Pete ferried William and Bob to the shore to catch their taxi, bus, plane home. We had made them sandwiches for the journey and as we pulled up our anchor in Loch Tarbert we knew we would be at our next stop before they were home.

Lots of places here are called Tarbert so it can be confusing when getting weather, tide info or taxis. We found out that a tarbert is a narrow strip of land that Vikings used to pull their boats over. So loch Tarbert is as descriptive as corner shop, only useful if you are nearby.

The seals were on their rock as we reached the sea end if the loch and headed out past Gigha. The rain held off most of today. The sea was dark and the sky threatening and in the gap between the hills of Jura and Islay began to appear. At one point the clouds lifted enough for us to get a close of the North Irish coast. The sea flattened out as the wind dropped but remained a deep grey.

We arrived at Port Ellen harbour just as the rain started, moored Sally on a vacant pontoon, sorted out lines and put up the tent as the heavens opened and we were able to sit below decks enjoying a cup of tea and waiting our the rain shower.

Later we took a walk around the small town and tried out the Islay Hotel where we booked a meal for this evening. Chores done we are now in the bar which has an excellent whiskey display waiting for our table.