Island Records Too

 We had a mellow evening in our little anchorage on the north end of Gigha, even managing to collect some driftwood for a beach fire and have Laphroaig with barbecued bananas. It is 20th June 2021.

With a relatively late start at 8am we set off for the Sound of Islay, a narrow way between the large islands of Jura and Islay. As the tidal flow began, we zoomed through the sound to reveal our destination of Colonsay, just 8 miles away. Now Mark and I have sailed through the Sound of Islay previously, about 5 years ago, but we were in a 16-foot Wayfarer dinghy so there were fewer opportunities to pop down below and make hot cheese baguettes with Jalapenos for lunch. However, the dinghy did offer the opportunity to simply pull up on the beach at the Bunnaharnain Distillery for lunch, which is what we did last time. On this occasion we had to fly by in our gin palace but with a cup of tea in hand. We do miss some aspects of our dinghy sailing in the Western Isles, but it is quite nice to be able to pop into the cabin to get warm or have a sleep or make a brew.

The wind was beginning to build and by the time we set our anchor in Scalasaig bay on Colonsay it was blowing from the north west at 20 miles an hour. After three attempts we thought we had a sound anchorage and were free to enjoy a pint and a walk over the island to see the other side. However, the anchor dragged and the boat was heading out to sea before the anchor caught again by chance. This was all too much, and we motored in towards the drying harbour considering that option because we our Hunter 30 yacht is bilge keel so it can stand on a sandy bottom and let the tide go out. We asked a local for advice and are very grateful to Collum, working at the ferry office, who directed us round to the bay next door to use his uncle Ian’s mooring. We enjoyed our pint and a walk over the hill and back again, it is always nice to feel confident that the boat will be where you left it when you get back from a walk.

I understand that some blog readers may have been anxious to know if we managed to get a table at the rather lovely hotel restaurant on Colonsay. I am pleased, and to be honest feel rather smug, to be able to report that I booked the table two days in advance and we are sitting now with a bottle of Chilean sauvignon blanc and anticipating baked hake with island grown new potatoes. Our smugness is only slightly dented by the fact that the wine is not quite cold enough and that they have run out of langoustines, which was our choice of starter. Life has its ups and downs on the semi-retired boomer yachting trail. Seriously though, these islands are worth a visit and you can do quite easily by getting a season ticket on the Caledonian McBrayne ferries and either camping or using B&B. We met two youngsters camping at our relatively remote bay on Gigha, they had a paid £11 for the ferry including their bikes, and had a brilliant paddle round the bay in their inflatable double kayak which they had bought from Decathlon for a couple of hundred quid. So gin palace, dinghy or inflatable canoe, take your pick.

Mark and I have had our first discussion about going round Cape Wrath. Many who sail round the UK use the Caledonian Canal to cut through from Fort William to Inverness to basically avoid the remote and rather exposed northern side of the UK. We have always had the intention to go for it and sail round Cape Wrath to the Orkney Isles. So our current plan is to put ourselves in position to go for it, meaning to reach a port such as Kinlochbervie, and then see what the weather is doing before making a final decision. We should be able to sail back for two or three days to get back to the canal if necessary. This decision has come to a head because tomorrow we will sail past Mull and the entrance to Loch Linne which leads to the canal. We will continue to sail northwards, but with an eye on ‘windy’ - our trusty wind forecasting app.