Another training run in the Taran to Kilcreggan, this time without cake and coffee! On rounding Rosneath Point, I nearly didn’t bother. The wind was blowing strongly from the west, with occasional gusts. Not only that, but the swell was rather large and, along with the wind, was coming directly at me. I decided to carry on, but I had the uneasy feeling that I was out there on my own. No other boats, yachts or cruise liners could be seen. After a while, I noticed the Gourock–Kilcreggan ferry coming over to Kilcreggan, but that was it.
Slogging into the wind, I made it to Portkill Point, at which point I decided I may as well carry on to Kilcreggan. The ferry, by this time, was docked at the pier and was about to set off back to Gourock. On reaching Kilcreggan, I didn’t fancy a coffee and cake from the café.
Setting off back was now completely different. I had the wind and swell behind me, and I was able to make good time, occasionally getting a downwind surf on the waves. By now, a few yachts were beginning to appear from the various marinas.
Of course, the wind blowing me from behind didn’t last for long. As I turned the corner at Rosneath Point, there was a little shelter from the trees, but by the time I reached the caravan park, I had the wind at me once again. I knew from when I had paddled down Gare Loch earlier that the wind was going to be a problem on my return. I had already decided I’d stick to the western bank of Gare Loch and hopefully gain some shelter. But this would also mean crossing Gare Loch at some point to get back to the Kirk Brae slipway near my house.
As I entered Gare Loch, I noticed the police boat a couple of hundred metres to my right. I was able to make around 5 knots, and the police boat kept parallel with me at the same speed. We carried on like this for a good mile – I think they were testing me. By the time we passed Clynder, I noticed that the wind wasn’t as strong as it had been earlier, and I started to make my crossing back to the slipway.
This paddle was a hard slog, but it was great to get out.
Fab!
11.2nm 3 hours
GPS track
