World Class Sailing - The Cruising Area

The scenery is spectacular from the moment you step aboard. Even on the first chapter of your adventure as you sail down Loch Linnhe you have the beutiful Lynn of Lorne, Castle Stalker, Appin and Lismore. Leaving Oban to port you can then sail up the sheltered but spectacular Sound of Mull to explore the peaceful anchorages of Lochaline or sample the delights of Tobermory. Pause a while in this beautiful island village or continue the theme of sheltered water and high hills with an exploration of the fastnesses of Loch Sunart and the beautiful sheltered anchorage of Loch Drumbuie.

Or gird your loins, get a decent forecast and brave the open waters to the North as you round the great peninsula of Ardnamurchan, most Westerly point of the Scottish mainland. Ahead of you lies one of the greatest cruising grounds in the world. Sail on to the Small Isles - picturesque Canna, Rhum and her spectacular hills or the community-owned Island of Eigg. Cross to the mainland and thread the tricky but well-marked entrance to Arisaig, or carry on North to Loch Nevis and take a visitors' mooring at the Old Forge, the most remote pub in mainland Britain.

Dominating this area is the spectacular Isle of Skye, with the sheltered waters of the Inner Sound on its East coast and the rugged Cuillins dominating the West. You could spend your whole charter just exploring the Misty Isle and the surrounding waters - but all good things must come to an end. Returning round Ardnamurchan your yacht is entitled by tradition to wear a sprig of heather in her bowsprit.

If you head South from Oban you may decide to stop overnight at the famous anchorage at Puilladobhrain [pooldoran] - it is only eight miles from Oban via the Sound of Kerrera. Although the anchorage can be crowded in the high season it is a beautiful spot, and the walk across the hill to the famous Tigh an Truish pub and the Bridge Over The Atlantic is well worth it.

Heading on down past Seil and the slate islands of Luing and Belnahua we pass through through the tidal gate at the top of the Sound of Luing and then - if we have got the tide right - ride the Dorus Mor to picturesque Crinan. From here it is sheltered sailing for thirty miles or more down the Sound of Jura to Craighouse, Gigha or the big island of Islay with its many malt whisky distrilleries and its new marina at Port Ellen.

Going North again hitch a tidal lift up the Sound of Islay and you can head for remote Colonsay and Oronsay before continuing North for the Garvellachs and Oban or, if time permits, across to sunny Tiree, rocky Coll or historic Iona before heading back to Oban down the Sound of Mull.

If you try it once, we guarantee you will return - the Call of the West is irresistible once you have heard it. Quite simply, World Class Sailing!