Treshnish Isles – 5th-7th May 2018

 

Paddlers  Holly, Lee, Steve T, Colin, Gordon, Steve W and Hugh

Weather Breezy and Bright. Rain overnight Sunday.

Route 

Report

A good turnout for the first club sea expedition of 2018 with 3 cars headed to Mull for rendezvous at Ulva Ferry or rather just to the north of it where we managed to find off road parking near to the water at Laggan Bay. We assembled rather early since most of the ferries were booked out for the bank holiday and we had to take the 0730 sailing with Colin and Steve T going up late Friday and camping.

Day 1 The wind forecast was 18-20 miles/hour mean, force 4/5 with gusts of 30 miles/hour from the SW so we decided to keep protected from the swell and close to shelter by going from Laggan Bay along the N side of Ulva and Gometra to camp at the extreme W end to hopefully take advantage of the better forecast for Sunday. After a stop for lunch and walk through the tidal gully between the two islands 7.36 Nm took us to Acairseid Mhor, an inlet sheltered by the HW island of Eilean Dioghlum and used by Gometra House. Space for 6 tents was found just S of the tidal channel and a sheltered spot for a driftwood fire. Good camp site for future use.

 

 

Day 2. Due to good internet reception we were able to get a full Met office forecast for our location and Sunday had changed overnight to higher winds pm. This meant we had to get to relative safety by midday so a decision was head direct to Lunga to camp and spend the rest of the day exploring the island. Overnight rain was followed by a dank misty morning. The 4.27 Nm crossing saw conditions improve and the wind freshen to give a brighter day. A 1 metre ocean swell with a superimposed light wind chop made the crossing interesting with the inevitable carpet of sea birds on approach to Lunga.

We landed on a stony beach on the S half of the island which the oldest member of the group had last used about 25 years ago. It was good enough for all the tents and provided enough driftwood for a fire. The afternoon was spent exploring Lunga and visiting the various sea bird colonies including the famous puffin shelf. Gordon then produced a pair of swing rhythm bags (somebody had to tell me what they were called) and did a pretty good demo of an Olympic gymnast before moving on to teaching 3 item juggling. A pleasant evening by a good fire and off to bed for a quiet night, or so we thought…. No one seen them so we can only presume that several birds, probably geese, flew in to roost in safety only to find several tents on their landing strip, with one crashing into Steve W’s pots outside his tent, anyway they flew around making a racket for what seemed ages before all went quiet. So much for the peace and quiet of an uninhabited island!

 

Day 3.

The forecast for Monday had ruled out a return via Staffa and a very early start to ensure we made our 1815 ferry booking so at 0845 we headed N up the Treshnish chain and stopping briefly on Fladda where Holly found a bag that turned out to be a long lost sea kayak towline, requiring only cleaning. On then to Cairn na Burgh Beg and Cairn na Burgh More, both with castle ruins visited by the fitter members of the group whilst the aged checked the wildlife (greater black backed gull with 3 eggs) and drank coffee after forgetting the tea bags.

The crossing to Gometra was uneventful in that there were no whales, dolphins or basking sharks but that was compensated fully by the sighting of a pair of white-tailed sea eagles, an otter and several deer as we retraced our outward course along the N of Ulva. Arriving back at the cars in pleasant sunshine before 1600 having covered just over 13Nm, a good paddle. Steve W even managed a victory roll to test the loaded kayak and found little difference. We were at the ferry in time to get a refreshment in the pub and then had an outdoor fish and chip party on Oban promenade in pleasant sunshine.

A good trip and surprisingly for a bank holiday no other sea kayakers on Lunga.

Hugh M