Loch Spelve Mull Scotland

When we had returned to BV the previous evening we had kicked ourselves for forgetting to take to the barbecue with us an OCC burgee for John (at that point the newest member of the OCC).  So we hatched a cunning plan to hand one over as we left Craobh Haven Marina.

Nicky handing over an OCC burgee to John Blair (Ballyhoo).  It was a windy and drizzly morning so she tied it
onto a boathook to give a little more reach and to reduce the risk of that fender actually being needed!

Sunday 7 August dawned drizzly and wind, and the wind was now blowing directly into the bay where John was anchored, not ideal conditions for doing a slow ‘drive past’ an anchored yacht to hand over a burgee!  But with the aid of a boathook to add reach, and large fender to hand, Nicky managed to pass the burgee across whilst I got BV as close as I dared and held her there a short time until the wind necessitated I back out.

A brisk sail towards the south tip of Luing

We had debated whether to go into the Firth of Lorne via the Sound of Luing (to the west of Luing), which would necessitate a short leg south from Craobh Haven or whether to route through the Cuan Sound to the north of Luing.  The pilot book’s description of the Cuan Sound, featured dire warnings about the speed of the tidal flow, the imperative need for accuracy in your course, and concerns about a couple of rocks at a steep turn in the passage.  Plus we certainly wouldn’t be sailing through Cuan Sound (too narrow, too ‘dire’) but with the wind direction we should have a good sail taking the longer route.  We opted to go south to go north.

Smoky McSmokeboat

We had a brisk sail, hard on the wind down to the south tip of Luing and as we prepared to turn north up the Sound of Luing a small vintage fishing boat appeared from the south heading up the Sound.  Periodically, the funnel pushed out clouds of evil, black smoke for a good 5 mins, before the effluent became a more reasonable grey for a short while…. And then reverting to deepest black again.  Presumably, the black smoke was generated by the crew throwing a few shovels of coke into the boiler but, boy, did it look unpleasant.  In fact it looked so bad that one large motoryacht called up the vintage fishing boat to ask if there was a problem, to which a broad Scots voice replied laconically that everything was fine and that the fuel with which they were feeding the boiler was ‘a wee bit smoky’!  Understatement of the century!

11.9 knots SOG (speed over ground) with only about 6 knots boat speed as we headed through the top end of the Sound of Luing and into the Firth of Lorne

Towards the top end of the Sound of Luing, the channel narrows and the large volume of water flowing through the narrow gap results in a huge increase in speed.  As we passed through we saw 11.9 knots over the ground – a tidal flow of around 5 knots – not bad given that we were going through not long before slack water.

Entering Loch Spelve

Our destination was Loch Spelve, a large, deep loch on Mull, with a narrow entrance and good number of mussel and fish farms along the shoreline.

Anchored in the northwestern arm of Loch Spelve

Once through the entrance we headed up to the northwest arm which the pilot book recommends as the best anchorage and which the Cruising Association’s CAptain’s Mate reports recommend, due to the presence of the mussel farm HQ and an honesty box system for buying mussels.

John anchored by the mussel dock

We anchored as far up to the west as we could, John on Ballyhoo (who’d come the shorter route via Cuan Sound and had caught up with us at the entrance to Loch Spelve) anchored a little closer to the mussel farm pier.

There’s a huge mussel farming operation in Loch Spelve

John had his dinghy on davits which made it easy to launch; ours was rolled up on the deck and a half hour evolution to launch.  So he picked us up and we all went ashore for a look-see and to find out if there were any mussels left to buy.

The sign says it all – and the mussels were delicious!

Being a Sunday we didn’t expect the that the cool-boxes would have been replenished but there were plenty of bags available so we splashed out on 5kg of mussels, had a chat with a couple of other yachties doing the same thing, and returned to BV.

View out to the anchorage.  Ballyhoo in the middle BV somewhere behind

Toasting the Queen with a tot

Our last meeting before this year had been in Antigua in 2019 where we had drunk a tot (or more) of rum at gatherings of the Tot Club.  So it seemed appropriate to have a tot together under the Tot Club pennant…..

A mussel feast

…..as well as a slap-up moules feast – and, no, we didn’t cook all 5kg but we all probably ate more than we should have!

John’s present to us – a replacement GPS antenna for the AIS

As he left John said that he had a present for us.  It turned out to be the exact AIS GPS aerial we had been trying unsuccessfully to find in Scotland.  He had a couple of spares on board Ballyhoo and very kindly gave us one so that we could get our AIS working properly again.  It was a very thoughtful and much appreciated gift and one that, every time we switch on our AIS, will have us remembering a lovely day with John eating mussels in Loch Spelve.

Loch Spelve, Mull, Scotland