Campbeltown - 17 June 2006 (day 28)

Yacht Gothik

Campbeltown Harbour

Campbeltown

Argyll & Bute

17 June 2006

Click here to see a map.

Logged distance: 11M

Chart distance: 12M

Time under way: 2h 40m

Saturday 17 June 2006

A short hop today - just 12 nautical miles to get us to Campbeltown. Campbeltown has the distinction for being the town furthest from any other town on the UK mainland. Light winds were forecast from the SW so I was really hopeful we would be able to pop the spinnaker. However, when sitting outside in the cockpit for our morning coffee there was no evidence of any wind at all. After breakfast it started to rain - light soft warm summer rain - but still no wind.

Ben and I made a trip ashore to pick up some eggs from the farmhouse. Keith had some last night for his supper - they looked tremendous and he highly recommended them. While ashore we had a tour of the old school house which had recently been converted into a self catering holiday house. Two double bedrooms, one bunk room with two beds, a kitchen and a good sized living room with an open fire. Simple but very nice, a shade under £400 for a week. There was also other rental accommodation in or amongst the farmhouse buildings.

Back on the boat, still not a breath of wind so unhappily we set off using the engine. It was lunchtime and since we had run out of bread for making sandwiches lunch turned out to be haggis and mashed potatoes. Like mashed potato, I don't think I could ever get bored of haggis, certainly not at times like these. It is delicious, wholesome, heartwarming and fills a big appetite. To add to the excitement Ben caught two more mackerel and was just reeling in a third when we lost it and all of our newly purchased tackle. At least we still had enough for dinner.

On the way into Campbeltown harbour we spotted a navy vessel flying the Union flag from its jack staff. As far as I'm aware the only time a boat can fly the Union flag at the jack staff is when royalty is aboard. We waved and got a cheery wave back. Incidentally the only time the Union flag can properly be referred to as the 'Union Jack' is when it is being flown from the jack staff - this being the flag pole at the bow of the vessel. Gothik does not have a jack staff so it meant we couldn't send out a dinner really invite - in any case I doubt our mackerel would extend to more than us.

The harbour master at Campbeltown was very friendly. He helped us with our lines, gave us a warm welcome and took pains to describe what shops and facilities were available. The yacht berths in Campbeltown are conveniently located right at the end of the main shopping street. The street was full of pretty buildings but most were looking a little run down. By now we had eaten through a good proportion of our provisions on Gothik and were ready for a good shop. Unfortunately we had arrived a little too late to take advantage of the shops at the end of the pier - they were all closing - so it meant a walk to the local supermarket. Keith pushed the trolley as Ben and I started to fill it. Ben and I managed to hold back for a while on some of the heavier items but it soon became pretty obvious that we were not going to be able to carry it all. The point of critical mass didn't last for very long, suddenly we stopped holding back and ended up with an overflowing trolley - one that inevitably developed a tendency to crab sideways along the aisles... and through the checkout... and into the car park... and across the road... and down the street... and into town... and along the pier. The harbour master was still friendly but slightly dismayed at our setting a bad example - last season he'd had to pull three shopping trolleys from the depths of the yacht berths. He was a little happier when we set the new precedent of returning the trolley.

To the preparation of dinner then. I had a River Cafe recipe for linguine, sardine and saffron, for which I thought could be altered to linguine, mackerel and saffron. It meant filleting the mackerel which I was a little unsure about but (after the first) was surprisingly easy. Cooking involved toasting some pine nuts, soaking some saffron, soaking some raisins and then frying garlic, crumbled chilies and tarragon in a little olive oil before adding the fish fillets for a further couple of minutes. Once the pasta is cooked all the ingredients (pasta, pine nuts, saffron, raisins and fish) are combined. Add seasoning and drizzle with olive oil and lemon. I can't begin to tell you how good this was. Aside from looking sensational (the saffron had given the pasta a rich golden colour) the flavours were astonishing. We all thought this the best dish we had eaten on the trip so far. More fish please Ben, more fish please.

Next dessert. In the supermarket we had got some raspberries and marscapone cheese. Ben took this a stage further and blended most of the raspberries with the marscapone, crushed some highland shortcake and added melted butter, then proceeded to pack it into a dish and produced a raspberry cheesecake topped with fruit. Delightful and superb. More please Ben, more. We were stuffed but somehow managed a cup of coffee and chocolates.