A Sibbing Sunset with the Gurnard

[SteveHall]

The Gurnard - That looks amazing!

I had to re-read this to double check that its in the UK! Defiantly one on the list to visit!

WOW!!! http://s30.postimg.org/4omivyyw1/sunset_2.jpg

[The Gurnard]

Perhaps it was the deafening silence in the still of the night, broken only by the weird wail of distant seals, or the quiet thump of the vampire rabbits as they bounced outside the thin walls of my Tesco tent ...but I confess ... I had a restless sleep.

I had visions of orcs and goblins dropping boulders on my passing boat, from the cliffs surrounding the narrow north channel that leads to the very heart of Moidart itself. My imagination can sometimes work overtime when alone in the middle of nowhere.

I got up at first light and was relieved to see my SIB had not been torn to shreds by the evils of darkness. It was high and dry on the sand.. as planned ...waiting for the tide to re float her.



Looking to the north, over a mirror flat sea, the pastel pink sky still hung over the Cuillin of Skye.



While paradise was invaded.. not by vampire rabbits.. but the dreaded blood sucking midges. I quickly dismantled my tent, had a rushed breakfast, loaded the boat and was back on the water as soon as the incoming tide allowed.

I knew the north passage could be risky at this time of the tide... so used my auxiliary engine instead of the main engine. It is always good to make sure it is working and I certainly couldn’t plane through the north channel. It is only passable during the last hour or so of high tide. Lurking rocks will soon eat the bottom out an unwary boatman’s vessel..and that I knew was not my imagination.



Soon the entrance to the channel loomed in front of me ...



The channel starts to narrow ...



And my fish finder reads two foot of water under the transducer.. but I can see rocks only six inches under the prop.



A glance to starboard.. or should that be the right hand side..I saw the first signs of human habitation since I left Loch Ailort. It is the old school house on the Island of Eilean Shona which forms the south side of the north channel... while mainland Moidart forms the north side.. if that makes sense ?



I breathed a sigh of relief as the fishfinder suddenly showed 60 feet of water and I no longer saw rocks beside my rotating prop. The channel started to widen again.



But I knew my relief would be short lived. The passage narrows again and the water was two foot deep at the ford. This is where the main road..in fact..the only road .. on Eilean Shona.. crosses from the mainland. Of course you can only drive across at mid to low tide.



Once across this last obstacle .. I could then relax and enjoy the scenery of Loch Moidart itself.



My next part of the adventure will tell of Castles in the air and singing sands.. so do come back for that.


Thanks for looking in Lockirboi, beerbelly, gennaro, and SteveHall. Its appreciated.

A1an ...yup..Im guilty as charged. I passed on Friday evening. You had the advantage of seeing the SIB. .I guess I didn’t notice you.. but will look out the next time I pass there.

[petethebass]

truly awesome pics .this is what i found last time was wild camping/fishing

[petethebass]

[kerny]

I wish I was there with you now Gurnard wild camping a few drams and beers, fire going.. ah well work tomorrow for me Is the school house now empty or occupied it looks a lovely building.

Looking forward to the next report,

happy sibbing

[gennaro]

Stunning mirrored photos there

[SIBer]

Gunard what camera are you using?

[Festinghouse]

Originally Posted by kerny

I wish I was there with you now Gurnard wild camping a few drams and beers, fire going.. ah well work tomorrow for me Is the school house now empty or occupied it looks a lovely building.

Looking forward to the next report,

happy sibbing

i too am enjoying this, its like bedtime reading
somehow steve i dont see peel being this picturesque!

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Festinghouse

i too am enjoying this, its like bedtime reading
somehow steve i dont see peel being this picturesque!

Last time I was there mate it wasn't

[Festinghouse]

will look even worse with my skipper there

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Festinghouse

will look even worse with my skipper there

Who's that then ? oh!! you mean the Reprobate

Glad you coming along

[The Gurnard]

Hi SIBer
I use several cameras including DSLR’s, but find for this size on web pages.. one camera is much the same as the next. Its not till you blow up to poster size that the DSLR comes into its own. On this adventure..I had two point and shoots. One as a backup in case the other ran out of battery or card space. I just used whichever came out my pocket first

Example..from my campsite fishing trip..this is from the Panasonic Lumix TZ40 compact point and shoot. I like this camera once I found out how to turn all the automatic stuff off. It gives nice vivid colours. Think it sells for around £200 now


This is from my Canon SX240. Its a lovely sharp lens..better than the TZ40 for a lot of things. It has a good range between darks and highlights too. Possibly marginally better than the TZ40 Its around £100 now



This is a view of Loch Ailort looking towards Arisaig and Skye from the mountain Rois Bheinn. I clambered up it two weeks ago. Its taken with a DSLR setup costing almost 2K ... its not worth that money for this size of image.. but blow it up and it blows the compacts clean out to sea .



Hope that answers your question.


Gennaro..the water is even calmer in the next episode..the reflections are stunning.

Kerney..I realised I was never going to be a millionaire a few years ago. I was making my employers lots of money though. Then a couple of years ago, the penny dropped..I don’t need much money..my family have all gone. I now work three days a week and spend five days in the great outdoors, wandering over the mountains and seas of Scotland in search of peace and quiet. Guess you couls say that Im in the promised land.

Petethebass.. glad that catch didn’t get away..hope the bass are still biting down your way too.

Festinghouse..glad you are enjoying reading it..I enjoy writing it.

[Poly]

Gurnard - the guys at https://www.facebook.com/groups/scottishlandscapes would like your pics. I can't remember if you need to be "invited" - if you do send me a PM and I'll get you an invite - the admin is a friend of mine.

[ShinyShoe]

How dya keep all that camera kit dry? Even the pointn shoots aren't at the bottom end of the market so dunking one becomes expensive.

I find as soon as you put thinks in pelicases etc they stay there instead of being used...

[The Gurnard]

Hi Shinyshoe
For that answer... you will need to come behind the scenes of “The Gurnard”


It is why I made this console. The camera gear is kept in the shelter of the shelf above the fish finder. I even have a drawer above that.



Ok..its not 100% waterproof..but my view of cameras..even expensive ones.. you get the best photos where the action is..not indoors out of harms way. As you say..you wont use it if its not accessible.

I did loose a £600 DLSR body in this sib though. A wave broke over the back of the boat when I landed again..not long after taking this shot. It is the last photo that camera ever took.



I also lost a decent camera body out on the hills in a downpour in Glen Shiel. Unknown to me ..my rucksack wasn’t closed properly..and half filled with water..the rain was that heavy. Again..this is the last photo that camera took.



Hey..one day..even I will take my last photo..I do hope its a good one.

Thanks Poly..I will have a look at their site once I find out how to see face book stuff. Im not on facebook.

[spartacus]

Loving the philosophy, pictures and your burgers Gurnard! Bet the pan was a killer to clean!

Keep 'em coming!

[Peter_C]

That is a spectacular place and somewhere I would love to visit. Reading about the shallow water with rocks makes me cringe only because we have a some ocean into the river launch sites we have to deal with similar conditions, where tide plays a huge role.

Ha, I have a nice DSLR too, and use it often, but when I want to travel light, I find my iPhone takes pretty decent pictures on par with many point and shoot cameras. For storage I keep both of them in a dry bag with my DSLR inside a padded case, and it gets clipped off to the boat. Only takes a few seconds to access them.

[The Gurnard]

Yup PeterC... drybags work equally as well... in fact they are 100% waterproof.

My brother keeps his £2K DSLR in a drybag.. strapped to the front deck of his sea kayak. As you can see...it survives the damp nicely. (its that black Orbital bag in front of him)



However... he can’ t use it in choppy conditions.. but I can still use mine



I took these photos a couple of years ago on an open sea crossing just off the entrance to Loch Ailort... on a calm day.
It can get quite wild out there which is why it is important to know the forecast when going to sea in small boats.

Spartacus... my philosophy is "The grass is always greener ...on my side of the fence" ...it has served me well

[The Gurnard]

Moidart is not as dark a land as its name may suggest. The sea loch is very scenic and reminds me more of a fresh water loch. The trees come right down to the water’s edge and even the rocky islands are covered in trees.



It is a popular mooring spot for touring sail boats



As they jostle for position under the old ruins of Tioram Castle. I wondered if my world had turned upside down when I first saw the castle



The sail sailors don’t have it all to themselves though.. a couple of Ribs were tied up on the small landing jetty of Eilean Shona.



I had been puttering around the loch at slow tick over speed, as I respect the fact that others like their wilderness experience in peace and quiet too. But once past all habitation... I put my boat on the plane. I felt like a hooligan as I slashed a long white trail across such a sleepy seascape.



I was now heading down the main south channel and back towards open sea.



At the entrance to the sea, I once again turned to port and headed for the small port of Ardtoe. It has a small slipway onto sand..and an honesty box in a field where you can park if you leave 50 pence in the box. For an overnight park...it is £1. I didn’t land here though....



It looked too busy for me..so I landed at the singing sands ofCamas an Lighe instead. The exceptionally fine sand really does sing.. or squeeek as you walk on it. I had morning breakfast on the shore as I tried to play “Wonderful World” on the sand. If there had been anyone in hearing distance..Im sure I would have passed as a singing seal in heat.



After my performance .. I looked across the open sea toward Arisaig. That was going to be my next port of call..it has one of the biggest seal colonies in the UK..another must see. I will post about it tomorrow.



My journey across the seven miles of smooth silvery sea was unbelievably ... calming. This is the same stretch of water I passed through with my brother in his kayak in the photos above.

[Barrowboy]

Honesty Boxes?

Overnight Parking for a quid?

Are you sure you're not sat in your armchair with a glass of the smoky stuff waxing lyrical....or just smoking something?

In all seriousness, fabulous pics and prose; keep 'em coming!