Tarbert to Ardrossan

21/9/25 - 29/9/25

This was to be our last week of this year's trip and it was lovely.  We had a few more cracking sails, hid from the weather when it was at its worst, delighted in others' company, met more fellow sailors, found new anchorages, revisited old haunts and reminisced on all of our adventures.

The week started on Sunday with putting the bimini away!  We were optimistic about the conditions ahead and decided it was time to put the additional cockpit shelter away.  The sun was shining, the wind was blowing, and we had a stunning sail down loch Fyne and then tacking upwind through the West Kyle of Bute, accompanied by a mini-flotilla of other boats departing from the Tarbert music festival.

Evolene is a heavy boat - 16 tonnes for 42 feet - but she sails beautifully and it was great to compare her performance against other sailing vessels, and she totally held her own.  It also gave Stuart and I heaps of practice in tacking which, when we're in more open waters, we do much less frequently and that was huge fun also.  

We nestled her into anchor just off the northeast edge of Bute, practically where we had started our journey back in the middle of April, bringing us full circle.  The evening was calm and autumnal, seals were bobbing around, birds wading at the edges and we even caught a glimpse of a passing otter.

Back on the hook in the Kyles of Bute

Monday morning was relaxed and we enjoyed the scenery around us whilst catching up with bits and pieces.  In the afternoon we took the dinghy out and successfully caught a couple of mackerel which Stuart promptly dispatched and filleted, and we turned into a delicious afternoon snack - pan-fried and added to oatcakes and cream cheese.

In the evening we were invited across to drinks aboard Coralie of Hythe, fellow members of the RHYC.  1730hrs and no, we didn't need to bring anything.  John and Claire, what an evening!  Thank you so much for your hospitality.  Drinks turned into a delicious dinner, into copious nightcaps and a boogie in the saloon!  All the time, sharing stories, the love of sailing, and reflecting on life in general.

The next morning we weighed anchor, circled pass Coralie of Hythe, said our goodbyes until next season, then motored back to Tarbert.  Evolene has looked after us so well over these travels but there are a few tweaks that we want to make this winter, including installing a flexible extension and backdrop to our sprayhood.  This will give a bit more protection in more inclement weather.  We have had great service from Owen Sails previously and were keen to use them again, so arranged a meet-up in Tarbert for the Wednesday morning.

Whilst Stuart provided the brief on the sprayhood I went out to provision and found the place where you can buy fresh seafood direct from where it is processed off the boats.  It's in a small stone building just beside where the cars roll on and off the ferry and when I arrived there were three men in the middle of shelling scallops.  I asked what was available and it turns out pretty much any local seafood you could wish for - whole langoustines, langoustine tails, lobsters, scallops, crab, haddock...!  I settled on a tub of scallops and a tub of langoustine tails for £17.50 and when we cooked these later and the following day they were truly delicious.  

In the evening we caught up with a couple from Florida, Katy and Jerry, who have been sailing and living aboard their boat, Idril (another Garcia Exploration 45!), for the past four or five years.  We have in our mind, one day, to head across to northeast America and Canada, but without any desire to go to the Caribbean and Katy and Jerry were sharing their experience and recommending the very evocatively named 'Viking route', hopping from Scotland, to the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and then down to Nova Scotia.  Perhaps one for the future...!

On Thursday we enjoyed another fun upwind sail, south to Lochranza, where we picked up one of the mooring buoys, sheltered by the northern hills of Arran to the south.  Dinner was a superb,  scallop satay stir-fry and we headed to bed later, with the cabin hatches open and listening to the calling of the seals outside. 

Hills of Arran from our mooring

Lochranza Bay from ashore

After a short walk ashore the following morning (making use of the hugely convenient pontoon to secure the dinghy) we headed back round to the Kyles of Bute (this time Black Farland Bay) to anchor for a couple of nights and wait out the wet weather that was forecasted for Saturday.  We sailed a reefed, broadreach, starboard tack, achieving speeds in excess of 8 knots for most of the short crossing - huge fun!  In the evening we were joined by five other boats in the anchorage - the most we have had in a single anchorage all trip (aside from Puiladobhrain which I've decided doesn't really count as it is so well known!). 

Saturday turned out as soggy as it was forecasted but we hunkered down aboard and enjoyed the fantastic Women's Rugby World Cup Final.  It's going to be a tough decision for sports team of the year between the English Roses and the English Lionesses!  Either way, great to see women's sport thriving. 

Soggy racing!

The rain stopped overnight and Sunday was beautifully calm and autumnal.  The turning of the trees evident all along the hillsides of the Kyles, the light mist from the previous day's drenching gently rising and ribbons of leaves, washed down from the overflowing streams, criss-crossing the sailing channels.  We glided under motor down to Millport and picked up one of the many mooring buoys that are free for visitors and, now, very well protected from the recently installed, substantial breakwater to the south.  

Millport hosts a weekend of various events, predominantly targeted towards families with young children, including a family ceilidh on the Friday evening, sandcastle building and fancy dress competitions, fireworks on the Saturday evening and crab fishing.  Therefore there was still a hive of activity, with boats coming and going, and heaps of people milling about on the pier and shoreline, making for an altogether very holiday-like feeling.  We wandered ashore and relaxed in the cockpit soaking in our last evening 'at sea' of this trip.

Millport moorings

Sun setting on the season

Whilst the past few weeks have been slower and, perhaps, less adventurous than our earlier endeavours it has still been lovely, nonetheless, to spend time exploring in our own country, enjoying the simplicity of boatlife, some phenomenal sails and being so connected to the outdoors and world around us.  I know we have said it several times previously, but Evolene has completely surpassed our expectations.  We knew she was going to look after us well but she has been so incredibly comfortable and a beautiful home.  It's mad that she can go from heeling over at 30 degrees to our calm and tranquil sanctuary within the space of minutes.

We have also been blown away by the sailing community.  Whilst it can be very transitory and many of the people we have met we will likely never see again due to divergent paths, there is still a very secure and comforting underpinning to the shared stories, reassurance and encouragement.  And for those who we will end up seeing again, that will be such a treat!

On the Monday morning we cast off from the mooring buoy and set sail one last time on this trip, for the short distance down to Ardrossan - our home marina for the winter.  Ardrossan has a great and ever-growing reputation for the helpfulness of their staff and this was very evident even within our first few minutes of arrival, with Finn helping to refuel the boat and the staff in the office assisting with general orientation.  

Our winter berth

We're not exactly sure what the next few months have in store but we're looking forward to catching up with friends and family.  Stuart has a growing list of boat maintenance work to keep on top of and I'm in the process of looking to secure work for a few months.  However, living aboard is hugely seductive and plans are already evolving next year's season... Now that we have stretched our sea legs, we are keen to spend more time exploring our home waters and sharing our adventures more with friends and family.  Therefore our current front runner would be to do a leisurely lap of the UK.  If you're reading this and keen to join us for any part please do let us know!

And that brings us to the end of the blog updates for these travels at least.  We'll continue to post a bit over winter as we document maintenance and upgrades but not with the same regularity as we have been doing.

But before I go, I just want to give you a bit of a peek of 'behind the scenes' because whilst I write in the first person, this blog has been very much a team effort.  I chronicle our adventures and splurge my thoughts down, creating the first draft of these writings.  However, Stuart very much finesses these and adds the photos and their witty captions.  (Stuart has also been doing all of the Instagram pictures and updates.)  I then do a final once-over of the post before publishing it.  Therefore, this is my chance to put into words my total admiration and thanks to our phenomenal skipper.  Both Evolene and I are incredibly grateful for your guidance, encouragement, navigation and all round awesomeness over these past five and a half months. There have been days that have not been the easiest (and also some stupidly comical bloopers!) but I wouldn't have changed this for the world.  Stuart, thank you.

And, very lastly, thank you to all our friends and family for your continued support and interest in what we are getting up to!  We love sharing this with you, look forward to catching up soon, and hopefully get you aboard for a cuppa or sail next year! 

Cheers for following along!