Lussa Bay to Port Ellen

A calm day, with little wind. The anchor came up clean and we set off under engine, which stayed on virtually all day. We put “George” to work, and he took us along the coast of Jura without incident, although he did loose power a couple of times when I trod on the lead.

The Paps of Jura

The weather was bright at first, and although it clouded over later it did not rain, and we managed 20 minutes of very slow sailing midmorning. Gigha appeared out of the mass of the Kintyre peninsula, and seeing it in the distance reminded me that it was supposed to be one of Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite stopping places when on holiday in the Royal Yacht. It was her funeral today and I spent a few minutes contemplating her life.

We saw quite a few seals as we come past Texa, and on the many rocks and reefs in the entrance to Port Ellen, but there have been no dolphins today. This was disappointing after 34 miles in 10 hours. Maybe they hated the engine noise as much as Julian does!

The Islay pontoons had plenty of space and knowing we had to pay for 10m (£25 a night) we did not bother to reeve the bowsprit, just tied up Worm beneath it. We decided on a shore day tomorrow, walking the 3 Distillery path, but today was a diet day, so we only a pot noodle each for dinner!