Day Skipper practical day 1
04 April 2010 | Largs, Scotland
We meet with Tob, Pat, Dereck and our skipper/instructor Brian and the 41ft Hanse SV Bolero for our 5 day RYA Day skipper practical sailing course. The forecast for the week is for strong north easterly winds and temperatures down to zero.
We set out on Monday at 10am under leaden skys and head out into the sound for some MOB practice, short for man overboard, and some lessons in heaving to,..... that's stopping a boat under sail. It was a bit windy, maybe force 5 or 6 and decidedly chilly; at lunch we sought shelter in a small bay on the Isle of Bute, where it was still very raw. In the afternoon we practised points of sail before heading for Rothay harbour where we would spend the night.
By the time we berthed in the harbour the wind had begun to really blow and the forecast on the VHF sounded decidedly bleak for the next 24 hours.
Brian had called his boss Steve back in Largs who suggested we head back tomorrow and cancel the course because the forecast wasn't going to allow us to continue but by the morning there was no way we were going anywhere.
On the harbour front we are leaning at 45 degrees into the wind with rain pelting down and a chill factor that feels like we've come sailing in the Arctic. All day tuesday we hunkered down, read a book, snoozed and whiled away the time. Every time I go out into the cockpit for a smoke I'm overawed by the ferocity of the storm, this is almost Easter for Gods sake.Even the car ferry is cancelled, which never happens, seemingly. We're all resigned to going home and rescheduling the course but by Wednesday morning, even though it's bitterly cold and still blowing at force 5 to six we're told that the course will go on.