A Cold Sea

A stiff southerly wind is punching up the Sound today whipping spray off the tops of a short, choppy sea. The water, a deep grey-green, looks as cold as the wind but, being November, there are some months to go before sea temperatures reach their lowest. In the months between July and September, sea temperatures here rise to about 14C and then fall until, by March, they're down to 4C. We shouldn't complain: we owe our relative warmth to the North Atlantic Drift which brings us a steady supply of Caribbean water. The sea around Labrador, Canada, at a more southerly latitude, freezes solid each winter.

The temperature controls marine life. One of the events of the year is the arrival of the mackerel shoals, usually about May, which offer rich fishing, good eating and a store of protein to be put away in the freezers. By November sightings of whales and dolphins are rare but, last winter, we had dolphins in Kilchoan Bay during the coldest weather: perhaps it's another effect of climate change.

Even in summer, this is not a sea to stay in too long. Hypothermia sets in quickly. One August, when the family was visiting from down south, two of them went for a 'marathon' swim of about a mile along the coast. By the time they'd finished they were bitterly cold. Despite this, some hardy souls have been known to take their first swim of the year in April, without benefit of either dry or wet suit.