While we waited for the ferry to get onto the slipway the lighthouse service ship, Pharos was busy spinning around in the bay behind. A Lismore crew member asked if we were for the ferry and said we could board - so we did. We backed away from the slipway at 0845 with the car deck containing seven passengers and two empty refuse cages. To say the Eigg sails slowly is an understatement. We crossed Oban Bay in a few minutes and passed Maiden Island before turning north towards Lismore. The visibility this morning was not brilliant but it could have been worse; grey skies and the occasional shower of drizzle which would last a few seconds at a time.

Pharos turning off her berth in Oban

Eigg moving round to the slipway

Dave had one task to complete whilst on the sailing to Lismore - the virtual crossing still needed doing for the website and Dave was busy for the 50 minute passage taking photos of what can be seen from the Eigg along the way. Alan meanwhile spent the crossing taking photos of the internal areas on the Eigg for possible future use on a model. The virtual tour photos will be available elsewhere on this site in the coming weeks, as time dictates...

Along the way to Lismore there are views out across the Firth of Lorn as well as up into Loch Etive towards the Connel Bridge in the distance off to the right. As we drew near to the slipway and the old pier on the left, the skipper turned the ship hard over and we swung round in a tight left hand turn while another member of the crew came to the bow and operated the single ramp.

As the ramp fell onto the slipway we disembarked for our brief visit to the green island. We were scheduled to be there for ten minutes, however Dave was very cautious about straying too far away from the slipway. A handful of photos were taken on and around the slipway and old pier before we returned to the ferry ready for the 0945 sailing back to Oban. After the post was taken ashore and a wagon came on and took off the refuse cages the engines were revved up once more and we backed away from the slipway as the ramp was secured once again.

The remainder of the crossing to Oban seemed to drag on and on. To Dave 50 minutes felt like 5 hours and at one point it looked like Al had fallen asleep whilst leaning on the port side bulwark in front of the bridge! There wasn't that much to see on the way back to Oban apart from the sight of a distant Isle of Mull as she made her way out of the bay with the 1000 sailing across the Firth of Lorn to Craignure. Dave made use of his 350mm zoom once more but even so the photos of the Isle of Mull weren't great with the dull morning and low cloud.

As we passed Maiden Island and then under Dunollie Castle Dave couldn't wait to get of the ferry. The last 50 minutes went SO slowly. Eigg took the wide approach around the Corran Ledge marker buoy and swung left to make her final approach to the slipway. Once the ramp was down we went up to the pier level as the crew prepared the ferry for an additional sailing. The cargo this time was very different; a sludge lorry!

With the Eigg leaving the bay again Dave and Alan went round to Dunollie Castle for a view over the firth. It was a great viewpoint and would hopefully allow for some different photos other than those at ground level. The path up to the castle was decidedly slippery given the rain from the previous night - which of course meant for an interesting descent back to the road.

While waiting for the Isle of Mull to come back from Craignure there was a lot of other activity going on, with yachts coming and going all the time. Dave stayed up at the castle while Alan made the tricky descent to the road. While this was happening the Isle of Mull was fast approaching and the wind was getting up. Unfortunately this had the inevitable effect of ensuring that in most of the photos Dave took from up at the castle ruins there was at least one tree branch in the way! 

Once the Isle of Mull was past and out of sight at the pier, Dave then negotiated the steep path back to the road (falling on his backside twice but not letting on...until writing this!). Shortly we had to go off round to the ferry queue as check-in time was approaching, but there was just enough time to see Eigg coming back in and the Isle of Mull heading out with the delayed 1200 run (delayed by over 25 minutes) before going back to the car. 

By the time we got to the terminal there was already a lengthy queue forming for Clansman's 1340 run to Barra and Dave had to start a new lane of traffic. The necessary registration slips were filled in and the rover tickets were inspected yet again.

The ferry was a little late in so once the car deck was empty we were loaded almost straight away. Cars were put down the port side while the three or four lorries were taken down the starboard side of the car deck. Once upstairs the best place to be was outside as the weather was improving and we were ready to swing round away from the linkspan. The ferry was not exactly fully loaded!

We passed the Isle of Mull in the bay as she returned yet again from Craignure. In the distance we could also see the Hebridean Isles in the Sound of Kerrera, making her way in from Kennacraig and Colonsay. Unfortunately she was running a few minutes late and was too far away to catch on camera - even to the naked eye she was just a speck in the distance.

Wednesday afternoons in the high summer season always mean congestion in Oban, with Clansman, Isle of Mull, Hebridean Isles and Lord of the Isles all using the Railway Pier within an hour and a half. As we headed out towards Lismore lighthouse we also passed the Lord of the Isles on her way in. She had passed round the south side of Lady Rock as we made our way out through the channel between Lady Rock and Lismore light. As Lord of the Isles approached Kerrera she circled in the firth as there were already two large vessels in the confines of the bay and there was insufficient room for the third.

We continued out past Craignure and on up into the Sound of Mull. As we approached the turn near Lochaline the Loch Fyne came out and crossed in front of us. She was a couple of hundred yards away as we passed by but good visibility meant Al was able to get some clear photos. Dave got some pictures too but the lens was all smeary with some drizzle from earlier.

After passing the Loch Fyne in mid-crossing we then passed Fishnish off to the port side.

The sailing up the Sound of Mull was very enjoyable as there was warm sunshine and a light breeze. As we came to the turn off Salen Dave went downstairs to get a bite to eat from the cafeteria while Al went up to the observation lounge. As we approached Tobermory the captain over the public address system and announced that a view of Tobermory Bay could be seen off to port. Dave then found himself in a race to get to the best place on deck for photos. It was unbelievable how rude other passengers were as they barged through and pushed others aside. After snatching a couple of rather poor pictures of Tobermory Bay in the sun Dave then left his fellow passengers to push amongst themselves. We were at this point approaching the path taken by the Loch Linnhe on her summer role as Kilchoan ferry. She was nowhere to be seen off to port but a quick nosey round the starboard side and she was spotted - far in the distance having just left the Ardnamurchan slipway.

As the Loch Linnhe continued her slow journey across to Tobermory the Clansman pressed on out of the Sound of Mull and round the north western extremes of Mull. With Coll and Tiree off to the left and Ardnamurchan, Muck and Eigg off to the right, the route out to Castlebay would see another three hours sailing time ahead of us.

Unfortunately Dave would not see much of the remainder of the passage as the lure of the reclining lounge proved too strong and the seats were far too comfortable by half. The inevitable outcome was that Dave caught about three hours sleep, and even slept right through the rough seas off the south east coast of Barra...

When we got to Castlebay the skies opened as the Clansman came round into the bay and drew up to the linkspan stern-in. We returned to the car as the crew tied the ship alongside (and by the way, after a five hour crossing that car was absolutely freezing!)

We were let off and went up onto what passes for the main road on Barra. There were about a dozen or so cars waiting to go back out on the Clansman and these began loading as we made our way round to some random driveway next to a couple of houses. From there we went out into the rain and tried to get photos of the ship leaving.

After the Clansman left Castlebay we made our own way out towards the B&B for tonight's accommodation. Tomorrow will see us leaving Barra by the back door and heading north-east via Eriskay, South Uist and Benbecula before crossing onto North Uist for the sailing via Skye to Harris and finally ending up on Lewis about this time tomorrow evening (2000).