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Halcyon Days & Fingals Cave
Friday 5th June 2009
The sculpture at Largs caught at sunset
To say Scottish weather is changeable would come as no surprise to most people; but to say Scottish weather is consistent…well there’s a statement!
This week our guests have had a solid week of glorious uninterrupted sunshine, and not a drop of rain. Our charter took us from Largs to Oban stopping at a plethora of beautiful places along the way.
After joining Halcyon on the Saturday afternoon and completing our orientation and safety briefings Halcyons new guests, Andrew and Charlotte, and her permanent crew slipped lines from Largs, sadly for the last time this season, and set a course for an evening anchorage at Holy Island on the East side of Arran. A breathless afternoon called for the engine to take us there, and a relaxed way to enjoy the first afternoon aboard; no bits of string to pull yet! We arrived at the Holy Island anchorage to see it was rather busy, so I decided to take us to where other people were not and found a lovely secluded spot on the South side of the bay where we lay at anchor for the evening. We might as well have well been in a millpond or alongside for the amount we were moving, the water was like glass; it was truly a peaceful evening. After dinner the guests took the opportunity to explore ashore and walk off some of Kerri’s delicious food.
Sunday was going to be a long day covering around 50nm; we needed to round the Mull Of Kintyre, and as it’s a tidal gate, timing is key. We set off from Arran after breakfast to arrive at the Islands just off the Mull for a beautiful lunchtime anchorage at the Island of Sanda. The weather was so balmy that Olly decided that the crystal clear 12°C water looked quite inviting...I think he thought again from his reaction after he dove in! Following lunch it was time to weigh anchor and depart around the Mull, and as is tradition on Halcyon we played Paul McCartneys ‘Mull Of Kintyre’ on the speakers and educated Olly on this particular piece of music that he might not normally listen to! Once round the Mull we headed North up the Island of Gigha, a distance of around 30nm and dropped anchor in a very serene bay on the Northwest end of the Island which we had all to ourselves. It was then time to light the fire and for our guests to settle down to a well deserved meal, prepared by Kerri.
Monday wasn’t going to be quite as tough; it was only a short hop across to Jura and the town of Craighouse, famous for its Jura whisky distillery. We had arranged for them to have a tour of the distillery and a few drams of the local amber firewater! Once returned back to the boat Andrew, full of Dutch courage decided to go for a swim, and I have to say took it more like a man than Olly had on the previous day! (You may have noticed that I am the only male not to have gone for a swim so I’ll be careful with my mocking!) After a spot of lunch we set sail for the West side of Jura, passing through the Sound of Islay, which is a beautiful stretch of water, and anchored at the top end of Loch Tarbert. I think you would struggle to fine a more secluded spot in amongst these stunning surroundings; Andrew and Charlotte put it in their top 5 anchorages of all time. The kayak was then inflated and it was time for an explore and a trip ashore.
Tuesday took us to the small Island of Oronsay, which clings onto the South side of Colonsay. Andrew and Charlotte went ashore and explored the local Abbey, and so friendly are the people here that within no time Andrew got offered a job as an apprentice roofer, fortunately he declined and we were able to continue with the charter! Next stop was for our evening anchorage on the Southwest tip of Mull, the exact location of which I am keeping a secret, suffice to say it is one of the most beautiful white sand beaches I have ever seen, equalling anything I have ever seen in the Mediterranean or the Carribbean. I think this might have made it into a top 5 list of Charlotte and Andrews also!
Wednesday needed an early start and breakfast underway to catch low tide as we were heading North up to the Island of Staffa which hosts the famous Fingals Cave, inspiration to Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture. And true to form, the weather was perfect, a cloudless sky and a glassy calm sea and not a tourist in sight allowed us to get up close, explore the island and use the RIB to get into the cave. It is an amazing piece of geology and you can see why it has been an inspiration to so many. Just as we left the first tourist boat of the day full of tourists arrived, what timing, and what a privilige. Our lunch time anchorage was had in Calgary Bay before heading North around the top end of Mull to Tobermoray under full sail whilst being buzzed by the Tornados of the RAF.
Thursday saw us meandering our way South, down the Sound of Mull under sail to Duart Castle for a spot of lunch together with some culture and history ashore as Andrew and Charlotte looked around this Historical castle, which was also used in the film ‘Entrapment’ starring Catherine Zeta Jones and the icon of Scotland, Sean Connery. After a diversion for some seal watching at the appropriately named ‘seal island’ off Kerrera we arrived at Oban, our destination for this trip.
We would finally like to extend our thanks to Largs Yacht Haven once again this season, we are always greeted with a level of professionalism and hospitality that is difficult to match, it’s a pleasure to stay there.