‘Island Monarch’, Castle Bay, Barra 1976

We had sailed from Oban, via Tobermory and Col, to Barra in the Outer Hebrides – (back via Canna)

I was a guest crew on a yacht chartered by friends.

It seems I was taking photos of inshore boats even then – (this one copied from the newly found original slide).

~~~

What was there not to like about ‘Island Monarch’?

Island Monarch – an appropriate name for these waters.

So what was she?

No fluorescent orange buoys, no plastic nets, no synthetic ropes – (wrong generation).

An interesting ‘pair’ of oars, a simple cuddy, a broadish beam.

Are these seats (or lockers) – and the upturned box a step? Is the inflatable in the box in front of the cuddy a safety feature?

Perhaps it’s the ferry to a nearby island?  The scuffed paint on the port bow seat from the shoes of people boarding?

All clues, of course. The sad thing is it was 33 years ago. I knew then, and now I can’t remember.

Canna, early morning September 1976

For the origins and full set of images in this series, here