltered lagoon between Eilean na Cille and Garbh Reisa and for the first time saw our ultimate destination, the distant Gulf of Corryvreckan. The feeling of space, after being confined to the house for 5 months following my knee operation, was quite overwhelming. So much so, that for a moment, I thought I was going to loose my balance and capsize on this perfectly flat sea. Only for a moment though! I would certainly need my balance later in this paddle!


Despite the apparent calm in the lagoon, the flood tide was already building and the water level on the east side was higher than on the west side.


We now paddled up the west side of Garbh Reisa. At its north end, an eddy carried us north into the Dorus Mor tide race. Once we crossed the eddy line into the main flow, we were ejected out of the Dorus Mor at a most satisfactory 13km/hr. It was only 25 minutes after the turn of the tide. The tidal rule of thirds does not really apply to the races in this constricted part of the Sound of Jura.


Once we had cleared the race, Phil paused to look back through the Dorus Mor.


We were now heading for the little island of Coiresa. Despite being well clear of the narrows, the sea was still full of boils and eddies. It was difficult to hold a straight course. Jennifer and Tony are both trying to get to the same place!