Accommodation Oban

News and Events

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Kayaks, Dolphins and Castles.

Oban is the Sea Kayaking Capital of Scotland!
The inaugural Oban Sea Kayak Race begins and ends at Oban this Saturday (4th September) starting at 2:15pm. The race covers a distance of 20km and the route circumnavigates the beautiful and rugged Island of Kerrera. (All proceeds from Oban Sea Kayak Race will be in aid of Oban Lifeboat.).

The Battison family took our RIB round Kerrera the other evening as it was a glorious late summer night and the plan was to have a BBQ ashore in one of the bays at the back of the island (the other side from Oban Bay). That plan failed as I managed an unplanned swim whilst attempting to get from the RIB to the dinghy. As the matches were in my pocket we abandoned the plan! The evening was not a washout as on the way home we were joined by a pod of bottlenosed dolphins who surrounded the boat, leaping clear of the water and generally showing off! These glorious, graceful creatures always lift my heart. We all tried, and failed, to catch them on camera. It's almost impossible as you never know when or where they are going to surface. The pod was just off the southern tip of Kerrera - very near Gylen Castle and the kayak race will pass this way. I can't image what it would be like to be in a single kayak surrounded by dolphins but I imagine it would not be an experience you would easily forget!