For breakfast at the hotel, Mary has decided to give up on yogurt and fruit and orders the sweet Scottish Pancakes instead. Dick goes with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon, both very tasty. After packing up our gear we killed some time in the hotel’s common area to work on the ever-tardy blog then took the short walk to the ‘Corryvreckan’, a J.D. Weatherspoon pub, for a final pint in Oban.
We’re off this afternoon on a small vessel cruise of the Inner Hebrides labelled ‘Mull and the Small Isles Explorer’ with a company out of Oban called ‘St. Hilda Sea Adventures’. The Isle of Mull is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland. The Small Isles are a small chain of islands between Mull and Skye. The four main ‘small isles’ are Canna, Rum, Eigg, and Muck. Should be interesting.
Our departure point for the cruise is at the Dunstaffnage Marina some 2 miles north of Oban. Our vessel is the ‘Gemini Explorer’, a 72-ft long converted lifeboat. She was built in 1974 as a cruising lifeboat, one that is at sea all the time. She entered service at the Clovelly Lifeboat Station on the North Devonshire coast and saved 44 lives before being retired in 1989 and converted into a small cruise ship. After a refurbishment in 2020, the Gemini is now based out of Oban and sails the islands and sea lochs of Scotland’s west coast and the Hebrides as part of the St. Hilda Sea Adventures fleet.
The Gemini has a crew of 3 and can carry up to 8 passengers. Our crew is Dougie (captain), Ian (chef) and Esther (all around deck hand). Our travel companions are Rosemary and Michael (retired couple from just south of London), Louise and Naeem (a couple from Surrey – Louise is a university instructor and Naeem a retired barrister now teaching law), Bridget (retired infectious disease nurse from Edinburgh), and Caroline (retired teacher and full-time bell ringer, from Sussex). After Dougie gives his hour-long safety briefing (hmmm – reminiscent of the USS ‘safety contacts’) and on-boarding instruction, we get underway.
The route is up the Sound of Mull and around the Ardnamurchan peninsula to Loch Na Droma Buidhe, where we berth for the night. Blue skies, calm water, and fantastic scenery with rainbows, lighthouses, and castle ruins along the route.
It’s easy to tell we’re in the UK – around 4:00, we have ‘tea’ – scones with clotted cream & jam with tea and coffee. The anchor drops in Loch Na Droma Buidhe around 7:30 for the evening. Ian serves duck confit with a cranberry reduction, mashed potatoes and veggies. For dessert he brings out a huge Eton Mess – OMG!
