Loch Aline to Tobermory

Since there was some biblical rain forecast and plenty of wind in a direction that Loch Aline is less sheltered from, we opted to hide in Tobermory for a few days to let it pass. You want to leave Loch Aline around low water to take the best of the tidal help up the sound of Mull and to Tobermory. However getting out at low water when it is near to spring tides is not ideal. So, we waited for a reasonable depth before heading off, still expecting some rocket assistance.

Chatting to the lady working in the community harbour office, we found that she was a violin maker, originally from Austrailia, and her husband a double bass player in orchestras. They moved to the area when covid lockdowns killed the live music business and she now does three different jobs and picks up other bits of work in the snack bar by the ferry, cleaning rental houses etc.  Some serious lifestyle adjustments that we don't really get exposed to having stopped work before covid kicked off.

Leaving the berth, we managed to time it badly as the CalMac ferry was approaching so we did a strange pirouette to wait for it to berth:

We say "it" not "she" as the ferry is not the prettiest of craft. Here it is alongside the pier in Lochaline as we went past:

There was a strong incoming current so we needed plenty of rpm to keep the boat on course through the entrance and to avoid being pushed into the very shallow bits. Heading up to Tobermory is easy enough:

only 12 miles or so, the isle of Mull is on the southern side of our track and mainland above it. Mainland is a bit of a misnomer really, it is gently attached to the rest of the country but the trip to Lochaline by road from Fort William, the nearest bigger town, takes an hour and a quarter driving on little mainly single track roads and also involves a ferry crossing. 

Leaving Loch Aline, there is a timber quay just to the west of the entrance and each time we've been past it seems that they are loading a ship. This was no exception:

Heading along the sound we had our first dolphin sighting of the cruising year. Normally plenty come to play in our bow wave in the Bristol channel but not this year. So, we saw one very big solitary dolphin who headed directly towards us then dived under the boat. No playing in the bow wave, he/she was a dophin on a mission it seemed.

The tidal help really got going in the narrower bits of the sound as you can see:

10.5 knots over the ground is flying for us. Please ignore the reported "9.55" speed through the water - it is wrong, the captain was playing with the calibration of the little log paddle wheel, we were actually doing something like 6.7 knots through the water. We travelled at a slightly faster cruise rpm than normal (1650) to take full advantage of the tide before it turned and also to get to Tobermory before 5pm just in case the spot we had been allocated on the phone had been stolen by someone else. The harbour staff go home at 5pm and anchoring there is not great, all the best spots have mooring buoys installed now and bar 4 of them they are too small to take our lardy boat. Naturally yotties with smaller craft don't care about the "max weight" shown on the buoy and will pick up the large ones and leave the little ones empty...... 

We arrived as the wind picked up big time but berthing was fine, here is the view from our boat deck of the colourful town:

We are planning to settle in for a few days, do the nice walks in the area between showers and raid the local Co-op (the main food store on Mull). The crew was delighted about being on the "commercial pontoon" as it has 32 amp power sockets. Way easier when using the oven. Homemade bread and cake may lie in our future. 

Loch Aline time

As the weather was playing ball (ie not raining or blowing a gale) we enjoyed a walk around the village. The Whitehouse restaurant used to be one of those "foodie heaven" places with a wait list for tables well into the future and prices to match. Recently taken over though so it will be interesting to see how it changes, or doesn't. Such a remote setting for a restaurant to work in the winter time:

Once more you can play the spot the Nordhavn game. Not too hard this time though. 

The community runs the little harbour area and has built a new social centre which includes a cafe. The cakes were good - made by a lady who lives on a farm on the opposite side of the loch so she has a 40 minute drive to get there each day with whatever she baked last night. Some commitment. We had to help them by doing the coffee and cake thing. The village stores is still well stocked and the community fuel pump was in use:

However, the prices were 25p / litre more than we had seen in Oban. The delights of rural living and all that. The local hotel was taken over a couple of months ago and was being transformed / tidied up so was firmly closed. Again a brave move taking on a business in what is not prime holiday area for folks who travel by car and is not "on the way" to anywhere either. 

Talking of tidying up, why do fishermen have to leave the quayside in this state?

The drums were full of old used oil..... Despite the temptation we kept ours on board until we get to a proper disposal place.

Loch Aline has the silica sand mine almost next to the harbour buildings and it always looks semi-abandoned:

However, it is very busy indeed, trucks were driving in and out of the tunnel on Sunday too collecting the high grade sand that is used for optical glass. It is supposed to be the only underground sand extraction in Europe. All the others just dig for it in quarries. Have a look at Lochaline quartz website and particularly the history section.

The sand is held in a large concrete enclosure and where it leaks out between the joins, you get some strange patterns:

Almost artistic, purely by chance. 

We were lucky in that the evening turned out to be perfect. It was calm, the clouds were slowly breaking up and some sun made an effort to join us. Here is the view looking back up the loch from the mine area (you can see how white and sandy the shoreline is):

and a later panoramic view from the boat during early evening:

Sunday was not quite a day of rest for us, we walked around to the Ardtornish estate offices. Here is the view from the head of the loch:

and turning 180 degrees, here is the stream feeding into it:

In the little estate shop we liberated an ice-cream each and then wandered back just as the rain began to fall. Timing is everything and ours was not ideal. By late afternoon we imagine that the stream was running a bit harder.

Looking at the week of strong wind forecasts ahead we pondered on where to go. Anchoring off one of the small islands would not be ideal as the wind direction was shifting significantly during the week meaning that a sheltered place one afternoon might be very exposed by the next morning. We like Loch Aline but did we want a week here? Maybe not so we opted to head for Tobermory where they have a Co-op food shop. Excitement lies ahead. 

Still in love with Loch Aline though, a great spot.