056:37.190 N
006:03.977 W

Tobermory, Mull

We met Isabelle off the train last night and had a beautiful evening with her back on TC; we began with Lucy’s celebratory Pimm’s which was followed by fish ‘n’ chips.

To soak up some Oban atmosphere, we took a late night walk (still daylight) along the promenade, there was a stunning sunset over the far western hills, much of it reflected in the calm water. The promenade ends at an immaculate War Memorial, beautifully lit but with a distressing number of names from so many Scottish regiments.

~

Today we have been so lucky with really great weather, the wind blew us perfectly on our way and gave TC a cracking beam reach up the Sound of Mull. With both Bol and Isabelle in the cockpit and plenty of other boats including another Sadler 34, there was a lot of concentration at the helm, and much tweaking with the sheets to ensure no-one over took us; it didn’t take long for the racing streak to return to TC.

The scenery on both sides of the Sound was really dramatic; Mull’s sole Munro, Ben Mor, rose high above all other hills and for once, wasn’t shrouded in mist. We passed a salmon farm and could see them jumping in the air, having never been that close to a salmon farm, it was interesting to see.

After a thoroughly enjoyable four-hour sail in gusty conditions on flat water (sometimes reaching 8 knots thanks to the tide with us) Tobermory revealed itself from behind an island towards the top of the Sound. It was so rewarding to round the headland into this iconic entrance with the uniquely coloured waterfront houses all around the quayside.

Pontoon spots are un-bookable so we were grateful to find an available walkashore berth and had a meander around town on arrival; this naturally included sampling the excellent Isle of Mull Ice Cream.

We then did a brilliant tour of the Tobermory Distillery. Abbie the daughter & grand-daughter of crofters was our guide; her passion was absolute, her enthusiasm was infectious and her knowledge of the industry was fascinating, we all learnt so much.

The tour ended with a wonderful surprise; the ten of us were all ushered into a cosy room surrounded by whisky bottles, and invited to sit down. Drams of smokey and non smokey whisky were then handed out and Abbie gave us a guided presentation of how to appreciate the 12 year old whiskeys in our hands.

So a very successful first day with our VIP and really enjoying having made it to Tobermory.