Our second day at Firbush was even more promising.
Thursday morning: rowing from Firbush
The weather forecast was for no rain, with some wind in the morning, and then picking up in the afternoon. That suited our plan perfectly.
After breakfast, everyone chose their morning activities.
A small group headed for the hills with their guide. The mountain bikers hit the road, and the rest of us got on our boats.
10.26 – The mountain bikers & their instructor
Simon and I set off on our own in a fairly large rowing boat.
At first, Simon did the rowing and I was the cox – not a particularly good one, apparently.
Simon, having done an unreasonable amount of rowing as an undergraduate in Cambridge, made the rowing look easy-peasy.
10.36 – Simon rowing south
Like the day before, a number of students opted for the kayaks.
We could see the colourful bunch practising in the distance, but soon they caught up with us.
10.59 – The kayaks coming
When you’re in the rowing boat, going at 0.1mph, Loch Tay looks huge.
A bit about Loch Tay
I’ve just found out that it’s the sixth largest loch in Scotland, with a whopping 150m in depth in some places.
That’s plenty of room for Nessie to hide, if it decides to swap lochs.
11.07 – The kayak instructor & his followers
Looking at those pictures it seems as if Simon was doing all the rowing, but I had a couple of goes too.
I actually did better than I was expecting, considering my misadventure years ago when trying to row in Spain.
11.18 – Simon rowing back to Firbush
That time, mum, sister and I got on our rowing boat in Galicia and off we went. Soon, mostly because of my inability to stop giggling, we started going round and round in circles and away from the coast.
It wasn’t until an hour later that we managed to land, a mile away from our beach. So we had to walk all the way back, barefoot on the scorching tarmac, with the boat over our heads, for what felt like an eternity.
11.45 – Reaching the end of our rowing trip
That’s how I knew that rowing isn’t nearly as easy-peasy as it looks. Still, I managed to get a C+ according to Simon.
On a scale from A to C.
11.54 – The kayaks returning to Firbush
All the kayaks returned safely to Firbush after going round the small island on the south end of the loch.
I’ve been thinking that next year I’m going to try the kayak. I’m a hopeless optimist.
11.55 – The kayaks about to leave the water
Thursday afternoon: sailing from Firbush
One of the many things I love about Firbush is that it’s run like a military operation, very much like our own trips.
Once you get there, the only things you need to worry about are whether there’s going to be enough wind to get you to the shore, and whether you’re going to get hungry enough for the berry crumble.
12.00 – The catamarans on dry land
I couldn’t wait to get back on the catamaran after last year’s adventure.
14.11 – Maria & simon preparing their catamaran *
We set up the two catamarans, with some doing more work than others.
14.12 – S. pretending to help with the setup
Simon and I were the first ones to be towed out of the harbour.
There was more wind than in the morning, and the forecast was for it to pick up in the second hour.
14.21 – Our instructor towing us out of the harbour
Captain Simon was in charge of the mainsail and at the helm.
I operated the jib, and the camera.
14.39 – Simon at the helm
The Hawk 20 was out once again, this time with one of the students in charge and no instructor.
14.53 – The Hawk 20 in the distance
Sailing from Firbush to the other end
As we got more confident, we started to sail away from Firbush, towards the south end of Loch Tay.
15.12 – Preparing for another tack
Before we knew it, the speedboat had caught up with us. Apparently we had crossed the “official” sailing line.
So we obediently turned back.
15.16 – Our instructor approaching
But not before trying to race the second catamaran. Alas, they seemed unaware of our intentions.
15.07 – Giving up on racing the second catamaran
So we headed for the windsurfers, who seemed to be having a different kind of fun falling in the water.
15.46 – Windsurfers, up and down
The weather forecast was spot on. The wind had picked up and we were able to glide back and forth.
No one could beat the catamarans, assuming they tried.
16.07 – Saying ‘Hello’ to the windsurfers
The only downside of the wind picking up is that water splashes through the catamaran net, and your shoes end up getting somewhat wet.
Is that a first world problem?
Anyhow, as soon as we got back to Edinburgh, Simon bought two pairs of wetsuit boots for next year.
16.13 – Having a break from all that tacking & jibing
After sailing
Back on dry land, I took some pictures of the Firbush grounds.
They looked quite different from the previous day, when we had that dramatic grey cloud hanging over Loch Tay.
16.38 – Part of the Firbush boat & board collection
The two days we were at Firbush, a team of divers and engineers were rebuilding the harbour wall.
It was addictive watching the divers disappear under the freezing water, and counting the minutes till they reappeared.
And then there was the excavator dropping some humongous rocks.
16.41 – Rebuilding the Firbush harbour wall
Simon and I went to our room and took our wetsuits off for the last time.
I can think of very few things I enjoy more than sailing a catamaran on Loch Tay, on a sunny April afternoon.
17.04 – Loch Tay from our bedroom window
Everyone was out enjoying the weather. Some of the students sat by the loch, just outside Firbush, chatting and waiting for the bar to open.
Others played an impromptu match.
17.44 – Playing football in a tiny team
Simon and I went for a walk along the quiet road.
17.49 – Loch Tay from the road outside Firbush
At 7pm, like clockwork, dinner was served. We had salad, quiche, and ham with French fries. And for pudding there was that yummy berry crumble we had last year.
After round one, I snatched an extra portion of berry crumble while no one was looking. I think.
I took all the photos with the Panasonic.
* J took this photo.