To Skye and Back

As the weather was still stuck in autumn/winter mode we spent the evening in Oban poring over charts of the west coast of Scotland and all of the exciting places that we could visit. We quickly realised that it would take many weeks and much better weather to see even a small part of this wonderful cruising area so compromises would have to be made. We decided that having come this far we should take the boat to Skye or it would be something that we would regret in the future but that we would not be able to do much more than that without making the decision - as some of our other cruising friends have done - to spend the rest of the summer here, leave the boat in a yard somewhere over the winter and then return next spring to complete the circuit. After some thought we decided that this was not what we had planned and however enticing we needed to press south by the end of July. We were also aware that we had to return home for a week or so mid July to keep up with some mundane things such as car MOTs and hospital appointments.

So the following morning we set off north again along the Sound of Mull. Leaving Oban it was slightly overcast but seemed brighter ahead although we still needed our thermals and oilies! The channel out of Oban bay is quite narrow and very busy with Calmac black and white ferries steaming in and out regularly - the trick is to listen on the VHF, keeping an eye on the AIS and when there are none in sight chug out between the islands. Needless to say all of the pilot books warn sternly that ferries have right of way and that traffic coming out of Oban Bay has priority over that entering - for my part I cannot understand anyone in a yacht who would not give right of way to a very big ferry!

The weather did indeed improve on our way along the sound and we arrived in the pretty village of Tobermory in the early afternoon in bright sunshine. Tobermory is a picture postcard sort of place and in recent years the Tobermory Harbour Association has done a lot to welcome visiting mariners putting in pontoon berths with power and water and building a new shower, loo and laundry block so it is a busy stop over for most yachts going both north and south. On the day we arrived its success as a tourist destination was also evident as the cruise ship Black Watch was also anchored in the bay adding about 900 visitors to the other holiday makers and locals in the village. We decided to stay put on the boat and watch from afar with a glass of wine! 

 After a second night in Tobermory we set off for Mallaig a trip of about 35 miles. The only slight challenge to this trip is Ardnamurchan Point another bump on the UK coastline which can cause more than its fair share of rough seas. After a chat with the harbour master at Tobermory and the benefit of some local knowledge we set off with the last of the tide out of Tobermory bay aiming to be at the point with the tide ready to sweep us up between Muck and Eigg and the mainland towards Mallaig. Again the weather gods were being kind and the sun was shining and it was warm - for the first time in weeks we didn't bother with thermal base layers but set sail in jeans and jumpers - although the foul weather gear was out and ready down below! 

Rounding the point was as planned and as the tide began to pick us up we were treated to the sight of a smallish Minke whale surfacing about 3m away from the boat. Sadly it was all too fast to get a picture and despite scanning the seas for the next 30 minutes we didn't see it again. We did find out later that local fishermen and tour boats had been sighting at least one whale in this area for the past couple of weeks so we didn't imagine it! The journey to Mallaig was punctuated by sightings of dolphins and seals swimming around the boat and the now familiar sights of gannets swooping and diving around us and the guillemot rafts disappearing as we got closer - and all of this in glorious sunshine! 

We arrived in Mallaig late in the afternoon to be met by the HM who took our lines and made us feel very welcome.  The berths at Mallaig are tucked behind the fish quay which is still a lively and bustling place with fishing boats arriving regularly to offload their cargo straight into refrigerated lorries which then transport all of our glorious Scottish seafood straight to Spain! I find it really hard to believe that an island nation such as ours doesn't actually eat this beautiful fresh produce and that 90% of the catch goes to Europe whilst we happily eat frozen cod fillets from Norway??

Our plan was to leave Malliag the following day and sail about 20 miles north to berth just below the Skye bridge and then spend a day on Skye however the weather had other ideas! The passage we were planning took us through a narrow channel with very fast (8K) tides rocks and overfalls - a bit challenging in good weather but not advisable in poor visibility. The forecast for the following day was for wind in the wrong direction, rain and very poor visibility so plans were quickly changed! We took the ferry from Mallaig to Armadale on Skye where we arranged to meet Gus who runs a company called Island Tours. Gus met us from the early ferry and then spent the next 7 hours driving us around Skye to see what we could of this stunning island. Even in the mist I think we saw more of Skye this way than we would in the short time we had available to sail with the bonus that we got to try a couple of new malts on the ferry on the way back!

For the first time this trip we then reversed the routes on our chart plotter and retraced our steps back to Tobermory where we decided to spend the weekend as we had a couple of running repairs to do - mainly fix the leak in the window just above the skippers head in our cabin. I didn't appreciate being woken in the middle of the night to shouts of "my pillow is getting wet" and then the shenanigans that followed stuffing bits of kitchen roll and cloth around the leaking catch - I was relieved when it stopped raining. 

On Sunday morning we spent a lovely couple of hours with the Tobermory Evangelical Church another small inviting group who share a church with the Tobermory Free Church. These small communities are always so welcoming and eager to share stories and give advice to the traveller and we feel it is a real privilege to be able to meet with them.

We left Tobermory on yet another sunny morning (had summer finally arrived?) heading back down the sound but this time we intended to spend the night in Lochaline a sheltered loch about half way between Tobermory and Oban.  It was indeed a sheltered beautiful place and, as is becoming more common in this area, the local council has put in place some mooring pontoons to enable yachts to tie up to the shore and provided shower and toilet facilities. Some argue that this will spoil the remoteness of the area however there are plenty of places still remote and empty up here for those looking for a solitary anchorage. The pontoons encourage visitors to go ashore and visit these tiny communities and spend some of their cash in restaurants and bars thus contributing to the local economy. The facilities at Lochaline were very sympathetic and restrained and I think a bonus to the area. 

The following morning we left Lochaline in glorious sunshine with large raindrops falling all around - a Scottish summer morning so I’m told! The rain soon stopped and we headed back toward Oban in sunshine but ever aware of the raincloud sitting over the town and true to form as we arrived in Oban Bay the rain started. We tied up in the marina this time knowing that we would be leaving the boat here for a week or so as we returned home and back to our land based life for a short while. Before that however we had decided that we needed to visit some of the other islands and so signed up for the 3 islands tour. This would be a chance for us to visit 3 islands in one day, Muck Iona and Staffa - something that would take us at least 3 or 4 days by boat - and go ashore on Staffa which is very difficult when visiting by yacht.

We had chosen well as this was a great tour made even better by the glorious day. This was a summer day, the sky and sea were blue the wind was light and the mercury made it to about 20C so it was warm (not as hot as the south of the country but still warmer than it has been). The whole day involved 3 ferry trips (5 if you include the ferry to and from the marina) 2 coach journeys and 2 boat trips - but it was worth every second! Staffa was the highlight for me a chance to go into Fingal’s cave and then sit on a headland overlooking the sea with puffins wandering very close by and in the sunshine as well!

The sunshine didn't last and as I sit here now it is dull and overcast with a chilly NW F4/5 blowing but at least it isn't raining. The Met Office man on the radio said that most of the UK will be getting increasingly hot and humid over the weekend apart from the north and west of Scotland which would become “fresher” and the marine forecast is predicting NW 4/5 rain and drizzle with top temperatures of about 12C.  I washed our thermals yesterday hoping we wouldn't need them for a while but who knows! When we get back from our trip home we shall be heading south so hopefully we may eventually catch up with summer.