Ships in the Sound

Last month's 'Ships in the Sound' commented on the apparent lack of cruise ships passing us but, on a recent visit to Brown's, the traditional hardware shop in Tobermory which stocks everything a man could need for the work shed, including whisky, The Diary was informed that Tobermory had seen more cruise ships than usual this summer.

The ship on the left, which is using its lifeboats to ferry passengers in to Tobermory, is Le Diamant.  It's one of the sort of cruise ships which takes people adventuring in places like the Antarctic, so it should feel thoroughly at home in Tobermory.  As the name suggests, she's a French ship, of whom her owners, Companie du Ponant, write, "Enchanting yacht f and widely opened towards the outdoor, Le Diamant answers perfectly in the great tradition to the wishes of the cruises lovers and amateurs of new horizons. An enthusiastic and intimate atmosphere prevails on board: the French art of living. This liner welcomes 226 passengers and 120 crew members and offers his privileged hosts a refined luxury through the discovery of original coasts and calls."  Check this on their website, here.

Coming up beyond her is Discovery.  She's another of the old cruise ships which have seen several owners and a lot of the world.  Built in 1972, she was owned by P&O for a time as the Island Princess, cruising in the Pacific. In 1999, she was sold on to Hyundai Merchant Marine of South Korea and renamed Hyundai Pungak, when she transported South Korean pilgrims to religious sites in North Korea.  There's more about her history here.

This is the Thomson Spirit, another vintage ship built in 1983 for the Holland America Line.  She was later sold to the United States Lines, but returned to her original owners before being bought by Thomson Cruises.  She's seen heading for Tobermory early one morning....

....and leaving again in the late afternoon, carrying a shipload of passengers who probably have damp memories of their day on Mull.  The company boasts of the ship that, "Every little detail, from the sumptuous cuisine to the sizzling entertainment, has been tailor-made with you in mind."  They don't mention the weather.  The ship's website is here.

OB5, Ceol na Mara, has been a local boat for some fifteen years, working out of Loch Sunart, Glenuig and Tobermory.  At present she's fishing for lobsters - she's seen here just off Kilchoan Bay.

The last time we saw the Wick-registered Gunnhilda was back in August 2011.  She's pictured just off Mingary Pier, with the houses of Ormsaigbeg in the background.

We see plenty of these boats in the Sound.  They're well boats, which carry live fish and other supplies to fish farms.  This one is the Solundoy, a Norwegian-built boat which operates under the Irish flag.

Lastly, the usual cargo ships have been passing us, including this one, the Swami.  While she's registered in the Bahamas, she's a Norwegian-owned bulk carrier.  Swami seems a slightly strange name for a ship - in its normal meaning it refers to a Hindu ascetic or yogi - but the Misje company which owns her seems to enjoy giving its ships a variety of names: see a list of their fleet here.  Long time readers of this blog will know that The Diary likes the tradition of giving ships feminine names, and still refers to ships as 'she' and 'her'.

Sparrowhawk Raider

This Sparrowhawk has been raiding our garden so frequently today that the small birds hardly dare emerge from the deepest foliage.  The peanut dispensers are full but deserted, there's piles of best quality grain out, but there are no customers.

We've seen him a couple of times over the last few weeks, and he's been around enough to make the birds extremely jumpy, but today has seen a series of attacks.  To make matters worse, when all the birds escape he sits for a few minutes on a point of vantage, as if to reduce them to a state of nervous terror.  The first attack we witnessed this morning was at half-past eight, after which he took a rest on Phoebe's head - Phoebe's the statue.

After his second attack, he perched on the red deer antlers that are above the bird table.  They're there for the small birds' convenience, not for him to pose on, puffing out his breast feathers and looking angry.

Ormsaigbeg isn't the only place to be under the Sparrowhawk cosh.  There are reports that the small birds are in a state of terror on the Old Golf Course.  Worse, we haven't seen Blondie for some time - has anyone any news of her?

Skull Mystery

This photograph of a skull has been sent in by The Raptor.  He thinks it might, possibly, be from a Crucifix Fish, or Arlid Catfish - but can anyone positively identify it and, if it is a Crucifix Fish, can they suggest why it's turned up here?

Druim na Gearr Leacainn

After enjoying 19mm of Kilchoan sunshine yesterday, and this morning dawning clear if cloudy, we were up into the hills as soon as we could, climbing along the flanks of Druim na Gearr Leacainn, the ridge that runs along the back of Ormsaigbeg.  It's a walk that offers wonderful views across Kilchoan and Kilchoan Bay to the heights of Ben Hiant, and away into the distance into the mouth of Loch Sunart.

There's very little company up there except a few Blackface sheep who roam the area throughout the year.  This is what we call their Flock Rock pose, after the film The Lion King in which the lions pose on Pride Rock.

As we sat eating our lunch and watching the view, the mist rolled in across the western flank of the hill, bringing a few spits of rain, but not enough to deter....

....this Red Admiral, who was feeding off the Ling flowers that carpet the hillside.  We've seen very few Red Admirals this year, and this one was in beautiful condition, though he took some chasing before he stopped long enough to have his picture taken.

From the Kilchoan end of the ridge we looked straight across the valley which the Sanna road runs through to the site of the new water treatment works.  The existing tanks (to the right), which take water from the burn that runs past them, are inadequate now for the village's needs, so the Water Board is taking water from the Millburn, which runs through the main valley, and pumping up to the treatment site.

This is an impressive hole they've dug beside the Millburn, just opposite the Fire Station.  One presumes this is the point at which water will be abstracted from the Millburn to be pumped up the hill.

We walked home along the road through the village.  As we passed Kilchoan Bay, the Yeoman Bridge, fully loaded from Glensanda quarry, was coming up the Sound of Mull - she's pictured passing Bloody Bay.  In the foreground is the Iolair, a traditional salmon fishing boat called a coble.  There's a site, here, which tells about coble fishing at Armadale, near Thurso.

Achnaha Egghog

Many thanks to Kilchoan Early Bird for the picture.