Tarbert to Girvan, 2nd August

We had a great evening with John and his family who entertained us to a full sit down meal and good company. Thank you very much guys and I hope John and I didn't bore you too much with our endless blathering about GK29s. I learned an interesting fact during the evening. People have often asked me why the boat is a GK29 and I haven't known the answer. Well now I do. When the designer was asked what he was going to call it and his reply was "God knows". Apocryphal perhaps but a good story.
We left Tarbert at 8 the next morning in glorious sunshine for our 42 mile trip down the east coast of Aran and on to Girvan on the South coast of the Firth of Clyde. We had the most fantastic sail of the trip yet. A beam reach in 10 to 20kn of wind, sunshine although still not warm and a calm sea, averaging about 6kn all the way. Fab! And for the first time in over a month it failed to rain on us for a whole 24 hours! Big smiles all round. We had a twitchy moment on the way as a large RFA ship was bearing down on us on a collision course. I trusted that as she was RFA ther would be a good lookout and she would take the appropriate action and give way to us. She got closer and closer and I was just about to tack away when her aspect changed and she altered course to pass astern of us. I don't like it when it get's that close but hurrah for the RFA and Coll. Regs. (The rules governing rights of way at sea.)
I spoke to David White on air at BBC Radio Cornwall and I know a lot of people heard it as a result of me being able to forewarn Sally who contacted everyone and told them to listen. I'll probably do an update again next week if they can stand me chuntering on the radio again.
We arrived in Girvan a day early due to not going round the top of Scotland and because of a planned crew change the next day had to stay in the harbour and lose the day we had in hand. We lost Mark Bonner and gained Mark Sawyer (Yeti) But not a bad thing as it turned out as the wind was southerly all that day and the next - not much good for sailing south - so we are actually stuck here in Girvan until Sunday lunchtime when the wind goes round to the West and I'm hoping to have a good reach down to Port St. mary on the Isle of Man and then onward to Holyhead and Wales. It feels really good to be making passage south towards home. Only about 10 days to go now.
I must give a big mention to the Coxwain and mechanic of the Girvan lifeboat who is also the harbourmaster here. Rod Leitch is a top bloke and has many tales to tell of lifeboats and derring-do upon the high seas. But, God, can he blather! He has no off switch, but it's all interesting stuff and what he doesn't know about the local waters isn't worth knowing. There are no facilities here in the harbour but he has very kindly let us use the showers in the lifeboat station and I'm writing this on the computer in his office. Big thanks to you Rod.
I met up with Heather yesterday. She's someone I know from Fowey and now lives here in Girvan and she let me use her bath. Oooh! How good did that feel. I lay for hours in hot water and just luxuriated. The only thing that was missing was a big soft bed to crawl into after the bath. I can't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed with a warm wife to cuddle.
Speaking of Sally, she called me yesterday to say that her little sitting room in the studio had been flooded by a broken pipe. I felt completely helpless and unable to do anything to sort it out. JL and Joe went round and heaved out the carpet and furniture but it still leaves Sal with nowhere to escape to while the builders are in gutting the ground floor of the house. Just what we didn't need.
So, another enforced day off in Girvan. There are a lot of pubs here so perhaps a half in each one to get the tally up, but it's looking like the Shandy Swilling Softie from Hartlepool (you know who you are) will win, unless we can get in some really Olympic standard drinking done in the next week or so.
I must let Rod have his computer back, so love to all and I'll try to get something up when we get to IoM.
PS Dave the barman is back and is stocktaking today so the on-board bar is shut, which means we'll have to go to the pub.