Leaving Ardfern for Gigha

The adventures of Chili III
Peter & Belinda Vernon
Sun 8 Jul 2018 10:31
56:11.0N  005:31.6W
 
This is the the first entry telling the story of our 2018 summer voyage from Ardfern near Oban on the west coast of Scotland to Galica in NW Spain via Ireland.
 
We left Ardfern Marina in Argyll on 8th July. We've been well looked after by the boatyard which must be the best on the west coast of Scotland. Over the winter we'd had various upgrades done including a new furling staysail to make it easier to change sails when we need to go upwind in strong winds, a water maker to make us more self sufficient, davits on the stern for easy dinghy launching the and a sat. phone mainly to get weather when at sea. So good to set off and try them out.
 
We decided to have a short test sail to Gigha, a lovely island off the Mull of Kintyre with an outstanding seafood restaurant on the quayside , "The Boathouse." We ended up motoring most of the way but were rewarded with a fabulous dinner. That night yours truly planned our passage to Cork (never a good idea after a good bottle of Muscadet between us.) I decided we needed to leave at 0600 to catch the tide through the North Channel between the Mull of Kintyre and Ireland so we set an alarm for 0500....
 
55:40N 005:44.0W