We woke to different world of weather from the previous day with darkening skies, a strengthening wind and increasingly heavy rain. The captain made an early morning decision to sail for Mull before the wind veered westward and so we navigated the open water off Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly point on the British mainland without any excess ocean motion. The lighthouse at Ardnamurchan loomed dramatically through the mist, with its distinctive Egyptian–style architectural features. On we sailed past Rùm, Eigg and Muck to Mull, which is one of the largest of the islands in the Inner Hebrides. Here we berthed for the afternoon at its largest and only town – the colorful, sheltered harbor of Tobermory.
The name Tobermory originates from the Gaelic word for Mary’s Well, a feature that can still be found at one end of the bay beside the whisky distillery. There is a variety of good shops in the town, including a bookshop that also sells fishing tackle, an artisan bakery and chocolate-maker manufacturer, a small museum and several inns and hotels, including The Mishnish, which is conveniently situated near our berthing. The town has an upper level that’s largely residential with a small but lively arts center. We also visited An Tobar and the Western Isles hotel, which are both filled with mementoes of the Second World War. We spent time exploring the town in the afternoon with some taking an organized hike along a coastal trail to inspect a dramatic waterfall.
We had a number of presentations in the morning that covered historical photography and natural history. In the evening we had two further presentations from a marine biologist working for the Hebridean Whale and Dolphins Trust which is based in Tobermory.
