Bobby Murdoch
Ok, here we go, the first instalment of this years sailing drivel, but its already June I hear you say, true enough, but let me tell you, somebody has forgot to tell mother nature that summer has started, I am sitting in Dun Laoghaire Marina close to Dublin, its blowing a hoolie and its 10°C, still, after growing up in the west of Scotland, this is nothing unusual, and to be honest, the sun is out so we are happy with that, just nae heat coming out of it.

Dun Laoghaire Marina, its a fair walk to the showers......
So how did we get to Dublin? The boat went back in the water mid-April, giving me some time to finish some work on here before my planned departure at the end of May, British Customs had given me an extension to the VAT free time limit that I had on the boat but that ended in June, so I had to foxtrot oscar by then.

Confidence on her way to the water.

In she goes.

Nipped back to Oz to see Scotland's two newest supporters ready for the euros, it was Ari's 4th birthday at the end of April.
Work carried out over the winter and during May.
1. New jib tracks and teak caps on the bulwarks port and stbd.
2. New Solar panels, same place and same size, shit ton more output.
3. Rutland wind generator. (I struggled a wee bit last year with power due to the sometimes-inclement spells during the balmy northern summer).
4. Old toilet got chucked, no more cleaning blocked poo pipes for me, composting toilet installed and the hole in the hull that the poo used to escape from was sealed up.
5. Newish (old) autopilot installed, (more on this later).
6. Mast top, wind indicator replaced due to fat bastard seagulls sitting on it.
7. Loads of other wee stuff that is just too boring to mention.

The thunder box.
When I say composting toilet, what I really mean is a wooden box with a seat, a separator, and two containers, one for your No.1's, and the other for your No.2's,
It's just a fancy version of "bucket and chuck-it", works a treat let me tell you.

Approaching the Ailsa Craig on the way to Girvan.

Ailsa Craig.

Sitting pretty in Girvan. Nobles boatyard in the background, my first job after leaving school, way back in the mist of time.
Managed to get going on the last day of May, first stop was my home town of Girvan, seemed apt for this to be the last place I visited in Scotland, I sailed from Ardrossan on a bright and blustery day and fired down the Clyde and around the Ailsa Craig, had to slow the boat down going to Girvan as there is a shallow bar at the harbour mouth which means I need to go in or out a few hours either side of high tide.

The sun made an appearance too.
Leaving Girvan with mixed feelings, happy and excited for the journey ahead, but sad to be leaving at the same time, funny thing the old emotions eh!

Leaving Girvan.

Carrickfergus.
The original plan after Girvan was to sail around the top and west of Ireland to Cork and Jump across to Spain from there, but the weather was dictating a smoother passage down the east coast, so as I'm all for the path of least resistance, east it was, so I sailed and ferry dodged across the North Channel to Carrickfergus on the north side of Belfast Lough in Northern Ireland, funnily enough, named after the first King of Scotland (but maybes born in Antrim), Fergus , "Carraig Fhearghais" - the rock of Fergus.

Old Fergus ran aground here, I just went into the Marina.
I had a couple of days here waiting for suitable tides and weather to shoot off down the coast, like the west coast of Scotland, the tides here are super strong, so when you have a heavy boat and a wee engine, going against them is a pure daft idea.
I used the time to visit Belfast and the Titanic exhibition there which is located next to the slip where she was built an launched, Titanic used to be a source of national embarrassment here, wrongly so of course, but is now very much embraced and the exhibition is immense, you should go.....

The big boat Titanic, I don't want to ruin the story for everyone, but it doesn't end well!

Exhibition Centre, those are the same height as Titanic's Bow.
Only had to wait a few days then snuck out early doors to catch the tide down the coast to Ardglass on a fresh breeze, I put the autopilot on to get the main up and it decided to shit itself, which was a bit of a pain in the arse but what can you do, so i just hand steered down to Ardglass, could have used my windvane if it was ready to go, lesson learned there, and I was lucky it stayed dry, otherwise things may have got a bit pish!

A balmy morning in Ardglass.
Cracking we place this, got on to the autopilot people in the states and the immediately knew what the issue was and how to do a temporary fix to get me south whilst I waited for new parts to come.
So that explains why I am sitting here in Dun Loaghaire, the temporary fix worked well and I flew down here with the wind on the stbd quarter, I now am waiting for the new parts for the existing autopilot, and also a brand new one, I still have half the planet to go to get back home so having a wee spare will give some peace of mind.
So its all good, usual boat stuff that shit breaks, you fix it, and the weather is really unsettled anyway so its probably doing me a favour here waiting for parts, Dun Loaghaire is a lovely place, the showers in the Marina are top notch, and I even had a very old friend of mine and his daughter down to visit yesterday, so we are laughing.

Me and the bold Fred, the most famaous man in Dublin.
I'll write some more of this hogwash before I make the jump across to Spain, I'm sure with tales of sundrenched anchorages in west Cork.
We shall see..............
Lastly, big shout out to my maw Meg, for all her help and top cleaning skills getting the boat ready to go and feeding me within an inch of my life, not to mention a boatful of soup and shortbread on departure, thanks missus, your help is truly appreciated.