ROTHESAY-TARBERT RACE

Iain and I, Peter and John G, set off from Bowling on Friday at high tide to join the rest of the Clyde Crusing Club at Rothesay for a weekend of sailing and socializing. We had a good sail down with the last bit being in the dark. This lead to a bit of fun and games as we came upon lights (of a vessel) off Rothesay that we could not identify. See below.

Here we are in the morning at start line. It was a spinnaker start which always adds to the stress of getting to the line after the final gun. (I close my eyes; I simply can't look! It is a good job I am not at the helm; I would be shouting "Out of my way" as I crossed the line ... with my eyes closed, of course!)

Peter helmed, Iain and John pulled the ropes and I took photies and made tea. It was after 4 pm when we reached the Finish Line (well down the fleet) and headed into Tarbert Harbour. This lovely boat was not part of the race but passed us when we were lopping about with no wind in Loch Fyne.

Real sailors get stuck and it is simply a matter of jiggling about till you get off - if you are lucky and the tide is not falling. This fellow who was racing with us ran aground in the Kyles of Bute and tacked too close inshore. He eventually got off.

I have to admit that there is a certain schadenfreude here. We had a similar situation 24 hours earlier when we were in Rothesay Harbour looking for a berth for the night. Ooops.... we stuck in the mud at the end of the outer pontoon. Nothing for it but John and I rocked the boat back and forth as Stewart W. on Oran na Mara hauled on rope ... and off we floated. All part of the rich pattern, as they say...!

I took this shot this afternoon on our way home. It is the Toward Point lighthouse. I did not doctor it with Photoshop. The little bit of sun we got at that point just lit up the white buildings which made a wonderful contrast to the very dark grey sky.

This photo is about the other side of sailing on the Clyde. I only took the photo because it provided the answer to a puzzle from the night before. We had sailed down river to Rothesay where we planned to rendevous with other CCC boats in the harbour at a pontoon. We made a good course across the Clyde from Cloch Point, in the dark, and were approaching Rothesay (with the lights of the town in the background) when we became aware of some weird lights between us and the town. It was like wartime with us straining to figure out that, yes, it seemed to be a boat - bigger than a ferry - and was moving. We veered off sharpish. We eventually identified a bridge and then a sort of cargo boat shape. But what were all those "windows" lit up along the mid-section? Well, in daylight, the next morning, all became clear.

It is a naval supply vessel (and the previous night it had 2 tugs with it). Why? What was it doing off Rothesay in the dark? Moving supplies (things you don't want to know about) to vessels elsewhere. What was I saying about life's rich pattern?