Tiptoe diary - kayaking round ‘Scarba and Luing’
Tuesday evening, 2nd September 2014 – anchored at the north end of Jura – solo.
Drove up to Craobh Haven marina from Dollar (3-hour drive) and set off in ‘Tiptoe’ at 4pm for a 6-mile trip to the north end of Jura where there is a lovely, sheltered bay, right beside the Corryvreckan – it’s got a hugely long Gaelic name which I won’t bore you with. I dropped anchor in the bay and set off in the kayak to paddle round Scarba. The tide was flowing, which is more dramatic than the ebb, but it hadn’t quite got up to full speed, as low tide had been just 45 minutes earlier. So I had a fairly easy paddle across the west end of the Corry and then north up the Atlantic coast of Scarba with a moderate swell, but virtually no wind; finally turning NE towards the Grey Dog. If you don’t know this tidal race, check it out on YouTube. I once took ‘Tiptoe’ down it and got a wave over the top of the boat, proving she really does handle the waves very well. The salesman who sold me the boat three years before said I’d be scared witless long before the boat was in trouble. He’s probably right.
I was worried I wouldn’t be able to paddle up the rapids, because if I couldn’t, it would entail a long detour round Lunga. However, as it happened, I managed OK, flat out close to the rocks and doing just 3 knots over the ground – eddies essential. The east coast of Scarba was wonderfully calm, especially after the Atlantic rollers crashing on the rocks. So calm in fact, that I came across a couple of otters, and stopped to watch them play in the water. They were only two boat-lengths away and seemed untroubled by my presence. Great to see – one of the pleasures of wilderness kayaking.
When I got round to the Corry again, on the way back, I was paddling west along the sound with the tide now flowing strongly behind me. I touched 9 knots at times, and was able to avoid the big waves and whirlpools quite easily. I did one mile in 6.5 minutes. Average speed for 12 miles round Scarba was almost 7mph, (excluding otter stop). I had a hot shower on return to the boat which is so welcome. Then up with the anchor and off to another well-kent bay to drop anchor for the night.
On leaving ‘Jura bay’ in Tiptoe, I needed lots of power to run against the 7-knot flow – that’s when the fast boat is so useful, and with the speed it’s easy to avoid the whirlpools and standing waves. Then I cruised gently up the coast of Luing (pronounced Ling) in the calm, grey evening half-light, and was able to have my tea while on the move. I anchored at 8.30pm in a very sheltered bay between Luing and Torsa, which I know well. Slept for almost 8 hours, tired after my paddle. Much darker now, as the day-length shortens.
Wednesday morning
Up at 6am. Sunrise at 6.30, but a fair bit of cloud about, so only occasional glimpses of the sun. Skipped breakfast and left in the kayak for a paddle round Luing and across to Lunga to explore there. Was slow against the tide at first, but once on the northern passage between Lunga and Luing with a gentle following breeze, I was hammering along at an average speed of 7 knots, hitting 9 knots from time to time with the strong tidal flow. (7 knots = 8mph = 13kph)
The Lunga archipelago is interesting because it has a number of little sheltered inlets, and there’s an Outdoor Centre on the island (now closed - 2023) with lots of canoes and various other signs of activity including a crane with a giant swing. They have a wooden chute for launching the canoes. It’s about 25 feet long and at an angle of around 40 degrees into the sea – must be great fun for the kids. Paddled back up through the Cuan Sound, against the tide now of course, but by keeping close to the shore and using the back eddies, I could maintain almost 4 knots. Total distance paddled, 14∙5 miles in 2 hours 15 minutes. Hot shower, hot coffee and breakfast on return to the big boat. 9.30am and I felt good. The sun was out now, and the wee bay so calm you could see the tracks of fish just under the surface of the water. A herd of Luing cattle was down by the shore and wading in the water. They are a special breed – easily found on Google. While talking of Google, if you Google ‘Lunga’ you won’t get the Lunga I explored. There’s another Lunga which is part of the Treshnish Isles and famous for viewing puffins.
While I was having breakfast, four sea kayakers came into the bay and I beckoned them to come alongside. “Is that Andy Morton?” “Yup.”
“Last time we saw you was in 1970 when we were all students in Aberdeen!”
They had spotted my River Racer on 'Tiptoe', and one of them, with his own yacht, had read about ‘Tiptoe’ + kayak in 'Yachting Life'. (photo shows racing kayak on roof of ‘Tiptoe’, moored in bay at north end of Jura with the west entrance to the Corryvreckan in the background, at 10pm, taken the previous year in June) I enjoyed a short exchange of news with my old friends, but they were keen to keep going because there was only another half hour of tide at Cuan Sound, and they were certainly not going to zip up it at 4 knots. So, no cups of tea for them on board the ‘mother ship’ I’m afraid. 😊
That evening we all met at Craobh Haven marina – what a lovely spot that is - for a longer chat over coffee in the setting sun. It was good talking about the seventies and folks we remembered. They knew nothing about the current racing scene and were interested to hear about the Kerrera race, and about the demise of WW racing in the UK. Life moves on.
Picture: racing round Kerrera. Close to 6 knots for 12 miles.
(Footnote: Kerrera race now no more, like so many other events – very sad - 2026)