The fourth day of our sailing expedition…. sorry to leave Ulva behind but the Sound of Iona lies ahead and the Ross of Mull, Erraig and Ardalanish beyond.
The weather seems to alternate dry sunny days with rainy days…. today it’s not raining but it’s overcast and chilly. We set off steering southwest for Iona. Lots of bird life on the water. Nice wind with a bit of spray. We all seem to have got well beyond possible seasick reactions to this perpetual motion. Berni and Sam had a go at the helm.
Iona comes up to starboard…. first the sandy beaches and rocks of the north end, then the Abbey and village. To port is Fionnphort over on Mull where the ferry is just setting off over to Iona. It’s not far over to Iona from Mull. Much farther to get here from Ireland as St Columba did in about 560CE. And definitely wouldn’t want to be sailing in a coracle as he is said to have done.
Then we are sailing past Erraig and the small rocky islets at the south end of the Sound. The sea has more of a swell here and there’s no land to the west of us until Canada. Passing Erraig, we also pass the bay where David Balfour was washed ashore after the ship he was prisoner on foundered on the Torran Rocks a couple of miles out to sea. (This didn’t really happen you understand, except in R L Stevenson’s novel “Kidnapped.) We head into a sheltered inlet behind Rubh’ Ardalanish for today’s anchorage. David heads off for a walk in the rain. Rachel goes for a swim in the rain. Berni, Sam and I stay snugly indoors chatting, reading and sleeping. It’s a hard life!
Videos here…. Map below them
[huge_it_videogallery id=”4”]
Add comment