The sail up the Clyde yesterday was exhilarating. Gusts of wind reached 40 knots as we heeled over to 23 degrees and reached speeds of 9 knots. Not only did we sail fast, we also sailed all the way from Campbeltown Bay to the Holy Loch, a distance of 50 miles, under sail power alone.
Once in the Holy Loch we were faced with very strong NW’ly winds and so used both anchors as an extra insurance against dragging. This eased my mind but it did not stop me being called at 0100 as the wind remained steadily over 30 knots. The gale had even more bite and by 0400 the wind indicator frequently went to its limits at 50 knots. White seas had whipped up all round the ship and it was just like being at sea. The Voyage Crew were very excited at seeing the wind speed hit the limit.
By morning things were not looking good for running Voyage Crew ashore. The news told of ferries cancelled, bridges closed and trees down.
At 1130 the wind suddenly eased and we took best advantage by having a hasty bowl of soup and then running the Voyage Crew ashore. 18 crew went to the nearby ‘Benmore Botanical Gardens’ which are superb and the rest went into Dunoon. They can tell you all about that but I am looking forward to a quiet night at anchor.
Goodnight
Captain Barbara Campbell