My next adventure takes me to troon marina. Not what I was expecting but a phone call or two later and I find myself with a job on a superyacht for a week. Since I can move my home where I want it wasnt much effort to lift up the anchor and set course for troon.
From lamlash it is a rather uninspiring sail. Out the norther entraince to the bay and set course for 90 degrees, keep going till you reach the marina. I took the opportunity instead to try out the new auto helm. I had feard the drain on the battery would be severe and i would need to manage my battery more. I was suprised to see instead that the solar panels were charging more than the auto helm was using. It also made a perfectly straight line on my chartplotter which makes everything look neater.
The main excitement came from entering my first marina singlehanded. The autohelm gave me plenty of time for last minuete preperation. I was unsure what side I would me tieing up to so ran fenders and a long rope outside down both sides. Taking things slow and practiacaly walking the boat in the last few feet as I setted ashore to tie up. The long rope technique worked will. The long line used to control the boat when you step off then becomes your bow line, spring line and stern line all in more. With a little adjusting the rope did the trick for the full stay, the weather was great but if it had picked up another spring and extra lines on the opposite side wouldnt have hurted.
It was great seeing the marina lifestyle. Something Arran doesnt have, maybe for better. I did find myself becoming used to luxarys and forgetting the skills I use daily when anchored or mooring. There is also something to comforting about marinas. You can tell there is a large amount of effort to leave and return, especially if the weather was anything other than perfect. I did however enjoy having shower and laundry facilitys without having to row between them, aswell as the occasional fish and chips in the evening.
The greatest pleasure came when leaving the marina though. In the end this is not my home and the adventure has to continue. I took to the difficult task of untieing, motoring out of safety and leaving the many gateways into the marina. While leaving I gave a final sail by of the superyacht I had been working on. Then the journey back to Arran.
