By Lunga to Guirasdeal

From Fladda we headed for Rubha Fiola, a tidal islet at the north end of Lunga. This is at slack water. On the full ebb you can find a swirling whirlpool here.


We then followed the west coast of Lunga. The summit of distant Scarba was lost in glowering clouds.


At last, after battling into the wind, we caught sight of our next destination; the fair isle of Guirasdeal.


Guirasdeal is one of the smallest of the Slate Islands but its rocky little summit is 32m high and makes one of the finest viewpoints in the area. Not only that, it was time for lunch!

30/08/2008

Fladda lighthouse

Fladda is one of the Slate Islands in the Sound of Luing. It is a considerable hazard to navigation as it sits right in the middle of the fairway and is surrounded by swirling tides.

The lighthouse was built by David and Thomas Stevenson in 1860. The light flashes every 9 seconds. To the east the light flashes white but is unlit to the west.

30/08/2008

Hot Dogs in the Grey Dogs

Before we ventured near the Gulf of Corryvreckan, Tony and I thought we had better go for a warm up in the gentler waters of the Grey Dogs at the north end of Scarba. To ensure most benefit of this exercise, we timed our arrival for full spring flood conditions. It has to be said that we were not disappointed. There were a few standing waves in the fairway of the Grey Dogs.


We had been here before but we were quite impressed by the size of the waves in the race. We were headed for the west coast of Scarba which is round the headland on the right, on the far side of the wave train.


Our GPS track of the weekend shows some exploration of the various tidal bits of this most interesting area, the Sound of Luing, the Cuan Sound, the Grey Dogs and of course the Daddy of them all, the Great Gulf of Corryvreckan.

30/08/2008

The bittersweet taste of salt and adrenaline.

We went for a pleasant bimble round the coast at the weekend.

Salt and adrenaline is a heady and addictive mixture.

30/08/2008

The power of the sea.

We went off in exploration of the neat quiet streets of Port Ellen on Islay on a quest for essential supplies. We found the local Co-op store to be well stocked with portable Guinness dispensers.


On the way to the kayaks we stopped by the local coastguard station to pay our respects.


Inside we met Harold Hastie, a local boatman, who is one of the volunteer coastguards. It was his red boat we had seen rolling about in the tide race off the Mull of Oa the previous day. He was returning from inspecting a wave machine, which is situated on the far side of the Rhinns of Islay. He thought we were quite sensible to have turned back. "It was a wee bit bumpy out there yesterday and the forecast for the next few days is not good."


Behind Harold, amongst several photos of rescues, I noticed a boat I recognised. "Is that the Kartli?" I asked.


"Yes it is, in 1991 she was rounding the Rhinns of Islay, wind against tide, when a huge wave smashed into her and opened up her bridge like a sardine can. Four of her crew were killed and 15 were seriously injured. The water poured in flooding her engine room and generator. With no power or steerage, she was just rolling helplessly at the mercy of the wind and seas. Five helicopters were involved in rescuing about 50 of her surviving crew."


This was the final resting place of the Kartli on the west coast of Gigha.


Today this is all of the Kartli that remains.

Quite humbled by the power of the sea, we thanked Harold.

Our exploration of Islay continued, we were now on the look out for any distilleries which we might just come across.

14/08/2008

Port Ellen's hidden haven.

The SW breeze blew us swiftly across Kilnaughton Bay towards Port Ellen. We planned to land to replenish supplies but did not fancy a long paddle back into the teeth of the wind afterwards.


We slipped down the south side of the Ard peninsula and made our way through some skerries into this lovely little hidden (and sheltered) haven. It was full of local boats and the shoreline had many fishing bothies hidden amongst the rocks.


A short walk over the Ard..

..took us to the south bay of Port Ellen.

Another Internet writer has described it as a " crappy little town" and "so ghetto it's hilarious". Well its neatly whitewashed houses with black painted windows and doors curved round its south bay in a most pleasing way. On our early impression of Port Ellen, we beg to differ.

We found it to be a delightful place and that is before we met the locals.

14/07/2008

Return from Oa

After our return from the White Hart Bar to our camp on the SE of the Oa peninsula, there were tremendous rain storms during the night. We awoke to find the tents straining at their guy ropes in a force 4-5 offshore wind.


Scudding clouds hung low overhead but their greyness was broken by the dramatic contrast of the dark rocks and white shell sand. Low tide revealed a bit of a rock garden so we were relieved the offshore wind had flattened the swell.


Although the winds were only moderate to fresh, the forecast was for westerly winds up to force seven for most of the remainder of the week. Although we were tempted to push on round the Mull of Oa, we decided that it would be best to stay to the east given the westerly winds. Billy and Mair decided remain at camp and to explore Islay on foot and rented bicycle.

David, Tony and myself decided to pack the kayaks and head back east to explore a distillery or two.


We were soon on the water heading across Kilnaughton Bay under the shadow of Carraig Fhada lighthouse. We were bound for Port Ellen.

14/07/2008