Better not to know

Sometimes it is better not to know what you don't know as Donald Rumsfeld once nearly said.
A lively trip to Loch Ranza and around the Kyles of Bute was the case in point.
After a lazy start with a short hop to Millport, enjoying a couple of Bottle nosed Dolphins frolicking about en route, I managed to get back to Loch Ranza for the second time in recent weeks, this time getting ashore and up the road to the distillery to renew fading stocks of the water of life.
Leaving Arran in a brisk north-easter progress to the Cock of Arran was slow but I looked forward to a quick reach down to Lamlash in the late afternoon. Instead the wind shifted south east and piped up leaving the prospect of a long uncomfortable beat against tide and wind.
I stuck at it for an hour but then sense took over and a course was set to Inchmarnock, a fetch turning into a reach as the wind veered further south and increased to a steady force five gusting six. Crunluath was in her element and a steady five and a half knots with a few bursts of six plus soon had us into the Kerry Kyle. Continuing up to Tighnabruich I opted for a night at Balnacarry Bay at Burnt Isles, a trifle uncomfortable when the tide turned and the wind swung back to north east but a good end to a great day's sailing, the Arran was uncorked and tested for quality, it passed!
The morning saw the north-easter continuing to blow five to six so a few rolls of genoa plus engine saw us down the East Kyle to Loch Striven. I hoisted a double reefed main, took in a few more rolls of genoa, killed the engine and set course back home.
Three Maersk line bulk carriers are laid up in this part of the Clyde, I pinched to clear the bow of one of them off Rothesay and continued towards Largs in lively conditions with a good deal of pounding into the waves but comfortable despite pulling out the furling line stanchion mounted blocks whilst attempting to further reduce sail.
I was safely moored back at the marina tidying up when a passer by commented, "Should it look like that?", pointing to the fore stay fitting on the foredeck. It was bent up by a couple of inches having pulled the stainless steel 10mm rod partially out of the stem and bent it and another securing bolt. Beads of sweat formed as I realised how close I had come to loosing the rig overboard.
It was a great trip in perfect sailing conditions but now I am back to having a floating caravan until a new bracket it fabricated and installed. A permanent solution will have to wait until the boat is ashore at the end of the season but I have a little plan, all that is needed is ingenuity, a lot of sweat, maybe a few tears in the confines of the pointy end of the boat and we should be back in action before too long.