DAY ELEVEN - WHITEHAVEN TO LAMLASH, ARRAN

The "Teal" team - Dick, Lucy and Si

Leaving the Whitehaven Marina this morning feels like a very long time ago - we are now 118 nautical miles away in Scotland!  Departing the lock was an eery experience, the whole workings of the lock fascinated me, so if you aren't excited by things mechanical, definitely skip the videos!

On board "ConTTentment" - Anthony and David (& the photographer!)

Once we were out of Whitehaven Marina and away, we again had the sea on the nose and a rough, choppy ride across the Solway Firth towards the Mull of Galloway.  A steady westerly was blowing, force 4-5, with conditions worsening all the time.  We received a securite call on the radio from the Liverpool Coast Guard with a Force 8 gale warning being issued for the Irish Sea.  By now we were being hit by some biggish waves, and visibility was decreasing steadily.  What was slightly unnerving was that with a lot of water hitting the console, the Garmin screen kept closing out, and worse still, having hit the bottom of a big wave heavily the engine was sounding odd as well.   Anthony made the sensible decision to make a run for land, and we used the Garmin to plot a course to the nearest harbour, which was Drummore.  En route, we passed the aptly named "Scarey Rocks", wicked looking and jagged they loomed ominously from the middle of the sea, and as we jarred and jolted our way slowly towards the sanctuary of Drummore, fortunately the sea began to flatten out.  We decided to continue into the harbour to re-group, and reassess the situation with regards to the weather.  The engine had sorted itself out now, and was sounding fine.  At Drummore, a call was made to the Coast Guard for the latest updated weather report.  Although there were some strong winds forecast in some areas, it sounded as though we were going to be all right, and on looking at the wind direction and our proposed route we reckoned that once we had rounded the headland and tackled the associated tidal race, we should have the wind at our backs and potentially a good run to Arran.  Anthony and Simon earmarked a few possible bolt holes should we decide to abandon the plan, and we headed across the bay to round the headland, which was, as expected, rough going.
We quickly went from a mixture of frustration and fatigue to complete elation, as once we were away from the race, the conditions improved immensely and we were soon surfing at a steady 25 knots, sometimes more, with the sea directly behind us.  It was very exhilerating, and there were some happy "boy racers" on board!  The two man helm was used again to maximise the good conditions, as with two hands on the wheel the helmsman can really capitalise on the sea conditions and keep up on top of the waves, whilst a good speed can be kept up by the person on the throttle.

David Bertie approaching Ailsa Craig

With conditions now so good, we chose to cut the corner across the outer Firth of Clyde and make a more direct route towards Arran rather than hugging the Scottish coast on our starboard side.  The very conspicuous island, Ailsa Craig, appeared on the horizon, and as we were now making good time we decided to stop and explore.

....which is exactly what we did!

Ailsa Craig is where blue hone granite is quarried for making curling stones.  Now a bird sanctuary, it is home to a huge population of gannets and increasingly, puffins.  We saw a flock of gannets in a frenzy of feeding as we left the island, feasting on a school of fish, alongside some porpoises.  The island is also home to some incredibly curious seals who were not at all shy of approaching our boats for a good look as we came alongside.
After spending half and hour wandering and exploring, we headed off once again towards Arran, now tantalizingly close.  Sea conditions remained perfect and we managed good speed, virtually to the door!  I am starting to feel very excited at the prospect of being in Scottish territory, which was very much in evidence as we approached Holy Island off Arran, with a typically Scottish silhouette of mountains behind.

"Teal" approaches Lamlash, Arran

Again, enough thanks cannot be given to the harbour masters we encounter along the way. At Lamlash the harbour master is carting the fuel cans to the local petrol station in his truck for refuelling in the morning, as well as giving us free moorings, and ferrying us out to our boats.
We are now very much exploring new territory, and we are all looking forward to a much more sedate pace tomorrow exploring the beautiful Crinan Canal.

Distance travelled:  118 nautical miles
Time travelling:  6 hours 53 minutes
Average speed:  16.5 knots
Total trip:  827 nautical miles