Some days you just have to be in the office. Other days your luck changes and a delightful opportunity presents itself!

Last month I was meeting with four good friends from New York who were visiting Scotland for a few days. They wanted to see some of Scotland's west coast and, as luck would have it I had an invitation from a young company, LA Marine to spend a day on "Louise of Granton" a stunningly beautiful 50 foot motor cruiser based in Largs Marina.

My friends and I arrived at noon to be met by Justin and Louise Adams who own this very special boat. After a safety briefing, we motored out of the marina accompanied to a tuneful rendition of Highland Cathedral by the on-board piper, a nice touch which went down well with my American colleagues. Very soon we were in one of the most beautiful sailing areas on the world - the west coast of Scotland.

At this point I was offered the Jet Ski to motor over to the island and help gather mussels to be prepared for lunch. Not dressed for such close contact with the water I decided to take the easy option and left everything to Louise who proceeded to create a quite sumptuous lunch for our party.

The anchorage at Caladh Harbour is idyllic with its own little lighthouse, beautiful houses with lawns running down to the sea and here and there smart refurbished boat houses. After a glass of champagne, lunch was served, prepared on the boats built-in barbeque.

To eat freshly cooked food in the open air is a delight but to eat freshly cooked shellfish and barbequed meats in such luxurious and beautiful surroundings was so special. It was obvious that immense care and attention had gone into every aspect of our short cruise, not only in the preparation of lunch but also in the choice and explanation of the route that we took. LA Marine presented us all with cagouls, to keep as a souvenir, just in case the weather turned inclement - which thankfully never happened!

One of the joys of sailing in the West coast of Scotland is that there are so many islands that even if the weather is poor on one side of the island you can often find calm seas and sunshine on the other side.

After lunch, it was time to think of heading home so we raised the anchor, cued the piper, and headed round the north end of Bute, past Tighnabruaich and into the Kyles of Bute. Once past Blairs Ferry, I was offered the opportunity of the helm and with no other traffic enroute and looking to make up a little time on our schedule, I nudged the controls forward and soon had Louise on the plane at 31 knots.

Our trip on this day was just to explore the Kyles of Bute, but we could have arranged to be dropped off for lunch, go dolphin spotting, visit a distillery or enjoy a game of golf. We had enjoyed a few hours in some of the most dramatic landscapes in the world - yet we were only an hour from Glasgow. Some days you just have to be in the office. Other days you get lucky!