4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg

We awoke this morning to fog. You are taught in your day skipper and yachtmaster courses not to set out in fog, fortunately by the time we were ready to leave the visibility was about 2 miles, so off we went on a dead flat sea with no wind. There were still patches of fog about but mostly just low cloud rolling off the hillsides. Three miles up the coast we had a milestone moment when we accumulated 1000 miles travelled so far.

Turning left out from Tobermory we crossed the Sound of Mull to its northern shore and followed the coastline round passing the point of Ardnamurchan. Although we may travel further west through the Isles this is also a milestone point on the trip being the most westerly point of the British mainland, which on a grey day such as this looked very bleak and barren. As we passed the fog came down with a vengence and visibility dropped to 200 metres. Fortunately it was only round the lighthouse and headland and soon could see land looming up in the distance.

Muck, Eigg and Rum lay before us and at 10 miles range were all blurred into one. Muck was nearest a low lying Island which blends in with Eigg and the Towering mass of Rum behind it.

It wasn’t until we were nearly in Scresort Loch that the sun came out, and the southern edge of Skye, only a few miles away, became visible.

Once moored, We took a walk on the island famed for it’s Red deer, White tailed and Golden Eagles, none of which we saw.

At the head of the Loch lies Kinloch Castle, which is really a house built with a castle theme in the 1890’s by the owner of Rum at the time, George Bullough. The estate became largely neglected after the wall street crash sapped Georges money reserves and was sold some years later to the Nature Conservatory Council along with the whole island of Rum by George’s widow in 1957. It is now sadly run down and falling into a state of ruin.

Tomorrow we head for Mallaig.