056:25.089 N
005:29.828 W

Kerrera

We had a beautiful time watching an otter at dusk last night; Bol spotted it between us and the shore going up and down the beach, its nose sticking out the water as it came up for air, presumably fishing. Such a treat to see it in the wild, this place is a really special spot.

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Fabulous 3hr day sail today, all downwind. Once we left the anchorage we ghosted along under jib passing the now more familiar landmarks having walked down both sides of the Loch.

Our exit from the Loch was timed to be at slack water because all charts have “STRONG TIDAL STREAMS” written in capitals across the entrance. A slightly anxious quiet descended upon the cockpit as we followed the deep-water route, focussing on the dot-to-dot on the Navionics and Antares charts, then both relished that moment breaking free from the pilotage and back out into the wide Firth of Lorn.

The entire route was under jib alone and we didn’t really drop below 5.5 knots. So the sun shone, the wind blew and TC flew, producing that wonderful fizzing sound when she goes above 5 knots downwind.

Approaching the Island of Kerrera was fun as we tried to work out where its Sound began. From the far side of the Loch it was all one enormous land mass but as we approached, we could see Kerrera and the Mainland slowly moving apart and the entrance opened up.

Once in the Sound of Kerrera we were back to following red and green markers all the way to avoid rocks and headlands, the AIS alarm came to life warning us of our imminent arrival at the busy port of Oban.

For one night we are tied up in Kerrera Marina opposite Oban, and spent a few hours doing boat admin; having done approx. 75hrs on the engine, Bol did an oil and filter change and then some maintenance on the jib furler to help it run more smoothly.

Such a treat to have sunshine all day today so this evening we had a beautiful walk up a hill behind the marina with views in all directions, took some fun panoramic photos. We celebrated our arrival with a drink at “The Waypoint” the marina bar, a cosy cabin lined with flags, burgees and t-shirts from crews over the years.