Rain and mist

Back on board today, all sober and keen. Rained all the way from Glasgow and got heavier the closer I got to Oban, as they say it keeps the dust down.  

Horror of horrors the satellite TV that we have beamed into our cabins isn't working properly!  What are we going to talk about if we don't have Eastenders or Coronation Street to watch and comment on?

Don't even have the radio over in Craignure, changeover to digital! I think they would be happy to get any kind of reception over there.

Fantastic weather

Not long back from six days away on Tarawa.  Didn't venture beyond the Clyde but why would you when the Kyles of Bute must be one of the most scenic sailing waters in the world.  Last night, Saturday, it was a tad congested with the Kames Hotel moorings all occupied as was the anchorage at Blackforeland Bay with four yachts in situ.  Normally we have it too ourselves.  The little south facing bay on Bute, opposite the Kames Hotel, was empty, so we spent a very quiet night there in 9m of depth a few metres off the beach and rocks.  Woke to the sound of gulls, oyster catchers and sheep all up and about at 5:30.  

Fantastic weather, but here in Scotland you can't have sunshine with a good breeze, well not very often, so quite a lot of motoring as well.  Back to the big boat on Wednesday.

Sailing with submarines

John, Lynne and I are just back from a few days sailing around the
Clyde, in glorious, well most of the time glorious, sunshine. As you
can see from the photo still having the drink problems with the crew.
Interesting new vessel servicing the Trident submarine, the Eva that
appears to be a personnel carrier. Not sure why there is such a large
bow but it goes at a fair old lick.

Home to Glasgow
A two and a half hour bus ride back to Glasgow and I'm home again.  Good to be back in the dear green place.
We had a wee problem on the ship yesterday with the forward ramp, no pressure on the engineers but we arrived in Craignure with 60 odd cars all facing forward and the ramp wouldn't go down.  All eyes on the Chief Engineer as he struggled away to get the damn thing to work.
Half an hour or so later and we managed to get the cars rolling again.  Unfortunately the automatic system was defunct and it was 00:30 before it was back in full operation again.  Late night all round.

Back to Normal

I find that when the weather is good, as it has been the last couple of days, I don't enjoy the job on here as much as when it is overcast and wet.  I think that it is my inbred Scottish sense of pessimism that knows there are only going to be so many good days in a Scottish summer and I would rather be on leave when they come about, than on here working and watching those lucky enough to have a fair wind and tide to sail up the Sound to Tobermoray, with a quiet night at anchor to look forward to.

Nothing to worry about though, back to normal today, strong easterly winds with rain.  I had some American visitors on the bridge today, unfortunately they were dressed for a North Carolina June day not the West coast of Scotland.

Across the Bay

It was such a lovely day today, which you would normally think would be great but I could only think about what a fantastic day it was to be to be out sailing.  The photo is of our ferry peeking through the rigging of the Jubilee Sailing Trust Lord Nelson.  There are also a couple of super yachts in the Bay and then we had an unexpected visit from the Islay ferry tonight, unfortunately the new vessel Finlaggan has broken down and blocked the mainland ferry port at Kennacraig so the other ferry came here to discharge and load up.

Half way through the week tomorrow, the second week always seems to go much quicker.  Busy days as ever nearly always full, so if you were thinking of travelling to Mull on here I would encourage you to book.

Oban Bay

Any more of this and we'll be starting to expect it every day!

Shock Horror!

I am very pleased to report that for the first time, that I can recall in the last month or so, there was no rain.  Indeed the sun has been shining since I started this morning and there has been a gentle breeze from the south.

Fantastic sailing weather, certainly there was plenty of yachts out and about today, all well behaved I must add.

Bit of an irony that on the day a drought order is announced in the East coast they have some of the heaviest rain in months.

On the water again

Hi Folks, Joined the Isle of Mull at lunchtime today and set off in the sunshine for Mull.  Seems that the number of passengers over the last few weeks is down on previous years, lets hope that things pick up. Maybe people are wondering if they want to have electricity & gas or a trip over the water, the cost of both isn't possible.

Casualty in Oban Bay

Apologies again for the quality but this is another of the three or so
boats being towed back to safety after breaking free from its mooring.

No sailings today folks

Anyone living in the West coast will know about the storms here today.  We managed a couple of sailings and got a bit scared coming back in on the last one from Craignure where the wind was up to a force 9.  It has just been decided that all sailings for the day are cancelled and we will resume in the morning.  We took over three coach loads of tourists this morning who were scheduled to return on the 17:00, not sure where they will stay as the Lochaline service to Mull is also off so there is no other way to leave the island tonight.

There are 23 of the Cal Mac services disrupted today, which is probably not that unusual for January and February, but May!

We have been looking across the bay to Kerrera Island Marina and the yacht Drum, owned by Arnold Clark has broken free of her moorings and ended up on the beach.  One of the workboats here in the bay has gone across to drag her off but I think they are doing more damage than good as she is now high and dry, lying at about 45 degrees over on her starboard side and this tug is trying to pull her away.  Even if they do get her off there may be damage to the hull that will cause her to flood and possibly sink.  Daft.

New vessel and the old enemy

The forecast for the day was spot on, the afternoon was brought in with stronger winds up to a gale by the end of the afternoon and then back to normal this evening.  Tomorrow is another depression, how well named, that is promising up to a Force 10 in the inshore forecast so we, along with most of the fleet are on amber alert.  This means that there is a good chance that sailings will be disrupted or cancelled.

The latest edition to the fleet M/V Finlaggan, arrived in the UK today and berthed at the North Pier here in Oban.  I didn't go on board but I gather it is quite luxurious inside.  Apologies for the rather poor photos, my iPhone does lots of good things but taking pictures isn't one of them.  Can't say the new ship has much in the way of character but then what do we expect?  I'm sure that it will be very pragmatic and carry lots of vehicles easily with good facilities for the passengers.  

We had a few complaining yesterday about the lack of room when they are parked on the vehicle deck.  I agree with them there is very little room between cars when we have a full load on board, to the extent we have to get all the passengers out first before parking the car with only the driver still in.  When the ship was built 24 years ago the lane widths were more than adequate for the size of car, nowadays, as anyone who has parked in a older car park will know, cars are far bigger.  It brings it home to you when you see something like a Morris Minor that was on yesterday, just how small cars used to be.

Only 2 and a bit days to go and I'll be heading off home. The time flies by, well sometimes it does.

Snow on the Mull hills

At 8 this morning, on our first run, I can see the white hills. Skiing season not over yet.

Day to day

Dear Readers.  Apologies for the lack of blogs since I joined a week or so ago.  It is a common complaint from my fellow officers on here that when they call home there is little to discuss about the day to day goings on aboard "Daisy".

I could tell you about the hundreds of bus passengers that we had today, some of which had been kitted out with orange baseball caps so that their guide could keep them in tow.  I was amused by the man who had perched his on top of his flat cap.  

The old friend, the weather is always a useful standby, and today was the best day since I joined.  Sunshine and showers but mainly sunshine so that was great, it certainly cheers you up.

The days pass quickly enough for sure, with so little time between ports there is no time to hang about to have our meals and get the planned maintenance done.  Well, we are getting a lot of people from one place to another on time and safely.  Craignure's gangway is now up and running so that has made life a lot easier.  Back home on Wednesday and then back on the water on Tarawa.

Statistics

Yesterday, Saturday the ship crossed the waters between Mull and Oban 13 times, covering 113 miles.  We carried 588 vehicles and 2907 passengers, running up to 37 minutes late at one point.  Pretty busy old day, still no gangway at the Mull end so all the foot passengers had to disembark through the vehicle deck.  This means we can't load any cars until the last passenger is clear which can take quite a while, hence the delays.  Still lots of heavy showers during the day, it would be good to have a day without rain, but I think that may be wishful thinking!  

Continued career

I joined the ship at lunchtime and we resumed the stately progression between Oban & Craignure, 100's of coach passengers doing day trips to Mull.

I have been asked to stay on here as the "permanent" third officer until October or November, hence the inverted commas.  I guess that nowadays 11 months work is pretty secure, anyway I have accepted the offer so I will be getting to know the waters around here quite well.

Trip's end

Tomorrow sees the end of my two weeks on board.  As ever I have learnt more about the trade and how the ship works.  Certainly I am a lot more confident about the job, in particular the loading of the car deck.  I find this to be the hardest part of the work as the navigation to and fro isn't too challenging, other than when the odd yacht or fishing boat launches itself at you on the way past.

I have loaded a few near or maximum cargoes in the last few days and it is quite satisfying when it comes together and everything gets squeezed in with the ship upright and of a reasonable trim.  The "lift" cars with their elderly occupants near the lift, the dangerous goods separated and no wasted space on the deck so that we were able to take all of the standby vehicles across.  Oh and on time as well.

Hopefully I'll be getting my own boat in the water soon and then I can keep you up to date with visits to ports other than Oban and Craignure.  

Sailing pals!

With the sun breaking out over the weekend a few of my yacht colleagues have been appearing.  I was overtaking one this afternoon on the way back to Oban, he was going to pass well clear down the starboard side when he came about and came across the bow passing a couple of hundred yards ahead of me. I would have altered round his stern but we were just at Lismore and Lady Rock.  I noticed he was looking up at me a lot as we slipped round his stern.  B****y yotties.

Off on the Tour de Mull

Tidal waters

Our passage between Craignure and Oban takes us past the very South
end of Lismore Island with its lighthouse and Lady Rock a distance of
about ¼ mile or less. The tidal range, that is the difference in
height between high and low water, isn't that great around here, it is
about 3 metres at the moment being spring tides and it goes down to
about a metre at neaps.
Despite the small range of tide the mainland and islands around this
part of the world cause this flow of water to be crammed into narrow
sounds and firths. This results in strong tidal currents, the most
famous around these parts being Corryvreckan which has its whirlpools
due to the nature of the seabed and the very strong tidal flow between
the islands at that point.
The waters around Lismore also have strong currents which we have to
take into account when steering our course to pass safely between the
Island and the rocks. I hope that you can see from the attached photo
of our GPS plotter two arrows, the blue shows the way the ship is
pointing and the red shows the actual course being made over the
ground. As you can see if you don't keep a good eye on the way the
ship is moving through the water then you would easily be swept up
onto the rocks. The strange thing is that at you approach the gap the
direction of the current goes right round so initially you are
steering one way to counteract the current then the other. As the
current hits the bow it actually makes the ship roll and swerve off
suddenly, not bad considering we weigh about 2,500 tons.

Aaargh!

Rain of Biblical proportions this morning, there was waterfalls coming down the side of the hill that I had never seen before.  In amongst this deluge I was in charge of loading up the car deck at Craignure, unfortunately the young lady on the shore's walkie talkie had become waterlogged & I couldn't make out what she was telling me about the vehicles ashore for loading.  I'd had a look and didn't think there was anything to worry about.

With just three trucks to load you will have to imagine my consternation when the third to last truck came down onto the ship and it had a trailer on the back making it about 21m long.  It came to a stop once it was a far as it would go with the trailer nicely blocking the entrance.  There was plenty of room on board but the two remaining trucks couldn't access it.  Fortunately the driver of the truck was able to back up and I had to call all the vehicle drivers back down to do a bit of shuffle about.  About 15 minutes late on departure combined with the gales and we never caught up with the timetable again.  Woops.  Everyone says that it has happened to them too.

Forgetful passengers

In the last couple of days we have had some notable & slightly strange events.  Yesterday a man was in his car about to leave the ship when he pulled over, I enquired what was the matter and he said he had lost his wife.  He waited a moment or two and then she duly arrived and off they went.  Another husband and wife, she somehow got locked in and he was outside the car, I wasn't there but somehow she eventually got out and they stomped off, clearly not talking. 

When we depart all drivers have to leave their vehicles and go into the passenger accommodation, before locking the car deck we do a check to make sure that no one is still in their car.  Walking along the line of cars today I came upon a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser with the ignition keys in place, and the engine still running.  

Every so often someone drives on and then forgets that they brought their car and gets off at the other end as a foot passenger leaving the car behind.

I find it quite encouraging that I'm no worse than many.

Scurrilous news

Should you oh reader peruse other publications, then you may have noticed in today's Daily Record there is a wee article about the CalMac ghost ships http://goo.gl/NDtQn  Apparently this may be true, that up to 800 trips in December were empty of vehicles or passengers, this is across the fleet of 22 vessels.  

Clearly this does not apply in the case of my present vessel the Isle of Mull that provides a vitally essential lifeline service to the good folk of Mull, many hundreds of them today.  We have carried out 14 crossings today with hundreds of passengers and vehicles, on time too despite the weather.  On the other hand I wouldn't be able to say the same for the good folks of Colonsay.

I don't know where the journalist who wrote the article got the figures from, but I wonder who in the head office, for that must be where they came from or the Government, leaked the statistics?  

Windy old day

It really does rain a lot here, serious organised got it together water coming down in torrents at 05:45 this morning.  A bit snoozy as the ship's generator broke down at midnight which made the emergency generator above my head click in automatically.  Not to sure what went wrong, but then neither are the engineers.

Day went well but then the wind got up and we spent a couple of hours alongside at Craignure pinned on the berth by a Force 8 coming down the Sound of Mull.  Back on again at 15:00 when the weather had improved.  Saw the Queen's sometimes passenger ship the Hebridean Princess at anchor in the Sound.  We had a coach load of German tourists on board telling us about their rough old trip across to Iona with the spray coming over all, amazed that they made it all.

Hitting the deck running

Off at the crack this morning to join the ship, well 8:40  seemed like the crack of dawn after three weeks off.  The bus driver had clearly taken time out from his Formula 1 career as we flew along up and down the hills, here's a hint it's best to get any reading over and done by Inverary, onward from there holding on takes priority due to the twisty road. 

Raining stair rods in Oban when we arrived, it keeps the dust down apparently.  Joined the ship on time and off we went back and forwards to Mull without much time to draw breath really.  Some complicated loads with large trucks and buses to take back from Mull, there are a regular stream of tar trucks going back and forward each weighing 30 odd tons when full.  Then the earlier drizzle and rain disappeared and the sun came out, which was great with the brown hills shining in the moisture.  We are spending the night alongside in Craignure tonight, the reason being that there is no berth available in Oban due to all of the Cal Mac boats around this evening.  Earlier in the day it was a bit of a traffic jam with three vessels arriving and departing at the same time.

7 round trips tomorrow, starting at 6:45 through to 19:45 back into Oban.  This is the way it'll be from now on this summer.

This is a picture of the ship's anemometer from yesterday, it is showing a reading of well over 80 knots, which includes the ship's speed, so the gust was over 70 knots.  We moan about the weather but when I see the pictures from Japan today, I can only be thankful for the little inconvenience that we suffer here with a gale of wind.

The Placid Waters of the Firth of Lorn.

Here's a photo taken through the bridge window on our way over to Mull. Our instruments showed a gust of 87 knots which includes 14 knots of ship speed so over 70 knots anyway. All the sailings bar this one were cancelled today. I'm on a bus now on my way home, looking forward to a beer.

Snow and tempest

Bumpy old night alongside in Oban now that the wind has gone round to the West.  Woke to snow on all the surrounding hills with a bitter wind coming down the Sound of Mull.  The high pressure area has disappeared and we are now back into a run of North Atlantic depressions, familiar territory for those of us who live here on the West coast.

We had a very successful day yesterday, carrying a thousand or so passengers and hundreds of vehicles over the 12 hours we were running our vital lifeline service.  Wednesday is changeover day so a number of the officers are off, but not myself who is staying on for a further day to allow my relief to attend an interview for promotion within the Company.

The inshore forecast is up to a Storm Force 10 for later today, all from the west or southwest. We are scheduled to visit Colonsay so we'll have to see how it goes.  The pier there is quite sheltered from that direction but you have to get there first!

Redemption

I was pleased to load the vessel up at Craignure this morning with a full cargo of vehicles.  We got all the booked and then managed to squeeze in the last 9 stand by cars so we sailed with 54 cars and about 7 commercial vehicles, could have taken on three or four more actually, so a new goal to pursue.

Nice run to Colonsay today, a new record there as well 11 vehicles going onto the island.  I brought her back going inside the Garvellaches and getting the benefit of the Great Race so we had about 3 knots of tide with us as one point.  All tied up for the night now at 5, unfortunately night on board for me so no shore leave.

I am staying on an extra day going home on Thursday evening now, after we have been out to Coll and Tiree again.  Early starts all round.

Weather forecast

I watched the weather forecast on Countryfile this evening and I see that our period of settled, and more recently dull, weather is nearly over.  The high pressure that has dominated things for the last week is to depart east and we are to go back into the normal run of North Atlantic depressions, with snow by Wednesday!

I knew it was Sunday today we had a steak for dinner, and Julie I only had a baked potato no chips.

Full but not down to the marks

Surprisingly the 4pm run over from Oban was very busy with cars about 60 of them, folk getting away for the weekend I guess, then I loaded up the 5pm back from Criagnure.  We had about 20 "white vans" and 25 cars to load with a furniture truck to finish off.  It became pretty clear to me that it was going to be a bit of a squeeze and before I knew it the deck was almost full and piling up to where I was standing at the entrance.  

I managed to squeeze in the last car and van but regrettably the furniture van had to wait for 2 hours until we returned.  Fortunately he wasn't booked and was on standby so there wasn't any comeback but with hindsight I can see how we should have got the crew to cram them in a lot tighter.  

The moral of this tale is that I still have plenty to learn.  Off to Coll and Tiree again tomorrow, very settled weather at the moment so it shouldn't to difficult.

Running around

The day started with the normal timetable across to Mull and then we did our scheduled run to Colonsay but then we went back to Craignure to pick up traffic there.  I had the watch taking us all the way up the East coast of Mull which was a first for me so quite interesting.  We then picked up folk in Oban that should have left 2 hours earlier, not awfully happy.  Tied up for the night in Oban and a lot of guys have gone ashore to watch the Old Firm game at the local boozers.

Daily routine

I wouldn't want to disguise that it is all fun and frolics here.  Today was a straightforward Mull run from 08:00 departure Oban until finish at 20:00.  Leaving from each berth on the hour thereby making it 12 crossings for the day.  Dante's purgatory had a level where men were subjected to constant repetition of their life, I guess our modern equivalent is Groundhog Day where the main character is destined to repeat each day ad infinitum. 

Well I exaggerate, and I've told you that a million times, but this gives me a good taste of what every day is like during the summer.  Which leads me on neatly to the news earlier in the day that we're going to Barra to overnight and then do a couple of days to Coll and Tiree again.  Which I thought was great, but not to all on board who consider being away from the home port as a punishment.  Unfortunately shortly afterwards in the day the Barra trip was cancelled, but we are still on for Coll and Tiree later in the week.

 

 

Another fine day here in the West Coast.

Why would you want to live anywhere else?

The main town in Colonsay and a wee Island on the way, anyone recognise it?

My Office

Port hand view

It was a lovely fresh day.  The sun shone from early on and turned the hills a wonderful colour.  On the way across I took a couple of photos with my phone so not great quality.

Off south to Colonsay tomorrow, weather forecast says that a high pressure area is to be established over the Irish Sea for the next few days, so that should make life comfortable.

For Ian Ramsay I owe an apology, I should read things more carefully.  This ship, the Isle of Mull, was constructed at Appledore Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd.. which at that time was a subsidiary of British Shipbuilders.  Clyde Built and not in North Devon as I stated.  

To the outer Isles and back

It was an early start but well worth it as we left Oban just before 7am with a full load for Coll and Tiree and the sun just rising behind the town as we headed out West.  I did most of the watch across to the Sound of Mull, past Tobermoray and then over to Coll.  Sunshine all the way and the first signs of spring with a strong hint of green on the fields lower down near the shore.  

Still a strong swell coming into both of the piers but there wasn't any wind fortunately.  Our cargo was mainly empty cattle trucks from all over Scotland, they will be loaded up by now and heading back on the Lord of The Isles presumably for auctions somewhere this week.  Huge trucks that just fit into the space on board, the driver's are amazing at how they manoeuvre these vehicles around in the tight confines of the car deck.  Like many of the vessels in the fleet this one was built over 20 years ago when cars and trucks were considerably smaller.  An original mini was on board and is now completely dwarfed by the 4x4's that are very popular around this part of the world.  Glad I don't have to buy their fuel though.  £1.50 a liter on Mull I believe.

Up and down

My but we had a bumpy ride down to Colonsay today, not a great amount of wind, a yachtsman's gale but nothing normally to trouble us in particular.  No, it was the steep swell coming from the South West that made things uncomfortable.  It was probably due to the shallow water that it was like that, but the ship fell into the holes that appeared at the bow and things were clattering and banging about.

Fortunately the pier at Colonsay is well sheltered from that direction so despite a bit of a surge coming in we were in and off quickly.  Quite a number of passengers on board doing the round trip today, pity it's not better visibility for them.  A van and three cars were all that was going to the island, with only the 80 odd folk living there I guess it's not much surprise that there is such little traffic.

This Saturday we are being taken off the Mull run and heading out to Coll and Tiree again.  Not to everyone on board's pleasure, but for my mind the early start is more than compensated for in the pleasant scenery on the way there and back.  But then that might be the yachtsman in me, incidentally I heard dark mutterings today about b** wafi season starting up soon.  (WAFI Wind assisted flaming idiots)  Needless to say I don't go out of my way to mention my main hobby.

All afloat again

Bus to Oban this morning and lots of burns in full spate painting their white stripes down the hillside to look at.  As they say it keeps the dust down.

A quick trip south to Colonsay, quite choppy on the way but fortunately it is well sheltered from the SW so no troubles dropping off our 3 vehicles and 9 passengers.  Incredibly mild today, temperatures in double figures.

Once back in Oban we had to do some trials on one of the bow thrusters that has been playing up, not stopping seems to be the problem.  A Geordie engineer on board had us doing circles off the Bay, right round and then back again. Just in case anyone wondered what we were doing.  

I'm scheduled to be relieved tomorrow at lunchtime and then I'll be on
the 12:45 bus back to Glasgow. It's been a good 2 weeks on here, the
crew on board have been great, good fun and very patient helping me
along with stuff. It has been an unusual last week with the trips out
to Tiree and Coll, it is a new thing for this ship and as long as
the weather holds out it should be a success as we came back today
absolutely full. There was a bit of shuffling around with the last of
the vehicles to squeeze every last one in, but we did it so that's
good for all.
Out for a curry and my first drink for a fortnight tomorrow, I'll be celebrating
my birthday from a few days ago which passed without incident on here.
It will probably be pretty quiet on the blogging front for a while but I'll be up and running
again on the 23rd of February when I rejoin. Thanks for reading, and
don't be shy about leaving a comment, it would be good to hear from my
readers.

Dinner

This was purchased from a local fisherman in Oban yesterday. Unfortunately he passed away this afternoon when swimming in a pot.

Colonsay school visit

Day starts with heaving Oban rain, despite the best waterproofs that
Mr Gore can provide, it seems to get through, perhaps it's by osmosis
through the soles of the feet?
We did a couple of trips over to Craignure and for the first time I
loaded the car deck through the bow door which requires a bit of
mirror image thinking. Heavy stuff, cars for the lifts, ambulances
etc. now have to go down the opposite side. There's more to loading
these vessels than meets the eye you know.
Lunchtime we loaded up with BT vans and various other vehicles for
Colonsay. On the return trip we had all the local kids on a trip to
Kingussie to go skiing?? They wanted to pay the bridge a visit, so I
was happy to oblige as we were passing the Garvellachs at the time
there was some close scenery to look at. Despite me telling them all
about our Safety Management System and the Cal Mac interpretation of
the ISM Code the kids seemed to be more interested in the windscreen
wipers and why the ship wouldn't go any faster. I guess at Primary
School age they haven't managed to appreciate the enjoyment of tidy
paperwork and slick administration.
Tomorrow we are back off to Coll and Tiree, early start but we get the
chance to cruise the Sound of Mull both ways, which is great. When we
get back to Oban at 3 we'll pick up the Mull service until the early
evening. Fabulous scenery today, the hills have a good coating of
snow contrasting against the brown heather, the Paps were looking
particularly good.

Spectacular scenery

We made it this time, two visits to Coll and one to Tiree.  Pretty tricky stuff though, the swell had died down but it was still a bit tricky with the ship moving around in the seas.  

The locals will have been delighted to see the men from Hydro Electric who were there to repair their power supply, fortunately Cal Mac have their own generator to power the Link Span, otherwise not to sure what they would have done.  

These were my first visits to these Islands and they are very beautiful in their bleakness, if that makes sense?  One thing that surprised me was how low lying, or flat they are, nothing like Mull with its mountains.  Bit more like Linconshire really.

To the Islands and back
Another early start, up at 4:30 ready for a 6:00 shift over to #2 berth so that we can load through the bow, both Tiree and Coll are stern too.  We set off on time at 6:45 after a bit of a fraught loading.  There was a lot of heavy trucks and loading for the two ports knowing that there was cargo coming on at the first, Tiree, for Oban makes for a difficult stow.  It was a good passage across to Tiree but there was still a worryingly large swell coming up from the South as we approached the island.

We dropped the starboard anchor off the pier and then dropped back to go starboard side alongside.  Because of the conditions frequently encountered here we take extra heavy ropes from the shore to tie up with.  We got in but the ship was still surging up and down from the swell coming into the bay.  I was standby on the ramp, if there was any sign of the ship moving away then I was to whip it up to prevent it getting damaged.  After a few vehicles one of the shore lines snapped, we replaced it but shortly after this the swell got too much to continue, up went the ramp and off we went leaving a few vehicles and a truck.  We got alongside in Coll but it was clear when we had tied up that there was no way we could work the ramp so we let go and headed off back to Oban.

Tomorrow we are going to have another go, calling at Coll twice this time.  They are keen to get some of the trucks off the island as it has been nearly a week since they managed to get goods ashore.  We did get the fuel off to top up the power station on Tiree, apparently there wasn't that much in reserve so they'll be pleased about that.  Forecast looks much better for the next few days so fingers crossed that we can make it in to Coll tomorrow.

Abandoned trips and wind ups

We set off for Coll and Tiree at the crack of dawn with a good load on board.  A couple of hours later when we were clear of the Sound of Mull it was clear that the swell coming up from the south was going to prove to be a problem.  The two ports confirmed that it was untenable to berth safely at either island so we turned back to Oban and our passengers with their vehicles had to return to the mainland. Tomorrow we are going to have another go, this time with a full cargo as we are looking to be carrying three days worth of cargo.

On a lighter note one of the crew has an electronic butterfly, coloured a bright pink it flutters around inside its glass jar and looks quite genuine.  The story is that it must have been brought here from abroad in a vehicle. Amazingly enough this butterfly has now reproduced and produced eggs, novel for a butterfly, even an electronic one.  There are a couple of crew members now going around with a matchbox wrapped in cling film containing the eggs nestling in a bed of cotton wool, they are keenly looking forward to the hatching in a couple of weeks as long as they keep the eggs in the warm moist conditions required.  If they do hatch it will be a first for four peppercorns

Stormy weather

We knew about the weather coming in, it has been forecast for a number of days, but I guess nothing quite prepares you for what is a full blown North Atlantic depression, it reminds me of why I don't go deep sea any more.  Today we did three runs to Mull and back, each time the weather was deteriorating and the wind force going up a notch, I had 12 degrees of leeway on to keep her on course with the area around the South of Lismore like a boiling cauldron with the tide and a Gale force 8 wind across it.  At 14:00 we set off but turned back due to the height of the waves, it was blowing about 55 to 60 knots and I noted that the barometer had dropped 6mb in an hour, I'll have to take a photo of the barograph trace.  We are now lying alongside at Oban with every mooring rope out and the engines ticking over just in case we need them at short notice.  

We are being taken off the Mull run tomorrow and are scheduled to visit Coll and Tiree, the Lord of the Isles that usually serves these islands didn't sail at all today so with our bigger capacity we can take two day's worth while she does our regular runs out to Craignure.  I say that we are scheduled to sail to Coll and Tiree, let's see if we make it.  

Checklists and routines

On Tuesday and Thursday's we follow the normal summer timetable in that we ply back and forward between Oban and Craignure from early morning to mid evening, during the summer this is the way of things every day, as there are no jaunts off to Colonsay.  It means every hour we berth and every two hours we are returning to the same berth, this leads me on to thinking what precautions we should be following so that mistakes or errors don't occur with all this repetition

It is essentially the same procedure at every berthing, to assist and guide we have a checklist that is followed by the watch keeper and then confirmed to the Captain or Mate who is berthing the ship.  This is the norm in most vessels where they have similar lists that are followed when carrying out a manoeuvre or complex process. 

One could assume that this adherence to routine would prove to be foolproof, but I wonder if there has been any academic studies published that have looked into the way that complex routine procedures and tasks are carried out?  Are there any pitfalls evidence that they do work or otherwise?  I would have thought that there may be many, indeed a fertile source of material for psychology students, but where would they be?  Do any of my readers know of any published studies that are available?

A Monday cruise

This was a Colonsay day, we go there three times a week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  This is only during the winter when there are fewer vessels in service, in the summer this vessel is solely on the Oban to Craignure run.  Heading off South to Colonsay brings an enjoyable change in the routine, rather than the 40 minutes run to Mull it is a 5 hour round trip to Colonsay.  Down the Sound of Kerrera on past Seil Island with my favourite anchorage at Puldorian, through the gap at Insh Island and spotting the hermit's abandoned home on the East Coast we head down to the Great Race.  This is the tidal race that results from the daily flow of water through the gap where the famous Corryvreckan  Whirlpool lies at the North end of Jura sucking in all around.  Once clear we start to pitch moderately, the stabilisers stop the rolling very effectively but have no effect on the pitching, our 9 passengers and 4 vehicles are however safely tied down and are a hardy bunch.

On arrival at Colonsay with the wind gusting up to 25 knots in the shelter of the harbour we need to approach from the south and hug the coast heading for the roundhead at the end of the pier.  Getting a line ashore we cant round the end with the stern swinging close in to the shore so that we can lie alongside.  Despite being in the shelter there is still a swell coming in and the ship is surging up and down the pier, everyone is left on standby fore and aft while the ramp is lowered down and the vehicles disembark.  As soon as the last of these are off the pier master gets on his bike and sends the waiting cars and truck down to load.  In all we are in for about 5 minutes, fortunately not much longer as it can't be called a safe haven, memories of Waverley, Clacton, Margate and Dunoon in  a fresh southerly breeze.

The weather as forecast has deteriorated blowing up to an gale force 8 now but the difference is that it is behind us so we are wafted along back up to Oban and a safe berth alongside for the night.  Back to the normal tomorrow, 6:15 start as we need to shift berth before loading. 

This evening I went for a walk along the prom, tropical rain tonight without the temperature.  Not many others out and about strangely.

 

Dolphin Watch

After four days I feel that I am starting to settle down, and understand the routine.  Routine is all on board here, there is little time at either end to do other than follow the script.  We have explicit check lists that are followed on each docking and departure, despite it being the same each time it is easy to forget if all the items have been carried out.  Well it is for the writer.

Glorious weather again today, the sunset over Mull was straight of a chocolate box, it could have been a July evening rather than January.  I had a school of dolphins following along for a while, I thought that they would have departed south for the winter?  We had a lot of round trip passengers during the day, they had just come along for the ride to look at the scenery, like being back on the Waverley.

I joined the Isle of Mull at midday in Oban.  The handover is a brief affair, the new relieving crew wait at the gangway and nip on board as soon as possible, straight up to the bridge, dropping off luggage in the cabin on the way then meet the outgoing mate for a minute to hear that everything is working and he's off.  Five or so minutes later we sail off south to Colonsay with our 4 cars and 19 passengers.  Lovely weather with a stiff NE'ly which is the worst direction for berthing but all was well.  Back to Oban for 17:00 and tied up for the night.

All different crew on here so lots of new names to remember.  Hopefully I won't have forgotten all the stuff from last week, tomorrow we are on the regular Craignure run from 08:00 till 18:00 so we see how much I can recall.

Weekend Activities
I'm thoroughly enjoying my week off, I could easily get used to this a week of work followed by a recovery week at home.  Last night we navigated our way through the fog to Braehead to see the film The King's Speech, fantastic piece of work and I do hope that it wins recognition at the Oscars.  You know when it's a great film when it seems that the time has just flown by and the final credits are running; I would encourage any of my readers to go along and see it.  Colin Firth is excellent but any one of the other actors deserve an award as well, Helena Bonham Carter is as dishy as ever.

Home for a spell

I came back yesterday on the bus from Oban, glorious scenery on the way with most of the hills topped with snow and the sun glinting off the lochs.  
At my interview it was suggested that I would be going around the fleet to gain experience of the different ships and routes.  I'm on a temporary contract for six months, hopefully to be renewed, and I would get my leave at the end of the six months.
So you can imagine I was slightly surprised that my rota has me on the Isle of Mull for the rest of the season with a spell of leave at the end of April.  Looks like I'll be pretty familiar with the stretch of water twixt Oban and Craignure.  I would mention that the two busiest routes that Cal Mac operate are Adrossan - Brodick and the one I am working on. 

Rain and wind of Biblical proportions

This is some place in the winter, the seas out there today when the
wind was up to 65 knots with the tide swirling around us was a sight
to see. In between the squally showers which came down like a fire
hose. Still raining here tonight which even after all my years living
in this country never fails to amaze me how much water there is up
there.

An early start today with a sailing at 06:45. Good job that this is
considered a lifeline service, the 5 cars we took to Oban and the 2
post vans with one car back as a return trip wouldn't support a
private ferry for sure. Horrible weather today, blowing a Force 7 to 8 from the SW, pop the stabilisers out and everything calms down nicely. Tonight our last run is at 22:30 and overnight in Craignure.

To and fro

Nearly eight in the evening now and we are alongside at Oban for a
couple of hours before doing the late night run back out to Craignure,
presumably with the evenings revellers who have been living it up in
the sin bins of old Oban town. We will then spend the night alongside
in Mull before returning at 06:45, which means a 5:30 start for me.

The weather went downhill today with a South Westerly 6 to 7 when we
were on our way to Colonsay but the vessel seems to take it in it's
stride, not that this will have been the first time that this
particular ship has experienced bad weather in her 23 years of running
around this part of the world. We took eight vehicles and and about
10 passengers out to Colonsay and returned with even less. Looking at
the little settlement that is at the pier head there doesn't appear to
be a lot there, maybe just over the hill there is more.

The regular mates on here dislike the long 2 and a half hour run down,
can't be doing with all this sea time, they much prefer the 45 minutes
back and forward from Oban. I have started to supervise the loading
of the vehicles, finding it quite tricky with so many factors to take
into consideration.

Anyway that's the first 48 hours over, I seemed to have survived, wish
me luck for the weekend.

Touch of the Groundhog Days

Today was an excellent example of a normal day, 5 runs across to Mull
from Oban starting at 08:00 and finishing at 18:00 here back in Oban
and tied up for the night. I'm starting to get my head around the day
to day stuff, the navigation part is pretty straightforward two
courses from clearing the berth at either end, if it wasn't for
Lismore it would be the one but the lighthouse gives a wee 5 degree
dogleg on the way.
Traditionally Cal Mac has been manned by locals and folk from the
islands. Suffice to say the folks on board are Duncan's, Murdo's
Euan's and the talk is of farming and tractors a lot of the time. One
of the mates has a photo of a prize ram posted on his cabin
bulkhead,beside the photo of the wife and kids. As well as learning
about RoRo's I'll have a fair knowledge on the price of hay and sheep
blight.

By bus and boat

I don't think that I have ever joined a ship by bus, so today was a
first. Down to Great Western Road and the 8:40 Citylink direct to
Oban. Pretty trip up the road with quite a lot of snow still around,
particularly at the top of the Rest and be Thankful.
The vessel Isle of Mull duly arrived at 11:45 and sailed 14 minutes
later for Colonsay, pretty familiar territory to me from last year's
sailing down Sound of Kerrera and then an hour and a half trip with
our 10 vehicles and 22 passengers. So much warmer today with the wind
round to the SW at last, a little bit of a swell coming in but that's
not a problem on here, just stick out the stabilisers and all is well.
We were back in Oban for 17:30 after a very early dinner, they eat
dinner at 4 on board here. All tied up for the night and the evening
free to do as we wish. Which is reading the safety management manuals
in my case.

To the Isle of Mull and then back again

My first appointment with David MacBrayne is the Isle of Mull sailing from Oban on Wednesday.  Familiar territory from last year's sailing on the boat, so quite pleased about that to ease me into the way of things.  Only going for a week on this first trip and then two on two off.

Travelling to join is easy too, a bus from Great Western Road to the terminal at Oban.  Only £5 with an advance ticket, mind you if my experience from last year is anything to go by I'll be one of the few actually paying.

New Year, New Job?

With the arrival of the New Year I have news of the next step in my career.  On Christmas Eve I received a phone call from Clyde Marine advising me of an interview with Caledonian MacBrayne, the ferry operators.  I duly attended last Thursday and met one of their Superintendents who after a chat, it couldn't really be considered an interview more of a convivial discussion, offered me a position with the company as a deck officer.

Subject to my references being acceptable, the cheques are in the post guys, I should be offered the job shortly with a view to taking up a position sometime this month.

Really looking forward to hearing about where I'm going to be sailing from, indeed quite excited about the whole thing.  A good start to the New Year.

I do have a part time job for the next few days, not that it pays much.  This morning on her way to the bus stop Julie came a cropper on the pavement and has broken her wrist. As anyone who lives locally will know there is lots of ice around and when we turned up at the local A and E we were one, among many others, holding onto painful wrists, arms and ankles.
Home now and herself has a plastered arm in a sling and feeling pretty sorry for herself as it is quite painful.
So the new part time job is as a nurse/taxi driver looking after herself indoors.  With her right hand out of action she won't be able to drive or write for a while, so I'm going to be that new right hand till after Christmas at least.

Despite trying hard I have not been to sea since my last post in October on the Waverley.  Master Mariner available for hire should anyone be reading this.
Along with the rest of Scotland we have just been through our first real taste of winter for this season, not for this year though as it was pretty damn cold in March and April as I recall.
I took some photos around our part of town http://goo.gl/xHZt5

The Aft end disco in the saloon

Queen Elizabeth sailing from Southampton

Heading North

We on our way back to Glasgow having completed all the River Thames'
sailings and a one day sail around the Solent. That is almost all of
the cruises finished for this year, apart from two this weekend, so we
need to get back home to the North and the ship's winter lay-up berth.
One of the evening trips in London was for 688 passengers, all about
20'ish in age and quite affluent, they danced the evening away as we
chugged down to the Thames tidal barrier, turned and crept back up
again at dead slow most of the way. The dining saloon and forward bar
were converted into "discos" and there were speakers out on deck to
convey the beat to those out there, taking the night air. A lovely
bunch of people, really pleasant and when they left at 11:00 they were
all off to a night club to continue to 5 in the morning. What
surprised me was how much they had drunk yet appeared to be relatively
sober, in 3 hours the two bars on board took nearly £11,000. The
discarded bottles of beer, wine and champagne that were left
everywhere showed that. The young man who organises this has found
sponsors in Rizla cigarette papers, who hand out free product as the
passengers boarded. Not sure that we should be advocating smoking, in
particular the extra-long ones that they make, for rolling elongated
cigarettes?
For the last day on the river we finished off at Tower Pier, right
beside the Tower of London and a film crew boarded to set up their
cameras for filming the next morning. We set off and at 7:00am we
were in place bouncing around off the white chalk cliffs of Dover.
Unfortunately despite the weather being lovely and clear for the
sunrise there was a strong Force 7 wind blowing about 25 to 30 knots
which kicked up quite a swell with waves so we were rocking and
rolling about. A helicopter had been organised to take pictures of us
with the rising sun and the cliffs in the background and while this
was going on the crew on board were taking pictures of the cliffs
using 7 cameras strapped onto the back of the ship, on the poop deck.
The film crew were scheduled to join us by boat in two lots, but after
the first three guys just managed to get on board the next lot didn't
manage it, as the seas were high and it had become too dangerous to
come alongside to allow them to climb on board. The helicopter pilot
has nerves of steel with the low swooping shots that he did along the
deck of the ship which had us all ducking down as he screamed across.
While that was going on the guys on the back end of the ship were
having terrible problems with the spray getting onto their lenses,
they had to be kept covered in plastic bags right up to the last
minute before shooting. This all went on for about three hours until
they were happy with the results. You will have to look out for the
next Sherlock Holmes film to see the outcome, I gather we will be
right at the end of the film and it all involves a handkerchief, which
was filmed 6 times being thrown to the wind. No actors were on board,
they will be included at a later date after having been filmed in a
studio and overlaid onto the scenes by magic! Or computer really, but
magic is better.
The next day we were in Southampton to do a cruise following the
maiden voyage of the latest Cunard cruise liner Queen Elizabeth. We
were fully booked and nature played its part by giving us a lovely
warm sunny day. The ship sailed and we along with a multitude of
small craft and various ferries followed on behind. This time we were
blessed by a setting sun with the ship in the foreground, I say ship
they all tend to look like blocks of flats because of the desire to
have as many ship side cabins as possible, but still I would swap
places with the Mate on there.
Our passage North has been very peaceful and Cape Horn Lands End was
no problem at all. Youtube link As I write this we are passing the South end of
Arran and the lights of Glasgow are being reflected off the clouds.
Home tomorrow and back to normal.

Southward bound

After yesterday's fairly dire day when we departed Southend with just
20 passengers which gave us a grand total on board of 49, we headed up
the coast to Southwold and anchored off the river and pier. It is
notoriously exposed to the North Sea swell and more trips from this
pier have been called off than actually made. The ship was rolling
around all night, fortunately not so much that it affected me in my
cabin by the water line, but others in the penthouse seemed to have
suffered.

We upped anchor and made a pass at the pier to check out conditions
then a turn around and in again unfortunately without success, the
offshore wind caught us and we were away. On our third attempt we made
it and despite the rolling and bashing around we managed to take on
261.

Lovely trip south down the East coast past Sizewell Nuclear Power
Station to see the three eyed fish, past Harwich and into the Thames
for the run up to Tower Pier. Lovely clear night and the tide in so
the city was looking fantastic, St. Pauls, the London Eye all showing
up really well as we approached the Tower Bridge.

Not long to get everyone off and we turned and headed back downriver
to Tilbury. All tied up by 22:20 and then we have to take on fuel,
bunkers, so the barge is alongside now and should be finished by half
eleven. Long day, with a 09:00 departure tomorrow light ship to
Southend and then back up to the city. Rotten weather forecast, let's
hope that they have it wrong.

Up and down the Thames
Yesterday was spent alongside at Tilbury Landing Stage, or rather the more grandly named London International Cruise Terminal.  Which it was at one time but now the ravages of time are beginning to show on its old face.  It is actually a floating barge built in 1930 and some 1,130 feet long so quite a structure.  As it floats and is connected to the shore by 5 ramps it moves up and down about 21 feet every tide and so we do not need to adjust our mooring ropes as the tide comes in and out. 
The day was spent catching up with the jobs that can't be done when we have passengers on board, such as touching up the over side paintwork.  We also held our weekly emergency and abandon ship drill, a regulatory requirement on a merchant ship.
It would not be an understatement to say that Tilbury town is not the most glamorous of spots to be tied up, pity as we do spend quite a lot of our time here.  There is the one pub a short walk away the World's End, so called because it was usually the last building that convicts being transported to Australia would see before they set off for the other side of the world.  There is a regular ferry to take passengers over to the South side of the river at Gravesend, site of the once naval training school for merchant seamen that was established on a floating tall ship.
Today was a trip down river to Southend on Sea, which it is when the tide is in, and then onto Margate to drop off and then pick up passengers for a trip round the coast to look at North Foreland light then back here to Tilbury.  We have glamorous company as the tall ship Stavros Niachros is berthed just downriver from us.
A good day with pleasant weather, lets hope that this keeps up for the next few weeks, it does make life and profits so much easier.

London and the Thames

It seems that we have been here for weeks, though in reality it was only two days ago when we first arrived at Tower Pier here in the centre of London.  We didn't manage to do our full schedule yesterday, the call to Clacton on Sea was called off due to the forecast high winds, our passengers were all dropped off at Southend and had the prospect of 6 hours to visit the town.

We went out to anchor and came back in to pick them up.  Southend has the longest pier in the world at slightly over one and a half miles, so long it has a little train that runs the length of it.  Our passengers being a punctual lot were all standing by, a good 45 minutes early and freezing in the cold northerly winds.  The Lifeboat shop at the pier end would have been doing good business anyway.

Today sees us back to Southend and then onto Whitstable on the Kent coast with time ashore for all.  We already have 600 passengers booked from here, so it's going to be a busy day.

Hello Waverley & Goodbye Capt. Andy

I'm back on board the Paddle Steamer Waverley sailing as Chief Officer. Before joining today I have been enjoying the hospitality of Captain Ian Clark and his wife for the last couple of days at his home in Kent.  As well soaking in the glorious summer weather down here we visited Canterbury Cathedral, had a hot tub soak and a ride through the Kent countryside as passenger on the back of Ian's Harley Davidson.

At 5:30 this morning we set off for Portsmouth to join Waverley at the Wightlink ferry terminal in Portsmouth.  Unfortunately the glorious summer weather had become steady rain with a stiff SW breeze behind it.  Once underway and clear of the harbour Captain Andy had somehow managed to wangle a free lift from the coastguard to take him ashore.  Here's the photo as proof of him being hoisted on board.

We then set off for Worthing Pier and despite the choppy seas and moderate swell picked up 200+ passengers for the run down to Dover where we arrived about 20:30.  It took a tad longer to get alongside because of "Yokahama" fenders in the way at the berth and then getting everyone ashore up the one gangway but we were safely tied up and clear by 21:00 about and hour and half late. 

Tomorrow it is round the corner and up to the centre of London, forecast isn't great but we hope that we'll be in the sheltered waters in time before it starts to blow. Goodnight from Dover.

Haul Out Day

After a bumpy night in the Marina due to the strong NW wind, the day
opened with lots of sunshine. Off to the sailmakers to drop off all
the sails and covers to be checked over and washed ready for next year
and then I moved the boat up to the haul out berth.

As I don't have a cradle, and use props to keep the boat upright on
the hard standing, I have to have the mast removed in case it causes
the boat to move about in a high wind. I also think that it is a
sensible maintenance item as it gives me an opportunity to check all
of the rigging and other more inaccessible parts of the mast.

Once the mast is off the boat is moved into the dock to allow the
hoist to drive over the top and place the slings under the hull. The
positions for the slings are marked on the boat so there is no doubt
as to the best place to fit them. Once out the water the hull is
given a pressure wash down to get rid of the inevitable slime that
builds up on the hull. It looks very clean, more so than usual, maybe
all the sailing has polished it up along the way.

When that's done the whole lift with boat moves over to the hard
standing area and the boat is adjusted so that it is upright with a
little stern trim to make the rain water run away. The chocks are
placed all round and wedged off to keep them tight. Once everyone is
happy then weight is taken off the slings and the boat is resting on
the keel and kept upright with the props.

And that's it for another season. Lots of stuff to take off and
wash/dry, including the never once used Cruising Chute. Next year,
eh, less wind next year and more downhill sailing, always next year.

No langoustines or scallops for us

Julie & Lynne for crew. We intended berthing at Tarbert to sample Prentice Seafood's finest so set off down the Largs Channel in a stiff West to North West, with one reef in the main and a handkerchief of the genoa rolled out. Once clear of Little Cumbrae it was clear that the seas and wind direction were against us, making for a long haul up Loch Fyne.  A few minutes of banging into the seas and general agreement that we are not for this so we bore off to starboard and headed up towards Rothesay and the East Kyle.  A great sail up to the Burnt Isles and off west to Black Foreland Bay, opposite Tighnabruaich, for a peaceful night at anchor.

 

Sunday opens with lots of sunshine and a beautiful view towards Loch Riddon, the mountains are turning brown from the hill tops down the slopes; autumn is closing in. A little breeze from the North West and we sailed all the way back to Largs in the freshening wind pushing us along at up to 8 knots.  Past 50 odd Clyde Cruising Club yachts, motoring the other way to meet up at Wreck Bay for their Sail Past muster.  Our other sight was a large pale grey dolphin that came speeding past a couple of times leaving us standing.

 

Arriving at the Largs Channel we're met by 150 Topper dinghies sailing up channel at the start of their race to windward.  Tied up in the marina, we took the opportunity to remove the sails and boom, yes that is the end of our season for 2010.  Earlier than usual but I'm off to the other vessel in my life, dear old Waverley up and down the Thames for three weeks.  I'll keep on blogging though, still out on the water. A fantastic weekend sailing and a great end to the year, distances for the two days was 47' and for this season a total of 950'.

Rounding the first mark

Underway

Colintraive reception

This was the weekend of the Euroyacht Fun Race from Largs to Colintraive.  It was organised as a pursuit race with a staggered start so the slowest boats start first and the fastest last, based on their handicap.  As to the result, well in horse racing terminology Tarawa "also ran".  Saying that we were 7th out of 10 mainly because I mucked up the start and was about 3 minutes late getting across the line. It was a gusty old wind at the start so I had put a reef into the main, which was needed when we were in the Largs Channel, but then once out into the Firth the wind dropped so we lost a bit of time with it in and then shaking it out.  It was a run all the way to Colintraive in the SE'ly and we managed to overtake three other boats on the way, then the whole fleet was overtaken by the last boat to start, a Sun Fast 40 which just left everyone standing and was first over the line and hence won. 

Great reception ashore at the Colintraive Hotel with a buffet and lots of Loch Fyne beer before the prize-giving, for the night we moved round to Wreck Bay and had a quiet night there at anchor in the shelter of Bute.  This morning the 06:00 forecast was SE'ly 5 or 6 increasing 8 so we upped anchor and bashed into it via the Tang Channel at Millport.  The wind was getting up all the way so it justified the early start, we were back alongside at Largs by 11:00.

Thanks to Angus and David from Euroyachts for organising everything and for the great reception, and also to Julie and Lynne for crewing and putting up with me.