The tide goes our way from lunchtime, so a lazy lie-in works out a treat, followed by a leisurely breakfast.

A final run ashore for a few essentials….tonic, lemons, chocolate, and then we get Heydays ready for the run up the Jura coast to Easedale.

The wind is dead astern, and we pick our way through the rocky islets,  and out into the long open fiord-like Sound of Jura, that separates Mull of Kintyre from Jura and Islay.

The wind is lighter than the forecast, but we want to get to Easedale before dark, so we use the motor as well, to keep our speed over the ground to around 5kts, and for a while we even manage to use the cruising chute…until a shift makes it unhelpful again…

Jura passes by, and we get to see how rugged and sparsely populated it is. There is a lone house at the northern tip, and The Paps make a stunning backdrop…

We count off the buoys marking the various obstacles, and lunch is served with a smile…

We’ve heard all sorts of tales of the whirlpools up here, but with the right conditions it is just odd rather than bothering. As we pass the entrance to Corryvrekan, between Jura itself and a rather forbidding lump called Scaba, we can see these odd patches of calm, surrounded by bubbling waves all around (the camera doesn’tdo it justice though)…steering requires a bit of concentration…

The Sound of Luing seems to have just as many of these strange phenomena as the strong currents and deformed sea bed make the water bubble and churn.

The light on Fladda, must have been a very lonely spot in days gone by…

Our attention is drawn to the approach to Easedale, or more specifically the sound between Easedale Island and Seil, also an island but now with a road bridge to the mainland. The entrance is not at all obvious until we are almost on it…and it is very narrow…

…and then we’re through…

There are some mooring buoys free, for which we are grateful, as a nearby yacht is trying to anchor,  but pulling up whole farms of kelp. A quick run ashore to the Seil side and a drink in the heaving Oyster Bar, with Heydays snug on the mooring.

The volunteer who collects mooring fees and generally runs between the islands, is very enthusiastic and we are almost convinced to stay another day. There is some longer range strong winds forecast, so we decide to plug on tomorrow to Tobermory. If we do get blown off the water for a couple of days, Mull has plenty of sightseeing…even if we go to Iona on a bus!