Friday- The Day of Everything

Up at seven again excited by the wind which had appeared over night we ate and dressed as fast as we could. Unfortunately this was not quick enough for Ian or David who seemed more desperate to get sailing than us. As quick as we could the whole crew was scurrying on deck getting the anchor up and four sails out. We soon realised the rush of wind was fantastic powering the boat along at 9.1kts (the boat’s top speed is 9.4). Poor Peter was at the wheel doing a great job of trying to tame the beast! We flew along the East Shore of Arran and for the first time out of sight of land. The waves increased along with the wind and we had to reduce the mainsail to make the boat more controllable. During this time Jack and Avraneel found out that the galley is great fun to try and prepare drinks and food in - whilst at sea with everything at an odd angle. The boat was turned when we there was a clear line to pass Pladda up into the Kilbrannan sound. This involved us all pulling on sheets and releasing winches to get the sails onto the other tack so we could sail with the wind on the other side. However, once we were further up the sound the dreaded calm descended again causing the boat to slow so much the engine had to be put on. Happily, about three minutes later the wind came back and the engine was off again. We plodded slowly northwards having to tack our way up the channel to make progress in to the head wind. Sid was great at this finding just the right angle to balance the boat speed against making progress. We had lunch of jacket potatoes on deck as we went.

 

Once we were cleaned up after

lunch we did four man-over-board practises, becoming a well oiled machine at recovering Bob (a fender with a bit of rope attached) back on board. Just to add some spice to it the last two were performed in the force-six wind that had appeared from nowhere. It was now getting late so the cooking crew went below and prepared a fantastic curry which we again ate on deck drifting lazily along (the illusive wind had disappeared again). In a sudden spurt of wildlife, we saw a a flock of Gannets that were diving into the sea and even some

Porpoises just before East Loch Tarbet. The chocolate fondue pudding went down a storm just as it was going dark. The last six miles to our anchorage was exciting as the light had faded and we had to navigate the boat in darkness. We followed a channel marked only by buoys with lights on them, keeping our eyes peeled for lobster pot buoys in the water. David motored Tenacity into a sheltered little spot in Loch Gair, where we promptly went to bed. A great day of 70 miles, force-eight winds, and fierce sailing to make up for yesterday!

Read more about Sail Training on board Tenacity of Bolton at http://www.tenacityofbolton.org/