After a peaceful night alongside the dock in Tobermory it was nice to awake to the colourful little village nestling snuggly against the high bluff and sparkling in the intermittent rain and sunshine. A strong breeze was blowing but this did not deter us from joining Stewart, Konia and Steve in an explanatory walk through the quaint village. Despite its small size it contains a lot of historical and cultural places and oddities.
The village was unusually busy for Sunday thanks to today being the annual Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s gala and fundraiser. The lifeboat was open for public inspection, there were races in the sheltered harbor for home-made rafts in a variety of sizes and designs, plus booths of craftspeople, food vendors and other organizations. The RNLI depends solely on public donations, receiving no funding from local or national government, and we were pleased to contribute in some small way to this vital lifesaving body.
However, the strong winds that had made our crossing yesterday from Iona to Fionnphort so rocky and memorable were still causing problems further out at sea, away from the perfect shelter of Tobermory. For a while it was touch and go whether we would be able to leave Mull at all for our intended destination of the Isle of Eigg. At 3p.m. though, the captain received word from two vessels out at sea that conditions were moderating in exactly the places we wanted to be. Steve and Captain Still decided that we should leave Tobermory as soon as possible and take advantage of this weather window that had opened up. Steve explained that we would not be able to dock at Eigg but we would get to Inverie, on the mainland, which had been our planned destination after Eigg anyway. So we made the ship fast, cast off and headed out towards Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly place on the UK mainland.
The crossing was rocky and bumpy due to wind and wave action but we did manage to get a close look at the Isle of Eigg even though we could not land there. Some people were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an enormous basking shark coming right beside the ship as we headed for Inverie.
The shelter that Loch Nevis and Inverie provides for sailors and yachtsmen was much appreciated as we turned in to the placid waters and away from the still rolling Sound of Sleat outside. The focus in Inverie, a hamlet of but a few houses, is the pub known as the Old Forge Inn. This pleasant hostelry is famous for being the most remote public house in the UK, yet despite its remoteness it always seems to be busy. Tonight was no exception with weary yachtsmen, locals, visitors and musicians all mingling freely and enjoying the beauty of this wonderful community.
The day finished with our hopes for a break in the heavy seas for tomorrow, allowing us to make our visit to Armadale on the Isle of Skye.
