Out of the Harbour and Turn Left

Day 1 – 4^th June 2007 Aberdour to Anstruther – distance 24.6 NM

We left Aberdour pier at 1505 on a rising tide, into a grey, misty Forth, motoring out with mainsail into an E2. We decided to get some miles under our belt before attempting to sail in the vague hope that the wind would get up, and the engine was eventually switched off just east of Kinghorn. After an hour of peace and quiet the speed had dropped to 2.5 knots and we ended up motoring the rest of the way to Anstruther, eventually tying up against the southerly wall of the inner harbour at 1955.  

Day 2 – 5^th June – Anstruther to Montrose – 55NM

We left Anstruther at 0810 on a falling tide, and motored out into an E2 which gradually increased to an ENE3 as we cleared Fife Ness and at 0950 we were sailing due north at 5.6 knots. Apart from an hour when the wind dropped off, we sailed all the way to Scurdie Ness and, with the ingoing tide, into Montrose harbour, motoring the last two cables. We tied up at the west end of the harbour not far from the road bridge just in time to catch the local bakers before it closed for some brilliant doughnuts.

The harbour at Montrose is yottie friendly, but has nothing in the way of facilities. At night access is limited to the main harbour gate, and it’s a long, roundabout route to the town and the nearest pub. It also is very tidal, as the main harbour is really a channel for the huge inner basin which puts out a fair amount of debris on outgoing tides, This was sufficient to block both our engine cooling water and our loo water intake, both of which had to be cleared.  

Day 3 – 6^th June - Montrose to Stonehaven – 24.5 NM

We originally started out at near slack water at 1035 but had to return to clear the engine water intake, eventually making the open sea at 12 35 into another grey day with a NE2 that came and went, resulting in a mix of slow sailing and motoring. We eventually tied up in the harbour in Stonehaven at 1650 cold and damp, but were warmly greeted by the local private sea rescue service, who gave us a key to the harbour disabled facilities, which had a shower installed.

We had an interesting evening being entertained by the local Morris dancers, who performed vigorously on the harbour wall outside the local pub. I’m ashamed to say that we watched in the warmth of the pub as it was so cold, grey and damp that the only people who were warm were the dancers themselves. It was also Race Night at the local sailing club, and they had quite a fleet of sophisticated dinghies helmed by most 45+ year old sailors in drysuits, who really should have known better …. 

Day 4 – 7^th  June – Stonehaven to Peterhead – 40.4 NM

We slipped our harbour mooring at 0940 and reluctantly motored out into a grey, misty and cold day with NNE2.winds. Under power we made Girdle Ness at 1140 and the wind picked up and veered to the NE shortly afterwards giving us a 5.5 knot beat but it didn’t last and after 30 minutes we were once again motoring. At 1545 the engine temporarily misfired then cleared itself before misfiring again a short while later. We were both convinced that the engine problems were fuel related and decided to change the fuel filter as soon as we could and in the meantime put the sail up as a precaution. We sailed the remainder of the trip, much to the consternation of the Peterhead harbourmaster, and eventually arrived at Peterhead Marina at 1715.

It had been a grey day, and Peterhead was a grey place that did little to cheer us. We could only hope for better things to come.  

Day 5 – 8^th June – Peterhead to Fraserborough – XX NM

After fuelling up we were granted permission to leave the harbour at 1005 and, with a new fuel filter, decided to give the engine a good trial. It was slightly brighter than the previous grey days but with a NNE2 it still felt cold.

The engine performed without the slightest hint of problems, and by 1105 we were off Rattray Head with the sun trying to shine. At 1125 we changed course for Fraserburgh and with the sun shining strongly we hoisted sails for a leisurely beat into Fraserburgh, finally tying up in the West Dock at 1410.

It’s amazing what sunshine can do to cheer the sprits, and we enjoyed the must-see Lighthouse museum next to one of Scotland’s first lighthouses as well as a brief wander around the coast. After procuring some local seafood we returned to the boat to find a substantial Customs and Excise ship tied up opposite us. A Young female officer observed out return, and within minutes we had been boarded by the officer herself accompanied by another more senior officer. They soon lost interest in us as they realise we’d come from Fife and were unlikely to have a couple of tons of crack cocaine aboard so after a brief lecture on suspicious things to look for they left us to

Day 6 – 9^th June – Fraserburgh to Fraserburgh – 2.8 NM

Slipped our moorings at 0630 and motored out of the harbour into thick fog. We hadn’t gone more than a mile when the engine started playing up and we returned back to harbour, thankful for the reverse course feature on the GPS and the radar – with 50 metres visibility it would have been impossible otherwise.

We radioed the harbour master once we had tied up and he gave us the telephone number of the local Volvo agent. We left it an hour, phoning at about 0800 and the phone was instantly answered. The guy apologised that he couldn’t make it immediately as it was Saturday and he was the only person around, but as soon as someone showed up he would be with us. At 0850 he arrived on board and had soon found that the filters between the water trap and the first stage filter bowl were clogged. By 1050 had completed the job, having tested the engine hard, but by this time we had missed the tide and elected to stay another night.

We wandered the harbour and town, and by early afternoon found ourselves watching the local cricket team. It was cold with drifting fog patches, and we were just about to move on when we were invited into the clubhouse for a warm. The heat of the clubhouse was nothing in comparison to the warmth of the club members, and we ended up staying to the end of the match, scoring the whole second innings. We really felt at home there!  

Day 7 – 10^th June – Fraserburgh to Wick – 60.7 NM

We slipped our mooring lines at 0630, out into thick fog, N1 wind with the radar working again, but as it was Sunday there were no other vessels to be seen anywhere. The fog had been down to about 50 metres when we left the harbour, and it gradually lifted with the sun eventually emerging at 1050. It wasn’t until 1445 that the wind shifted and increased enough for sailing, and we had a healthy beat on starboard tack making 5.5 knots with the tide until we closed in on land, motoring the last 5 miles, arriving in Wick outer harbour at 1725.  

Day 8 - 11th June - Wick - 0 NM

Spent the day exploring Wick and its interesting historical streets, museum and coastline. Also spent some time with the RNLI and the harbourmaster deciding the best approach to the Pentland Firth. A very different town

The distance from Wick harbour to Duncansby Head is, we were told, 16 miles. The best time to cross the Pentland Firth is at local high water, which, on the 12^th June was 0824 and just after neaps. According to the tidal flows the flooding east running tide would result in a southerly current beyond Duncansby head that we estimated would be of the order of 1 knot. We therefore needed 3 hours at just over 5 knots across the ground to make the headland on slack water, and we needed to be away at 0530.

We blearily slipped our harbour moorings at 0530 and with a N1 motored north, at first making 6 knots but the nearer we got to Duncansby head the faster we moved. Our guess was that the east going tide through the Pentland Firth was creating a back eddy close to land, giving us an uplift of up to 2 knots so even going slowly we arrived at Duncansby Head at 0800, 24 minutes before high water. Our crossing of the Pentland Firth was uneventful but it was obvious that even close to high water there was still an east running current and we were hit by numerous different swirls and eddy’s requiring constant vigilance on the helm. It was only after we had moored the boat and looked at the log did we realise how much our track had been affected by the easterly flow before high water. As we approached Ronaldsay andpast Swona Island the currents got even stranger, and our speed fluctuated wildly from anything from 3.5 to 8.5 knots.  

By 1040 we had made The Grinds shallows at the entrance to Scapa Flow and the wind picked up to a NE2/3. We had a wonderful sail across the old naval anchorage to the NE corner and Scapa harbour, where at 1345 we picked up a Harbour Authority mooring. With the mooring just a short row from the harbour and Kirkwall just a 30 minute walk it was an ideal place to stay for a few days while we explored

Alongside the harbour in Scapa are the Orkneys Port Authority offices, handy for a booklet on the harbours and marinas around. Nearby is also a small memorial museum to those that died on the Royal Oak battleship sunk by a German U boat early in WW II.