Summary: Oban to Loch Feochan. 6.5 miles in 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Entering Loch Feochan
The last trip of the season today. A short run from Kerrera to Ardoran Marine in Loch Feochan where the boat will over-winter. We had to wait until around 10.45 am to leave as we had been advised to enter Loch Feochan around high water or on the first hour of the ebb. So, we left in, for a change, nice calm and sunny weather for the short motor down to Loch Feochan. Given tidal streams of around 6 knots in and out of the entrance, the first time in is a little daunting, but with calm weather, neap tides and on high water, it was very straightforward. The entrance weaves around all over the place, but is very well marked by buoys and perches that the boatyard lay.
On the way into the Loch is Tigh Beg Croft. This is now a self-catering cottage and was used in the 1968 filming of ‘Ring of Bright Water‘ and also more recently for scenes in the thriller ‘Enigma‘, based on the Robert Harris novel.
Below is a sped-up video of us entering Loch Feochan.
In Loch Feochan itself is Creag na Marbh, otherwise known as the Rock of the Dead. This rock forms a sort of natural jetty and it was used by royal galleys to transport the bodies of the dead kings of Scotland to their final resting place on Iona.
Tigh beg Croft – used for filming Ring of Bright Water and Enigma
Summary: From Kerrera to Kerrera. 14.2 miles in 3 hours 30 minutes.
Moored on Kerrera with Oban in the background
We set off this morning with no particular destination in mind, but with the possibility of heading to Loch Aline for the night or perhaps Tobermory of the weather held. We had a great sail across to Mull and through the channel between Lady’s Rock and Eilean Musdile, but once through the mist came down and the wind died. With the further prospect of heavy rain after lunch, we heard the irresistible attracations of Oban calling and so headed back round and sailed slowly back across to Kerrera. We were planning to circumnavigate Kerrera, but the wind died even further, so we just headed back round the north of the island to Oban Marina. We were rewarded on the way through with the fantastic sight of a pod of dolphins that appeared to be herding a shoal of fish (and then obviously eating them!). They were twisting and jumping all over the place – a magnificent sight.
Once back in Oban, the rain came down exactly when forecast and so we headed on the ferry over to Oban. To stretch our legs we went for a quick (wet) walk up to McCaig’s Tower. This unique structure was commissioned (and designed) by the philanthropic banker John McCaig as a memorial to his family. McCaig (who also described himself as a philosophical essayist) was a great admirer of Greek and Roman culture and so designed his tower to be like the Colosseum in Rome. As well as acting as a memorial to his family, McCaig’s intention was to provide work for local stonemasons in the winter months. The original plans included a central tower and space for a museum and art gallery, but he died before his vision was realised and now only the outer walls are complete. The tower stands in a commanding position above the town with potentially great views, though given the rain, we didn’t linger long to admire them.
To dry off and revive ourselves we went on a tour round the Oban Distillery. The distillery is unusual in being in the middle of the town and still produces around a million bottles a year. The distillery opened in 1794 and has changed hands several times, now being owned by Diageo. They produce just two whiskies – a 14 year old Malt and a ‘Distiller’s edition. The initial maturing of the whisky (though it can’t be called whisky until it is at least 3 years old!) is done in American Bourbon barrels which the Americans are only allowed to use once, so they sell them on to Scotland for whisky production.
We rounded off the day with an excellent meal in the Waypoint Bar and Grill – all cooked outside in a tent by the chef, but served in a nice cosy log cabin style area.
Summary: Crinan Basin to Oban marina on Kerrera. 25.3 miles in 4 hours and 5 minutes.
Moored in Crinan Basin
Heading out of the Crinan Canal, our next stop today was Oban. Heading north from Crinan, the most important consideration is timing. After a full season on the Clyde of scarcely worrying about tides, the tide tables and tidal atlases got their first workout of the season. The key tidal gates heading north are the Dorus Mor (gaelic for Great Door) and then, to a lesser extent the Sound of Luing heading up between Fladda Island and Dubh Sgeir. The advice is to leave around an hour before HW Dover to catch a fair tide through Dorus Mor and carry it north. Given a mid-afternoon time for HW Dover we locked out of the Crinan Basin around 14.15 and motorsailed the first few miles through Dorus Mor. Being neaps and relatively slack water, it was completely placid, but that was fine with us! Once we bore away slightly up the Sound of Luing we had a lovely sail with a maximum of around 9.5 knots over the ground. The wind decided to die though as we went past Easdale and so the engine came on again to get us up Kerrera Sound, arriving at Oban at 18.20. A beautiful trip with some interesting pilotage along the way.
Easdale Island is known as one of the Slate Islands in the Firth of Lorn and was once the centre of the UK slate industry. There used to be a community of over 500 people (known as the Hellish Rabble) working there quarrying slate and the quarries sometimes ran down around 33 feet below sea level. Indeed one island – Eilean-a-beithich – was quarried to a depth of 76 metres leaving just the outer rim. The sea has now seen to even that bit, leaving little evidence that an island ever existed. Since a storm in 1881 flooded many of the quarries, the industry has been declining and the last slate was cut in the 1950s. Easdale’s real claim to fame though is that since 1997 it has been the venue for the world stone-skimming championships. The event came under threat in 2012 when a £1,000 fee was demanded for use of the quarry where it takes place, but the Press and Journal newspaper stepped up and paid the fee. The 2013 championship will take place on 29th September and over 300 contestants are expected.
The main marina for Oban is over on Kerrera Island and the marina run a complimentary ferry service to the town.
Summary: East Loch Tarbert to Crinan Basin. 17.5 miles in 9 hours and 35 minutes. Certainly our lowest average speed for the trip so far.
Heading through the Crinan Canal
“The prettiest short cut in Scotland” is how the Crinan Canal is billed. Pretty it certainly is, short – more debateable. Yes it does cut off a hundred or so miles round the Mull of Kintyre, but quick – no! With an average speed of less than 2 knots today, it was a slow passage. We started just before 7am from Tarbert and motored the 11 miles up Loch Fyne to Ardrishaig. There we had to wait for an hour or so for the tide to come in as we had arrived at low water. The water restrictions in force on the canal meant that they didn’t want to release too much water, so they asked us to wait. However, around 09.50 they let us in any way as they had mis-read the tide tables. So, our transit through the canal started around 10am.
Between 10.00 and 16.25 we pottered through the canal and 12 locks and 7 bridges later stopped in the small basin just before Lock 14. It was a lovely journey and certainly a complete contrast to everything we have done so far. Motoring through the canal with the banks and trees just metres away was at times slightly daunting, but nevertheless satisfying. We spent much of the time going through the locks with another east coast boat and CA member – Poppy of Orwell and also a small Scottish gaff rigger based apparently on a Falmouth working boat with the skipper wearing a very neat Tam o’Shanter.
The Crinan Canal was originally planned in 1793 and after various problems raising finance first opened in 1801. The original engineer and designer was John Rennie, but various problems with the canal meant that it had to be partly redesigned in 1816 by Thomas Telford. The worst of these problems was in 1811 when a violent storm caused the banks of the main reservoir to burst, leading to millions of gallons of water being spread all over the place wrecking locks, roads and scattering rocks and mud everywhere. Though the canal struggled to succeed commercially, it received a boost when in 1847 when Queen Victoria and her family sailed through. Steamer operators quickly billed it the ‘Royal Route‘ and within a decade 44,000 passengers a year were arriving at Ardrishaig. Nothing changes!
The aim of the canal was to provide a safe route for commercial sailing vessels and later Clyde Puffers through to the Western isles, allowing them to avoid the treacherous waters around the Mull of Kintyre. These days it is used just by leisure craft and around 3,000 boats a year make the passage through the canal. The towpath is also popular with walkers and cyclists and is part of the National Cycle Network route number 78 linking Campbeltown, Oban, Fort William and Inverness.
Summary: Rhu to East Loch Tarbert. 39.8 miles in 7 hours.
Entering East Loch Tarbert
Andy Leake, John Rennie and I arrived at Rhu Sunday evening and then set off first thing this morning from Rhu – for the last time. The day started a little windless and we found ourselves motoring for the first few hours until the Kyles of Bute. At that point the sun came out, we hoisted full sail and managed to sail all the rest of the way to Tarbert – a lovely passage. The wind was quite variable, but after the Kyles around 8-12 knots from the NW.
We tacked the last section up to Tarbert – a harbour that always provides a real sense of calm – literal and metaphorical – every time we enter. The evening was rounded off with an excellent meal at the Starfish Restaurant on Castle Street. As a starter Andy and I had Cullen Skink – a new experience. Whoever named this soup clearly wasn’t an expert on branding as it doesn’t inspire you to choose it off a menu. However, having had it here, I would order it every time. Cullen Skink is a potato, smoked haddock and onion soup – a delicious combination and served at the Starfish with an excellent home-baked bread. In fact, we even persuaded them to allow us to buy a frozen loaf from them which sorted our sandwiches for the next few days.
Charmary 