Location: Loch Tarbert, Jura.
Distance travelled: 51 miles
Weather: Sun, Sun and more Sun.

Well, adventures in Port Ellen might not cover the true trauma we faced last night, after having another shower off the boat we were all ready for our first meal on dry land, we were all shocked when we turned up for our pub supper at what seemed to be a posh dining room. We soon realised, that although the food was good the service lacked any sort of pace and poor Abi never got her main course till everyone else had finished, this only got better as cutlery was dropped on me and we got charged twice for our desserts. However our spirits were not dampened by this experience and we returned to the boat that night in a very cheery mood, possibly due to the visit to the pub on the way back.

After a night of being rocked to sleep on the boat we awoke bright and early to a beautifully sunny day and eager to leave Port Ellen. We started off up the sound of Islay on the NW coast of Islay towards Nave Island, so we could survey towards Colonsay up its east coast before heading towards Loch Tarbet. As we travelled the sun came out and the sea life disappeared, the very occasional sight of a porpoise seemed to be the only thing of interest to break up the very regular sight of rubbish. As the afternoon wore on the sun got brighter and the journey turned into a snooze cruise as everyone (apart from those on duty) found a comfy spot on deck to sunbath and snooze.

This sedated atmosphere on the boat might have led to everyone’s great surprise when the skipper shouted SHARK from the stern of the boat, partly in disbelief everyone jumped up and scanned the water for the sight of a fin. Surely enough a baby basking shark appeared on the starboard side of the boat and everyone was delighted to see that there are more than porpoises living in the vast expanse of sea we were scanning.

Tonight we settle in to a nice meal cooked on the boat and maybe the very amusing sight of someone going for a swim in the not so warm Scottish waters…. Find out tomorrow if anyone was brave enough.

Log by: Fiona M