Wednesday 11 July (Salen, Loch Sunart)

Acting on the advice of some motor-boaters we had met in Oban, we headed for Loch Sunart, a long sea loch off the NE corner of the Sound of Mull. We had fine weather and pleasant light sailing wind, and wound our way though the narrow channels of the loch mostly goose-winged, often only a couple of metres from the steep rocks, though still in more than 20 metres of water. The scenery here is really spectacular, and there are several lovely secluded anchorages. We made our way to Salen, an inlet off the N shore, where there are visitors' moorings. As we had been told, we were greeted by Mr McPhee, the "harbourmaster", who came out in his dinghy and took our lines (and £15) and gave us directions to the inn. We made a reservation for 8pm, and spent the last of the afternoon relaxing in the sun and admiring the views. We then deployed the dinghy and went ashore for the 800metre stroll up a scenic single-track road to the Salen Inn, where we enjoyed not only a superb meal, but also entertainment from a musician on Lowland Pipes and a flute. David (who is a musician) was captivated, and spent a long time discussing music in general and jazz on the bagpipes in particular, and had a go on the flute. We simply had to sit and pass the time with another couple of malts until we could tear him away, and dinghied back to Vega for a superbly restful night in the silent loch.