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NEWS FROM NORTHERN LIGHT CHARTERS :: AUGUST 2007 Thu 2 Aug | Hello Heather Hjalmar Bjorge is out with divers today - regular guests High Wycombe BSAC (or the "High Wycombe Geriatrics" as organiser David refers to himself and his buddies!). We also welcome back Skye Heather who is cooking for us as Ylva takes a short break. Coincidentally Heather was our regular cook last time this group was onboard in September 2005. The group's first night is being spent in Tobermory amongst dozens of yachts as it is West Highland Yachting Week. Jolly reassuring to see Strathclyde Police racing around Tobermory Harbour in their inflatable admonishing boat owners racing around Tobermory Harbour in their inflatables... Sat 4 Aug | Severe seas Hjalmar Bjorge is at Lochmaddy tonight with the divers, amazingly, having undertaken two dives today. The weather is truly terrible in the Outer Hebrides. Yesterday the boat travelled from Tobermory to Lochboisdale in Force 9 ("severe gale" according to the Beaufort Scale) so you can imagine that was quite a lively journey! Chris aboard Chalice finished a cruise with guests from Speyside Wildlife today, a six night cruise round the Inner Hebrides which afforded a variety of encounters in a range of windswept locations. Early on a big minke whale was seen just off Ardnamurchan Point with a peregrine and golden eagle at Canna. Chris took the guests to see Sandaig (aka Camus Fearna and the setting for Gavin Maxwell's "Ring of Bright Water"). Juvenile gannets were seen feeding off Loch Hourn which heralded the sighting of a so-far unidentified whale - most likely a minke but there was some debate it could have been a sei whale (hopefully onboard experts will, very soon, put us out of our misery on this one!). Speyside guide Steve walked his charges up to Loch Morar which rewarded with Scotch Argus and Brown Fritillary butterflies and there was beach exploring and a sunfish at Loch Ceann Traigh on the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula on the way back. Chalice fought her way past the last vestiges of West Highland Yachting Week for a final night in Loch Spelve and this morning, on the way into Oban, the last seabird sighting of note was storm petrels. Rob also delivered Elizabeth G back to Tobermory this evening having crossed the North Sea from Norway (no doubt a bumpy ride!) and travelled through the Caldeonian Canal, from Inverness on the east to Corpach on the west.
Tue 7 Aug | Whales and waves Hjalmar Bjorge is on anchor at Taransay this evening where a wild and wet day has ended without rain and some visible blue sky! The day started off with a good sighting of a couple of minke whales off East Loch Tarbert on the east coast of Harris. The boat travelled south and crossed west through the Sound of Harris where the waves got bigger until, off Toe Head, they were a good 4m high. Each time Hjalmar Bjorge dipped downwards the passengers and crew found themselves looking up at the waves in front of them! Taransay was just round the corner and once the boat was in shelter the divers jumped overboard for a dip and then took a walk on the island. Wed 8 Aug | Early bird catches...an earful from his other half who was fast asleep Hannah was woken at 0526 this morning with a text from Mark aboard Hjalmar Bjorge: "kilda on the horizon, on our way." Our patient divers have been aboard since last Thursday and, whilst enjoying some good dives in the Outer Hebrides, were very much hoping to reach St Kilda. Gale force winds have prevented this but wind speeds have dropped meaning there's time for a quick sprint out there. Quick it will be as the boat is due back in Oban on Friday but the group should get a couple of good dives off the islands on the edge of the world. Thu 9 Aug | Half a whole day "Quick sprint" was a good prediction. Having departed Taransay before 0530 yesterday morning in a bid to get our divers out to St Kilda they managed to stay there for about 12 hours. A gale forecast came in last night so Mark, Heather and Lindsay turned Hjalmar Bjorge around at midnight and headed back in. The infrequently seen phenomenon of a phosphorescent sea was experienced at this time - this is due to an organism that lives in the sea becoming agitated and thus causing the water to glow on a stormy night. It was a short visit but our guests got two very good quality dives out at St Kilda in that time and another this morning on the way back. All board were thrilled that they had been out there, despite it being a brief encounter. David said he'd waited 30 years to see St Kilda ("a lifetime's ambition") and Ben said this was "third time lucky" for him. Vicki wrote to complement the boat, crew, St Kilda, the diving, everything in fact apart from the rotten weather. She says, "Many thanks for a great trip on Hjalmar Bjorge! She is a fabulous boat. What with good company, scrumptious food and of course an excellent skipper, it couldn't have been better (forgetting the weather for a moment!). I think we were so lucky to get out to St Kilda on the one day that we did, and how fortunate to happen to hit Sgarbh Stac at slack water - what a fantastic dive that was! It was worth everything just for that! Many thanks for getting us there Mark". She also sent a photo of the happy group from High Wycombe BSAC, below. Photo: Vicki Billings
The long time at sea also rewarded with some great cetaceans sightings - white-beaked dolphins as the boat approached St Kilda, minke whales off Boreray and, returning from a dive at Stac Lee, 50 to 60 common dolphins who spent some time bow-riding. There were lots of gannets feeding which suggests fish stocks are good in the waters around the archipelago. However Sarah, the NTS warden, confirmed it has been a pretty disasterous year for puffins. Only about 40% have hatched. 2005 was the worst year on record for puffin numbers and 2007 has become the second most dire.
The journey up the Sound of Mull delivered porpoise en route to Tobermory. Just in case anyone missed the sighting, much screeching and shrieking was made by Sue. In fact this very much set the tone of the week. When anything good (or bad, come to think of it) happened it was usually accompanied by Sue! This definitely added a frisson of excitement onboard...upon hearing a squeal we never knew whether we'd find bow-riding dolphins or whether a passenger had accidentally fallen overboard...kept skipper Mark on his toes all week!!! Elizabeth G also departed Oban today with divers onboard. Their hoped-for ambitious itinerary is likely to be defeated by the forecasted weather (gales!) but Rob will ensure they get some good dives in wherever they end up. Chalice heads out tomorrow on an eight night cruise which will hopefully visit St Kilda. These longer cruises mean all aboard should enjoy a relaxed meandering throughout the Hebrides. Chris is taking a wee break so Big John is at the helm, Heather, who just stepped off Hjalmar Bjorge yesterday, is cooking and Helen provides all round back-up. Sun 12 Aug | Lindsay's birthday Happy 23rd to Lindsay, Hjalmar Bjorge's crew. Cards were accompanied by an, um, eclectic mix of gifts from cook Ylva...a brand new washing-up brush (well, it was a lovely shade of bright pink), pin the tail on the donkey and some rather expensive chocolates amongst others. Lindsay was also made to wear a large "Birthday Girl" badge all day before being presented with the largest, tallest, most cream-and-fresh-fruit-covered chocolate cake you have ever seen. Forecasts are rather grim so we set our sights on Canna where huge, fat seals were seen basking on the rocks off Sanday as the boat entered the harbour. Everyone enjoyed a good walk in the afternoon (including Ship's Dog) and golden eagles were seen. The boat stayed overnight on the pier where it was joined by a few fishing boats. Mon 13 Aug | Rum goings on Hjalmar Bjorge departed Canna after breakfast and headed for Rum, Loch Scresort and Kinloch Castle. It was a wet, grey day and we were all deposited ashore around 1000 with the instruction to return to the pier at 1230. Great, we thought, we'll have a look round the amazing castle! A damp walk along the coastal path to the castle revealed that the scheduled tour began at 1315. Whilst sheltering from the rain everyone balefully peeked through the windows when, lo and behold, one of Scottish Natural Heritage's staff appeared and said he would show us round in 10 minutes! Bless him, he even permitted Ship's Dog to join the humans on the guided tour (and she got in free). The castle is a monument to Edwardian excess and SNH have obviously worked hard to preserve the building and contents which are virtually all original.
Ship's Dog was somewhat perturbed by the tiger-skin rug - complete with head - and gave it a Paddington-style hard stare, a moment captured by Caryl, left. The perfect caption for this photo would be "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" which won't mean anything to you unless you are a fan of Duran Duran...uh, oh, what did I just admit?! Moving swiftly on. Everyone in the party commented that the £6 per head entry fee to Kinloch Castle was very reasonable and all felt they got value for money on the informative and friendly tour. Photos (above left) Caryl Schecter and (right) Paul Schecter Back onboard, lunch, and off to Inverie in Loch Nevis. There was time for the guests to go ashore and have a swift drink in The Old Forge before dinner. As well as being the remotest pub in the UK the Forge is known for the musical instruments hanging on the walls and frequent spontaneous jamming sessions take place there. This was a challenge our guests were ready for! Lindsay is an accomplished fiddle player and Ylva was given a flute just a day or two before the trip began - she learned to play the flute some years ago. Onto the boat on Saturday came four guitars (Ed, John, Paul & Phil), a second flute (Sarah), two bodhráns (Caryl & Sue) and some maracas!!! Perhaps unsurprising given that Ed is a member of Bandersnatch - check out their website for information and why not buy a CD?!
Chalice departed Tobermory this morning to round Ardnamurchan Point which was calmer than expected and all the guests were fine. After the boat turned towards Eigg, however, the odd big wave rolled it around quite considerably and five guests were sea-sick, four over the side and one over the boat. Crew Helen, capable as ever, rolled her sleeves up and cleaned up without batting an eyelid. John visited Inverie but found it a bit bouncy so cruised further down Loch Nevis to Tarbert, once a busy fishing station, now a quiet location with a few houses, the best known of which belongs to Cameron Macintosh, the theatrical producer. Eight guests went for a walk accompanied by a fisherman's dog. It was a lovely evening and the "Chalice cam" (a camera installed by Chris to show what is under the boat) showed spider crabs, prawns, sea urchins and loads of fish. Tue 14 Aug | Celebrity spotting This morning saw Hjalmar Bjorge pass Chalice as Big John headed west out of Loch Nevis while we went SE to Tarbert. Chalice's guests had seen Cameron Macintosh taking his flag down in readiness to leave his lochside property, then set off by boat. This passed us and I believe we got a wave from Mr Musical himself (do excuse my excitement, we don't see many celebs in this part of the world). Anchored at Tarbert we all went ashore, including the crew and Ship's Dog, for a walk to Loch Morar, the deepest freshwater loch in the British Isles. It was a glorious sunny day and after returning to the boat Ylva, Lindsay, Caryl, Sheila, John and Sarah decided to jump in for a swim. Some were wet-suited, some were not. Brrr! Photos: Paul Schecter
After lunch we headed for Isleornsay via the Sound of Sleat. Lots of birds were seen on the surface of the water and porpoise were feeding. Patient waiting was rewarded with the curved back of a minke whale and Mark switch off Hjalmar Bjorge's engines so we could watch the whale undisturbed. We saw a few more sightings of the whale before heading off for our anchorage by Isleornsay, the village, which overlooks the Isle of Ornsay. A shore visit for a look at Pam Carter's paintings in the gallery where Ship's Dog was greeted by the artist's four dogs - a Shar Pei (with the most hilarious tail I have ever seen on a dog), an elderly spaniel, a Dalmation and a Weimeraner. Then time for a drink in the pub before dinner aboard. Chalice guests had lunch in Loch Scavaig, at the foot of the Cuillins, and saw four sea eagles on the Skye coast - two adults and a pair of young (just out of the nest), all sitting on the skyline and flying now and then. They had a very brief encounter with a pair of dolphins but saw loads of porpoise. Big John then headed straight for Lochmaddy, aiming to cross the Little Minch before the forecasted NW wind picked up. They arrived late and the pier was free so they tied up alongside which enabled everyone to take a walk after dinner and visit the pub.
We sailed south, between Canna and Rum, and a couple of miles north of Coll we spotted some common dolphin close by the boat. They made a beeline for us and rode the bow, mothers and babies. They didn't stay long though and by the time everyone aboard was alerted and had a quick peek they disappeared as quickly as they had arrived. Photos (left) Hannah Thompson (right) Ylva Powlett
Quite a few of the crossings we undertook were pretty lumpy. Waves would break over the sides of the boat and water would swill around the aft deck (a good place to sit in rough weather). This led to much shrieking and squealing from Sue but Ylva managed to snap the photo above of Sarah, Caryl, Sue and Ali in between waves! By today the Scream Team had set up a folding chair and steps on which to rest their feet so the water swished around the legs of the furniture instead of their footwear. This led to a considerable reduction in volume from the back deck... The boat anchored off Arinagour, Coll, but Mark didn't like the sound of the evening's forecast so we weighed anchor and travelled to the shelter of Gometra, on the west of Ulva, via the Treshnish Isles. We were all quite surprised to see a small house with smoke coming out of the chimney indicating a permanent resident in this remote location. Ylva, the cook, asked, "But how does he get his supplies?" to which Sue replied, "He goes over Ulva, Ylva..." Wary of the Force 7 forecast Big John wisely decided to stay on the east side of the Outer Hebrides today. He took the guests to the Shiant Islands for lunch and a walk of a couple of hours. There were two sea eagles flying around in the anchorage. Skye Heather, the cook, spoke to a friend who thought they were young ones from Lewis. John decided on Scalpay for the evening anchorage as the south facing harbour would be well protected from the strong NW winds. Guests got a great close up of a minke on the way over. Thu 16 Aug | Lochbuie rainbow This morning I was shell-shocked to find we had eaten breakfast and walked for a hour on Gometra and it was still only 0930. Hard work these cruises! We saw red deer on the hills of Gometra, Sarah found an antler on the beach and Ship's Dog found a football which provided some off-leash entertainment. Next a cruise past Staffa, through the Sound of Iona and lunch anchored off Ardalanish Bay on the south coast of Mull. Past Carsaig Arches - lots of wild goats on the shoreline - and into Loch Buie to take a peek at Sue & Phil's house at the head of the loch (barely visible in the right of the photo, below), also where Hannah & Mark lived for nine years (the last five in the white speck on the left of the photo). It was a grey day but the village was illuminated by a rainbow. Mark showed everyone where the sea eagle's nest was and we saw a pair of birds (likely the occupants of the nest) overhead. Into the shelter of Loch Spelve for the night. Photo: Hannah Thompson
Chalice guests had a walk on Scalpay today. They headed off for the lighthouse but didn't quite reach it. Everyone was accompanied by various dogs including a friendly collie who reared up and howled as the Zodiac pulled away. Big John made time to go ashore to look at the Scalpay fishing fleet made famous by Oban Times correspondent D Morrison. In fact John tried to find Mr (?) Morrison claiming him to be a personal hero. And why not? Here are two recent stories from the OT's Scalpay newshound: "Fish van: The fish van returns when there are ample supplies of fish." Or how about: "Mechanisation: Repair work on roads and path ways is now done with mechanical diggers instead of spades." Strangely Lindsay also tried to find the elusive D Morrison a couple of weeks ago but he (?) was nowhere to be found on that occasion either. Resting, perhaps, from the cut and thrust of modern journalism? D Morrison we salute you...for your local news is the highlight of the Oban Times for many people! Fri 17 Aug | Plinky Plonky Tour Paul was up early and saw several otters around the shore of Loch Spelve before Ylva dished up a substantial big breakfast. This included porridge, toast, bacon, scrambled eggs, beans, tomatoes, home-made blueberry pancakes and vegetarian sausages and haggis for the pesky onboard veggie - yours truly. After a leisurely feast we set sail for Oban via the south end of Kerrera past Gylen castle. A group photo was taken en route which included a banner Ylva made to accompany last night's enormous ice-cream, summer fruits and mango pavlova dessert. The name "Plinky Plonky Tour 2007" derives from the least rude and/or lavatorial of the jokes that were told throughout the cruise so here goes... What do you call a donkey with three legs? .....A wonky donkey. What do you call a donkey with three legs and one eye? .....A winky wonky donkey. What do you call a one-eyed, three-legged donkey that likes to get drunk and play the piano? .....A plinky plonky winky wonky donkey. And lastly, what do you call a very small one-eyed, three-legged donkey that likes to get drunk and play the piano? .....A plinky plonky winky wonky dinky donkey!!!
Hannah's shipmates for the week were, back row above: Nic, Sue the Screecher, Phil, Sheila, Ed, Paul, Caryl the Cake, John, and in front: Sarah and Ali. Photo: Hannah Thompson Once berthed at Oban my top priority was to retrieve Daisy from Aunty Kirsty's flat! She was joyful when I turned up with Sarah who lavished some of her attentions on a delighted dog. Sarah spent most of the week aboard Hjalmar Bjorge welded to Seven who had absolutely no complaints about being cuddled most of the time we were at sea, photos left and middle below. Seven even slept in Sarah's cabin and managed to only wake Sarah a couple of times with her snoring. Daisy and Seven were thrilled to be reunited on the boat, charging round in circles with mad wagging tails. They did stop long enough for Sarah to have a shot of Daisy on the aft deck though, below right. Photos: Hannah Thompson
And so, all good things must come to an end, and good-byes were said and bags and musical instruments were offloaded. Sue, Phil, Nic, Ali and Sarah headed off to Mull while Paul, Caryl, Ed, Sheila and John headed off "down south" (which will be "north" to many of you, being around Bolton). We then got stuck into sorting the boat out for tomorrow's guests. Elizabeth G also came into Oban and Rob dropped his divers off. They had got out to the Shiant Islands which, considering the weather, was a pretty good achievement. Tracy, the cook, said it was actually a very sunny day when they were there and the divers got in two good dives. A rewarding wildlife day for Chalice guests today. The continual dire forecasts led to the inevitable decision to abandon an attempt on St Kilda. With NW winds of Force 7 yesterday morning Big John decided to head south towards Mingulay instead of north to Taransay and, so, Chalice was anchored in Loch Eynort, South Uist last night. The chart says there is a patch of water less than 10m in the SW corner of the loch but the seabed didn't agree so Chalice got to test all her chain! John says this is a great anchorage with no houses or lights in sight and no other boats were seen. As Chalice arrived yesterday evening at the anchorage a sea eagle was heard loudly calling. It was easily spotted on a tree by Helen and started making a real racket from around 0500. When everyone got up this morning they witnessed an amazing sight - the eagles dropped a big fish which an otter then picked up. There followed a lengthy Mexican stand-off between eagles and otter before finally one of the eagles took back the fish. There were also two juvenile sea eagles about. Chalice then set off for Mingulay and saw various basking sharks and had another good sighting of a minke whale off Vatersay. There were some eagles flying above Pabbay, species unknown. Big John took Chalice round the back of Mingulay hoping for a safe anchorage but the weather was due to worsen so instead they went straight to Coll with more basking sharks and another great minke sighting very close to the boat. Chalice anchored in Loch Breachacha as the wind was backing to NE. Unfortunately it stopped at east so there was some rolling motion overnight. A small price to pay for all those eagles, whales and basking sharks surely?! Sat 18 Aug | Spick and span Lindsay's mum came over from Mull and stayed aboard Hjalmar Bjorge last night. Not in a hurry to be off this morning she helped Lindsay with the dusting, polishing and cleaning of mirrors. Well done that mum, you can come again anytime! Hoovering finished, stores loaded, diving oxygen onboard, we were ready for our dive guests' arrival in the late afternoon. With all aboard the boat headed off to Tobermory for the night. Yet more basking sharks this morning for Chalice guests on the way to Staffa, then ashore on Gometra for a walk. They saw a funny looking shark with a bigger than average nose whose tail rarely came out of the water. It was interested in Chalice too! Sun 19 Aug | Excess of eagles Chalice guests heard howling winds last night from the safety of Gometra harbour. The winds were still in the north this morning so Big John took the boat past Iona, stopping at Carsaig Arches and Carsaig to watch seals, juvenile shags and more sea eagles. Then on to Lochbuie with three more sea eagles - that's 15 different sea eagles that have been spotted on this, so far, seven night cruise. Eight guests disembarked from Chalice in Lochbuie and walked through to Loch Spelve. They saw a peregrine and the stone circle (the only one on Mull) on their travels. The four guests left onboard saw wild goats and two golden eagles on the way round the coast. Chalice is now anchored in the NE corner of Loch Spelve ready to head to Oban tomorrow. Wed 22 Aug | Haar bars diving Weird weather ditches diving! Hjalmar Bjorge was in Lochinver last night and departed this morning for Kinlochbervie as the group onboard are hoping to reach Cape Wrath. They were escorted out of the harbour by a big grey seal who followed them in last night and stayed close to the boat. He was obviously used to being thrown bits of fish from the trawlers that land there. The boat set off and the sea was flat calm, like glass...ideal you would think. However the sea fog (or "haar") was so bad that Mark could barely make out the pointy end of the boat as they cruised north and the diving had to be abandoned. A diver surfacing just a few feet further away than anticipated would never have been seen. Everyone agreed they'd still like to travel to Kinlochbervie and would spend the rest of the day ashore. So far, so sensible.
After dinner Ylva produced one of her amazing birthday cakes...this time in the shape of Hjalmar Bjorge (and, yes, probably almost life size). Lindsay's handiwork decorated the cake in the form of icing Ship's Dogs Daisy (left) and Seven (right) alongside a mermaid on the foredeck, a giant puffin steering from the top deck (obviously), icing ropes and fenders, plus a large pink squid (unseen, at the back of the cake) and a smiley starfish and dolphin in the sea at the front! Photos (and cake) Ylva Powlett and Lindsay Wilson
The members of The John Smiths Society took the birthday celebrations very seriously and apparently stayed up until 0400 this morning, long after everyone else went to bed. Well done chaps. Gotta admire their stamina. Hjalmar Bjorge spent last night was spent in Loch Torridon. Yesterday morning Mark had put the divers in for an 0730 dive at Cape Wrath before heading south again. Gale force winds accompanied this morning's dive before they pushed south again, under the Skye Bridge, for the sheltered anchorage at Isleornsay. Sat 25 Aug | Dinner is delayed Elizabeth G and Chalice both embarked guests in Oban today, departing for Tobermory in the late afternoon. Leaving Oban around 1700 usually means dinner is served as the boat is entering the shelter of Tobermory Bay, about 1930 to 2000. Today, however, both boats got side-tracked by a minke whale. Elizabeth G guests saw the whale near the marker buoy of the wreck of the Hispania in the Sound of Mull and Chalice guests saw it near the Morvern shore, opposite Tobermory. A minke whale, most likely the same individual, was seen earlier in the evening by Hjalmar Bjorge guests who are also tonight in Tobermory, ready to head home from Oban tomorrow. Sun 26 Aug | North and south This morning Hjalmar Bjorge and Elizabeth G both left Tobermory, the former heading south for Oban where our diving guests were disembarked, the latter heading north, bound for Canna. Big John, who is skippering Elizabeth G for the next couple of weeks, got everyone to Canna for lunch with an hours walk ashore, before pushing on to Lochmaddy where another walk was taken before dinner. After Tracy's dinner onboard several guests walked it off by visiting the pub...
Here at HQ, with a few days off for Hjalmar Bjorge, Mark, with Hannah took Ship's Dogs Seven and Daisy for a forest walk and funghi forage. We found some ceps, below left (50p piece for scale). Too bad we couldn't share them with our guests but they can't complain...whilst tied up in Tobermory last Saturday evening, Charlie from boat Amidas, gave us 30 mackerel which Lindsay gutted (with a smile, as always, centre) and Ylva transformed into a delicious starter to the evening meal (right). Photo (left) Hannah Thompson (centre and right) Ylva Powlett
Tue 28 Aug | Flannans foregone Having decided to give the Flannans a miss guests aboard Elizabeth G enjoyed another morning on Hirta today with Big John giving them a tour round the islands and stacks in the afternoon. This evening the boat is in Loch Rodel with everyone keen to see the Shiants tomorrow. Wed 29 Aug | Shall it? Shiant it? Elizabeth G departed for the Shiant Islands in mirror calm waters at 0700. John took the boat for a tour round the islands and then landed the guests ashore for an hour. Did it rain? Yes, of course, just as they were landing. And for good measure the wind started to freshen up too. The guests were game though and were glad to be ashore. Next the boat cruised past Rona (sometimes known as South Rona) and into Plockton where Chalice soon appeared too! After dinner seven guests went ashore and found a music session going on in the hotel. Fri 31 Aug | Iceland: no whaling Fantastic news from a country whose coast we have explored a little with Hjalmar Bjorge and Hans Hansson. Foreign tour operators have long hoped that by demonstrating that watching whales, rather than killing them, is profitable, it will encourage Icelandics to stop whaling. Ambitious? Perhaps. Certainly today's news has arisen from different motivations. Icelandic Fisheries Minister Einar Guofinnsson stated recently that the Icelandic government believes that there is no reason to allow more whaling after the current quota expires on August 31 2007. "I will not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improve and permission to export whale products to Japan is secured," said Guofinnsson. "There is no reason to continue commercial whaling if there is no demand for the product." Greenpeace points out that the statement falls short of declaring an absolute end to Icelandic whaling but thinks it is unlikely that market conditions for whale meat will improve. Read more here. Elizabeth G left Lochaline this morning to disembark guests in Oban around lunchtime. Yesterday guests had a few hours walking at Inverie with lunch onboard before heading south. The cruise didn't encounter as many cetaceans as hoped for, only porpoise, but Big John says the guests swear some of those were dolphins! |
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Mon
6 Aug | Baby basking shark
Last
night at Leverburgh all aboard Hjalmar Bjorge saw an unusual formation of
three rainbows followed by an otter swimming about right in front of the
boat. Crew Lindsay, who captured the rainbow right, also photographed a
classic image of dusk over the sea, above, just as the sun was setting.
Looks like a postcard doesn't it? 
Sat
11 Aug | Happy Birthday to Sue
After
the evening meal we pulled off the pier and anchored close by in a more
sheltered bay. There was a lovely rainbow to see - a double one this time
- which was to become quite a feature of this wet and sunny week! 
Wed
15 Aug | Misty mountains
Mark, and the two of his three mates aboard that form "The John
Smiths Society" (no prizes for guessing what their favourite tipple
is) decided from there they would walk to Sandwood Bay, described by some
as "the most magnificent beach in the UK". It is totally
inaccessible by vehicle so is a very quiet and beautiful location. So
Mark, Colin and Mark set off. And walked. And walked some more. Eight
miles and two hours later they got there. Did I mention that as well as
the flat sea and dense sea fog today was boiling hot? The three of them
worked up quite a sweat on the walk and to cut out all the gory details
(you might be eating your lunch while reading this) they got naked and ran
in the sea to cool off. I, for one, am eternally grateful there is no
photographic evidence to support this horseplay...thankfully the chaps are nowhere in
sight, above! 
Fri
24 Aug | Skippy celebrates
Mon
27 Aug | Across to Kilda