17 HEADING SOUTH: TO THE ISLANDS
OF ISLAY AND RATHLIN
Scotland's west coast is one of the most gloriously complicated coastlines on earth — thousands of islands, countless sea lochs and hidden bays, all part of an ancient, crinkled shoreline that stretches all the way from arctic Norway to the rocky shores of Brittany. On this voyage, we follow it south.
Islay is one of the most southerly of the Scottish islands — world-famous for its whisky distilleries, rich wildlife and wild Atlantic coastline. From here, the coast of Ireland is clearly visible across the water, and on this trip we won't just look at it. It's a short hop across to Rathlin Island — Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island — a place of dramatic sea cliffs, incredible seabird colonies and a fascinating, turbulent history. Well worth the crossing.
This is a voyage for those who love the idea of sailing beyond the familiar, following the coastline to where Scotland and Ireland meet and the Celtic world feels very close indeed.
DATE: 4 - 11 SEPTEMBER 2027
BOARD TYPE: FULL
DURATION: 7 NIGHTS
EMBARK: CRAOBH HAVEN
DISEMBARK: CRAOBH HAVEN
PRICE: £1,820
Seven nights will be long enough for us to cover a fair few miles on this trip and still leave enough time for lots of exploring on shore. We will definitely do some exploring of the waters around the southern Hebrides. This will no doubt include checking out the infamous Corryvreckan and walking on the remote hills of Jura. We'll stop at Port Ellen the famous whisky town on Islay. From here it's just another hop to the Irish coast and we'll see if we can ride the wind and tides to get ourselves down to Rathlin.
Craobh Haven is a great place to come on board. It's very sheltered and as we make our way out of the marina we enter Loch Melfort, a beautiful spot with lots of little islands. From here we can venter further west to call in at the Garvellach islands or we could head to Jura to visit the beautiful Loch Tarbert. A trip to Colonsay could be another option with its sheltered harbour at Scalasaig and a walk to its beautiful west facing beaches. You'll soon get to settle in to the slow and relaxed pace of life on board and with the help of the crew you'll be able to start to learn about the way we hoist and trim our sails to silently travel across the water. At seventy feet on deck and weighing eighty five tons Provident is a really comfortable base for our west coast wandering. There are four twin cabins which are cosy and comfortable and unusually for a classic sailing boat we have a beautiful deck house which is a great place to sit and relax as you watch the scenery slip by. At this time of year the days are long so we often get to spend our evenings relaxing on deck sharing a drink and chatting about our day's endeavours. We'll enjoy fantasyic home cooked meaels and have the oportunity to get up close with some amazing sea creatures. It's just about certain that at some point we'll be accompanied by a pod of dolphins playing at the bow and we may even be lucky enough to spot a whale or two.
+ SAIL TUITION: ALL LEVELS
+ FULLY CREWED
+ PRIVATE CHEF
+ DOLPHIN/WHALE SPOTTING
+ EXPLORING ON SHORE
+ GREAT FOR ADVENTURERS
+ PRIVATE CABINS
+ SAILING INSURANCE
+ WEATHER LED/NOT ITINERARY LED
+ HANDS ON TRADITIONAL SAILING
+ WORKING WOODEN SAILING BOAT
+ GREAT FOR SOLO TRAVELLERS
DESTINATIONS WE MAY VISIT:-
+ Raithlin
+ Islay