After a wet day and a cold night the condensation in Harvard was pretty heavy so it was with some relief that the morning turned out to be fine and warm. All the hatches were opened and the wet weather gear hung up outside and we were soon dried out. Thomas and Anne went off to talk to the lock keepers, have a coffee and shortbread and an explore whilst Richard attended to some jobs onboard.
After checking the tides in more detail the best time to leave Crinan was early afternoon and the other two yachts we had been with had obviously come to the same conclusion so we were all booked for the lock-out to sea at 14:45. This came forward to 14:30 but we were soon safely through the two locks and out to sea with a sigh of relief. Harvard is not a canal boat and is much happier at sea!!
As we had neap tides the passage through the Doris Mor was uneventful and we then turned north towards Loch Melfort. We wanted an unstressful night at anchor and we knew we would be really sheltered at the head of the loch from the forecast north-easterly wind. Sailed a little bit but the wind was really light so we motor-sailed most of the way. Soon anchored up and enjoyed the evening sunshine before turning in.
