It all started this morning, Wednesday …….that is with the tinkling symphony played out underneath the hull below the aft cabin where I sleep ( 108 nights now ) …well there are three movements to the symphony ..first  tinkling, then slapping and finally the crescendo known as slamming.  Listen carefully and you can work out long before you look out, the state of the sea and what the wind is up to.

This morning was silence …wind orchestra just warming up ….. then a little tinkling…no more. Then I sensed through the curtains, a little sunshine..time to look at forecast at 6 am. Terrible…then look outside…sunny and calm… then check Met Office against XC weather and Boatie! Not the same so check Navionics…window of opportunity for escape plan in morning …. let’s go.

We let go our lines at 9am on a breezy sunny morning and headed  out into Peterhead Bay Harbour. Progress escape stopped by Port Control …had to hold Station for 20 minutes whilst he let in the big ship’s!

We were out into the North Sea by 9.45am … big big white horses and 20 knot sou’ westerly winds..plus medium sized waves. Virtually head to wind…so motoring the safest way to proceed south.

We soon passed Aberdeen ( yachts not welcome ) , Stonehaven was the halfway point and by now we had picked up the down tide so we decided to try for Abroath…another 30 or so miles…and had to be there by 7.30pm at the latest. The marina has cill tidal gates which only open  3 hours before high tide and 3 hours afterwards.

Through some challenging conditions ..wind speeds got up to 30 knots at one point…and the terrible practice of placing lobster pots along the leading line into a recognised port is disgraceful… rant over… but an awful practice all the same.

Met by Grant at the outer harbour …the Harbour Master of Arbroath..and what a warm welcome we had. A real professional, helpful in every respect pointing out shops, supermarkets, pubs, showers, toilets, etc etc and on duty until well gone 7pm. We had spoken to Grant on the phone at 7am that morning…the only thing was …he didn’t think we would make it!! Well Poli Poli is made of sterner stuff!!

All tied up safely by 7pm and in the pub recommended by Grant…The Old Brew House on the harbour front. Wonderful meal of Arbroath Smokies..and lovely atmosphere plus excellent service. Repleat and tired after 10 hours on the North Sea…we retired to our beds…wonder what the

orchestra will play under me tonight??

Peterhead to Arbroath 66n. miles.

My Arbroath Smokie main course…put in for my big sister and below my dessert…Scottish dumpling called Cootie ( I think ).

Total miles from Eastbourne now : 2,081.8 n. miles.

My pudding …old fashioned yes…but lovely! Scottish Clootie.

No we are not “stir crazy” yet…as one of our esteemed followers suggested today …of course he was in shorts and sailing southwards beyond Brittany to northern Spain…and he had the cheek to ask us to send him some of our “excess  wind”!!

Well yet another poor forecast, heavy showers and gale force winds have kept us here in Peterhead Marina all day.

Just had an amazing orange, pink, red tinged sunset which was accompanied by two very strong westerly gusts of wind which made Poli Poli roll somewhat on her berth. As if to say …no a red sky does not mean good weather tomorrow!

We have watched the tv forecast and looked at the surface pressure charts for tomorrow…and have noted, crossly, the arrival of yet another depression across northern Scotland. So tomorrow is not looking any better.

So today Tuesday, between  the showers we walked into the town …to Weatherspoons pub the Cross Keys…to have our meal. A long walk as the marina is around the big bay from the main port and town. Very windy ….yet there were brief glimpses of the sun and the odd patch of blue sky. We don’t mind the rain ..all we want is for the winds to die down.

The sky over Peterhead Marina at 3pm this afternoon….lovely backdrop to the marina…note prison too!

Each day here in Peterhead our options are;

1. Peterhead to Aberdeen ( all the reports signal that Aberdeen does not welcome sailing yachts and has no marina ).

2. Peterhead to Stonehaven …about 30 n.miles. No marina so no pontoons. You moor up against the stone harbour wall. Rumour has it that Stonehaven has the finest fish and chips in the entire British Isles…and Mars bars fried in batter!

3. Peterhead to Arbroath…about 50 n. miles. Half way to Edinburgh. Has a marina inside an enclosed harbour wall.

4. Peterhead to Edinburgh all in one sail…about 110 n. Miles and a 14 hour journey.

We just need a change in the weather here. Definitely not stir crazy Jonathan!

Sunday and Monday have been truly dreadful weather days…. I won’t mention the shades of grey, the gloom…. but we have had everything except ice, snow and sunshine. Now getting difficult to remember when the sun last came out in Scotland…. and we have been in Scotland for 55 days ( nearly two months ) since we first landed at Campbeltown on the Mull of Kintyre way back on 17th July. The sun shone on that day!

Most weather forecasts are now agreeing…. low pressure cell to the north… so strong winds up to Gale Force 8 and 9…. heavy rain… it has almost become a race to try and escape from Scotland… there must be line somewhere south of us where this bad stuff fades out and we get to enjoy some of the nice, pleasant warm weather the south is currently experiencing.

So what do do? Yes each day we draw up our escape plan… the passage plan south… then compare and discuss ad nauseam all the different forecasts…. tear up the plan… frustration.

So we do boat jobs… and here in Peterhead walk miles and miles to the shops and a pub for a meal….. do the laundry, hoover out the boat…. yes with a hoover! and generally try and maintain Poli Poli in as good a condition as we can…. in the pouring rain. As I type this… at 9pm at night…. the rain is hammering down on the boat.

Poli Poli is centre right below the North Sea oil rigs support and supply ship. Our escape route is clear…out the marina gap on the left, across Peterhead Bay to the outer harbour entrance, turn right and head south….couldn’t be easier!!!!

One point of interest today… last night we noticed the arrival of a very large, peculiar looking catamaran …. peculiar in as much as it had Polynesian type markings on the two hulls, strange flags and up turned pointy bow and stern … both times two. I noticed a number of wet suits ( the garments divers use ) laid out as if to dry on the fore deck ( impossible to dry anything outdoors here in Peterhead ).

Well this strange vessel left this morning at 10am….. and we were informed that it was the support vessel for the Round Britain swimmer …. Ross Edgley’s Great British Swim…. he is attempting to swim 2,000 miles around Britain in 100 days. Well he has just reached Peterhead in 100 days and he has 500 miles to finish in Margate or Ramsgate. So he is also somewhat behind. Ross has been in the news on the BBC recently.

As we understand it Ross swims for 6 hours with the tide, then rests on the support boat for six hours until the tide changes again…. then swims another six hours with tide and so on. He never gets off the boat. We heard that he has now got problems with being in salt water for so much of the time… and ingesting sea water. This has caused bits of his tongue to drop off…. so we heard!! Google…. Ross Edgley.

As we did on on Saturday night when we arrived here…. we made a passage plan to escape from Peterhead. We did that again on Sunday evening… and have done again tonight. The 6am Met Office forecast tomorrow will probable kill off our hard work. On the general land forecasts for the UK on the BBC they are talking of winds in excess of 60 miles per hour for the next two days. Three bad weather days in Peterhead??? Unthinkable! So so frustrating.

The Friday night forecast was not good for our inshore waters area. It rained through the night and we woke on Saturday morning… to more rain and a strong north west wind. But the 6am met office forecast had modertated somewhat. Attending the showers ( facilities ) at 7.45am in Banff I was mistaken for the “watchman” and ended up helping the lovrely Scottish elderly lady work out the code on the ladies loos…. so that she could clean them… all in the pouring rain… plus of course, the grey, leaden skies and strong winds.

We had to make a plan to get out of the very small, crowded Banff marina and then to catch the east flowing tide to Rattray Head and then southwards to Peterhead…. about 35 n.miles. We departed Banff by reversing out along the harbour wall and then a three point turn in one of the gaps between pontoons…. and out into the most westerly part of the Moray Firth or Forth … which is it. We were observed by the locals…. some of whom gave us a cheery wave as we executed the ‘escape’.

Poli Poli about to depart Banff Marina on the Moray Firth.

A roly poly roller coaster ride followed as we surfed the tide and waves all the way past the big fishing port of Fraserburgh….. 9.9 knots at one point. We passed through a number of light rain showers whilst the entire landscape was one of shades of grey and gloom. Far away to the south we could see a little brightness…. which once we turned south round the lighthouse at Rattray Head….. turned into, believe it or not….. sunshine.

Not long after passing the lighthouse, we noted from the chart that we would be crossing over a large number of natural gas pipes on the sea floor. We assumed this was where the natural gas supplies came ashore from the gas fields in the North Sea. At the same time we spied what we thought was, at some distance a huge buoy, but turned out to be a security patrol tug. We maintained our course, but felt intimidated as it left its station and came rather close to Poli Poli…. with no radio contact or signal as to what it was or its function. Hey ho…. memories of being chased by a tug not so long ago on the north west coast of Scotland when trespassing into a submarine torpedo testing area!!

Peterhead Marina looking NW …the good view! Poli Poli mast height in competition with Moby Dick III.

We entered the huge harbour at Peterhead at about 4pm. The sun was shining and there was even some blue sky…. and the nor westerly had finally calmed down. After reporting in to Harbour Control by VHF radio we motored across the harbour to Peterhead Marina. Lots of space and plenty of “wriggle” room as we sailors call it. We berthed near a big German ketch called Moby Dick III…. on its way to Norway via the Orkney Isles. At 4.30pm Poli Poli was put to bed for the night.

Peterhead harbour looking north east showing the fish docks and fish market.

The marina is backed by two rather large sets of buildings….. one is a huge North Sea Oil refinery…. and the other, with the outer perimeter fence not 300 yards from the marina, by the high security Peterhead Prison. Nice.

Peterhead Prison above the marina.

Distance sailed today: 35.12 nautical miles from Banff to Peterhead.

Distance sailed from Eastbourne: 2,015. 02 nautical miles.

 

 

 

After waiting for the Wick Marina office to open at 9am ( we had to pay our mooring dues ) we left our berth at 9.25am. A pleasant sunny morning with a NW breeze, we headed out into the open waters of the Moray Firth heading south east. Strange… the Met Office had forecast NW winds of up to force 5…. but did not see or feel anything above about 8 knots.

Looking back at Wick, yes no rain when we left and lots of blue sky. By 2pm this had all disappeared and we were back to grey and gloomy.

We had noticed massive wind turbine blades and huge supports all wrapped in a type of white plasticky cling film on the harbour wharves in Wick….. so we were not surprised to see a huge wind farm in the process of being constructed out at sea. Certain areas were restricted to vessels …. usually marked by cardinal buoys… so we did our best to avoid passage through…. but did manage to transgress when it came to a working oil field for about an hour. The charts were very misleading. No voice on channel 16 VHF, no helicopter hovering overhead and no fast power boat came out to shoo us away!

We had a long debate about which port to spend the night…. firstly Whtehills had been the first choice, then followed Banff and Macduff…. which were located close by. We dismissed Whitehills as being too small and there were depth issues. Macduff seemed to be more of a cargo, fishing port so Banff was finally selected.

We were off Banff by about 4pm. Mike made contact by mobile phone and we were asked not to enter until at least 5.30pm. The wind had got up and there was rain in the air. Holding station out at sea for over an hour is not an easy operation. Mike finally got the harbour master to agree to 5pm on the basis of our lifting keel.

Bannf turned out to be a very small marina… serving the needs of very small fishing boats and small yachts enclosed by  huge stone walls which looked very 18th century. Space was very limited, manouvering was out of the question…. you could only go in a straight line …. forwards or backwards. So with keel up we navigated to very tight corners and two very narrow entrances. We finally moored up on a strange hammer head berth at 5.15pm. Looking around the marina, it was clear that we were the largest boat in Banff marina.

Banff Marina on the south coast of the Moray Firth. You can see straight away why Poli Poli is the odd one out…. the tallest mast gives it away. Tomorrow we have to reverse through that narrow gap behind Poli Poli in the photo…. somehow turn her round to go out to sea… note rocks.

Distance sailed from Wick to Banff: 53.8 n. miles.

Total distance sailed from Eastbourne to date: 1,979.9 n. miles.

Another photo of Banff Marina in Aberdeenshire. She does look somewhat out of place…. yet Poli Poli is not a big yacht by South coast standards.

Friday…. 7th September 2018. A rest day forced upon us by a red line and strong wind warning. A deep low pressure cell has formed in the North Sea. Getting out of Banff marina by reversing back through two narrow entrances and then a tight right handed turn back out to sea… with rocks on one side would require much more settled weather conditions than we have had today…… and of course, a bit of high tide water in the actual marina!

Tomorrow Saturday 8th September, we will try for the port of Peterhead.

Wednesday began with sunshine but by departure time, had become very grey and windy. Wednesday was the day when we were planning to tackle the infamous Pentland Firth passage out of the Orkney Isles and south to the Scottish mainland. Much of the evening before and part of Wednesday morning was spent on careful tidal planning….. studying tidal stream maps and making calculations based on High Water Dover.

The Pentland Firth is the the channel that divides north east Scotland from the Orkney Islands. This stretch of water links the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. To quote from one almanac …. ‘Passage through or across the Pentland Firth, which is one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the British Isles, where tidal streams may reach 16 knots, requires accurate timing’. And we did.

Our plan was to leave Stromness  at least two hours before the east flowing flood tide started moving in the Sound of Hoxa…. the southern exit/entrance to Scapa Flow.

So we departed Stromness at 12.30pm hoping to cross the inland sea of Scapa Flow first and then join the east flowing tide south of Hoxa. Then allow the tide to guide us to the mid point between Duncansby Head and the Muckle Skerry group of rocks.

Crossing Scapa Flow first, we were able to locate the graves and shipwrecks that litter the floor of this small inland sea. It was wet and windy…. and as we looked to the north east…. history had reminded us that this was the graveyard of over 800 British sailors who died when a German U-boat sank the British battleship HMS Royal Oak in October 1939. Much of the German Grand Fleet was also scuttled here in the First World War.

We felt the strength of the tide as we exited Scapa Flow…. pushing us towards the south east. Unfortunately that is where the wind was coming from…. and wind against tide is not a good thing. This creates short choppy waves which are generally uncomfortable.

Poli Poli held her course admirably, as we navigated through a series of small islands with wonderful Norse sounding names…. Flotta,  Hunda, Farra, Swona and Stroma…. ever conscious of the golden rule… avoid the Skerries at all costs. Once into the Pentland Firth keep well clear of the Pentland Skerries, the Muckle Skerry, Little Skerry, Clettack Skerry and the The Merry Men of Mey ( the latter were too far west to bother us ).

Once mid channel betwen Duncansby Head and the Pentland Skerry…. we were able to turn southwards…. and for every mile we travelled south…. the less we felt the force of the Pentland Firth flood tide. We were safely through….

By 6pm… after an uncomfortable two hours or so from the wind over tide scenario, we entered Wick Harbour….. back on the Scottish mainland. We tied up in the marina…. having first gone the wrong way up a river…. but a friendly cargo ship called us up on the VHF radio and told us to turn round! In a similar manner, a friendly Harbour Master helped with our lines and bid us a warm welcome. Then the heavens opened…..!!!!!!!

Distance travelled…. 41.2 n. miles from Stromness to Wick via the Pentland Firth.

 

Distance travelled from Eastbourne: 1,926.1 n.miles. 

Day 103 to follow tomorrow Friday.

After the long sail yesterday from Kinlochbervie on the Scottish NW coast to the Orkneys via Cape Wrath…. we had a rest! Well…. Christine flew home to Surrey via Edinburgh and Gatwick, Mike and myself did all the laundry! Before that we had to move Poli Poli from our berth in Stromness Marina to the fuel berth to top up our diesel tank. This was quite an operation… but all went well and afterwards Poli Poli was safely back on her berth.

Poli Poli berthed in Stromness Marina on Orkney. There is a very tall mast…well Poli Poli is at the bottom of the second tallest mast in the photo.

Lots of sunshine today…. and no rain. Very much high pressure weather…. clear blue skies and for once… all the colours of the landscape shone through. No more gloomy grey and all shades of darkness.

The high street in the little town of Stromness on the Mainland island in west Orkney.

Tomorrow Wednesday, we will tackle Scapa Flow and the infamous tidal gate known as the Pentland Firth…. which separates mainland Scotland from the Orkney Isles. We will be heading south east from Stromness to the north east Scottish town of Wick.

Scapa Flow may be seen as an inland sea surrounded by the Mainland, Hoy and many smaller islands. There are only two entrances/exits to Scapa Flow… from the west via the Sound of Hoy, which we did on Monday…. and from the south by way of the Pentland Firth and its infamous tidal streams.

We will cross Scapa Flow by keeping close to its western shores and exit the southern end into the Pentland Firth . Here we must pick up the east flowing tide which will sweep us away from South Ronaldsay into the North Sea. Then we make our way to the south and to the coastal town of Wick.

Scapa Flow is full of ship wrecks. There are many historic wrecks with surrounding restricted areas for example Cava Island. In order to make passage across Scapa Flow we have to report in to Orkney VTS VHF Channel 11.

Below is a photo of Scapa Flow…in the very far distance beyond the lighthouse. The landscape is low, flat andwindswept ……..and somewhat desolate.

More on this tomorrow. We anticipate leaving the marina here in Stromness at about 1pm …. why so late? So as to arrive at South Ronaldsway at about 3pm when the east flowing tide will begin. Timing is critical here and we need to get our tidal calculations right.

A very quick, brief blog folks…. we only arrived in Stromness in the Orkney Islands at 6.15pm after a long, long day sailing from Kinlochbervie…. around Cape Wrath …and then across the Atlantic into the North Sea…. and then berthed in Stromness on the Orkney Isles. We are somewhat tired!

Cape Wrath from Poli Poli starboard side…nearly 10am on the 100th day of the voyage round Britain…about 15 n. miles out of Kinlochbervie. The lighthouse can be seen …just about!!

A memorable day….. at 10am this morning Poli Poli drew level with the famous headland Cape Wrath…. at 10.15am we had rounded the cape and were heading to the Orkney Islands. A bright sunny day…. not a drop of rain all day…. a very fickle west wind but a good strong, easterly flowing tide which carried us safely to Stromness. Photos and details will appear tomorrow.

Photo below…to the right the Old Man of Hoy ( natural rock stack ) and an inter-island/ mainland ferry…rather too close to the cliffs!! The stack is on the island of Hoy which is south east of the main island where Stromness is.

Total distance sailed today: 83.5 n.miles.

Distance sailed from Eastbourne: 1,884.9 n.miles

Up at 5.45am today Sunday….hoping to depart Kinlochbervie at 8am and sail east to Scrabster around Cape Wrath. Disappointment followed after digesting contents of the 6am Met Office Inshore Waters forecast …red line plus the word “rough” and the number 6. So no Sailing…forecast even more important when contemplating rounding Cape Wrath.

On returning to my cabin, opened the starboard side curtains …what did I see?? Well whatever it was …it was not there when I went to bed at 10pm the night before. Staring at me was a big red fender on a white hull…….then it dawned…someone had rafted up against us in the night.

I had not heard anything in my aft cabin as all sounds external were masked by the slapping and slamming of the waves under the stern.

So yes …there was a Sailing yacht tied to us on the outside …known as rafting up. Christine heard the boat and said it was around 1am in the morning!!

Poli Poli …early morning Sunday, and a yacht from Finland rafted up against us.

I went out and met the skipper who apologised profusely as to whether he had woken us up. We recognised the boat immediately as we had seen it in Stornoway in the Hebrides…flying a defaced ensign.. the national flag of Finland. We had chatted briefly when they moored up in Stornoway.

As I write this evening, the wind outside is blowing a hoolie and the rain is lashing down. It has been a very windy Sunday but up to this evening …. no rain.

Morning spent on cleaning the boat …Mike did shopping and “heads” cleaning, Christine did all floors and windows, T cleaned oven and galley area. “A tidy ship is a safe ship” we sing to the rythmn of “What do we do with a drunken sailor….early in the morning”…. a happy crew at work.

Christine cleaning the boat windows with Windolene!!

In many of the marinas we have visited, folk have wandered up and said nice things about Poli Poli. This morning was no exception. A pleasant couple ( the gentleman was from Stonehaven on the north east coast ) spoke well of our Sailing yacht. Good job we had just washed the boat! Always nice to hear though. We met them later in the day in the same eatery.

Our reward was planned by Mike…a six mile walk ( nothing is flat in this part of Scotland ) to the little hamlet of Inshegra, to have Sunday lunch at the “Old School” Restaurant and Rooms.

 

Along with an early walk this morning around  Kinlochbervie…T has done 17,000 plus steps today ( about 8 miles )…as did Christine and Mike. Nice lunch in an old primary school classroom…with the sign “Headmaster” over the door to the kitchen. A faint and brief reminder of another life!

Our 6 mile walk through the Scottish Highlands …beautiful lochs and mountains.

 

 

Walking quickly back to the boat as it had started raining …had to get our washing hanging on the guard rails in…Mike. Christine spotted a huge seal in the fish docks…very similar to the possible Leopard seal seen in Lochinver. He or she gazed back at us …wheezing and growling. We think he/she was hungry!

Later in the evening…. out of the blue the Harbour Master appeared …so T went to his office above the fish market and paid the mooring fees…and all very strange …the night before departure was shown the toilets and showers…then HM walked back to the boat and switched on the shore power for us…our batteries were down to 66%… and we needed it. Wind Turbine works well but the wind needs to blow all the time.

All a bit strange Kinlochbervie marina …no welcome, no facilities for most of our stay…and on the phone we were told “this is a Monday to Friday operation!” Disappointing to say the least.

Anyway we hope to cast off our lines at 8am tomorrow Monday and head for Cape Wrath. Fingers crossed for the 6am Met Office Inshore Waters forecast.

After overnight rain, gale 8 eased and we woke to …well..peace and quiet…no wind at all..so the waters of Stornoway harbour were glassy with the odd spot of spilt diesel fuel!

After good showers ashore and a visit to the Co-Op to buy bananas we left Stornoway at 9.10am. Thanked the Harbour Master for the welcome, assistance in mooring up and friendly hospitality during our short stay…and for permission to leave the harbour.

Final view of Poli Poli in Stornoway Harbour on the Isle of Lewis …the outer Hebrides.

 

Three miles out off Chicken Head ( yes ! ) … what do we see all around us…the greyness, the gloom, the glassy sea….and no wind. So for 46.7 n.miles we chugged back across the North Minch to the Scottish mainland and the most north western site of human habitation.

Below the wind speed indicator showing 2.4 knots of wind halfway across the North Minch Channel.

Flat flat and very grey. Apart from 4 fishing boats, a huge trawler out of Fraserburgh on the north east coast and an empty oil tanker …we saw…..

A large pod of dolphins that crossed our bow… and then raced off…probably chasing something for lunch. Followed by a double sighting of two large black whales. One seen by Mike astern and another seen by T out of the port side saloon window whilst doing the washing up in the galley.

Kinlochbervie…afternoon. Poli Poli safely moored up.

Later on a walkabout through the village of Kinlochbervie, we encountered three happy cows, the same number of black spotted pigs raking their snouts in the mud…followed by two sheep…seemingly allowed to roam free on the village streets.

How dare you take pics of us….

So a grey day…but an excellent wildlife day …except for any animals mentioned who are domesticated. The sheep weren’t as they were allowed to poo all over the pavements.

We arrived at the very small pontoon in Kinlochbervie at 3.30pm …a six hour motor across a very strange grey, glassy Sea surface. Tomorrow we tackle Cape Wrath!!

Below…twilight at Kinlochbervie.

Poli Poli moored in the tiny pontoons At Kinlochbervie in north west Scotland…now the furthest north in terms of latitude that Poli Poli has travelled.

Distance sailed today : 46.7 n.miles.

Distance from Eastbourne: 1,801.4 n.miles.