Iona Harbor, with Abbey in Background

Our mooring at Oban became the northernmost point for Aponivi. We used Oban as a base for four days while we continued to Mull and Iona on the ferries of Caledonian MacBrayne. Our decision to do the last few miles by ferry followed a brief departure from Oban in which we left the harbor under a promising sky, only to find ourselves staring at a wall of dense fog as we rounded the top of Kerrera Island and turned toward our next course. Later that day, after reclaiming our mooring, we walked to the ruins of a clan castle on the top of a hill near Oban, and watched a ferry disappear into the fog, going from plainly visible to fully engulfed in a few minutes.

So it was ferries that brought us from Oban to Mull and from Mull to Iona, the great jewell of the isles that we visited. St. Columba, one of the remarkable monks that set out from Ireland in leather clad boats in the sixth century, began to build his Abbey on Iona in 542. (A contemporary, St Brennan, almost certainly made it as far as Newfoundland.)

Columba chose well. Unique among the places that we visited, Iona has white sand beaches and a brilliant white sea bed that shines through shallow, crystal clear waters surrounding the Island. Add the abundant flowers, the 12th Century Abbey that stands today, and a picturesque farm or two, and the overall scene becomes one of incomparable beauty.

We could happily have cruised Scotland for another month, and never have run out of beautiful places to drop an anchor or pick up a mooring. Given the arduous journey to Oban -- 556 often cold and sometimes stormy miles -- more time would have been especially welcome. But 556 miles north means 556 miles back to Falmouth. That realization, and the need to make weather windows for crossing the Bay of Biscay and other points on the passage to the Med, limited our time and put a wonder or two beyond reach. But, if we had less than the full course, it was a very good sampler.

The route south brought additional pleasures. We pulled into a small harbor at Craighouse, on the Island of Jura, where the scene is dominated by the "Paps of Jura", three round-top peaks that rise a bit over 1/2 mile from sea level. (Craighouse itself, the only town on the island, consists of a distillery, inn, store, and a few houses.) From there, we retraced our steps to Campbeltown (our last stop in Scotland), followed by a fast downwind ride to Bangor (in Northern Ireland). We then sailed to the Isle of Man, the subject of an upcoming post, where we rounded the base of Peel Castle, and motored along the castle walls into another harbor of enchantment. More about that soon.