A Highland Fling

Published 09:20 on 10 Sep 2026

The hills echo with bagpipe tunes,

The 'gathering' is, in full swing,

Tartaned dancers are on stage,

Performing, the 'Highland Fling'

Evelyne A. McMaster, The Highlands Games

This is the story of the Corinthian's very own Highland Fling.

This year's Scotland cruise (9 th -16 th May) set off from the picturesque Dunstaffnage Bay, a

sheltered inlet nestled beneath the hills of Scotland's West Coast the setting for this year's

Corinthians 'gathering'. We had two boats for the week Explorer of Sleat, a Sun Odyssey

439 and Eloise, a Sun Odyssey 43DS.

On the morning of Sunday 10 th May, we set sail for the brightly painted, picturesque harbour

town of Tobermory on the Island of Mull. After gentle winds in the morning, it was not long

before we were 'in full swing'. In the afternoon, gusts of 25 knots provided us with some

exciting, upwind sailing through The Sound of Mull. Although we were not racing nor even

sailing in an infamous Corinthian 'timed passage' Janet's (well-hidden) competitive side

soon kicked in as we tacked our way up The Sound.

About halfway up the Sound, Janet, our Upwind Racing Helm (more on the Downwind

Racing Helm later), pointed to Eloise and then turned to me with a look of mild horror on her

face: "Richard", she exclaimed, "they're not catching us up, are they?" "No", I reassured

Janet, "it's just an optical illusion." A palpable look of relief immediately washed across

Janet's face.

Not long after this, our tender which had been lashed down by the charter company on the

bow, just forward of the mast decided to release, flip over, perform a 'tartan dance', and

then dramatically throw herself overboard. In a flash, Chris WI dashed forwards and effected

a TOB (Tender Overboard).

We spent a convivial evening in Tobermory, where Mike, our knowledgeable and calm

skipper, enjoyed saying his "prayers" (the church in Tobermory has been repurposed into an

elegant bar). Mike's verdict? "Looks like a church but much better." The next morning, after

most of us had enjoyed a charming walk or run out to the iconic Rubha nan Gall lighthouse,

we set off on our 'Loch Sunart Expedition'.

Loch Sunart is enormous. At 31 kilometres (19 miles) long, it is the longest sea loch in the

Highlands. It also reaches a maximum depth of 124 meters reducing the chances of running

aground. We spent our first night on a swinging morning at Salen, a quiet coastal village.

The second day of our Loch Sunart expedition took us all the way up to swinging moorings at

Strontian, a scenic village at the head of the loch. This sail was extraordinary, with beautiful

scenery either side set against the backdrop of impressive and imposing mountains. With the

wind behind us, we were able to gybe the whole way down the loch, with the excitement of

navigating shallow narrows. A real adventure.

Having spent two days and nights happily ensconced in the depths of Loch Sunart, it was

time to sail back to Tobermory. After a wild night at Strontian, Jim, our translator for the

week, treated us to his skilful helmsmanship as he expertly navigated us through the shallows

surrounding the mooring.

The penultimate day of our cruise was the passage back through the Sound from

Tobermory to Loch Aline. The wind was so strong (gusting close to 30 knots) that we

managed to average almost 5 knots under genoa alone. Once again, Janet's (well-hidden)

competitive side came to the fore as the two Corinthian boats sped down the Sound.

Thankfully, we had Lisa, our Downwind Racing Helm, at the wheel.

We soon found ourselves at the narrow and shallow entrance to Loch Aline, a small, salt-

water loch. We moored up in the marina at Lochaline. Once on terra firma, some crew

ventured along the shore of the loch up to the impressive Ardtornish Castle, while others

enjoyed relaxing in the marina's sauna.

After dining out that evening at the Whitehouse (no sightings of Trump), we spent the night

moored in Loch Aline. The next morning, we set sail for Dunstaffnage, via the peaceful

island of Kerrera, opposite Oban.

Much to our delight, our sail back out through the Sound of Kerrara coincided with the start

of the Scottish Islands Race, a sailing and fell-running race that starts in Oban, weaves past

Mull, Jura, and Arran, and finishes in Troon more than 160 nautical miles later. Our last

passage was somewhat shorter a short hop along the coast back to Dunstaffnage marina for

a champagne finish. There is, though, already talk of entering an adventurous LCSC team

into future races. Watch this space.

Finally, thanks go to Neil Cox for organising such a memorable, interesting and lively week

that was full of laughter and fun. Here's to the next Highland Fling.

Written by: Richard Ive

Photo Credits: Richard Ive, Chris WI, Janet Spinlove and Phillipa Halton

Last updated 14:40 on 10 September 2026