21 boats moored or anchored in Canna Harbour last night and this morning some of them are moving off already. We ate breakfast watching them pull up their anchors and then followed suit. We were headed for Loch na Cuilce which is at the bottom end of Skye at the foot of the Cullins & at the head of Loch Scavaig. The view is dominated by the face of Gairsbheinn, the most southerly of the south-western ridge. The pilot refers to an old Admiralty Pilot, dated 1894, which describes the Loch as "few more singular and awful sights can be witnessed than the view from the anchorage under Soa, when, during the pause of a heavy SW gale, the wind and rain suddenly cease and the lower atmosphere clears and discloses the scene". We had to go and see this! Fortunately for us we were not in the grip of a south westerly gale, in fact we had high pressure, sunshine and zero wind. Other boats had the same idea and we squashed into the small loch anchoring at the foot of one of the waterfalls which can become "broad and roaring" in other conditions.

We ate lunch staring in awe at the view and then took Pops ashore. Finding a landing place was interesting. The edge of the loch was stone with a sharp drop off and several meters of thick weed floating up to the edge. I rowed hard through the seaweed to force Pops towards the stone while Pete clambered ashore. Over the rise was a fresh water loch with a broad, low waterfall. The surrounding rocks were big sheets of sloping, pitted basalt so very easy to walk on. It was an amazing stop and, as if we needed more, there was a seal colony basking on the rocks at the entrance to the bay, all foot to snout and watching our boat as we approach as close as we dare.

The next part of the journey was 10 miles south to the island if Rhum which is a nature reserve. There was no wind but the main sail provided useful shade to sit under. The sea was a smooth blue and we saw porpoises fishing, then disappearing below the water as we approached.

Anchored in Rhum harbour we took Pops ashore. There is a shower shed with an honesty box and a good flow of hot water. There are midges. There is a small shop with a good stock of unusual ingredients and, at last, lemon and ginger tea bags :)

The view from the land across the bay to the panoramic Scottish highlands beyond is beautiful. The water in the bay is so still the boats appear to be floating in air.