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| Dead
calm in Millport, beautiful morning |
The next morning the sea was flat calm again, it was bright
and sunny and gave no hints of the weather install for us today. We released
the mooring buoy and motored out of the bay.
We headed south passed the
Hunterston nuclear power station with its bubbling water coolant outlet. We
passed the 2 deep water piers – unfortunately no sign of basking sharks today –
and an hour into the journey the wind started to pick up, so we set sails and
ran close hauled for a while straight into the wind.
A dark line appeared in
the sea in front of us and its always a sign the wind is going to do something
different ahead. As we reached the dark line the wind veered round and picked
up in strength. The sea was also starting to get rougher and soon we were
fighting an overpowered boat with loads of weather-helm.
Never one to suffer too long, we rounded up and pulled in a
reef, the boat straightened up and the weather-helm was righted, we still
achieved more than 6 knots and making good ground.
 |
| Millport |
The sea became choppier and
then the rain started and stayed with us all the way to Troon. The visibility
dropped to less than a mile and it was difficult to judge how far we had left
to travel as we had lost sight of land.
We sailed on and eventually found the outer harbour walls of Troon. The
entrance is a bit small in a swelly sea and there is an awkward entrance
following the buoys but once inside the water calms and after travelling through the outer harbour, with its fishing vessels and commercial traffic, the
marina opens up.
 |
More visions of Millport
|
On a marina pontoon, waiting to take our lines, was a member
of the marina staff. As she stood there in the pouring rain it felt very welcoming
and Troon marina proved to be a little treasure trove in many ways.
We treated ourselves to a proper Sunday lunch in their
marina restaurant, which is so popular you had to book a table, but they give
priority to the boating crews and it was nice to be out of the elements.
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| This
is what the visitor mooring look like |
 |
| The
clew of our mainsail looking a bit shabby |
 |
| West Kilbride |
Just
shows you just can’t take the weather for granted, it can turn in an instant
and when you are out at sea it’s difficult to run for shelter.
We headed south passed the
Hunterston nuclear power station with its bubbling water coolant outlet. We
passed the 2 deep water piers – unfortunately no sign of basking sharks today –
and an hour into the journey the wind started to pick up, so we set sails and
ran close hauled for a while straight into the wind. 
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