Tobermory or is it Ballamory?

31Jul13-01Aug13

Silly o'clock start to try and beat the seagulls to the tip – not really but we wanted to arrive at Tobermory before the charter boats arrived for the weekend change-overs. So, at 05:00 we left in the pre-dawn light trying to catch what wind was forecast before it died for the rest of the passage. As it turned out we were blessed with just enough wind and a swell that helped us along for a change. We made good progress. We managed to avoid the rain showers until we crossed north of Coll and Tiree but there was no rain of any significance to dampen our mood and we even had a brief sighting of the elephantine granite of Ben Nevis; ironically, we could still see the islands of the Outer Hebrides as we approached the north of Coll – we had not caught our first glimpse of Barra on the way out until five miles off.

Tobermory was packed. We pulled alongside the pontoons to take on water and asked the stressed-out Harbour Master why there were so many boats, so many they were rafting 3-up on mooring buoys, apparently we had arrived just as West Highland Sailing Week was in full swing; he advised us to anchor at the other side of the bay as it would be a long night of partying and mayhem!

The anchor set first time after thoroughly scanning the bay for rocks, however, the steep sides meant we could have done with the extra weight of another 25m of chain for peace of mind with the wind forecast to gradually increase – our intentions to grab a mooring buoy as soon as one became free.

Tobermory is on the island of Mull and is south of Ardnamurchan Point – the mainland's most westerly point – passing this marks the next stage of our journey, let us see what the SW of Scotland has to offer.