We had a slow start to the day . Our leisurely 10 o'clock breakfast of fried
eggs, bacon, sausages and beans gave people time to wake up properly and
soon everyone was ready for some shore leave and spent a couple of hours
having a look at Tarbert in the daytime - taking a stroll through town,
going for a run along some of the scenic paths nearby or just sitting
watching the world go by. Some members of mother watch, meanwhile, enjoyed
the delights of the local Co-op as they shopped for the next couple of days.
Lunch was another relaxed affair with the choice of ham and cheese
sandwiches (with a personal sandwich-making service provided for the mate by
Paul Steptoe) on board, or the option to find somewhere ashore.
We set sail immediately after lunch but the lack of wind meant that we spent
most of our time motoring towards our destination of Brodick Bay, with a
short stint of motor-sailing in which the sails were hoisted but didn't
quite provide enough power to keep us moving by themselves! Blue Watch had
the deck all afternoon while Red Watch chilled out and slept down below,
forcing a near mutiny at 6pm when the boys in Blue realised they hadn't been
relieved of their duties and we were nearing our anchorage! Red Watch were
rapidly chivvied on deck to drop sails and set up the anchor.
White Watch spent the entire afternoon preparing for what can only be
described as one of the greatest pleasures of coastal sailing in remote
areas - a beach barbecue. The vast quantity of meat (burgers, bbq spare
ribs and chicken pieces) was supplemented by home-made burger baps, potato
salad and coleslaw, with chocolate bananas and a magnificent double-layered
chocolate cake for dessert. We anchored at 1830 and went ashore in the
dinghy with our brand new Co-op barbecue.
Jonny Wareing and Dom de'Ath took the highly masculine role of Barbecue
Kings, using their spatulas to dispatch anyone attempting to help them as
they revelled in flipping burgers and chicken legs above the roaring flames.
Our resident pyromaniac, Mark Williams, started a fire on the beach and
found enough driftwood to feed it for the evening. We then had a game of
football on the grass just above the beach, finishing just in time for the
first burgers from the barbecue. The food was delicious and the atmosphere
perfect except for the midges which plagued everyone; the only remedy for
this was to stand directly in the smoke of the barbecue, watery eyes being
the price to pay for not having to constantly slap every exposed piece of
your own skin.
The overcast skies finally gave way to rain just as the ribs and chicken
were nearly cooked, and we hastily erected a shelter using boathooks and the
canvas awning that we usually use to cover the cockpit when in port. We
were treated to the company of a couple of local girls who only stayed for 5
minutes; but during that time they let slip that they didn't know what the
Atlantic Ocean was! Steptoe got the guitar out again for a few boat
favourites such as Robbie Williams' "Angels" and "Yellow" by Cold, before
the cake and chocolate bananas were served up to finish off a fantastic
evening. The rain became heavier as we returned to Rona and there was a lot
of unwelcome sand on board, but that couldn't detract from what was a
brilliant way to spend a summer evening in Scotland.
Jonny Ho
White Watch
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