The Seas Around Skerryvore

The Seas Around Skerryvore

Leaving Oban Bay behind
We head out to the sea
Into the cold Atlantic
Where birds fly wild and free

Colonsay Isle comes into view
As we head out to the West
Lifting her head to the growing swell
Our boat now put to test

Twinkling stars and glowing moon
reflect upon the sea
Dubh Artach sends it's warning light
For all around to see

As we round the Torran Rocks
Where wrecks and seamen lay
Steaming hard to reach our goal
Before the break of day

The silver glow of moonlight
Gently lights Iona's strand
Where ancient kings lie buried
Beneath her rolling land

With the Isle of Mull as our back drop
In the frosty starlit skies
The Treshnish Isles way to the North
As mythical Staffa Passes by

The flash of whie from a passing gull
Flying with grace and so free
Then from out of glowing moonlight
The shadows of Coll and Tiree

Our passage goes on to the North West
As we speed on to beat the daybreak
The sweep of a light crosses over our bow
On this ocean so wide and so great

As daylight appears far off to our East
The birds start to answer their call
Then starkly the lighthouse we call Skerryvore
Appears like a sentinel tall


Stuck on the rocks with reefs all around
As the swell now rolls in from the West
Battered by long winter storms and gales
These grey walls have long stood the test

Time is the enemy all fishermen know
This beauty all passing him by
Taking for granted these wonders around
The land ,sea and earth and the sky

Many a time this journey I've made
Now retired I am stuck on the shore
But the memories and beauty come back to my mind
Of the seas around grey Skerryvore.

Jim Campbell 2009

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Beautiful Poem Jum It brings back a few memories that we will niver forget of the many happy years fishing on the west coast
It brings a tear to an old mans eye

Aye Jim,that's a good one,very evocative,you can picture the scene in your mind's eye. It'll bring back loads of memories to a lot of folk. One of the bonniest sights I ever saw (in my humble opinion) was going round the back of Iona heading for the Scarnish edge on a clock calm Summer morning with the sun just coming up,and seeing over to Colonsay,Islay and the North Irish coast...it was just picture postcard stuff.I remember thinking to myself at the time that if it had been a cruise ship I had been on it would have been costing me thousands,and yet there I was getting all this for free. When you think about it,there were times at the fishing when we were truly blessed (no hellish many it has to be said,but there were odd times !!)

Glad you like it lads ,must put the old grey cells tae use again

Aye aye Jim,never kent there wis a bit o' the Bard aboot ye.