Scottish Sea Kayaking Photo Gallery

Sea kayaking in the Sound of Jura.

A 31 Km paddle from Carsaig Bay, Sound of Jura to Tayvallich, Loch Sween, 30/31/08/03. Alternatively there is a perfectly good road which is only half a mile long!

We left Glasgow at 1pm on Saturday. After enduring endless queues of cars up Loch Lomond and Loch Fyne sides it was a relief to hit the water. There was a degree of uncertainty about the campsite as I had last been there nearly 30 years ago.

Conditions on the day:

30/8/03

weather forecast was NW Force 4-5.
tide times (BST) at Oban were HW 08:24, LW 14:25, HW 20:26 (springs).

31/8/03

weather forecast was NW Force 3-4.
tide times (BST) at Oban were HW 08:56, LW 15:06, HW 21:04 (springs).

Forecast and tide tables:

BBC 5 day forecast Lochgilphead.
BBC 5 day forecast Oban.
BBC inshore waters forecast.
Online weather 4 day sailing forecast for Firth of Lorne.
BBC 6 day tide times Carsaig Bay. Note, there is another Carsaig Bay on Mull.
BBC 6 day tide times for Craighouse (Jura) nearest secondary port to Loch Sween.
BBC 6 day tide times Oban.
Times of Maritime Safety Information broadcasts by HM Coastguard on VHF. Initial announcement on Channel 16 advises which channel will be used for broadcast.
- MRSC Clyde: every 4 hours starting at 00:20
- MRSC Stornoway: every 4 hours starting at 01:10
BBC Radio Scotland (94 to 95 FM, 810 MW) Outdoors conditions forecasts are broadcast 19.13 Monday-Friday, 06.58 and 18.58 Saturday and Sunday.
BBC Radio 4 Shipping forecast (LW: 198, FM: 92.4 to 95.8) 05:35 LW/FM (includes inshore forecast), 12:00 LW, 17:54 LW/FM, 00:48 LW/FM

Tidal constants with respect to Oban:

Carsaig Bay: -0045 Oban.
Loch Sween: There is a stand of high water from -0330 to -0030 Oban and a stand of low water at +0230 to +0530 Oban.

Hazards:

Don't try to paddle against spring tides in the Sound of Jura.

References:

The Yachtsman's Pilot Clyde to Colonsay, Martin Lawrence.
Scottish West Coast Pilot, Mark Brackenby.
Clyde Cruising Club Sailing Directions West Coast of Scotland.
Admiralty Tidal Stream Atlas, NP218.
Imray Chart C64.
OS Landranger Sheet 55 and for the rounding of Dana Sheet 62.

Common sense:

The information here is given in good faith and is believed to be correct but it is every sea user's responsibility to check original data sources and conditions on the day before deciding if their experience is sufficient for a safe voyage.

GPS track of route.

Map of route.

Evening rush hour: leaving Carsaig Bay at 5pm into a freshening headwind and choppy seas of the eddyline at the mouth of the bay.

Paddling down the kyle between the mainland and Eilean Dubh.

The kyle between the mainland and Eilean Dubh.

Jura appears behind Eilean Dubh.

Paps of Jura on the horizon.

South down the Sound of Jura looking for a campsite I scouted from a yacht in 1974!

Investigating landing sites.

Deck cargo Deck cargo: gathering driftwood from neighbouring inlets. See "Another bonfire shot" below.

The landing site.

The camp site.

The landing site.

Getting on with the evening chores, Sound of Jura.

Camp site with a view of the Sound of Jura.

Twilight over the Paps of Jura. Twilight over the Paps of Jura.

The camp fire.

Another bonfire shot. Another bonfire shot.

Couds over the Paps of Jura catch the pre dawn light.

NE up the Sound of Jura in the dawn light.

Eilean nan Coinean and Eilean Fraoich with Scarba in the distance.

Next morning heading into the Sound of Jura to take advantage of a Spring ebb to carry us down to Danna.

Relaxed paddling at 7.5 Km/hr in the Sound of Jura. There were boily bits though, at all the headlands and submerged rocks. At the same time, Tony Page also experienced an ebb tide of 5Km/hr on his return to Carsaig from the Gulf of Corryvreckan.

Sound of Jura.

Taking a break in Loch na Cille before rounding Dana and heading home up Loch Sween.

Paddling in the channel between Liath Eilean and Danna.

The channel between Liath Eilean and Danna

Liath Eilean with Jura behind.

Danna A beach busy with locals at the SW of Danna, near here the ebb tide out of Loch Sween was running like a river on the inside of Sgeirr Dhonncha.