Lurking from the weather, Port Bannatyne

In common with most of the UK we have experienced very strong winds and heavy rain over the past few days. On Saturday morning the forecast for Saturday night and Sunday was for winds gusting to force 8 and rain showers with winds gusting to force 10 on Sunday night and Monday so we decided to return to the marina at Port Bannatyne to ride out the storm tied to a reasonably sheltered pontoon where we could get ashore.
As Saturday was the calm before the storm we opted to make the most of the sailing and sail as far as we could up Loch Scriven, which is steep sided with deep water up to the edge of the loch and dramatic hills. With a westerly wind which got up to 10 knots in the East Kyle we were able to hoist full sail and turn off the engine as soon as we had passed the Colintraive ferry. Down the Kyle was a pleasant broad reach followed by a gybe and reach into Loch Scriven.

Loch Scriven backdrop

Some rare blue sky!

Because of the steep sides in the loch the wind became very light and variable but we weren't in any hurry so coasted along up as far as Ardbeg Point, about 2/3 of the way up the 7 mile long loch. With the loch narrowing at this point the wind became extremely fluky so rather than disturb the peace by resorting to the engine we turned round to sail back towards Port Bannatyne.

Beating out of Loch Scriven under full sail, windy high level clouds Indicate what is to come.

Sailing back the wind shifted towards the South, varying from S to SW, starting at 13knots and gradually building to 17knots giving us a good beat to windward with no reefs in the sails for a change. We were moored in Port Bannatyne by 1800 and got the cockpit cover on ready for the oncoming storm. When we settled down and checked the Internet we found that Hugh Kilpatrick from "Sarah" had emailed us pictures of us sailing when we passed them in the West Kyle on Friday. As we don't often get pictures of "Lacerta" under sail I can't resist putting a couple into the blog.

Lacerta with 1 reef in the main and a reefed Genoa.

Beating up the West Kyle.

True to form, on Sunday the wind was blowing hard with strong gusts in heavy rain squalls. Nevertheless there were enough clear patches between the squalls for us to walk across to the West side of the island to Ettrick Bay, where we sat out a heavy hail squall in the Ettrick tea rooms with tea and huge slices of cake, Debbie's banoffee pie nearly defeated her but she bravely struggled through to the end of it! Good job we had a 3 mile walk back!

Threatening sky towards Ettrick Bay. The track is the line of the old tramway, which was closed when buses took over in the 1930's.

Monday was a horrendous day. Heavy rains and strong gusty winds kept us on board all day, the rain only easing off in the evening long enough for us to walk to the Post Inn for a pint and a bit of socialising. During the day Debbie hit the computer and phone with FLP business and David stripped and serviced the main halliards and sheet winches so the day wasn't wasted.
Today the wind was still strong though easing down from overnight and the rain squalls were fewer. As we needed to stock up with fruit, bread and milk we jumped on the bus to shop in Rothesay, 3 miles away. As well as the Co-op, (the Co-op seems to have a monopoly on supermarkets in the Western Isles), Rothesay boasts such delights as a fully preserved, original, Victorian gents toilet with original urinals and plumbing, 30p for a tour, including the ladies, interrupted every time a man came in to actually use the facility!
We opted not to pay for a visit inside Rothesay Castle, a good move as we found that the Bute Discovery centre, on the sea front, had all the information on the castle and lots more, all for free! There was some fascinating film footage of Rothesay in the 1950's, when steamers delivered holiday makers in their hundreds from Glasgow, sometimes racing each other to be first alongside the pier and cutting each other up, culminating in the captains being fined for reckless navigation! Good job that the CalMac ferry captains are more disciplined. Included among the ships in the film was the, then relatively new, paddle steamer, "Waverley", still plying her trade around the UK coasts.
Looking at the old pictures of Rothesay and Port Bannatyne you realist that, apart from the marina at Port Bannatyne and at the dock by the ferry terminal at Rothesay, very little has changed in both towns. The buildings along the sea front are exactly as they were years ago, it's like a step back in time.
While looking at the castle exterior we found, across the road, the Coffee Stop cafe, just the thing for a coffee and a warm up. We were surprised to hear Essex voices in the cafe, Richard and Kim, husband and wife owners, had moved to Rothesay 8 years ago and served excellent coffee and locally made cakes, really good value, so much so that we returned for a late lunch of soup and freshly made sandwich.
We look to be having a quieter spell of weather for the next few days so we plan to head up the Clyde to visit Holy Loch, Loch Goil and Loch Long, ending up in James Watt Dock Marina at the weekend where Debbie's next delivery from FLP should be waiting for us.

Posted with Blogsy