Loch Lomond Rally September 2014

Written in the form of an article for DAN magazine

For anyone who has not yet enjoyed sailing on Loch Lomond the annual Drascombe Rally in September provides an ideal opportunity to sail on the largest loch or lake in Great Britain (by surface area). Within the United Kingdom, it is surpassed only by Lough Neagh and Lower Lough Erne in Northern Ireland.

Loch Lomond lies on the Highland Boundary Fault which demarks the boundary between the lowlands and highlands of Scotland. The fault is the reason for the stark contrast in landscapes between the north and south ends of the Loch and it is responsible for a number of the Loch’s islands.

The planned cruising area for this year’s rally was the area of Loch to the north and west of Balmaha as this area contains nearly all of the thirty odd islands in the Loch.

Having some “spare days”, I had planned a pre rally sail to the top of Loch Lomond (25 miles away); however this had to be put on hold due to adverse weather conditions. Not the wind and rain normally associated with September in Scotland, but sunshine, blue skies and a perfect calm! Not a ripple could be seen on the water. Was the Rally going to be two days under motor?

With my plans to be on the Loch on Thursday morning now abandoned, I launched our Gig - Tra Bhui at the Duncan Mills Memorial Slipway in Balloch late on the Friday afternoon and motored down the Loch towards the “Geggles”, a narrow passage between the islands of Inchmoan and Inchcruin.

For centuries Inchmoan was a source of peat fuel for the inhabitants of the nearby Lochside village Luss. In the centre of this island is a jungle of plant life with peat, rhododendron, birch, alder, gorse, bog myrtle and blueberry. The north and south shores offer long curving sandy beaches, whilst the western peninsula is covered in Scot's pine trees and is home to a large ruined building.

With darkness falling the anchor was dropped in a bay just short of the North West tip of Inchmoan and with the cockpit tent erected I settled down for the night enjoying the dead quiet of the Loch. A few of the other boats attending the Rally were also on the Loch and were spending the night at various different anchorages among the islands.

Saturday 13th September

On Saturday morning the Loch was covered in mist which reduced visibility to under a mile and with not a breath of wind a day under motor looked more than likely.

The plan for the day was to meet at Millarochy Bay on the west side of the Loch just north of the village of Balmaha. Our destination would depend on the wind direction, but with no wind we had numerous options to choose from.

"Crew"

I headed over to Millarochy Bay early as I wanted to walk back along the West Highland Way towards Balmaha to meet my wife Kathleen who was due to join me as crew for the weekend.
The West Highland Way is one of a number of long distance footpaths in Scotland. At 96 miles long it runs from Milngavie just outside Glasgow to Fort William on the West Coast. A section of it follows the east side of the Loch for 21 miles from Balmaha to Inverarnan.

The "Fleet" gathers on Saturday morning

By 11.00 (Drascombe Time) most of the Rally fleet which consisted of Coasters - Sula, Sula (yes two Sulas), Rosie of Dale, Prawnpipe and Clarach Mary; Drifter 22 – Clarach Mor; Long Boat Cruiser – Otter; Gig – Tra Bhui and Lugger - Lucy had assembled.

After a very informal briefing we set off northwards under motor to our lunch stop at a small un named beach which is surrounded by mature trees lies just behind one of the two Ross Islands. These small islands lie just off the south shore of the Ross promontory, about two miles south of Rowardennan on the east side of the Loch.

Heading for lunch under adverse weather conditions

Lunch over we headed southeastwards again under motor across the Loch to Luss where we briefly stopped for ice cream before continuing southwards through the narrow passage between Inchtavannach – “The Monks Island’ and Inchconnachan – “The Colquhoun’s Island”.

Inchtavannach is a long wooded island which rises steeply at it’s northern end to a rocky summit, which provides splendid views of the Loch and surrounding countryside. Bandry Bay separates the island from the mainland. It is thought that St Kessog was killed here.

Inchconnachan boasts a wealth of secluded bays that none of the other of islands can match. Throughout the summer these havens are filled with overnighting yachts and cruisers. The 1920s wooden bungalow situated near to the narrows was previously the holiday home of Lady Arran Colquhoun who introduced Wallabies to the island. The wallabies roamed wild and these strange creatures can still be seen today.

Still heading southwards we past the “Haven” a large sheltered lagoon, a popular anchorage and one used by some of the other boats on Friday night. Leaving Inchtavannach behind us we crossed over to Inchmurrin – “The Island of St Mirren” where we had arranged a “Rally” dinner at the Inchmurrin Hotel. The Inchmurrin Hotel is open from March to October and has become the venue for our traditional “Rally Dinner” as we can tie up for the night alongside the hotel’s small jetty, only yards from the small hotel itself.

Tied up outside Inchmurrin Hotel

Inchmurrin is by far the largest of Loch Lomond’s Islands and is truly an enchanting place with woodlands, meadows, high ridges and gentle valleys. There is a small community on the island centered around the hotel, a boatyard and a reasonable sized farm which not only rears beef cattle but which supplies the hotel with local fresh meats.

Set on a headland on the south western extremity of Inchmurrin stand the ruined walls of an ancient castle. Early Christian monks are known to have constructed a chapel somewhere nearby. This chapel was dedicated to St Mirren who is thought to have visited or lived on the island at some point.

Sunday 14th of September

Windier conditions on Sunday morning

Sunday morning saw a change in the weather due to the high pressure which had given us the unexpectedly good September weather moving northwards. A fresh wind from the south east provided ideal conditions for us to beat across the Loch to Inchcailoch – “The Island of the Nun”. 

Inchcailoch was an ideal upwind location for lunch as there is a sheltered sandy bay with a picnic area and a small campsite at the southern end of the island.

Lunch time on Inchcailoch

In 717AD three Christian missionaries arrived in Scotland from Ireland. After much travelling one of these missionaries settled on Inchcailloch and there she died. A nunnery was founded in her memory and in the twelfth or early thirteenth century a church was also built and dedicated to her memory.

For approximately 500 years the people of the mainland parish rowed across to their Sunday worship, and here they also buried their dead. Those ruins and the graveyard remain on Inchcailloch today.

Heading to Balmaha after lunch

Inchcailloch is now owned by Scottish Natural Heritage. Carefully maintained nature trails allow vistors to explore the island without causing undue disturbance to the wealth of vegetation and wildlife that lives there.

Tra Bhui's crew on Sunday 

After a very pleasant picnic on the beach the Rally fleet split as some of the boats headed back to Balmaha in the east where they had launched on Saturday, while those of us who had launched at Balloch in the south enjoyed a “run” across the Loch past Torrinch – “ The Tower Island” and Inchmnurrin where we had spent the previous night. By late afternoon we were packing the boats up on their trailers before heading homewards.

Running "home" to Balloch