After seeing that there was some enthusiasm in the club for camping out of kayaks and other boats Andy and I thought we’d come up with some kind of plan for this.
We did have a few ideas but settled on Inchcialloch island due to its great wee campsite that you can book ahead for a group up to 6. It has a tiny ferry running up to 5pm and it the weather turned really bad it would’ve been possible to portage the boats over to the other side of the island and paddle the wee distance back. As it happens, no escape route was required.
With the intention being kayak camping, Andy and I were a wee bit perplexed when we realised that without his car (in garage getting fixed) it wouldn’t work. We have an old inflatable roof rack which did indeed come in handy – wouldn’t take 2 boats but thankfully with a lot of lashing down could take one on my car. Canoe it was then.
So, 6 of us met up in Balmaha – Jim, Lisa, James, Graham, Andy and I. We wheeled the boats down and actually very quickly got the boats packed (ok easy for us with a great big canoe). We had a short mess about in the sheltered water checking out trim and generally getting a feel for laden boats and then headed off. Lisa went off to catch the ferry.
We were expecting some lively water due to the forecast and got exactly that – I know I had fun with the degree of slamming back down into the the troughs. There was also a bit of wake mixed in at some point. When we turned the corner we were sheltered again just getting a nice push to the beach.
We set up camp, had a few cups of tea and then went for a play in boats. I think we all were in and out of different boats. With the canoe we paddled out and quickly sailed back in, poled and generally tried stuff out in the shallows.
Some of us went for a walk around the island – it is really beautiful with a carpet of bluebells. BBQ followed with a fire and a few drinks 
. It was lovely apart from 3 moored boats full of people who decided to have a party with some staying for the night – pity, it did mean we didn’t quite have the wilderness, chilled camp we’d hoped for.
Sunday morning came and we packed up in a nice relaxed fashion. Lisa had a paddle in the canoe with Andy before doing the walk to the other side of the island for the ferry. We had a really nice paddle back and landed just as the drizzle started.
Thanks to everyone who came for the great company and a lovely time.
Loads of pics below which I’m sure shows how much of a fab time we had 
https://flickr.com/photos/13176918@N03/ … 9187926168