The bonus of a spell of good weather in October allowed us a last unexpected voyage before the St Olave goes into hibernation till next April.
Corrievreckan was the destination followed by a picnic on the anchor in Bagh nam Muc (the Bay of the Pigs) at the North end of Jura. We loaded at Dunstaffnage with people, food and animals. On board with me were Andrew ‘Manbeast’ Stevenson and his two minibeasts, Floraidh and Seamus, three wild friends from Fort William and Beastie the dog. Andrew had done the shopping for the picnic the night before so the amount of food we had to load required a lifting derrick to get it on board and would have been enough for a six-week trip to New York.
Corrievreckan is a notoriously dangerous bit of water and is steeped in myth, legend and lore. It has brought an end to many ships and countless lives. Its famous cauldron like whirl pools, boiling froth of water, standing waves and speed of current is impressive and terrifying when its wrath is raised by the right combination of conditions. However, on our visit the weak ebb tide and the lack of wind meant that, thankfully, a day out of Loch Lomond would have been more terrifying. The changing condition of the sea is an interesting aspect of the natural world. When you are in a place like Corrievreckan on a day such as we enjoyed, it is difficult to envisage how vast a contrast can exist between the extremes of the ocean. The tranquil peace and safety of this place on a calm day with slack tide is a world away from the violent fury of a sea in anger being driven to a rage by powerful spring tides in flood fighting against opposing gale-force winds with no side giving quarter and both blind to compromise or resolution.