You know that you think you have a bad day in front of you when the first words that are uttered at 4.30 am are 'You know we don't have to do this. We are supposed to be having fun.' What we potentially faced was a 100 mile beat in northerly winds from Dublin to the bay off Glasgow. If you haven't sailed before then this is like the prospect of having cold salty water chucked at you intermittently for 36 hours, whilst being sleep deprived and having to navigate the M1 whilst blindfolded. Not fun, not easy and certainly not appealing. You can therefore see why the first words were uttered thus.

We had lots of options as to where to go but our ultimate aim was for either Campbeltown or Troon in the western Scottish Isles. Before we could make these destinations we had to negotiate the busy shipping lanes off Belfast and the rip tides just north of Belfast. With this in mind we had lots of options for destinations ranging from a scary potential entrance in Ardglass to spending the night at an exposed anchorage in Stranford Lough.

As we left Dun Laoghaire our spirits were brightened as there was more breeze than forecast and this was more on the beam. To add to the mix the sun shone and all was happy on Ruffian. This however was not to last. Soon the sea state worsened, the breeze increased and dusk came.

Before dusk however we were treated to our first sighting of Ireland's coastline. Bizarrely we have sailed the length of Ireland and it's always been shrouded in mist. The mountains, yes there are mountains in Ireland, climbed majestically from the sea as their cloak was lifted. We really hope that we have the time and opportunity to visit them on our return journey.

As night fell so came the ships and the fair tide. Fair tide when going upwind is a double edged sword. You want fair tide because it pushes you in the right direction, this however gives rise to horrible steep short waves as the water and wind are moving is opposing directions. On one of these waves the boat got a huge amount of green water over the decks and cockpit. We then realised that this wave must have coincided with a tankers bilges as the whole boat was then like an icerink, covered in some sort of slime. It's difficult enough to move about when going upwind in 20 knots of wind, let alone when your feet don't stay where you put them.

As dawn came we were greeted with our first glimpse of wee bonnie Scotland a long way in the distance and sleep deprivation was now taking its toll on Fiona. She described her eye's as having lead weights on the outside closing them and hessian carpets on the inside making sleep impossible. When we turned the corner at Genoch Rocks sleep finally came to Fiona and Iain was rewarded with a downwind sail in 25 knots of breeze, with nobody around to tell him off.

Come the afternoon of the second day at sea we found ourselves happily in the shelter of Troon Harbour and we could very much tell we were in Scotland. The smell of fried food erupted around the harbour. They do seem to fry everything here from pizza's to pies to mars bars and even fish.

The boat is now slowly drying including our goose down duvet that somehow got soaked and we are very pleased having made it to another country safe and well.

Fiona giving a wind commetry (sorry about the sound can be found here.

Our track from Ireland to Scotland can be found here.

More glamour sailing. Would it last?


Glamour glamour glamour.


although wavey and upwind.


Fast but cold. Check the sea temperature.


The isle of Ailsa Craig in the background. The sun didn't make an appearance.