Gott Bay, Tiree - 02 July 2006 (day 43)

Yacht Gothik

At Anchor

Gott Bay

Tiree

Argyll & Bute

02 July 2006

Click here to see a map.

Logged distance: 31M

Chart distance: 28M

Time under way: 6h

Sunday 02 July 2006

Just in case a few of you were in disbelief that we ever got to Tobermory; here is a photograph. Yes, pretty indeed - and I'm sure I will see it again one day - but I'm glad, considering our present frame of mind, that we decided to leave it to the tourists this time around.

Our night in Tobermory Bay had been peaceful, even if by morning it had seemed half the yachting world had arrived. The day had set calm but with grey overtones. Not an ideal day for photography but then we weren't here for that. However, neither was it an ideal day for sailing either. We set off early to take advantage of the tides and to avoid strong wind warnings forecast for the afternoon. As it happened I think we were a little too early off the mark - the wind was so light for the duration of the trip that we had the engine running the whole time.

There are rewards enough with calm conditions though. In a calm sea one has the opportunity to sea far more wildlife. Of course it is debatable whether there is actually more wildlife about when it is calm (I very much doubt there is) but the advantage of it being calm is that any wildlife is easy to spot. This time we were graced with the presence of a small pod of dolphins. In the pod was a mother and young (a calf?). As usual I took dozens of photos, also as usual most of them turned out to be empty sea.

The approach to Tiree seemed unusually slow. I put it down to the fact that the island is particularly low lying and very little appears above the horizon until you are quite close. Unlike some of the islands we have visited nothing looms over you and nothing observable attracts the eye. The island of Coll, a little way before Tiree, has a far more interesting coastline when viewed from the sea. These were roughly the reasons for wanting to visit Tiree - it was unappealing to most visitors. The 'leisure' charts (yachtsman's charts) published by the UK Hydrographic office do not give good coverage of the island. The pilot books offer very little guidance. No literature is to be found in abundance.

The name of Tiree though is familiar to many and well known to some as one of the shipping forecast coastal stations. Windsurfers and kitesurfers may also be familiar with Tiree - it being the annual venue for the International Windsurfing Championships. Tiree is the windiest place in Britain and, more surprisingly perhaps, it is also the sunniest place in Britain from May to September. It has a thriving crofting community with around 800 islanders on a land roughly 8 miles long by 3 miles wide. The soil is composed mostly of wind blown shell sand and is consequently lime rich and covered with many flowers and comparatively little grass - this fact by itself seemed reason enough to pay a visit.

Shortly before 2 o'clock in the afternoon we edged our way into a breezy Gott Bay. The bay is wide and faced on its northern edge by a broad expanse of white sand. Somewhere in the bay, according to our chart, was a rock (apart from the obvious ones) that rose from the bottom but did not touch the surface. We never did locate it and one could easily believe, when looking through the clear blue water, that it did not exist. We anchored in the shallowest depth I felt comfortable with but the bottom shelved so gently that this still left us half a mile from shore.

Before too long the dingy was unpacked, inflated, the motor mounted and we were chugging our way toward the beach. The houses on the island were sprinkled like dice thrown on a table top. Green fields (full of flowers) covered the spaces in between. With bare feet we set off to find the other side of the island.

It should have been easy, the chart showing only one 'road', but once on shore we were presented with several tracks all heading in the general direction of the Atlantic. It goes without saying that we (maybe I should say 'I') picked the wrong one. Instead of retracing our steps we (in fact I should say 'Ben') decided to lead us across country. Peat bog and pasture was the theme for the next hour or so. Still in bare feet it felt good to walk over. Wild lilies, orchids, heather and many other beautiful things - I feel ashamed I cannot put a name to them. There were also a large variety of birds we had not yet seen and a good many hares (apparently there are no rabbits or foxes on Tiree).

Eventually we reached the other side of the island and were still hopeful of finding the 'ringing stone of Vaul' (a glacial erratic that bongs when struck). After talking to someone it seemed it was still a good few miles away. By now it was approaching six o'clock and the three of us were all very aware that in just a few minutes we would be ravenously hungry. It was a sad but an easy choice to turn for home. By nine o'clock (post repas) we knew we had made the right choice.

Further thoughts - looking at the photo's and reflecting back on the day - it is strange to see the grey of the morning, the tourists and the town and then contrast it to the bright sunny afternoon of flowers and grasses, sheep and beaches, bare feet and laughter. This was another turning point, another change of mood, something else special. I can no longer talk about these things in the sense of a 'trip' or 'journey' for it no longer seems like this - what we are now doing seems like a way of life. It feels such a long time since I was in the routine of daily life in the south east of England - and so much the better!