It was 5 days of swells that ranged from 2 to 8 ft coming at our stern quarter with the random rogue thrown in from any direction just for excitement. These random waves would sometimes throw water all over the boat, sound like we hit a bus, or try to spin the boat around at the very moment you finally let go of that something you have been holding on to for the last 30 mins. Yes- it was a bit rough.



The AIS once again proved to be a fantastic aid with helping to keep track of the commercial traffic and dodge the fishing fleets, but we still had to keep sharp eyes out for the occasional sets of fishing gear.

Throw in a couple of gales that were rated at force 5 or better and another expected at force 8 but I don't know if it actually got up that high. We slowed down at one point to let a system pass by and just caught the fringes of it. Our highest wind speed got up to 38. We stayed prepared for bad weather in any case and ran conservatively the whole time. In storm set, and only the main staysail up we were just scooting along at 8~9 kts and having a great time. Other times we had all sorts of sails up, down, partially reefed, but nothing stayed static. We got plenty of exercise. The winds stayed behind us which put us reaching out quite a bit but we had preventers on everything so there were no sudden surprises. When heading forward you really had to keep an eye out for these trip lines running all over the decks but they did provide for plenty of handholds to grab on the way by.



Our course would take us straight across the Bay of Biscay, over to hug the coast of Ireland to duck of some of the crazy waves, then right up the St George's Channel, past Isle of Man, then finally into the Firth of Clyde. Even with the gale warnings coming in over the radio we just pressed on. There weren't very many convenient places or times to stop(we draw 10.5 feet and most places are too shallow). We got into a good rhythm and felt there wasn't a weather window behind us that would allow us to get back out again for another week. So we kept going.

We got all the way up to the Firth of Clyde early Sat morning and pulled into Lamlash Bay on the Isle of Arran for a look(as a dive-in). All info in our guides said only a few lines about it but it looked plenty deep enough on the charts. The weather was going bad again right in front of us and the timing couldn't have been any more worse to run out on deck. We barely saw the entrance, a bit of the shore, picked a spot and dropped anchor. We were all up on deck in the wind, insane rain, bitter cold and even hail! Inside this little gem of a harbor the water was flat and exactly what we were looking for and once we secured the deck and went below we grabbed some well deserved rest. It rained and howled most of the day but we didn't care. We woke up the next morning to clear-sunny skies, green rolling hills, and a postcard perfect morning on the shores of a seaside village. Apparently we found our very own Brigadoon and we were transported back in time.



We first planned to stay that day, launch the t/t and go explore the little magical town a bit, but also mainly straighten up the boat before heading over to Largs. Now that we could see, we upped the anchor to motor over closer to the village and see if we could get cell service. We needed to call our Marina over in Largs to let them know we were in the area. We were greeted with the response "We have been expecting you and will have your dock cleared by the time you get over". Dang... Secure for sail again! Apparently quite a few here are watching us on AIS too.

We shook all the sails out. Yep- everything went up. It was justified that the sails all needed drying out, but it also happened to shape into a perfect day with a nice breeze, and we could always use the hoisting/dowsing drills yet once again. In reality, we didn't come halfway around the globe to show off our motoring skills! The wind lasted most of the trip across the but eventually died down to barely a nary a whisp in the end. There were plenty of people out and about on the water also enjoying this Sunday afternoon and giving us friendly waves none the less.

There are several other Fife's already here and more showing up about every other day. I now reflect back on our run up from Gib and after hearing what some of the other boats went through on their way up it sounds like we picked the perfect window to do it. Those before us, as well as those behind us, seem to be getting more than their share of extra rough weather.

Now safely tied up in Largs Yacht Haven, there has been a constant flow of admirers coming down the dock even tho we are still picking up after our battle and looking like a total disaster. Every person has been delighted and flat out happy to see us. Fife fans or not, these must be the most friendly people in the world.

Astor has officially returned. No time for rest tho. We have some cleaning to do.