A VOYAGE AROUND THE CUILLINS

Having scattered the ashes of his friend Roger Chisholm in the waters of Loch Coruisk, Howard Steen continues sailing his circuit of Skye

- Howard Steen

The Hebrides is where I was introduced to cruising following the encouragement of long-time friend, Roger Chisholm. He first sparked my interest in 1988 by taking me on a cruise to the Isle of Skye. As a keen mountaineer, I immediately saw the attractions of using a small boat to reach out-of-the-way Scottish mountain summits accessible from Hebridean waters. It is where my Vancouver 27, Martha Maria, has been based for the last six seasons.

Sadly, my friend succumbed to an aggressive brain tumour in the spring of 2018. His wish was that his ashes be scattered in Loch Scavaig in the heart of Skye’s Cuillin mountains, so in June I found myself leaving Oban aboard Martha Maria accompanied by another of Roger’s friends, Peter Davies.

Our route involved passing around Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly point of the British mainland which seems to brew its own weather. Experience has taught me not to assume it can always be passed so we allowed a good couple of weeks to be sure we could discharge our sacred duty.

After leaving Oban it was a five-hour, 22-mile slog up the Sound of Mull, mostly against wind and tide and in rather unpleasant wet and cold conditions. We got into sheltered Tobermory harbour before midday which gave us a three-hour pause to assess conditions around the corner at Ardnamurchan Point. Further motorsailing was required to round the point but now, with a tidal assist, we could finally lay a nice sailing course in south to southwesterly winds towards Muck.