Paddlers: Gordon, Hugh, Ed, Gary
Sat F2-3 SW. 27 km
Sun F3-4 NW. 23.5km
Having got the ferry 19:30 ferry from Oban to Craignure on the Friday, we camped overnight at Salen campsite and launched from the (very steep) slipway at Ulva Ferry. We left the cars at the far end of the car park (making the requested donation for doing so).
We paddled around the south of Ulva and across to Little Colonsay and then on to Staffa for lunch, stopping at a skerry on the way to fix a wayward foot peg.
Fingal’s cave looked dramatic but the southerly swell and high tide precluded close inspection.
We then paddled to Lunga, landing in the bay on the southern end at 276414. Having setup camp, we walked over to the West side of the island past the sea stack and the hugely impressive array of sea birds.
On Sunday, the wind had picked up a bit and swung round to the NW. We paddled up the Treshnish islands, to the west of Fladda and landed on Cairn na Burgh More. From there we crossed across to Gometra. The remnants of the SW swell and the building NW swell made for somewhat confused water and we had to deal with a capsize on the way over. Although we had to contend with the NW swell for the rest of the journey, it dropped as we progressed along the northern shore of Ulva.