Serious withdrawal symptoms are setting in from lack of Estrella. Their share price has plummeted. Rob's hardly eaten anything since he got back last week. We are of course back home in Scotland for a week with the boat safely(??) tied up in Portosin marina. We fly back on Thursday. Trying some Singha tonight.
At least the weather has been good up here. It's actually been over 20 C for the few days we've been here - a record for this year. We went down Port Edgar on Sunday and went out for a very pleasant couple of hours sail on Erin in tea shirts - in Scotland!!! Erin is off today round the west coast via the canal to do West Coast Week. Best of luck guys.
To cope with the lack of Estrella we have been to the Tapit Hen in Dunblane a few times (ie a lot of times). Pam fancied a snack ie a few plates of Tapas. Some hope. Quavers or pork scratchings. I have never seen the attraction of anyone eating a snack with hairs on it. Anyone recognise the book I have been reading yet? That was another clue.
As a recap then on the trip, we have done around 1400 miles and spent 8 weeks on the boat. Looks like we have another 600 miles to go and around 7 weeks. The best pub of the trip was Kehoes in Kilmore Quay - but the Tapit Hen in Dunblane is still winning. The best marina has to go to Kilmore Quay for the all round great time we had there. Must try and get back sometime. Runner up is Portosin - and we still have a few days when we get back there. Best places to visit apart from Kilmore Quay were Rathlin Island which was very nice and Arklow (thanks Dave). The friends we met in Kilmore Quay though were fantastic and hopefully we will meet up with them again.
Very little has broken on the boat. Two seasons of racing has ensured all the weak bits have failed already!! We needed a new set of taps for the galley in Crosshaven when the original mixer tap packed in. The dinghy needed patching when holed in Islay (which along with Craighouse was probably the worst place on the trip). Oh and a bottle opener broke in Portosin - good job we had a spare. Best bit of new kit on the boat has been the AIS - very useful for crossing the shipping lanes in Biscay given the way the big tankers and cruise boats bear down on you at 18 knts+. Best bit of advice gained was from John and Sue on Ellan Vanin who suggested adding a 3rd jack stay from the port stern round the bottom of the mast and to the starboard stern so allowing the person at the mast to clip on easily. Oh and the wifi dish antenna has done a storming job since Dun Leary (easy spelling) when we have hardly been without a good connection.
So we have now stocked up on more warm weather clothing and other essential items for our trip back on Thursday. Look out for more postings from Friday onwards.
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