Woke up to drizzle and a forecast of more rain and strong winds so made the decision to stay in Tarbert for the day. After nice showers in great facilities and checking in with the harbour office we went for bacon buns and coffee at the local Deli. By this time it was raining hard and after a visit to the bookshop Anne and Richard went back to Harvard via some shopping at the Co-op whilst Thomas went to explore Tarbert Castle above the town.
By the time Thomas was back he was absolutely soaked but a large Cornish pasty soon cheered him up. The wind built up so much that the bow lines started snatching so we fitted snubbers in the lines and this calmed things down. The harbour staff on patrol said the wind was 45 knots as a gale in the Irish Sea moved through our area. It made us think we made the right decision to stay in port. A lazy afternoon snoozing, drying Thomas’ clothes and reading books followed by a nice supper rounded the day off. We are booked to go through the Crinan Canal tomorrow so we hope for better conditions. We are not under any time pressure at the moment so we will take our time and only do what feels safe. The forecast is for better weather so we are hoping for the best.