Toddlers farewell

Having enjoyed Tarbert a little too much, we headed off through the Kyles of Bute planning to hit Holy Loch. The toddlers knew this area well from previous vacations in Scotland. Sadly, it was hard to recognise it in the biblical downpours that we enjoyed en route.

Luckily it cleared up passing Tighnabruaich  so they could check some of their old haunts in detail, with a little squabbling over the exact locations of houses / lodges etc. We were unable to referee or offer an opinion which was probably a good thing. Coming out of the East Kyle, the rain was so hard and the visibility so poor that we needed the radar on. On the chart below, you can get an idea of how narrow the Kyles are - we couldn't see any land but this is only August, after all.....

The 9Kw Furuno radar made short work of the rain when suitably tuned and we pottered on. A yacht that was nearby with no radar just clung to the shoreline following his GPS / plotter and hoped for the best.

Having made it to Holy Loch, we managed a wander around a much improved Dunoon since our last visit a couple of years ago. A few nicer shops and less of a depressed "about to go bankrupt" air about the place. The crew and her mother had a good time too, raiding the local charity shop for some expensive necklaces. (Actually, it felt like raiding as £3 each). The male toddler was less happy - he had to make do with some tablet and no WIFI in the marina again. This holiday was going from bad to worse for him. For the non Scottish readers, tablet is a favourite sweet here - see Wikipedia on tablet. It is, of course, typically Scottish. Low calorie and very healthy.

The day looked up with lunch at Livingstones restaurant. Good spot that should be on your list if you are on the Cowal peninsular and in need of a relaxed, friendly food place. Probably the best in the area. Of course, all good things (and not so good things like no WIFI) must come to an end so the toddlers were returned to Glasgow airport by car via Largs, Ayr and Troon.

Largs was for a quick look around the marina there - nice spot with a Nordhavn 55 (Trisheen) lurking in a corner - one we saw last year near Tobermory:

Leaving Largs after a quick coffee, we were lucky not to be arrested. The female toddler had taken the newspaper from the coffee shop claiming that she thought her daughter had bought it. The crew was most indignant, she would not buy "that" paper and then returned it quietly to the coffee place. A small debate ensued. The captain was happy to concentrate on driving the horrid Peugeot 2008 rental car.

 Ayr was the very nice lunch stop (with particularly scrummy puds) - the Waterfront restaurant:

and Troon was a brief walk along the sea front to admire the Scots who were getting suitably sunburnt as it had peeped out for a few hours. Of course, their Neververyeasyjet flight was horribly delayed on the way back. Some story about a burst tyre and a crew out of hours. Hum. Funny how they always manage to take off just before the time that compensation would kick in.

Campbeltown's seal (perhaps) and off to Tarbert

Poor Patrick expected a little more attention from his grandmother than he received. On the day of her arrival,  Patrick wasn't mentioned once.  On day 2, after prompting,  Patrick got a cuddle.  By day 3 (when she totally blanked him again),  poor Patrick was feeling most upset. He has been most difficult and refuses all attempts to talk him round now.

We have a huge problem on our hands.  Linda,  who might visit soon (or fly to Athens where it is warmer and very cheap in comparison so she says) has a real job on her hands to cheer up our poor little penguin.

Against their wishes,  the toddlers were forced to walk around the bay in Campbeltown as it was "good for them".  Sitting on a seat admiring the views,  the crew was convinced that she saw a seal, just far enough offshore to not see it properly,  in a clump of weed that was drifting about.  Some of us were a little sceptical.  The crew tried to attract some seal attention and make him / her / the inanimate lump of timber move a bit:

Pity that the noises she made didn't get recorded too. Most impressive. Despite all of this enticing activity,  the seal / lump of wood remained passively still (not true, says crew!). Draw your own conclusions. Later on that evening,  a real swimming and diving seal popped up near the moorings and cruised around a little.  The crew said that it was certainly the one she had seen earlier as the head was the same. Draw your own conclusions once more. Early stage dementia or wild optimism or rapid deterioration in her previously better than 20/20 vision? Andrew might be able to check the latter for us:

We pottered back to Tarbert,  giving the little wing engine a good run on the way too.  We want to burn off most of the diesel in the separate tank that feeds this engine as it is stuff from 2014. Then it can be refilled from the "new"  supply.  Have to say that the Stanadyne performance formula additive stuff stabilises the old fuel very well though -  no nasty black gunge from the asphaltene settling out of the fuel is evident in the filters.

We had the wing engine shaft realigned this spring and it certainly runs more smoothly at higher speeds.  However,  the little 4 cylinder engine always makes more vibration and noise than the big Lugger lump that ticks over all day.  One drawback of the realignment is that the wing engine stuffing box is starting to drip a little more than we'd like.  Tightening it up a bit is a nightmare as the stuffing box is very tight under the engine oil pan.  Looking forward to that job.....

Tarbert was peaceful,  if a bit grey:

Dinner was good, we hit the Starfish restaurant in Tarbert.  Number 1 on Trip advisor in the area and we found out why.  If you like fish (sorry Andrew and Linda)  then a good stop off.

A peaceful night was spoilt by the local fishing boats who manage to make lots of noise and wash when leaving between 3 and 4am. Then the ferry who berths opposite and heads off for the start of business added to the commotion:

All very noisy and active for such a  tiny town.

Maintenance news

Disaster struck.  One of the 24v bulbs in an engine room light went pop and had to be replaced.  We might have to sell the boat if maintenance expense at this level continues.