What have you learnt this season..

[Silkie]

..so far? (It's not over until it's over.)

[sahona]

Things bend quite severely - even when you're reefed.

[Silkie]

Care to elaborate?

[Rowana]

..so far? (It's not over until it's over.)

Make sure you have enough south-going tide left when you round Rattray Head, otherwise Peterhead is a L-O-N-G way away!

[Telo]

To be a bit less trusting with the weather forecast.

We'd noticed a weather window of NW 5-7, then moderating over the next couple of days so we left Dallens Bay last night, anchoring up in Duart Bay at around 2130, intending to leave about 0600 to catch the tide south through the Sound of Luing

We're still in Duart Bay in a southerly F6/8; been blowing like buggery all night. Anyway, it seems that a GW was issues for Malin at 0300 - not much of a warning - it sounded as though it had already started. Quite sheltered at the moment, but due to veer Nly, so looks like a bumpy sail to Loch Spelve later.

[Silkie]

Looks as if it wasn't quite as bad as forecast..?

[sahona]

Agree with Donald about the forecasts - passage planning easy ~ voyage difficult.
As to the reefed bendy thing: we're going through the de-rigging process at the moment and found the main tack horn quite mis-shapen. Could be my fault, I seem to be one reef later than everybody else in the area - and we only have one slab in the main, so it stays up.

[Windfinder]

..so far? (It's not over until it's over.)

I learned on a Greek fueling berth that, in Greece, nodding your head means no.

(I learned this while an increasingly impatient ferry captain was telling me to move out of the way of about 800 tons of ferry, I thought I was telling him I was going, in fact I was telling him I wasn't going.)

[Telo]

Looks as if it wasn't quite as bad as forecast..?

Not sure what you mean. The sustained F8 gale from the south/SE hadn't been forecast. Can't remember the time, probably about 0600, I was nearly lifted off the deck as I was checking the chain etc - very fierce.

I think the Atlantic fronts coming in made accurate forecasting difficult. Anyway, around noon on Saturday, the wind suddenly dropped to a 4/6 and veered NW, so we headed for Puilladobhrain. First bit was bumpy, having to punch through 2m waves from the South. Sea settled later.

Had a couple of pints in the House of the Trousered, then back to the anchorage - blooming cold with other boats flaunting their errmm working Eberspachers... That's on the winter list.

Having a pleasant sail back to Dallens Bay at the moment - beautiful day. However, we missed the early tidal gate on Saturday morning, which made getting to the Clyde within our time limits impossible. Try again soon.

[Arghiro]

Bloody boat is too far from bloody house. And, next time I arrange to have Mondays & Fridays free, to make sure it happens & some tosser doesn't prevent me doing it!