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!

We’re island hopping for the next few days/weeks, and plan to tow the tender behind to make going ashore from anchorages easier. That’s if we can get the anchor to hold…we’ve heard that there is a huge amount of kelp growing round here, which points to clean healthy, nutrient rich water, but is not good for most anchors.

Some last minute shopping and brilliant showers in the little harbour office,  and Heydays is ready for the hop round to Jura. We nudge out into a crisp day, with a fresh north westerly, and waste no time in getting the sails up and the motor off. Picking our way through a very rocky coast with lots of submerged rocks is slightly nerve wracking,  but we’ve got brilliant visibility …and instruments!

We leave the distilleries behind and Heydays is storming along on a broad reach.

Today’s sail really is the stuff of dreams.  Wrapped up warm, a fresh breeze, and the off-shore wind (which means a smoothish sea) ….stunning. Hot soup goes down a treat, and the threatened showers stay away.

These are the moments which keep us coming back to the boat, despite the frustrations of owning an older one, with its seemingly never ending niggles which need a fix (and cash).

Craighouse on Jura is a sheltered bay with a hotel, small community, small jetty….and the distillery.  The approach requires threading between rocky reefs, which must have been the stuff of nightmares pre-GPS.

As the bay opens out, we’re happy to see several visitor’s  moorings….saves having to grapple with kelp. We make up a small quartet of boats, and it seems that this is still very early in the season for Scottish sailors.

As the sun goes down over The Paps of Jura and the distillery, we settle into some gin in the last of the warmth in the cockpit, before heading below for a warm cabin and one of John’s single pot bean stews.

We had intended to sail to Jura today, but as of 10am, the wind is howling through the rigging, it is bitterly cold and it will be dead on the nose all the way. There is, consequently, very little need for discussion, and despite no buses on a Sunday, we decide to stay another day.

We get on with a few adjustments and minor repairs…after a Sunday lie-in, and then as the rain eases, we think about a walk to Laphroaig…just for a wee dram of course.

On the way out, a fishing boat arrives and begins to unload velvet crabs and lobsters. This is way too much for Yee Tak, who has previous form around fishermen. A short conversation later, and she is walking away with 5 velvet crabs for free and a £10 lobster. Dinner tonight sorted.

With the crabs and lobster safely stowed on board, we trundle off to Laphroaig, which is a pleasant 30 minute stroll from the boat.

This turns out to be in a beautiful setting by a rocky inlet,  and with the wind now calm, and the sun out, we sit outside with another couple of flights of fine scotch. We could have gone sailing today after all, but…..

The walk back is burdened by a couple more bottles! Everything is calm across the harbour, but a small coaster is still busy off-loading agggregates. Island life has a pattern entirely governed by tides and the arrivals of the ferries and cargo vessels…

Dinner on board (after cooking the lobster and crabs) is long and drawn out….

A long debate last night about bus times (none at all on Sunday), and optimal routes between distilleries. We settle on a morning bus to Bowmore, with about two hours there to ‘look around’.

Wandering to the bus stop, which is all of 50m from the boat, we are already cheered by a road sign…

The bus to Bowmore takes us over the hills and the peat bogs, which give Islay malts their distinctive smokey flavour.

The small town is at the end of Loch Indall and is really protected from most of the grim weather which blows through here several days a month. It doesn’t feel as touristy as Port Ellen,  despite the distillery being right in the centre…

The day kicks off before lunch with a welcome dram and then we chose a couple more to try, before buying our favourite and heading off for some lunch and the next bus. The waitress apologises for the lack of lobster as it is low tide and the boat can’t get in yet. She says it will be on the menu tonight….about 3 hours after landing, just 50m away!

There is a fascinating round church, but more importantly, the bus to Ardbeg beckons…

In Ardbeg we have a flight of 5 to try and even Yee Tak finds the flavours interesting…mostly.

It is only a short 15 minute walk from there to Lagavulin, and another flight….and another favourite for the boat.

We finished in time for the last bus back to Port Ellen. Pretty much a perfect day…

We finished off the Irish part of this voyage yesterday (for now) with dinner and a few drinks on board…but only after a dozen oysters and a rather nice Viognier in the bar/restaurant next to the pontoons.

…and they even laid on some traditional music for us.

…

The morning has definitely brought a change in the weather, but conditions look good for the trip across to Islay.

We need to get back into the the usual routine of life on the water. All the boring but necessary stuff…water still on the outside, engine checks, drinking water top-up, ropes in the right places, weather, tides…and then finally we slip the lines in Ireland for the last time and head off down  river.

The Bann is very fast flowing and we scoot past the reeds and dunes before the engine even has time to warm up. With the wind astern as well, there is no turning back now even if we wanted to, and we head out between the breakwaters at the mouth and across the bar. We had heard many gloomy tales from assorted old blokes in the yard, about the size of breakers over the bar..”I’ve seen ’em come right out of the water…” etc. And it is certainly bumpy, but with a bit of salty stuff over the forecast deck, it feels like we’re really on our way.

The remnants of the roughish sea from yesterday are still hanging around, but with full main and genoa, Heydays is shaking them off easily in a nice beam reach into a SE F4.

Good things come to an end though, and the variable wind promised in the forecast starts to make its presence felt. It lightens considerably and backs to an extent that the genoa is more of a hindrance. The purist here will take a dim view,  but we lug the engine around with us, so may as well use it. We find we can maintain our course motor-sailing with just the main sail, and so we plug on in this style for the next 2 or 3 hours as Ireland finally disappears and Islay takes on a more definite outline.

The winds veers and picks up, and soon we’re back under full sail and flying along (for us) at a steady 7kts.

No dolphins today, but the gannets with their distinctive black wing tips, are out in force, skimming effortlessly over the lumpy sea, and then soaring above the mast.

We pass under the cliffs and begin our approach carefully inshore along a very rocky coast as the Calmac ferry pushes out towards the mainland.

Port Ellen has a small but busy harbour, with the Calmac car ferry twice a day, and some occasional cargo coasters dropping by. The small marina however is almost deserted and we have our pick of berths.

We trundle off into the village to suss out drink, food, buses, distilleries etc and plan the next day sightseeing/sampling…

There is a very smart restaurant/bar with smart prices, no real beer….and not even any peanuts or crisps!

The next bar however suits us well before we head back for some dinner.

First impressions…Islay (this bit) has definitely been discovered by the whisky tourists….all the distillery trips are fully booked, as is the fancy restaurant. Not quite as ‘small islandy’ as we thought.

However, bus trip tomorrow and some whisky…