Small Boat to the Small Isles
We decided to try our luck with the weather earlier this year, so on 24th June we trailed Ananahi to
Arisaig on the west coast of Scotland.
Saturday 24th June. We arrived quite
late and launched the boat on the evening tide and took a mooring for the
night.
Sunday 25th June I rang the coastguard at Oban for a weather forecast,
which was really good for three days, so at 10.00hrs we sailed out with the tide
down the winding channel and headed N.W. with the wind on the beam. We closed in
on the island of Rhum and were enjoying the sail so much that we decided to
alter course N.E. to Loch Scavaig on Skye, an anchorage we had hoped to
visit in previous years, but had been unable to because of the weather. It is
one of the most spectacular anchorages on the West coast, situated in an
enclosed bay at the Northern end of the loch surrounded by the Cullin mountains.
It is only safe in calm weather as any wind from the north causes strong squalls
to roar down from the mountains. We arrived at the entrance at low tide and most
of the rocks were above water, and headed for Loch na Cuille, a shallow pool at
the head of Loch Scavaig, behind Eilean Glas Island. There are two submerged
rocks near the island but they dry at low water, so paused no danger. We dropped
anchor in 12ft at 19.30hrs and had the pleasure of seeing it bed into the white
sandy bottom. Opening a bottle of scotch for a sundowner we sat looking at the
mountains and waterfalls surrounding us, and were reminded of Daniels Bay, an
anchorage in the Marquesas Islands - total silence except for the sound of the
waterfall and the evensong of the birds. Days run 32.5 nm.
Monday 26th June:
A lovely morning. We went ashore to walk a quarter of a mile to Loch Coruisk, a
beautiful inland lake surrounded by mountains. We returned to Ananahi at lunch
time as we wanted to leave two hours before high water to sail to Soay, four
miles away. There is a bar at the entrance to the harbour and it can only be
entered near high water. There was very little wind as we tacked towards the
channel between Soay and Skye, we arrived off the entrance at high water and
lined up the two transits to take us over the bar with 8ft of water beneath us.
We anchored in 15ft in the centre of the bay and had lunch. Soay was once owned
by Gavin Maxwell, who had a shark factory there in the 1940’s. The remains of it
can still be explored today on the East shore. Although half the roof has gone,
and the old boiler is all rusted, the smell of its former industry still
permeates the old buildings. We walked to the head of the bay to explore some
wooden wrecks and found a fresh water pipe running from a stream, so we topped
up our water supply. Days run 4.5nm
Tuesday 27th June: The weather is
incredibly warm and we decided to explore the island. We followed an old
footpath at the head of the bay to the other side of the island. We passed a
solar powered telephone exchange, which was the first of its kind in the world,
powering nine telephones, and arrived at Camas nan Gall, the large bay on the
south of the island. There are a few cottages and wonderful views of Eigg and
Rhum.
Wednesday 28th June. The weather forecast said no wind so we decided to
enjoy our solitude in this lovely anchorage and spent the day sunbathing on deck
and watching the amazing bird population of this bay. We counted 8 herons nests
and numerous noisy chicks. There are cormorants, oyster catchers, and several
other birds that we did not recognise wheeling overhead and providing us with
great entertainment, as did several seals with their pups along the shore.
Thursday 29th June: the forecast was for East 3 to 4 today so although it
was flat calm we decided to motor across the bar at 04.30hrs high tide and into
the channel. We were sailing at 1 knot and had 1 knot of tide taking us west so
progress was slow. As we cleared the island the wind dropped completely and we
were becalmed and surrounded by jellyfish. We decided to sit and wait for the
wind and slowly at 07.50hrs it started to blow. We headed for Canna, 10 miles SW
of Soay. The wind gradually increased, so we had an exhilarating sail at 6 knots
into this wonderful harbour, arriving at 09.30 hrs and anchoring in 12ft. The
captain of Kali, a Varne 27 anchored next to us rowed over to say hello. He was
headed for Loch Boisedale on Uist, and asked what the weather was like outside,
He said he saw us entering the harbour "like a bat out of hell", and wondered
how strong the wind was and from what direction. He left happily assured that
there was a good force 5 SE to speed him on his way. Canna is a beautiful
anchorage, well sheltered and very picturesque. We went ashore in the lovely
sunshine and explored the church and discovered a lovely beach on the west of
the island. Days run 10.5 nm.
Friday 30th June: Brilliant sunshine and
complete calm greeted us this morning so we decided to stay in this idyllic
anchorage for another day. After all you can’t sail without wind, well that is
our excuse to stay.
Saturday 1st July: Variable winds were forecast and we
decided to head for Rhum, but as we rounded the north of the island a steady
breeze sprang up from astern, so we hoisted the spinnaker and had a fantastic
run to the entrance of Arisaig. Arriving at 21.00hrs. A motor cruiser was
hanging around looking lost and as we sailed in up the channel he followed us
and took a mooring nearby. Days run 28.5nm.
Monday 3rd July We drove into
Mallaig and picked up a five day forecast from the harbourmaster which showed
more good weather, so we decided to leave the next day for Loch Moidart. Dave
went for a sunset sail and we had an early night.
Tuesday 4th July: We sailed
down the channel at 11.00hrs with the tide and had to goose wing all the way
S.E. to Loch Moidart. We arrived off the entrance one hour before high water and
identified Eilean Raonuille, with a white perch on it at the start of the
channel. All of the dangers were above the water, but it was hard going in as it
did not look anything like the chart. The motor cruiser from Arisaig appeared
behind us again and followed us down the channel, we are beginning to feel like
a pilot boat. He didn’t know we had not been there before and were locating the
channel with the echo sounder. We dropped anchor in 12ft off the jetty opposite
Castle Tioram and celebrated with a drink on deck. As we sat on deck with our
sundowners another boat "Witchcraft" sailed past us and disappeared behind Riska
Island. We decided to motor round in the dinghy to check out the anchorage. We
were invited on board Witchcraft for drinks and read an article they had about
Castle Tioram. It was the home of Ranald McDonald (not of the hamburger fame)
and whilst living there he ruled with a rod of iron and executed many people for
trivial reasons. We had an enjoyable night and returned to Ananahi in the dark.
Days run 12.5nm.
Wednesday 5th July: At high water we lifted the anchor,
which was well bedded in because of the strong current, and motored around Riska
Island to the spectacular anchorage in 18ft. It was really beautiful, with
towering cliffs and a view of the castle. There were many other small islands
dotted around and the vegetation was very lush. Witchcraft left for Isle Oronsay
and we went ashore to explore the castle, returning to the boat for lunch. Then
we took a dinghy trip around the small islands to explore the northern channel
into Loch Moidart, north of Eilean Shona. It looked very interesting, perhaps
next year. We saw a red deer grazing on one of the islands to starboard and lots
of birds wading in the shallows. We were running short of water and Witchcraft
had told us a strange phenomenon in the bay behind the boat. There was a
hosepipe running from the hills five metres into the loch and it floated out
into the loch like a black snake with its spout hovering 6 ins into the air,
sprouting pure spring water for anyone who could catch it. We filled our water
carriers and went back to the boat.
For anyone thinking of anchoring here
(highly recommended) there is a submerged tree, which is not marked in the
pilots, which dries at low water, but has about 3 ft of water over it at high
tide and it could do substantial damage to a boat unaware of its presence. It
lies in line with a white cottage on Eilean Shona, and a small bouy 10ft from
the south shore of loch Moidart. The best way to avoid it on entry would be to
hold the shore of Riska Island close to until the castle is visible on the
starboard beam, then turn into the channel to anchor.
Thursday 6th July: We
decided to leave at high water, when all the dangers have at least 8ft over
them. It was really strange to see rocks that looked enormous when we came in at
low water, appear as only small islets as we were leaving. We had a pleasant
sail to Eilean Raonuill at the entrance and headed out to sea to return to
Arisaig. Unfortunately the wind was blowing 5 from the north so we had to tack
all the way, but the sun was shining and we had all day and we enjoyed the sail.
Approaching Arisaig we glanced around to look for the motor cruiser, but he was
not in sight, perhaps he had followed another boat into the sunset. It was low
water in the channel and the white glistening sands on the anchorage opposite
the waiting room beckoned us. We saw that another couple of boats already
anchored there so we decided to lift the keel and head for shore. We dropped
anchor in 2ft of turquoise water and watched as it dug into the silver sand
below. Rejecting the idea of wading ashore we loaded the dinghy with a picnic
and went to the beach to enjoy the sun and white sands. In calm conditions this
is a wonderful anchorage for those wishing to swim in clear sparkling water and
explore the numerous rocks and white sand further inshore. As the sun cooled
down we returned to the boat and sailed up the channel one last time to take a
mooring for our final night. A wonderful end to a really great holiday! Days run
27.5nm
Total run 110nm.
