Ships in the Sound

A little earlier in the month, when the weather was kinder, the Yeoman Bridge went down the Sound on her way to the huge Glensanda aggregates quarry, passing - and dwarfing - one of the fish farm boats, the Ronja Skye, which has a characteristic red hull.

This is the Deo Volente, a heavy lift cargo ship of 2,981 tonnes gr, 3550 dwt, which belongs to Hartman SeaTrade of Urk in the Netherlands. One of the things she carries is completed parts for the huge wind turbines which are currently being built, though she appears to be in ballast in this picture. To get an idea of her carrying capacity, go to this site.

There's much more yachting activity in the Sound as the summer approaches. In recent days, despite the weather, we've seen some magnificent yachts, one of which was Alba Venturer - in the centre of this picture - which belongs to the Ocean Youth Trust Scotland, website here. The OYT takes 12 to 24-year olds to sea on what the Trust calls 'development residentials', and was one of the charities to benefit from Kate & William's Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund.

The Glen Tarsan belongs to the Majestic Line. Launched in 2007 and purpose-built for cruising the west coast of Scotland, she is 85' long and is designed to be able to manoeuvre close inshore. She has six cabins and sails out of Oban or Holy Loch. She came out of Loch Sunart this morning and headed northwest out of the Sound.

There are times when the Sound appears quite crowded. Here, Cal Mac's Clansman passes a small landing craft and a yacht. Behind them is the Ardmore Point light.