Lochs and Islands 3

Friday 22nd to Tuesday 26th June
Tobermory-Coll-Iona-Puilladobhrain-Oban
Route & photos http://www.a-trip.com/tracks/view/107272

Saturday was one of those days of sailing super-contrasts. It started on a mooring in Coll, a little island I guess I'd never heard of before this trip. Too windy and horrid to row ashore, we set off for Iona about 20 miles away. The photo does not capture the waves, noise, wind, cold, poor visibility and feelings of nausea! But, F6/7 and well-furled genoa gave us over 6 knots. We saw nothing of the islands we passed and could have been sailing anywhere.

Then, we picked up a buoy for lunch in Bull Hole, opposite Iona; the wind calmed, skies cleared, everyone felt better and we went ashore on Iona (2nd photo). There, the corncrakes (apparently a rare bird, not a rare breakfast cereal) entertained us with their distinctive calls and invisibility! As evening drew in, we motored across, under a blue sky and calm sea to Tinker's Hole on Mull. And all of that was just a single day!