Half way across the loch, the wind and swell change direction, and was now more north easterly. There is obviously some katabatic wind effect coming down of the hills from the north. At the far side of the loch conditions were much calmer, even if I was now heading into the cool north easterly wind. So it was up to Garelochhead again. Still all good paddling miles.
The whole way up to Garelochhead, I couldn't help notice I was being shadowed by the Police boat! Nice to have some extra security. Having turned around at Garelochhead, the police boat shot off, obviously had something more important to do. This left me paddling alone, into the low glaring sun.
As I knew the wind and swell would be up on my return to the slipway I decided to cut across Gareloch as soon as I was past the restricted area of Faslane. I stopped and checked my position on the chart, before making the crossing. Half way across the stronger wind and swell was back from the North West, giving me an excellent downwind surfy run. As I approached the slipway I had to slow down in order to make the turn to the landing.
A nice paddle
6.7 Nm 1Hr 45 min
