A sea kayak jaunt round Jura

Feb 28^th – March 4^th 2019

A 4+ hour drive across on Day 1 (Thurs Feb 28^th) and boat packing at Aird just down the Craignish Pennisula from the yachty place at Ardfern. Got underway by 15.45hrs with a fully laden Pace Tour 17 heading across to Scarba.  This was a neep tide day and I was planning on passing through the Jura / Scarba passage at slack water.  As it turned out I was a little early and had to head into the north Jura shoreline to avoid residual current.  No sign of the notorious whirlpool at Corryvrecken though as I went through – just a few eddy lines and squirrely bits.  I did see a porpoise arching above the surface to welcome me, and an eagle sitting imperiously atop a rock buttress.

I was short of daylight hours so had to press on past Eilean Beag & Mor and southwest to find a campsite – lots of caves in the rock walls along here.  18.00hrs and it was still just light enough to paddle but by 18.30 it was pretty dark grey/overcast.  I pulled up short of my plan at a spot in Glengarrisdale Bay and rapidly got the tent up.  As I’d got sorted there were eerie glowing eyes in the darker corners which made me double check what sort of creatures were here.  Fortunately they were just wild goats (but they do have pointed horns).  Cooking by headtorch but dinner and a malt completed things nicely.  Day 1 = 15 kms.

Friday dawned reasonably brightly and I set off southwest along the coast into a F3. Its about 20 kms of straight coastline here so I simply “hand-railed” it with a brief leg stretch at one sandy bay. I had planned on going into Loch Tarbert to explore /have lunch but that intention was wiped away when I saw the conditions at the mouth of the loch.  Wind was energetically bursting across from the east (upper reaches of the loch) and raising whitecaps all across.  I chose not to try and paddle directly into the loch /wind so set up a big ferry across from Rubha an t-Sailein aiming to land at Rubha Lang-aoinidh – about 2.5 kms to the south.

The ferry across was about 1hr20 of hard slog and that was not much fun.  I didn’t look over my shoulder but I was well aware that the bail out plan would have been a full-on downwind leg across to the Ruvaal lighthouse on Islay.  When I got across the loch mouth and was still on plan A (the Jura shoreline) I decided to stop for coffee/lunch 2.  I thought the Reed Chillcheater storm hood had been a real boon in these conditions – not too restrictive, bright yellow for hi-vis, and really windproof.

Moved on down the coast and at one point was accompanied by another eagle (it hovered about 50ft above me), after a few minutes he gave up thinking I was a possible snack and went back over the shoreline and raised beaches.  Also just a brief sighting of a seal.  Now well into the broad funnel of the Sound of Islay. Still blustery although it was a continuous southerly as per forecast.  I pulled in to the small bay before Rubha Aoineadh an Reithe for a campsite as planned – being able to see the Bunnahabhain distillery across the 3kms of water.  Greeted this time by about 10 red deer hinds grazing with their bigger Stag up on the ridge watching.  Day 2 = 33 kms.

  

Well Day 3 turned out to be a non-Day as the winds increased and it wasn’t fit for paddling.  My tent was lashed by squalls coming down off the Paps and by the surging southerly arriving up the Sound.  I did get a little walk about and took photos of the basalt dikes, the shags, and a poor red deer stag lying on the bog grass – still with an intact 10 point antler set.  Again saw lots of deer but that’s why the place is called Jura isn’t it?  Otherwise it was a “book” day.  I stuck 3 big boulders inside my boat’s cockpit so it wouldn’t blow away overnight.

So by Sunday morning it was easing and I got underway smartish.  Past lots of caves eroded into the low shore cliffs.  The atmosphere was a bit moody with residual mist/cloud banks sitting on the Paps and the sun just about showing above it as the morning progressed.  Went south past the Caol Ila distillery and the harbour of Port Askaig but stuck to the Jura side. The tidal window was in theory after 14.00hrs but by virtue of a few eddies and a bit of sneaking, I made reasonable progress.  Lots of oyster catchers shouting at me as I passed though, plus low circling geese with their endless honking.  I cruised on the inside of Glas Eilean for a laugh even if I was in about 6” water depth.

Went round the outside of Am Fraoch Eilean looking for Claig castle but there’s not really much left anymore.  The island is tricky to land on due to rocky defences and “lagoons” that would leave you high & dry as the tide receded.  Watched to CalMac ferry pass on its way up the Sound.  Wind had dropped to about a F2 now so it was an altogether easier paddle across the southern end of Jura doing about 7 kph. Passed the big house, Brosdale Island, and then turning north up the inner sound.  I could feel the remnants of the atlantic swell helping me along.  In fact a bit of gentle surfing was in order I was trying to get back on plan for the circumnav.

Pulling into Craighouse Bay was a little surreal as quite suddenly you are in a large flat water area with that evening feel to it (it was also Sunday evening so few folk about and certainly no signs of life at the distillery).  I weaved between the Small Isles and headed for a landfall.  However the first two sites turned out to be just bog so I paddled further north to Lowlandman’s Bay and tucked myself away amongst the twitch grass.  A number of seals came out of the evening mist to see what I was but I was keen to get my dinner.  Day 4 = 34kms.

Hopefully “completion” day but that would need a good stint on the water, and the help of the tide.  A slightly earlier than normal launch to get me some time credit and it was out across the flat sheltered bay and turn left up the coast. Set course NE and slowly accelerated as the flood tide developed.  The wind varied from a gentle F2 SW to a more brisk F4 SW; the clouds had that wintery, energetic, look to them so I stayed wary of stuff creeping up from behind.  Bright though.

A beach lunch stop was taken before the Ruadh Sgeir light as I didn’t want to get swept too far NE by the 3-4 kt tide.  Afterwards I hugged the coast a bit more and stayed in control of when to step out towards Craignish Point.  In fact the Barnhill property (George Orwell, 1984) was as good a marker as anything – so off out into this bowl of sea that takes a flood tide up from the south, has a stream squirting through the Dorus Mor, and vents out to the west through the Gulf of Corryvercken plus other passages to the north. It is indeed a “confused” body of water.  Given the bright fresh feel to the day, the excitement factor was welcomed and I made a reasonable course across to Reisa an t-Sruith and then into Aird jetty mid afternoon.  Day 5 = 38kms

 

Circumnavigation complete in 3 & a bit paddling days (plus 1 bad wx day);  

total = 120 kms.