MAGICAL MULL
Wildlife encounters, unrivalled scenery and challenging pilotage await Brian Black as he circumnavigates the second largest island in the Inner Herbrides
Wildlife encounters and stunning scenery in the Scottish Isles
For too long I have sailed through F the Western Isles of Scotland on my way to somewhere north. Last season I tarried amongst them, re-living delights of earlier years, bringing back memories and making me wonder why I had spent so long away. Any sailor cruising in these waters will have tales to tell: headwinds, no winds, a sense of entering a magical world of islands and anchorages. How many, I wondered, took the time to explore Mull, the island a few miles north of Oban well within visual contact? In recent years I have pottered about Mull and maybe, just maybe, have got to know its ways and hidden places.
WEST INTO LOCH DON
For me, the starting point is Oban, ideal for crew arrivals with train, road and plane links. An overnight or two on the transit pontoon along the town’s seafront is convenient for loading stores and getting your boat ready for the days ahead.
Across the bay is the marina at Kerrera with pontoons, swinging moorings for long stay, a bistro and all the services you would expect. So now comes the first decision, will you go westabout or up the Sound of Mull towards Tobermory? With a fair tide, the passage up the sound is spectacular. Duart Castle, the ancestral home of Clan Maclean dominates the entrance. It was restored from ruin in 1912 and is one of the few Scottish castles still in private ownership today. From seaward, it reminds the sailor that this was once a disputed coast where clan wars, rebellion and foul deeds were common place. Off to starboard is the Lismore Light and Lady’s Rock. Ahead are vistas that seem to say ‘you’re in the Highlands now’.
For me, given settled weather, the preference is to go clockwise – westabout. That way
I get the feeling that although short in distance, I had travelled a long way to a distant place in a short time.
I have felt my way into Loch Don with inches under the keel. The route is narrow but going in with a rising tide presents some interesting pilotage with the reward of an isolated anchorage at its head. Loch Spelve is a little further to the west with a three-and-a-half knot tide running at full flood. Once in, you are land-locked and surrounded by an impressive range of hills with a warning in the pilot of ‘possible impressive squalls’.
GLORIOUS ISOLATION
Once committed, the route takes you around the Ross of Mull and up the western coast, a lee shore and exposed to the Atlantic, with no safe anchorage until you pass through the Torran Rocks and towards the Sound of Iona. It’s important to stress that this is a fair-weather passage but the rewards are significant. I have gone this way on several occasions and always try for the small but totally sheltered anchorage in Tinker’s Hole on the west side of Erraid. Beware of the rock on the approach, well marked on the chart but in the way for a careless navigator.
There was one occasion when I misjudged the approach, in the days long before GPS and chart plotters. The chef was expecting a sheltered anchorage within the hour, his gastronomic wonders awaiting the rattling of the anchor chain. It all came to grief when we hit the rock and even to this day I recall a startled crew, angrier at the loss of supper than the navigational error of the skipper.
We slid off and with as much dignity as I could manage, dropped the hook. Once in, if you are lucky, you can anchor in splendid isolation although this is a popular spot and you may not be alone. The sea is an azure blue with the sand clearly visible below the keel. You are amongst a maze of islets in shallow soundings with pink granite rocks and no sense of nearby habitation that create cruising magic.
In a nearby bay, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote some chapters of his novel Kidnapped while his uncle worked on the lighthouse at Dubh Artach. When conditions are right you can find your way into Traigh Ghael, otherwise known as David Balfour’s Bay, after
The air can be full of charismatic little creatures, their beaks filled with sand eels as they come and go
the narrator of Kidnapped. The white sandy beach can easily transport you back to 18th century Scotland, the setting of the novel which has held generations in thrall for more than a century.
The exit from Tinker’s Hole takes you into the Sound of Iona where anchoring is possible should a visit to the Abbey be on your agenda. This can be a spiritual pilgrimage to a site that has been a cornerstone for Christianity, enduring the worst ravages of Viking raiders and is, to this day, a place of retreat and spiritual renewal.
If the weather turns bad, then it is best to head for Loch na Làthaich with the village of Bunessan at its head. This is a well-sheltered anchorage to most winds complete with a hotel, shop and pub. Do not underestimate Atlantic weather systems; they can come in fast and fierce. A few years ago a yachting friend was stuck in Bunessan for five days in a gale and only felt safe to venture further when the
waterfalls on the Ardmeanach Peninsular across from Loch Scridean went into reverse and started falling downwards again!
A HAVEN FOR PUFFINS
The coast here is exposed to ocean currents; the tide runs fast through island channels and remains pronounced by the shore, especially off headlands. In wind against tide conditions, the seas can be rough and dangerous.
Away from the Sound of Iona, further pleasures await, but in settled conditions only. Your first destination might be Staffa with its famous Fingal’s Cave. In my younger and more foolish days I once nosed the bow into the cave to put a pal ashore for a photograph. That was many years ago and wiser councils prevail today and I would certainly not recommend it. A groundswell might come from nowhere, the cliffs can create downdrafts and if there was damage to the boat, you would have some difficulty convincing your insurance company about your competence as a skipper. It is much wiser to lie off and send crew ashore by dinghy.
Four miles to the north west is Bac Mòr known as the Dutchman’s Cap with a distinctive knob on its top. From there a couple of miles north lie the Treshnish Isles, the first being Lunga with large populations of seabirds and grey seals. The best time to visit is late May or early June when puffins are feeding their young, deep in the dark of rabbit burrows. These comics of the sea pay little attention to humans providing they keep their distance. The air can be full of the charismatic little creatures, their beaks filled with sand eels as they come and go throughout daylight hours.
I remember a family cruise years ago when the children were tiny, spellbound by the wonders of the natural world that stayed with them into their adult lives, a real life adventure. I like to think the experiences they had in these lovely places helped shape their attitudes to the environmental issues that confront us today.
Other seabirds will be nesting in early summer so when going ashore beware of well camouflaged nests amongst the shingle and shore vegetation. The anchorage, where the tide runs fast during springs, is in sand, close to the Lunga shore with rocks between there and Fladda.
Mull lies a few miles to the east and although there are several anchorages such as Gometra and Inch Kenneth, they are really only suitable in calm conditions. The exception is Ulva which adjoins Gometra. The best approach is from Loch na Keal to the south. A community buyout took over Ulva in 2018 and an energetic committee is trying to bring life back into the island, which saw its population
A maze of islets in shallow soundings with pink granite rocks and no sense of nearby habitation – cruising magic
dwindle from 500 in the 18th century to five families today. If you fancy a change of lifestyle and have skills to offer, get in touch with the community association, you just might be eligible. A small yacht pontoon is now in place and visitors are welcome.
From here the best plan is to sail the 20 miles to colourful Tobermorey. This is a picture perfect town with a fine marina and all the shops and restaurants you could wish for. This in itself presents a problem; it is very difficult to move on. If you must, then take the south-going tide down the Sound of Mull. With time in hand you could venture along Loch Sunart which lies opposite Tobermorey or treat yourself to an overnight in Loch Drumbuie, a lovely sheltered pool on the south side of Oronsay.
SAILING DOWN THE SOUND
The Sound itself is well buoyed and used by commercial traffic and island ferries so keep a close look-out as ferry skippers are not known for their sense of humour as far as yachties are concerned.
Winds in the sound can be contrary and frequently change direction due to the influence of the nearby mountains: it’s not unusual to see yachts under spinnaker, going north and south, heading towards one another.
Loch Aline, about halfway along the sound to port, is both lovely and well sheltered with an extemely pleasant marina.
After that you are nearly back to Oban and if the weather has been kind, you’ll be already planning ahead and thinking of next season’s cruise along this unique and magical stretch of Scotland’s west coast.