55 51.00 N, 05 23.02 W

After an incredibly easy journey from Cambridge we arrived back at Troon Marina. Surprisingly the fresh vegetables left behind for 3 weeks were not all that rotten, only a few needing consigned to the bin. This was encouraging given how long we may be at sea for with no recourse to the shops! Peter joined us in unexpected circumstances and helped with one final check – removing the saloon table to examine the state of Awelina’s main fuel tank. We left Troon in good humour though and headed for the patch of cloud hiding Goat Fell on Arran. Since there were 3 of us we decided to go through the Crinan canal so we headed up towards Loch fine and anchored on the west side about 5 miles S of Tarbert in a small deserted bay. During the sail John Hudson tried a transmission of a weather fax with poor results – lots of noise from continental stations although we could hear voice clearly. After this it was necessary to reschedule to try again tomorrow and wash away the damp outside with a whisky chaser before bed. Tomorrow we need to get up early to arrive at the sea lock at Ardrishaig for the first opening if we are to get through in one day.

Peter models his new “ice boots”