Crinan to Largs - last chapter of Season 2 of Adventure Now

Timeline: 4th of October - left Crinan Canal and sailed to Millport on Great Cumbrae. 14th of October - landed in Millport on Great Cumbrae and then sailed on the 15th of October to Largs Yacht Haven in the afternoon to our winter berth.

Crinan Canal provides shelter from any kind of wether, and we were lucky to get an extra day as the Canal was closed for one day and there was no-one to let us out, but when it got open again it was time for us to move on.

On the 14th of October we had an epic sail to Millport - one tack all the way down Loch Fyne, two reefs in the main, second rif of the jib, 22 to 29 knots! We hugged the coast down to a point 3 nautical miles south-east of Tarbert, bore off onto an easy reach but wind built until it became pretty feisty. We stayed higher while we could and that was just as well with 36 knots on the beam. We got a big gust which turned the boat around, and then we had a sustained gale for a few minutes. We ran with it and only hardened up again with the very small jib. The conditions were hairy but good and Altor was excellent with main only on a broad reach.

We sailed into Millport with grey, dark skies above us and plenty of rain. The anchorage was so rolly that by the time I finished cooking the dinner (simple pasta with sauce) I was seasick. Fortunately, the sea calmed down and we had perfect conditions for a good night's sleep. We woke up to a perfectly clear blue sky, so went exploring Millport. It is a charming seaside holiday resort, suspended in the past. It has wide sandy beaches close to the centre of the town and one of the best known landmarks in Millport is the Crocodile Rock, a rock on the foreshore that has been painted to look like a crocodile. It has been a feature since at least 1913 when Robert Brown was commissioned by the council to do the work. Sam Crawley currently of East Kilbride in Glasgow, created the iconic paintwork which is a tourist highlight on the island. Millport has the world's narrowest house, The Wedge, which measures 47 inches (1.2 m) at its front. The house is 22 feet long by 11 feet wide at its widest point (6.7 m × 3.4 m).

After lunch we hoisted the main up and upped the anchor and sailed at a super slow speed of up to 2 knots towards Largs. We were in no hurry and wanted to dry the sail after the soaking it got the previous day. Perkins eventually came on the scene and propelled us the last couple of miles into Largs Yacht Haven, our home berth for the winter.