Bright, dry and sunny but chilly first thing this morning. Warmed up as the morning went on…. lovely to have a dry boat, dry clothes, dry pontoons, dry everything….. for a change. Very different mood and mind set with all this sunshine.
We spent the morning doing jobs. Took a large load of washing to the laundry facility…. M went up to Reception to ask about the progress made to have hot water in the facilities… got fobbed off…. the plumber’s van from Oban standing outside the shower/toilet block. We have had no hot water since our arrival last Tuesday evening…. nearly a week ago. Checked at 7pm…. tepid, luke warm. Not good.
Adjourned to the balcony of the Wide Mouth Frog hotel/pub for morning coffee overlooking the marina. Grandstand view of two boat yard hoists at work…. one bringing a Rustler sailing yacht out of the water by going into the water on the slipway to collect it!
Below…the boat hoist goes down the slipway into the water and collects the Rustler yacht then reversed out and went to the boat yard.
The other hoist was returning a flat bottomed CalMac car ferry ( like a landing craft ) to the water…. which then, with two honda outboard engines on the stern, zoomed off to whatever two small islands it linked together.
Margaret…below the CalyMac ferry returning to the water.
Well it’s entertainment! Coffee was good though.
T made a cheese and tomato omelette for lunch…. taken in the cockpit… watching seven people arriving for their very expensive ( sixteen hundred pounds per person for a 6 day wild life cruise !!)…. on a converted coaster called Sea Horse II. First time we had been able to sit in the cockpit for three weeks and watch all the comings and goings.
T spent afternoon trying to mend the various rips and worn out parts of the cockpit tent in the warm sunshine. M did more laundry and packed her case for tomorrows journey south to Wigan.
Three young lads were sea fishing off the end of the breakwater…. one caught a nice size mackerel , all shimmering silver with the tell tale grey black stripes. The first time T passed and witnessed the catch…. playing the old sage… said ‘where there is one mackerel, there are more… they move in shoals.’ On his way back half an hour later….they had caught four! Well well…. occasionally it works!
Second sunset tonight…. two in a row now… lovely day…. but forecast for rain Tuesday pm. We will see.
Somewhere in the sunset photo taken by M …in the black silhouette beyond the masts is Dunstaffnage Castle.
Toby's sailing boat Poli Poli 