Changing Forecasts

We had a plan on Sunday. It was something like Monday Tobermory, Tuesday Oban, Wednesday Seil, Thursday Loch Melfort, Friday Ardfern. By Monday it looked like we might get stuck in Tobermory. On Tuesday morning the 7 had gone from the forecast and we had an easy motor to Oban. This morning the 7 was back, with a possible 8 to keep it company. And the following 24 hours were no better. Worse, the low pressure was moving north, not east, and so likely to be around for a while. We decided we should get inside the isle of Luing as soon as possible, or we might not make it to Ardfern by Friday. It wouldn't be a huge problem to be somewhere else - we would just need public transport to get to the car, but Ardfern is the easiest place to end the cruise.

So we combined our Seil options into a breakfast stop at Puildobhrain and a passage through the Easdale narrows. We left Oban at 8 am and had a nice sail. A broad reach with strong gusts and deep lulls. The wind came out of Loch Feochan really strongly and then died as we crossed the entrance to the Clachan Sound.

We got a glimpse of the bridge over the Atlantic and then dropped sails and motored in to Puildobhrain at 10 am and anchored. Pipistrelle,  a Cape Cutter 19 we had seen in Ardfern was at anchor. 2 gaffers!

I cooked a fine breakfast. Haggis, black pudding, tattie scones, bacon and eggs. I wanted to go ashore and walk to the bridge but we decided we might miss the tide. I programmed in the shortest possible route to Craobh. It would take us inside Easdale and through the Cuan Sound.

Passing the top of Seil Stornoway Coastguard relayed a new gale warning for Malin "Southeasterly gale force 8 imminent increasing severe gale force 9 soon". We were now officially in a hurry.

Easdale is hard work. There are shallows and rocks and moorings and ruined slate harbour structures. We went the wrong side of one post and scraped the bottom for a second but got through okay. It has two notable eating places, we should go back.

Alison's fears that the tide would have turned before we got to Cuan were founded but only just. We got 1-2 knots against us, not 7. We dropped the main as we were now fully head to wind.

Hay lorries were backed up at the Cuan ferry, delivering to Luing. They only just managed to get off the ferry and up the steep road. Kayakers were out enjoying the spring tides and whirlpools. We enjoyed them too, it is a beautiful spot and the whirlpools and eddies are fun, not scary.

Emerging into the Seil Sound, and even more into the Shuna Sound, we finally started to get the kind of seas we associate with strong winds. There are lots of rocks to dodge but the weather was still fine and we had a lovely, if slightly bumpy motor to Craobh. It was great being able to make out our friends' house in Loch Melfort as we passed.

In Craobh, we relaxed, happy to be within a few miles of sheltered waters of our target.