At long last, we are back aboard and heading for the sun..... in the rain.

It's funny how after just a few weeks you forget how things work. The plotter has new mysteries yet to be uncovered, the pole has odd bits of rope and metal I don't remember but worst of all was the spume. The wind blown spume..... of my pea and ham soup that blew off my spoon all over my jacket.

We left Largs with Ian's pal Scott and his girlfriend Mairi. Scott and Mairi work with the British Antartic Survey and have spent the last 18 months in Antatrica where Scott put up some first ascents. Check out his site at www.scottwebstermountaineering.com.

Yesterday, Thursday, we had a good sail to Campbeltown where we checked out the local beers and the malts. I'm not sure if it was the driving rain at 06:30 or the malts last night, but either way, we decided to stay in bed an hour longer.

Leaving at 08:00 we rode a 20 knot northerly for a few hours before the wind died to nothing and the old donkey was fired up again getting us into Bangor at 5pm.

With my month off, I can't tell you how much I've missed tracing faulty wiring, changing the fuel filters and working out why the VHF is a bit dodgy.

Tomorrow we head on south on our long trek to the sun, whether Mediterranean or Caribbean sun we haven't decided yet. However, first stop is Milford Haven where we will leave the boat for a few days to get home for Ian's stag. Thereafter it's the Biscay Bash. Hoping its not quite as lively as last time.

Now? I'm sure there's a pub somewhere near here.