Woke up well after my 7:40am alarm (I dismissed it in my sleep, had a nightmare, and woke up at 8am!). Thankfully everything was packed and ready for me to leave, but I had no time to grab a bite before I left. Turns out I had not read the email saying we had to arrive at 10, and I had arrived at 9 instead! Got on the boat, met the crew (most of whom I had never met before, only one familiar face, besides Hugh, the guy whose boat it was), had tea and a light snack, and set off for portpatrick at 11am. The winds were good, we averaged 6 knots (maxing at close to 9), arriving at portpatrick well ahead of schedule and with plenty of light. Tied up and secured, settled for a cup of tea, followed by spiced hot water (the concoction I've been sipping on all week to keep my cold at bay) while others broke out the Guiness, etc. Dinner was at the Crown Hotel, and the menu was realy enticing - I finally picked venison, although there were at least 5 other options I was seriously considering. Went for a brief walk with a couple of the guys, then headed back to the boat. People were drinking alcohol free prosecco, and I joined them after another cup of my spiced concoction. Once the prosecco was finished, someone opened a bottle of French red wine. I declined, as I didn't want to ruin my sleep by drinking any more alcohol, but everyone said the wine was really good, so I poured a bit into my mug. Ended up chatting till almost 1am, which is not what I expected given how badly I slept last night!
