Gulf of Corryvreckan

We had a fantastic day, off on Dalriada to Crinan for fuel, then Ardfern for coffee and cake. On the way back we diverted round Scarba which means navigating the
Corryvreckan on the south of the island and the Grey Dogs to the north. The light in the sky was just fantastic on the way down the Sound of Jura leaving me spoiled for blip choice. I chose this shot because I love the colours of the sea and the cliffs. If I remember correctly there was a private school that used to leave school children on Scarba overnight with no adult supervision, it must have been brilliant, don't think the Elf of safety would allow that now.

Strong Atlantic currents and unusual underwater topography conspire to produce a particularly intense tidal race in the Corryvreckan channel. As the flood tide enters the narrow area between the two islands it speeds up to 8.5 knots (≈16 km/h,≈10 mph), and also meets a variety of seabed features including a deep hole and a rising pinnacle. These features combine to create whirlpools, standing waves and a variety of other surface effects.

The Corryvreckan is the third largest whirlpool in the world, and is on the northern side of the gulf, surrounding a pyramid-shaped basalt pinnacle that rises from depths of 70 m to 29 m at its rounded top. Flood tides and inflow from the Firth of Lorne to the west can drive the waters of Corryvreckan to waves of more than 30 feet (9 m), and the roar of the resulting maelstrom can be heard ten miles (16 km) away.

Although not, as is sometimes believed, formally classified by the Royal Navy as unnavigable (the Admiralty's West Coast of Scotland Pilot guide to inshore waters calls it "very violent and dangerous" and says "no vessel should then attempt this passage without local knowledge"), the nearby Grey Dogs, or Little Corryvreckan, are classified as such. Experienced scuba divers who have explored the waters have described it as "potentially the most dangerous dive in Britain".

You can see Saturday's blip of Loch Caolisport