A G Cameron

Checkout was remarkably straightforward although navigating through the construction yard to get to the customs office was a challenge. After clearing the decks and stowing any loose items Brioni raised the anchor and we motor-sailed north-east out of the bay at around 1400. We've started on a roughly 4- hour watch pattern. That gives everyone 8 hours off but it's interesting getting to sleep inside a washing machine. With 20 knot winds and 2.5m waves that's what it was like! After a glitch in an electronic alarm system led to dash up top i had a brief episode of seasickness. Some fresh breeze and a dramamine took care of that and probably helped me sleep too. Day 2 Rinse and repeat. On watch 0200 to 0600. Several squalls requird sail changes accordingly. Wind still generally 20-25 knots and the sea swell 2.5m so we now had one reef in the main and 2 in the genoa. It was a relief to see the sky brightening in the east as sunrise approached. Next watch conditions had calmed down a lot to 10 - 15 knots and 1.5-2m swell. Time to fly the "Kraken", a custom asymmetric spinnaker which pulled us along at 8 knots instead of the 5 knots we had been doing. By sunset the wind had freshened again so we altered course to windward and set genoa and main sails for night running. After a hot meal, bed, to rest before another early morning watch. On approach to Minerva Reef two other sailing vessels appeared on the horizon. We flew the Fachan to get up some speed but couldn't quite get ahead so we finally dropped the anchor in 5m inside Minerva Reef.

So this is the end of the 2025 season as we've major works planned and a crewing trip with Sailing Red Seas coming up. A quick dash to Rhu to fill up with their very nice diesel then back to RB Marine to be hauled out and tucked up in the yard.

Last chance for a proper sail before hauling out for the winter. Also a chance to enjoy an excellent lunch at The Blairmore in... Blairmore! Conditions were good with a fairly steady WNW F4 but our outward passage was stalled when one of His Majesty's nuclear submarines surfaced ahead of us. After heaving to for 20 minutes we decided to track south of the boat, which was now doing doughnuts, so that we could make our way up the west side of the loch. That kept us well clear of the sub and its attendant tugs, police and Royal Marines escort. Arrival off Blairmore was made more exciting by a dragging anchor and the failure of the remote for the electric windlass due to a dead battery! After plugging in the wired remote and resetting the anchor the new dinghy and a high tide made landfall relatively simple. After lunch the return trip was a breeze (literally) with only one gybe and a short stretch on engine to moor up.

Final muster of the 2025 season for the Scottish Moody Owners Association. Kip would normally be an easy sail but beating into today's fickle conditions was exhilarating and exhausting. Peak wind speed was 25 knots but others reported 30 and still another 15. It just depends on where you were and when. The MOA are a very sociable bunch and proceedings kicked off with a wine reception aboard Blue Max, a Moody DS45. Plenty of room for the 36 sailors who came along. Tomorrow we'll see another 18 who aren't sailing but will join for the craic. Actually we're here for the visit to the whisky distillery tomorrow but 'here for the whisky' doesn't scan so well ;-)

The plan was to take a quick trip out to the Sugar Boat, drop the hook, have some lunch, and head back. In the event conditions were too rough so after hitting 6kts in force 5 winds I headed back to our home mooring and had lunch there. This was slightly disappointing considering the number of tacks I'd had to make while heading upwind but it was great sailing fun!

Grabbing a weather window to get some sailing in before the end of the month. Chris kindly agreed to crew and helmed us expertly all the way to Holy Loch and back including some pinpoint accurate docking and mooring. Winds were almost perfect with up to 15kts true giving us plenty of time well heeled at hull speed. The only dull spots were exiting and entering the Gareloch. £7.50 for 2 hours alongside at Holy Loch wasn't ruinously expensive but a bit annoying considering that we only came ashore to have some lunch in the marina itself. Lunch at the Holy Loch Coffee Shop was excellent by the way.

Just a little bimble about the bay because it's so frustrating seeing a boat and some wind and not using it! Stayed to the east on the way out to avoid a dinghy regatta out of Helensburgh Sailing Club but didn't head further because there was a nasty-looking rain cloud sitting over Greenock. So we turned back and drifted along with the wind back to the mooring. There then ensued an embarrassing attempt at mooring under sail which totally failed! Worse than that, after starting the engine it took another 3 attempts before we were secure. I blame the gusty wind...

Hopes of a good day's sailing, buoyed by more than one forecast, were soon dashed by a fickle force 2. Although we did manage to raise sails off Hunterston it was slow going. The last straw came after 4 tacks trying to pass Inverkip jetty and SOG dropped to 0.8 knots before Cloch lighthouse. On the positive side it didn't rain and the Waverley was taking on passengers at Largs as we passed. 7 hours after dropping the mooring in Millport we were secure on our home mooring and heading for a long, hot shower. Lovely!

Something weird happened in the middle of the night! Lamlash is known to be exposed to swell when the wind is from the east but this was something else. About 0330 I woke to a violent rocking motion. There was no wind so at first I thought this was a tidal effect but after an hour it still hadn't stopped so I got up to investigate. I wasn't the only one as a forest of cabin lights and a rumble of engines showed. 5 hours later we were still being tossed about in a 1-1.5m swell so we weighed anchor and left. It was another hour before the sea had moderated enough for us to make breakfast and a further hour before any useful wind appeared. Conditions gradually improved until we sailed into the wind shadow of Wee Cumbrae and had to start the engine again. The entrance to the new Millport harbour is remarkably easy from the south so we were soon tied up and having a late brunch in the Garrison House cafe.

From Tarbert to Lamlash was supposed to be a gentle sail in F3 breeze from the south west. Of course, that forecast was wildly inaccurate as usual and we spent the first 2.5 hours motoring before the wind filled in from the north! However that did give us a very gentle, if rolly, downwind sail, hitting nearly 5kts under genoa alone over the Arran measured mile. Lamlash was as pretty as ever and we were glad we had arrives early as the moorings and the Anchorage filled up quickly. Some vessels seemed a little too close for comfort but in the calm conditions no one was swinging wildly. On Saturday we took the spectacular service bus to Lagg distillery for lunch and a dram or three. Lagg is very new, having only started producing spirit in 2019, and seems a somewhat industrial in its approach to whisky-making. But they are very aware of the history of whisky in the area and the setting, and the building design, are jaw-droppingly gorgeous, so they are well worth visiting. The food is good too! The next day we went in the other direction, to Brodick Castle, former home of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton and latterly the Duchess of Montrose. The Castle and grounds are now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and they do a good job of telling the story of the people and the place. There are unexpected connections with the Emperor Napoleon and with Prince Albert of Monaco, who both visited the castle.