Log of Robinetta: Loch Duich to Loch Hourn

We spent the night in Loch Hourn in 2015. In fact the cover photo of the 2015 collected log is of us anchored there. But we only got as far as the small islands on the north side of the entrance then. Loch Hourn carries on for some 5 miles through four sets of narrows. The Clyde Cruising Club describes it as ‘magnificent’ and they don’t use that adjective on every page!

But before that we had to retrace our steps to the entrance to Kyle Rhea and get through that set of narrows.

It was a lovely sunny morning but there was no wind. We got the anchor up and motored down Loch Duich. Alison kept us on the north side so we got close views of the castle at Elilean Donan.

It was high water and the anchorage at Totaig looked quite different. The seal colony was away - presumably having breakfast.

Into Loch Alsh, and through the narrows at Eilean Glas. So much easier under motor than under sail. So much more fun under sail than under motor.

Alison spotted something had landed on the sail. A huge insect. We decided it must be a hornet.

The weather over Skye was so much nicer than the previous days. But a little hazy.

Heading into Kyle Rhea we turned the engine down to tick-over. We just had steerage way as the tide swept us through. The ferry passed from Skye to Glenelm well ahead of us so we kept an eye on it and it left Glenelm again as we neared.

It was either speed up and get past it, or turn to let it go ahead. Usually the second option would be better but with the tide pushing us it was better to motor ahead.

Once past the ferry the Kyle starts to open up into the Sound of Sleat. This is where the currents get interesting. The pilot books say that with wind over tide bad overfalls happen. In the favourable conditions we had all we saw were lots of areas of disturbed or rotating water. Nothing scary but fun to navigate.

We fancied bacon sandwiches for lunch but today is a Thursday and should be a diet day. I suggested we do a ‘diet night’ instead and set our 600 calorie limit to run from 3pm to 3pm Friday. So we pottered down under engine to Isleornsay and anchored in the harbour. It was packed with yachts. One of them was a lovely gaff yawl.

Bacon cooked and sandwiches consumed, we got into Worm to go ashore. We’ve only been once before, back in 2002 on Alpha, the 1904 Bristol Pilot Cutter. I’d checked on the web and it looked like the Gaelic Whisky shop was still there and worth a visit.

We looked hard at the yawl as we passed and, she was flying an OGA pennant from the cross trees! But there was no-one around and the cover was on the wheel.

Ashore we chatted to someone and when we pointed to our yacht he said - “You were in Grimsby”. I hadn’t recognised him but it was one of the people from the Humber Cruising Club we’d chatted to there. He and his friend were planning to bring both their boats up. His friend has a house near Isleornsay and they were staying there. It was lovely to see him again.

We couldn’t see any sign indicating the Whisky shop but looking in windows we spotted it and went in an tasted all their own whiskies. They are blends, some mixtures of malt and grain and some pure-malt blends. Alison settled on the 12 year-old Poit Dhubh.

Then I had a small beer and Alison had a cappuccino from the pub and we sat outside looking over the harbour in the warm sun.

Heading back to Robinetta we spotted another gaff rigged boat had turned up. It was near Robinetta with people on board so we rowed over to say hello. I asked if it was a Norfolk Gypsy and I was right! They were locals from Kinlochhourn and when we said we were heading there, they made sure we knew how shallow the last narrows are. They weren’t OGA members. I said that was a pity because three boats together would be a rally!

Leaving Isleornsay we had wind. We sailed into Loch Hourn but lost it once inside and put the motor on. We dropped the sail - there was a bit more wind later but oh well …

I was feeling dopy and put my head down in the cockpit, completely missing the dolphins.

The scenery was spectacular, with Munros and tall Corbetts all around. We had the sun until the first set of narrows and then thick cloud. Part of me wanted to head back out into the sunshine, but most of me wanted to explore.

Each set of narrows is very different and they present no risk for a boat with a chart plotter and very little risk just following the pilot.

The fourth set is a different matter. By now, the loch is called Loch Hourn Beag and after the narrows it’s just called Loch Beag - just like the small lochs at the heads of Loch Glencoul and Loch Duich. The Clyde Cruising Club have explicit instructions but they are difficult to interpret ahead of time. I wouldn’t like to go through for the first time without a plotter or a local guide.

Above water the entrance looks quite wide. But the deepest water snakes from one side of the gap to the other and back. A slow approach is needed to allow very sharp turns to be made. That could be quite difficult with the tide running fast so entrance at slack water is a good idea. The least depths in the channel are charted about 0.5 m so a 1.5 m draft yacht needs at least a metre of tide so low water springs is probably out for most yachts. High water seemed shallow enough for us!

We got through without difficulties. Inside was a surprise. Lots of houses and moorings and moored boats. I hadn’t spotted that there is a single-track road from the A87 to here and the village of Kinlochhourn seems very popular.

We decided that it wasn’t the best place to anchor - too many moorings and a risk of katabatic winds. So we retraced our steps through the narrows, and back through the 3rd narrows to a recommended anchorage just to the north west of the 3rd narrows.

On the way I spotted a disturbance in the water. Was this what Gavin Maxwell saw as a 'Ring of Bright Water' just a few miles west at Sandaig?

It interested a number of locals. A bird, and what we are pretty sure was an otter.

The anchorage was lovely. Not much room but very snug and with more sloping hills so less likely to give strong down-drafts. We thought we spotted an otter as our host. It was probably a small seal.