A missed luncheon and a close call in the North Channel.

From the Sound of Arisaig we turned south past the abandoned village of Smirisary  and along the wild Moidart coast.

We were thoroughly enjoying the more lively waters which we found out with the shelter of the Sound.

We paddled past the magnificent...

 ...white shell sand tombola beach, backed by machair, at Port Achadh an Aonaich. The Gaelic means "port of the field of the steep place". It would have been a magnificent place to stop for first luncheon, whatever were we playing at?

Well the steep profile of Eilean Shona should give a clue. We hoped to circumnavigate this bold and rocky island, which sits in the mouth of Loch Moidart. However, we faced a slight impediment. It is a tidal island and the narrow north channel of Loch Moidart dries to reveal 1.7km of soft, glutinous, stinking mud. HW had been at 07:45 and it was already 10:45, three hours after HW! Not only that it would take nearly another hour to paddle the North Channel up to the causeway at its shallowest part!

So we passed by the delightful sands and machair and set off on a stiff paddle, trying to beat a falling tide in an emptying channel! You will note that Ian is looking resplendent in mango in his new Kokatat Expedition drysuit. There was not a hint of perspiration on his brow. Despite our exertions, his suit was so breathable he hardly noticed he was wearing it.

This brings me to a sad story about my own Kokatat dry suit. It was lying on my couch at home, some 150 miles away. I had not being feeling very well when I packed and I had clean forgot it. Fortunately Ian still had his old dry suit in his car and he kindly lent me it. What a difference  though, it was a true boil in the bag experience!

At least there was still water as far as we could see.

We kept out of the main ebb by sticking close to the rocky walls of the channel, almost as close as the limpets and barnacles!

Amazingly we were able to paddle right up to the causeway. where we arrived at 11:25. Water was pouring through the rocks of the causeway towards us but we were not out of the woods yet. The water east of the causeway disappears faster than snaw aff a dyke especially at springs (which it was).

After a short portage over the causeway, we had to walk the kayaks through the shallows for 120 metres on the far side. Fortunately,the ebb tide was with us and we escaped the clutches of the evil mud with minutes to spare.

Return to the Sound of Arisaig.

On the 6th of February, Alison and I drove north to meet Ian and Allan at the Glenuig Inn. We stopped for a break in some late afternoon winter sunshine on the shore of Loch Linnhe at Fort William.

There was not a breath of wind and FV Holly Rose OB158 was lying at her mooring perfectly motionless.

We arrived at the excellent Glenuig Inn just before dark but by the time we walked the dogs the sun was well set. We returned to the welcoming lights of the inn and enjoyed a tasty meal with Ian and Alan.

 The following morning we left Alison with my car and the dogs then drove for a short distance through the morning rush hour to...

...Samalaman Bay on the south shore of the Sound of Arisaig. It was not long after HW and the beautiful...

 ...white shell sands were not yet fully exposed.

A light smirr of rain was falling, the sort that soaks everything despite the small size of its droplets. To the NW there was a little brightness on the horizon but to the..

 ...east the clouds were well down on the hills. The branches and lichens on the sessile oak trees were dripping wet.

Then a remarkable thing happened. Alan and I had just set off when a gap appeared in the clouds...

 ...and we got a great view across to Eigg and...

...the snow streaked mountains of Rum behind.

 
 The north side of the Sound of Arisaig was still hidden by low cloud but...

 ..ever so gradually the clouds began to lift. As we approached...

 ...Rubha Ghead a' Leighe, the headland at the southern entrance to the Sound of Aisaig, the wind and swell..

 ...began to pick up and we enjoyed some fun in close proximity to the rocks by Ian's Inlet.

Having said that we did not inspect the rocks quite so closely as Ian had done on one of our previous visits and we all remained relatively dry!

Good news for Saturn.

This time last year, three and a half months after my last knee operation, my first paddle took me to the Gareloch. At the Rosneath breakers yard we came across MV Saturn which had been laid up since 2011. It looked like she was doomed.

Saturn was the last of three Streaker class CalMac ferries that ran on the Clyde. She was launched at Ailsa Shipyard in Troon in 1977. Her sister ships Juno and Jupiter were scrapped in 2011 at Rosneath and Denmark.

The Orcadian newspaper has carried some good news for Saturn. She has been sold to Pentland Ferries and will be refurbished and used to carry freight traffic across the Pentland Firth and round the Orkney Islands.

All aglow in the Lynn of Lorn.

Our winter adventure was now nearing its end. The sun was well down as we continued our exploration of the sheltered waters of Port Ramsay at the NE end of Lismore.

 We went round the south end of Eilean Ramsay before...

 ...paddling through the skerries on its west coast on our way back to the NE point of Lismore.

Then we were in for a treat. The flood tide was  now running up the Lynn of Lorn and was being compressed in the narrow gap between Lismore and the Appin mainland where it was running at 2.5 knots. We took advantage of an eddy to carry us past the Lismore ferry pier then...

 ...down the long gravel spit to its south before enjoying a brisk ferry glide across to the island in mid channel. It certainly warmed us up!

East of the island, the tide dropped to 1.5 knots and I was able to get my camera out to capture this wonderful sunset glow in the sky above the Lynn of Lorn. Beyond the dark outline of Eilean Dubh, the distant Garvellachs were floating above the horizon.

We landed at Port Appin just after sunset and packed our things away in the gathering darkness and cold as a creel boat off loaded its catch. Although our winter trip was now over, we were glowing with memories.

The last day of our four day winter trip was a short 18 kilometres but it had been packed with interest: castles, history, industrial archaeology, natural history, islands, strong tides, paddle sailing, sunset, and good company, who could ask for more? If you look at the GPS track you can see where I stopped to take the photo of the sunset just before  the finish at Port Appin. The tide certainly didn't waste any time in carrying me NE!

Heavy industry and some calcareous considerations on Lismore, Loch Linnhe.

From Eilean nan Caorach we paddled to the NE point of Lismore at Rubh' Aird Ghainimh and entered the sheltered waters....

 ...of Port Ramsay as...

...the "Lady Fiona" (fast ferry for the workforce of Glensanda superquarry) slowed down to pass us then sped off across Loch Linnhe.

Lismore means "big garden" and it is a very fertile island due to the prescence of limestone. At the NE end it plunges steeply into the sea. This sea urchin had been left exposed by low tide. Earlier we had seen another carried off in the large beak of a great black backed gull. Its spiny calcareous shell would be no protection from being dropped onto rocks by a flying gull.

Above the tide line, the calcareous rock itself was interesting here. This is limestone tufa, a type of calcareous sinter. It is formed as carbonate minerals precipitate from water oozing out of the limestone rocks above.

We now paddled deep into the natural harbour of Port Ramsay and approached...

...the eponymous village, which is the main settlement on Lismore. It was established in the early 19th century to house workers for the lime kiln industry.

As we drifted between the islands that shelter Port Ramsay we spotted numerous divers.

By now it was well past time for second luncheon so we landed on Eilean Trenach where...

...enjoyed a wonderful view to the north while enjoying home made soup and a dram of 15y old Dalmore.

The air was wonderfully clear the snow covered Appin hills stood out against the wintry sky. It was hard to imagine that, for well over a century, this landscape would have been hidden behind black smoke and fumes belching from the numerous lime kilns scattered round the islands. Of course there is still heavy industry here. One of the World's biggest quarries, Glensanda, is just 6km away on the other side of Loch Linnhe. We visited Glensanda in 2010.

The quicklime industry on Eilean nan Caorach.

We paddled down the east coast of  Eilean nan Caorach (Sheep Island) and arrived at a beach backed by a cottage, a store house, an...

 ...old pier and three lime kilns. Limestone from the hillside behind the kilns has been quarried away.  The industry lasted for over a hundred years from about 1800.

 The islands in this part of the Firth of Lorn are rich in Dalriadan limestone and this was roasted in the kilns to produce quicklime which was stored...

...in the roofed building on the left of this photo, before being taken away in boats.

The whole operation was run by two families who lived in these cottages.

The  building with the blue doors (behind the quicklime store) was a smithy.

The oldest kiln is now in a pretty unstable state.

A ramp leads up to the top and limestone rubble was dropped into the kiln from...

...above onto a grate below which the coals were lit and then roasted for several days.

The coal was stored in this open walled enclosure behind the quicklime store.

The jetty was used to bring in coal for the kilns and take the quicklime out for agricultural and building purposes. The reef in the middle of this photo is actually a ballast bank where boats dumped ballast before taking on quicklime. At one time there were 24 locally owned smacks which carried coal, limestone and slate. The last was the "Mary and Effie" which was owned by Captain Alan MacFadyen who traded these waters in her until the late 1940's.

The two newer kilns are lined by brick rather than rough stone.

This rowan tree presumably had a sheltered start to life.

This is the view from the top of the kilns to the north towards Shuna and the Appin hills.

This is the view to the south  The island just beyond the ballast bank is called Inn Island. Many people think that there was once an inn there but it is called this because it was leased together with the Port Appin Inn which can be seen at the foot of the wooded slope on the mainland. InnIsland was originally shown as Island Imachar on the Appin Estate map. The Garvellachs can just be seen on the horizon to the right of centre.

We returned to the base of the Kilns. The largest  is still in pretty good condition and Ian and I crouched down to make our way inside to...

...the main brick lined kiln chamber.

The coal store now shelters an old Mirror dinghy, a kayak and a deflated inflatable all of which have seen better days.