I must go down to the seas again

It is difficult for me to describe the Sea of the Hebrides.  I’ve tried photographing it for you, but the photographs don’t tell the story either.

Sailing between the Outer Hebrides, Skye, Canna and Coll, we are in a bowl of water about 30nm across.  This is large enough to appear huge, while being small enough that on a clear day you can just see land all round the edges.  And these have been some gloriously clear days.

The seas are empty.  The skies are largely empty – seabirds go about their business, but a lot of it just involves them sitting on the water, and away from the cliffs they don’t feel the need to scream at each other.  We occasionally have company – a porpoise, a pod of dolphins, a school (?) of HM’s training vessels, a busily distant ferry, and just once or twice another sail in the far distance.  Oh, and something erratic happened with the depth/speed indicators which we think might mean a shark/whale was close by underneath the boat.

An aircraft flew overhead at one point leaving a con trail, and a whole hour later the con trail was still there, spreading out across the sky.  Emphasising how empty the airways are, but also how air traffic must make the skies murkier.

What a gift sailing is.  This area was run by the Vikings for hundreds of years, with the most important places being those that had the best sea connections, and it is largely unchanged now.

If you are a sailor, do consider sailing here.  It is really lovely.