Eventually I found them camping in one of the fields belonging to the B&B and quickly enthused them about the weather forecast. They had moved the boats for security and because the rain had caused the loch to rise a foot or two. The wind was still quite fresh just then so we agreed to run the river and only continue on the fairly exposed coastal section if we liked the look of the conditions down at the entrance to Loch Moidart, with another option being to go east up the sea-loch if the open sea looked dubious. Packing up and preparing ourselves and the boats took a fair while but this gave the wind a bit more time to moderate. At about 11.30 we were all ready and pushed off again glad to be on the move once more. The couple who had provided B&B were kind enough to let me park the car and trailer in their grounds and also came to see us to go down the first part of the river, which was very scenic passing through a narrow stone bridge. They warned us that the river was tricky later on but with both Andy and Tony having independently checked it out previously and not having found anything to concern us we concluded that they may not fully understand canoes and their capabilities. The river was flowing high and fast due to the heavy rain of the previous day but the sun was out, the scenery wonderful and the only slightly irritating factor was the breeze which pushed us around from time to time. When we had paddled most of the length of the river, amounting to about 3 miles or so, and almost having reached tidal waters once more, it came as an added challenge and surprise to find a short but serious-looking fall. On bank inspection I reckoned a narrow but feasible line would be worth risking even in a laden canoe with its sailing gear stowed but still mostly in place. Andy was sceptical but happy for me to be the “rapid probe/test pilot” whilst Tony was probably the wisest of us all, choosing to ease down a small side-stream. Having studied the rapid and the consequences of getting the line wrong, I carefully prepared my canoe and myself both mentally and physically before going for it! It actually turned out to be boisterous but less challenging than it appeared. Once Andy had also run it and Tony negotiated his chosen prudent route we regathered at the far side of the tidal pool to have lunch, elated at the extra somewhat unexpected adventure.
There was still a breeze blowing hard enough to be a pain whilst paddling out the 3 miles to the mouth of Loch Moidart, during which we passed many seals. At one point I even spotted an otter only a few yards away, which after a bit of chittering at me continued feeding, unconcerned at our intrusion into its spectacular environment. Once at the skerries near the sea-loch entrance the wind seemed to have eased as promised in the forecast, so we set our sails again to close-reach north towards the Arisaig promontory in the light westerly breeze, our canoes rising and falling on the several feet of swell with us enjoying the views of the Small Isles and Skye in the distance. This was one of those occasions when for no explicable reason we seemed involuntarily to take it in turns to sail faster or closer to the wind, each of us at some time going better than the others for a while. Initially when we had set out we could not fetch the end of the headland but somehow after a couple of hours and without having tacked (probably because of the wind backing slightly) we were skirting with the rocks and skerries off Arisaig. We took the short cut inside several of these and the swell provided some sporting rock-dodging, especially as the larger waves passed by. I think one of these gave Tony a fright, as a dark and forbidding rock suddenly reared up very close-by. The wind continued to lessen as we sailed into the evening, dropping to nothing as dusk approached. So, although we were all fairly tired from the stiff paddle earlier in the day, a spell of paddling was nevertheless needed to reach a landing near Morar, a few miles short of Mallaig. A silver-sand beach, a hot meal and a great sunset rounded off a day to remember with just over 20 miles covered.
