First sail of the 2024 Season!
Last weekend James and I came up to Misha and we did all the ‘heavy works’ that remained including replacing the heater, changing the heater control and fuel pump, rigging the boom, hanging on sails, flushing tanks and replacing the main switch panel.
This weekend Linda and I came up late Thursday after work and went straight to bed. This morning we attacked the remaining job list including sorting running rigging, reefing lines, buttons, another flush of the tanks and collecting the outboard.
KA Cleaning had given the boat a brilliant deep clean between last weekend and this. Misha has never looked and smelled so good. It was awesome to be able to just jump on board and go! We will certainly be asking them to do it every few months this season to save me having to scrub, polish, and clean.
By about 11:40 we were ready to set off and we cast off for the first time of the 2024 season. It was a text book departure and as we raised the sail we were able to put the final bottom batten in that wouldn’t go in with the sail down. We headed out through Cuan in brilliant blue sunshine and an air temp of 10C.
Up the Sound Of Lorne we watched the ferries playing dodgems near Oban. There wasn’t a lot of sailing but we were making great speed with the tide with us nearly all the way. Having left Craobh Linda sent me below to sort bacon butties and it was then I realised I’ve forgotten the loaf and it remains enjoying its Easter Weekend at home near Falkirk.
The sun never faltered and we turned into the Sound of Mull by Duart Castle as Corusk passed us by. We went through Black Rocks at 8kn and as we came up towards Fishnish, Lochinver was kind enough to give way to use and held off before we passed on by.
We entered Fishnish Bay and anchored in 5m dropping 30m of chain and got a solid hard stay on reverse. Before we had anchored I had popped the heater on and it was already 19C in the cabin when we went inside.
Dinner tonight is Chicken Kiev, baked Portobello mushrooms, Mange Tout and tomatoes. We had a wee glass of bubbly to celebrate a brilliant first day and first anchorage of the 2024 Season.
