Toilets and Trauma Port Ellen, Islay, to Craighouse, Jura 13 August 2025

 

The toilets at Ardbeg Distillery. 
A wonderful work of art.

Another gorgeous day today, though a little breezy.  The day started with reports from neighbouring boats about disturbances on our pontoon sometime after midnight last night - which we were more or less oblivious of - plus a hit and run incident at 07.30 this morning.  A departing boat hit a large expensive American boat causing some damage (though we couldn’t see it) and didn’t stop to exchange details.  Nobody knows which boat did the damage.  There is now a rather unhappy American (justifiably).

Our morning exercise was to walk the Port Ellen to Ardbeg whisky path - 3.25 miles each way. On a sunny day like today it was a gorgeous walk.  The Ardbeg cafe (and toilets) at the end making it an altogether enjoyable leg stretch.  No whisky was imbibed today (as far as I know).

The courtyard coffee caravan.  
We had ours inside because the anti-freeze system kept it cool.

Ardbeg on the rocks?!

Several fields were having the silage harvested.
 Tractors and trailers were buzzing up and down the road.

When we got back to the boat we left more or less straight away, at about 14.00, to go to Jura. Even though the day was idyllic, the bit of a breeze meant that the sea was a bit lumpier than it looked from the shore.  Still, nothing unpleasant.

Until, we got to the entrance to the Sound of Islay where there was a strong tidal current as well as the wind.  We did some surfing on some of the waves, not completely enjoyable, but exhilarating.  Then we had to manoeuvre to avoid getting too close to a yacht coming in the other direction, only to be caught broadside by a couple of steep big waves.  That was a moment of trauma - a “We’re all going to die!” moment.  Fortunately quickly over, and we continued on our way.

Of course, nothing is ever that simple.  We now have a knocking hydraulic autopilot/steering system (perhaps caused by the system having to work very hard as we motored through the rougher tidal currents).  We now need to diagnose what the problem is.

Anyway, we have now arrived safely at Craighouse, Jura, and are on a mooring a couple of hundred metres from the pier.  We’re booked into the Jura Hotel restaurant for dinner this evening.  Fingers crossed that it is as good as it has been in the past.

It was.  The venison loin was superb. We all had it.  The veggies with the venison were also wonderful.  The wine was good, and it was all good value.  We were very happy.

On the way back to the boat in the tender the evening mottled clouds glowed an iridescent peach.

The Paps of Jura looking splendid this evening. 


The Islay bird list was not too bad at 30 species, but the boat bird list was very poor at just 6 species - it was too lumpy, and our minds were elsewhere.

Our route:





























































































































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