Colours

It seems we are endlessly fascinated by the colour of the water on which we float. This blog is littered with references to the different colours we have observed beneath us, possibly because it has been such an unexpected component of our sailing adventures, something we hadn't really thought about before now.

So once again I gaze over Cirrus's bow into the depths beneath and I can't resist an analogy as the water here is clearly a coca-cola bottle green (for those that can remember before cans). There is just a pale shadow 5 metres below us; our anchor is resting on the bottom of Loch Linnhe, just off the island of Lismore. It is not having to hold on very tight as the air is still and there is little current. The chain drops straight down and the water surface acts as a mirror so I lean over with a camera, catching my own reflection. Brightly coloured purple jellyfish waft by us as the light gradually fades into the long evening and by midnight of the longest day the sky here is bleeding with sunset-red streaks on wisps of cloud.

Motoring into the anchorage we had another view of the Great Glen, from the south west, here seen beneath a clear blue sky and with rare views of all the mountain tops, including the snow-capped summit of Ben Nevis. High pressure has descended on the Western Isles bringing crystal clear air and a sun which is browning our skin despite our best efforts to protect ourselves.

Next day we move on to the Isle of Mull which boasts one of the few sizeable towns in these parts, Tobermory, and this acts as a magnet for sailing boats despite it having no marina and few facilities to offer yachtsmen, unless of course you count the whisky distillery. But take a walk round the harbour and you'll soon realise that by colouring its houses like a children's TV programme, Tobermory has acquired fame far beyond its borders. There was even some local controversy here when a harbour pub wanted to break with tradition and paint its walls black, spoiling the themed look and risking losing thousands of visitors along the way.

The crowded harbour is a mass of white - most modern yacht builders cannot think beyond this as a colour for both the hull, the decks and the sails. Cirrus' two red hulls, cream decks and when sailing, her bright yellow genoa, make her stand out from the rest so she is uniquely recognisable from a distant shore, our own little feast of colour.

Finally I couldn't resist a picture of this strange piece of loch-side artwork. 'A fish out of water' comes to mind but when the tide returns to cover the rocks beneath, the effect must be even more bizarre.