The sail from Gigha to Ardfern Yacht Centre on Loch Craignish was one of the best we have had. We hoisted the mainsail while we were on the mooring at Ardminish Bay, sailed off the mooring and, apart from a few minutes when the wind failed us part way through the day, the engine did not go on until we were ready to drop the sails at Ardfern.
We were sailing in flat water with the wind on the beam at 15 knots or thereabouts, the tide was either slack, or in our favour, so it was a quick passage.
We had a few rain squalls to remind us that we were still in Scotland but other than that it was a good day.
We were berthed in a good spot in the marina and an engineer was with us fairly quickly to check what he needed in the morning to fit the new windlass.
All was looking good, or so we thought! Mike, the engineer, arrived at 0800 as promised and started to remove the old windlass. When he was ready to start on the new one he opened the box and called me over with the dreaded words “it isn’t the same as the old one!” A check revealed that the supplier had sent a Lewmar Profish windlass rather than a Lewmar Pro 1000. There was some consternation amongst the Ardfern staff before they checked and confirmed that they had ordered the correct one and it was the suppliers fault.
Luckily they had someone in Glasgow that day who could collect the correct model but it was still going to be Monday before it could be fitted. At least the weather was good and the Ardfern staff and facilities were first class so an enforced break wasn’t too much of a hardship.
Friday afternoon was catch up with the washing and visiting the village shop, something that turned into a regular occurrence over the next couple of days! Willy, one of the Ardfern staff, printed us off some maps of local walks, one of which was a walk between The Galley Of Lorne Inn in Ardfern and the Lord of the Isles pub in Craobh Haven on the other side of the peninsula, a hilly 2.5 miles away. An indulgent Saturday with lunch in the Lord of the Isles and dinner in The Galley Of Lorne became the plan. The walk over, on woodland tracks, was very pleasant, even warm! We did get a bit lost and walked a bit higher than we needed to so were feeling in dire need of sustinence when we arrived.
A beer (lime and soda for Debbie!) and doorstop sandwich followed by ice cream sorted us out for the walk back in the afternoon which was a little easier than our morning efforts.
The sun still shone in the afternoon so we gave the fore cabin a good airing. For the last 2 months it had become the store for walking boots, rucksacks, spare charts and pilot books etc., etc., and was suffering from lack of air circulation. An hour or so in the fresh air and sun had it sorted out!
Sunday was a bit of a domestic day, some more washing, prolonged by a lad hogging the washing machine, replacing empty gas bottles, topping up the spare diesel cans etc. G & T’s with Juliet and Brian, berthed next to us, followed by smoked haddock for dinner, finished the day nicely.
On Monday morning Mike arrived, with the new, correct, windlass and had it fitted and working in no time. We were in no rush because our timing heading north was dictated by getting a fair tide through Dorus Mor, a notorious tidal gate at the end of Loch Craignish, which didn’t happen until the middle of the afternoon.
We were heading for Balvicar, on Seil Island, which is where 6 of us chartered our first yacht, a Verl 27 back in 1977. Look where that’s led us! We hoped for a gentle sail with a favourable tide but the wind faded away and we ended up motoring, picking up a mooring in Balvicar Bay at 18.17, in time for a beer followed by one of Debbie’s sausage and bean casseroles with pasta spirals. A fine end to the day.
Sailing Lacerta 