Opening Muster at Holy Loch

Despite rain approaching biblical proportions, around 45 hardy individuals
mustered in Holy Loch Sailing club for our annual quiz. It had been our
intention to limit teams to no more than 6 members but, as is often the
case, people paid no heed and one team in particular had around half those
present in its ranks. The quiz itself seemed to be enjoyed by most, but
several particpants did complain about the difficulty of the questions. It
was pointed out that they're not difficult when you know the answer! The
winning score was 58.5/70 - just don't mention cigars to Martin Maiden.
(Editor's comment; sour grapes from the losers!)
Hospitality was provided by Boatshed West Scotland and was greatly enjoyed
and appreciated by all.

Wreck Bay Muster

Rearranged from its usual slot as opening muster of the season, our
gathering at Wreck Bay was made more interesting by strong winds on
Saturday. Those who took part in the race to Colintraive saw winds gusting
to over 30 knots on the start line, resulting in rapid progress towards the
finish. On arriving in Wreck Bay, the significant onshore breeze made our
planned venue untenable, so we quickly relocated due North to the more
sheltered Rubha Na Croiche. In the evening barbeques were broken out and
communal cremating of food was enjoyed on the beach by the crews of 14-or-so
boats. A short, but very competitive duck race was held in support of the
RNLI, raising £63. The crew of Judicious were the winners, and the award of
the trophy was only marred slightly by Jim Hoey's attempts to receive a
winner's kiss from your rear commodore. See the photo in the gallery for
evidence.

Tarbert Muster

A day of variable breezes made for tricky sailing progress at times towards
Tarbert. In the end around a dozen boats received a warm welcome from the
Tarbert harbour-master, who had kindly set up a gazebo for our gathering.
The bright evening and lack of breeze encouraged the midges, despite whom 30
or so members and friends enjoyed a convivial time chatting before moving on
elsewhere for dinner. On Sunday the planned barbeque on Inchmarnock was
cancelled due to an eagerness of all to return to Largs and deal with other
commitments. Maybe next year?