‘The Island of Dunstaffnage’, she read, ‘and a small islet, Eil. Beg. N.E. of it, lie at the mouth, and the detail chart, 2814a, should be carefully consulted if going up, to avoid the shoal water off Ledaig Pt. and Ru ard nan leum, the N. and S. points of the actual entrance.’

‘Get out detail chart 2814a.’

‘Aye, aye, sir,’ sang the Mate.

‘About 1 mile farther up’, the Crew continued, ‘the channel narrows suddenly at Connel Railway Bridge, and the navigation becomes very difficult for sailing craft. . . . See sketch for passing through bridge.’

It was both an artist’s sketch and a draughtsman’s sketch, with an arrow descending from the second upright of the bridge on the south side. Admirable indeed.

‘Close above the bridge, which spans the narrows, there is a ledge of rocks forming a submarine causeway. . . . There is 3 to 5 faths. at L.W. between the centre rock and the S. shore, the clear passage being straight and about cable wide. Owing to . . . there are many and various eddies along the S. shore, both on flood and ebb tides. There is also on that shore . . . ’

‘That’s our shore.’

‘Aye, aye,’ said the Mate.

‘. . . a ledge running out 3 or 4 yards from the rocks at the E. end of the channel, which only uncovers at L. W., dangerous because . . . ’

‘You take the helm.’

‘Capital,’ said the Mate.

I toured the engine, thinking she was a bit sluggish, but decided she was merely bored with the leaden day.

The Mate had now her head on the second upright of the bridge on the south side, going straight for the channel. We could no more than just see the dark ripple that denoted the submarine causeway. It was slack water. The books had worked their magic again.

Up under the bridge we went, with the assurance of a coastal tramp, and then—for the first and the last time—our Sailing Directions (now called the Book) failed us.

‘A mark’, read the Crew, ‘which will indicate when clear, E. of the “submarine causeway”, is when the west garden of the second villa E. of the bridge, on the S. shore, is in line, end on. The wall is conspicuous, and starts from the road, up the hillside. When clear, keep to the N. shore until. . . ’

As we came from under the bridge, the south shore was a rash of villas, and three pairs of eyes, keenly concentrated, could not pick up that conspicuous wall, however the villas were counted or discounted. (We failed, too, on the return journey. Though I should hesitate to suggest that the Book in this particular needs revision.)

However, there was no difficulty in seeing when we were beyond the sunken rocks of the famous Falls of Lora and so we went over towards the north shore and faced into Loch Etive.