From Glencallum Bay, we took off in fine style, sailing on a broad reach...
...past Little Cumbrae Island...
...with its Stephenson lighthouse.
We were bound for the north end of Great Cumbrae...
...where a great ship was lying at anchor.
She is the
MV Solitaire, the largest pipe laying vessel in the world. She was taking on a supply of pipes from tender vessels. She was built as a bulk carrier in Japan in 1972 but converted to a pipe layer in 1998 by Swan Hunter on the River Tyne. She is 300m by 40m with a gross tonnage of 127,435 tons. She can carry 22,000 tons of pipe and can lay 9km of undersea pipeline per day.
