An unpleasant Start

We woke a little early and started moving. Alison had remembered last thing yesterday that we needed to rearrange the rope on the ladder so both ends were above water at high tide. Whew. They were only one rung out of the water this morning.

Alison prepared the boat and I went up the ladder and dropped the power cable and the bow and stern lines down.

We were ready to go, except for the ladder line, by the time the engine had warmed up. I pulled the stern in and let go the ladder and Alison expertly manoeuvred us round the tight corner out of the inner harbour.

So far, so good.

The sea state didn't look any worse than the conditions in the outer harbour, so we carried on and I went to the fore deck to get the bowsprit out and the jib bent on.

We had meant to get the cover off the staysail before leaving, but had forgotten.

As we got into the narrow, rocky, entrance, Alison shouted that there was very little power coming from the engine. But we were committed now, with no room to turn around. We would have to get out if we wanted to get in again.

The sea state in the entrance wasn't what we expected. A short chop was coming straight in, making Robinetta pitch uncomfortably.

I got the bowsprit out, but Alison was desperate to have the staysail to give us a bit more speed. Getting the cover off was hard work. I was hanging on tight with my upper arms while the boat pitched and I tried to undo the clips and the zip. Even getting the halyard shackled on was fraught with the risk of dropping the pin.

I managed.

Alison got the sail up and it did pull. We got up from 1 1/2 to maybe 2 knots, and gradually got out of the entrance into safe water. But the sea was still pitching Robinetta violently.

I got the jib on eventually, and the staysail and jib covers dropped through the fore hatch. The port hinge is coming loose again.

I had two ropes and two fenders up at the bow. I managed to pass the fenders and one hanked rope back to the cockpit and tied the other rope around my waist and to the lines running across the cabin top and made my way back.

It had taken 1/2 an hour and it hadn't been easy.

The cockpit was crowded with ropes and fenders. Alison had been just as busy steering as I had been. I got the remaining ropes hanked and that helped a lot. Alison could now move over so I could get everything stowed.

We got on course. Now we were rolling, rather than pitching. The engine was working now. Perhaps the prop had caught some weed and it had slipped off.

OK. There was a decent wind. We got the main up, keeping the small reef in to balance the no 2 jib. It was a beam reach. Life was getting better. We turned the engine off. 

By 7am we were sailing nicely towards Corsewall Point.  I checked a few options. Arran still seemed nearest, apart from Girvan, which was now too close.

Lamlash came first, but the moorings at Brodick are free, and Brodick Bay is more sheltered from the southerly winds we expect.

Soon, we could see Ailsa Craig beyond the end of the headland. 

The wind was dropping and Alison had promised to switch jibs if we needed to. I thought we did. We changed jibs before shaking out the reef so I had the smaller main while we only had the staysail to balance the sail plan. 

Once past Corsewall Point, the wind backed and we were broad reaching. We could not point directly towards the east coast of Arran but we had plenty of time for long boards between gybes.

I spotted a dolphin in the far distance jumping vertically way out of the water three times. Later, we were visited by a small pod, but they didn't stay to play. 

The wind came and went, but it was often strong enough to want to put reefs back in, and then light enough to shake them out again. The seas were always lively. 

We gybed around Ailsa Craig and then towards the Pladda light.

We expected to gybe again, but we were able to just make it round Holy Isle. Maybe we got a little veer, maybe we were just trying really hard.

East of Holy Isle, the wind dropped completely and the sea went smooth. We shook out the reef and waited. Suddenly the wind came in from the west. Then it died again. We could see it on the water a few boat lengths away, so we knew when it was coming.

This was the fun bit of the day. We were only 4 miles from our destination. We had a little really nice beam to fine reaching for an hour.

The it was time to put the engine on, get the sails down, and pick up a mooring in Brodick Bay. We were under sail for 10  hours without the engine. It started a bit stressfully, but it has been a good day.