This is day 4 in my sea kayak trip around the islands of Islay and Jura, it covers Port Ellen to Port Charlotte - 34km
Mull of Oa
So far apart from long days the trip had be relatively relaxed, but the next section stepped up a gear in terms of exposure, commitment and the conditions we encountered. Once wemove around to the west coast of Islay your really start to feel the Atlantic. Port Ellen has good mobile service, so if you carry a smart phone it might be worth checking Magic Seaweed for the swell forecast.
The Mull of Oa is the first main challenge of the trip and unless you're after an adventure getting the tides right is essential. For us this meant getting up a 4.30 which was very unwelcome, however seeing the sun rise and an otter feeding was an added bonus.
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| Early Start from Port Ellen |
We cautiously paddled around the headland of Rubha nan Leacan not entirely sure what to expect and got our first taste of Atlantic swell. We aimed to hit the Mull of Oa at slack water and we were more or less spot on and as expected we had a bumpy ride.
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| The Mull of Oa before we hit the swell |
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| The Mull of Oa |
As we paddled further north the swell really built up and unfortunately the cloposis prevented us getting close to the sawing cliffs, which was a shame because the coast looked well worth exploring close up.
Looking at the map landing along this section of coastline was clearly going to be tricky. We'd planned to try landing on the Laggan bay beach, however from 3 or 4 km's out we could see the plumes of spray from the back of the surf, which ruled landing there out.
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Looking back at the Mull of Oa
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The Mull of Oa, was proving to be a really tricky day for me, shortly after getting around the Mull, I started to feel really queasy. This was the first time I'd been out in big swell and unfortunately I discovered it makes me sea sickness (what a place to find this out!). Thankfully I've since discovered Boots Calm travel pills work well and don't cause no drowsiness.
Approaching the Laggan bay beach, I knew I had two options, land or empty the contents of my stomach. Thankfully we found a narrow inlet and small beach at Port Alsaig and managed to land (although unfortunately a wave caught me off guard and gave me a soaking on the way in).
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| Port Alsaig |
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| Wild goats at Port Alsaig |
After a recovery brew, we set out from Port Alsaig to Port Charlotte, it was hard work but uneventful and as we grew closer the swell thankfully lessened.
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| Making the crossing to Port Charlotte |
If you're heading for the campsite on the south side of the village there's a number of small inlets and beaches below the campsite . Port Charlotte is a charming little village with a small general store and a couple of places to eat, we ate at the Croft Kitchen and I can definitely recommend it.
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| Landing at one of the narrow inlets below the campsite at Port Charlotte |
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| Looking back at the Mull of Oa from Port Charlotte |
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| Campsite at Port Charlotte |
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