Productive day, but no sailing

The weather forecast for today had looked doubtful yesterday and lying in my berth this morning I could hear the wind whistling through the rigging. It was a bit over the top of comfortable, if it had been blowing from a useful direction, we may have headed out, but it wasn’t. It was from the SW, so if we had left, it would have been on the nose all the way.
Without leaving my warm bed, I made the decision that today wasn’t going to be a sailing day. From the ZZZ’s coming from the ‘Forward Ensuite Stateroom’, I could tell that John agreed.
After our excellent meal last night, followed by the Single Malts, we weren’t ever so hungry. Breakfast was a glass of Orange juice, after which John went off shopping and I set about some repairs.
First, the plug and socket on the autohelm were changed. This wasn’t completely straight forward as the chandler had supplied the wrong item, but by swapping parts from the old one, I was able to complete the task.
This was followed by sorting out the AIS which hasn’t been transmitting this year. The diagnostic program on the PC said the antenna was faulty, so I changed it for one I’d ordered on the internet. Again, they supplied the wrong one, and it had to be returned for one with the correct plug. I connected it up and once again the AIS is transmitting.
By now I was on a roll, so out came the new Bluetooth dongle for the PC, result. That was followed by the Long Range WI-Fi dongle, with the directional antenna. All the drivers were loaded, dongle plugged in and wow, a list of available Wi-Fi connections.
Whilst out shopping John had booked us back into the restaurant for lunch, so after a short walk round the town we had our Sunday Roast.
John and I thought we deserved the onboard afternoon snooze, but we weren’t to get it until much later. Parked outside the restaurant was the Arbroath Tourist Train and it would be leaving shortly. We leapt aboard. We couldn’t have looked too spritely, me with my walking stick, as the young girl gave us two concessionary fares. We didn’t argue with her.

The train took us along the front, passed the funfair, passed the football stadium, passed the golf courses, up to the abbey, down the High Street, and passed all the fish smokers. 

After all that excitement, we deserved our snooze.

And the adventure continues

First, a quick update. The uncomfortable ankle was diagnosed as a 'non displaced fracture' for which I attended the Fracture Clinic. There Chrissy, I and the consultant studied the X-rays. The fracture for which I was called back to the fracture clinic is an old, healed one, which isn't the cause of my discomfort. The discomfort is probably a sprain, which I should rest. As resting is not a option, the consultant set me up with an ankle support boot, which I can wear when I feel the pain. 

Carrying my ankle support boot in my bag, I met Brother- in- law, John at St Pancras station rwhere we boarded the 14:00 train to Arbroath. At 14:20, we left our faulty train for another, which left thirty minutes late. 

The train did make up some time on the way north. 

We briefly stopped at Calviere II to leave the surgical appliance, (Das Boot), on board and headed off to find the Arbroath Smokie. 

At home

It turns out that when I slipped on the wet pontoon in Mallaig six weeks ago, I fractured my ankle. The X-rays shows a 'non-displaced fracture'. I have to attend the Fracture Clinic next week. 

And our kitchen smells of Arbroath Smokie. 

Leave Calviere II in Arbroath and travel home

The weather forecast again wasn't looking too good. As the next harbour on my route is Anstruther, another drying harbour not suitable for a longer stay, I decided to leave Calviere II in Arbroath. I confirmed that my Autohelm problem is the deck plug and socket, so I need a new one.

After a quick trip to the laundry and a good clean up, I was on the 13:58 train to Edinburgh. A fairly uneventful train journey south and I was back home by 22:50.

Stonehaven to Arbroath

It wasn't a particularly comfortable night against the wall at Stonehaven. There was a bit of a swell, and due to the long length of the mooring lines, we kept having violent jerks as the lines went tight. The lines had to left long due to the tidal range.

The weather wasn't the ideal that I had been enjoying, a bit cooler and a bit damper, but it was a useful breeze. The longer range forecast was also a bit more lively later in the week. I couldn't leave Calviere II in Stonehaven unattended as the berth wasn't good or secure. I needed to move on.

The sail to Arbroath was exciting and fun for most of the way, a close reach with the tide running under us we were moving along at around six knots. The autohelm again decided not to play, but it was able to keep the helm fixed while I had my lunch or updated the log. I had put a reef in the genoa shortly after leaving Stonehaven, but with a couple of hours still to go, I needed to put away more genoa and reef the main.

The wind continued to increase, so I put away all the genoa and motored towards Arbroath. The seas had built and the occasional wave came over the sprayhood. Also the sea was coming from the port quarter and a couple of breaking waves did make it over the dodgers.

The approach into Arbroath was not so fun. The sea coming from directly behind and the tide pushing one way, and the wind the other, it was a bit like a wet roller coaster. I lined up the leading marks and held on.

It was still bumpy in the outer harbour, but I swung to starboard and all was calm in the middle harbour. Here I prepared the lines and fenders before entering the locked marina harbour, where the marina staff were waiting to catch my boat on the pontoon.

Peterhead to Stonehaven

I had a bowl of porridge for breakfast, replaced empty gas bottle and refuelled, before I sought permission from Harbour Control to leave. The wind was light, slightly off the nose, and for a while I was able to use the main sail and the genoa, but I needed the engine to keep the speed up. As I approached Aberdeen, the wind dropped, and went further round to the west, so I put the genoa away. There were lots of tugs, oil field support vessels, and tankers moored inside the bay. There also was a fairly regular helicopter service in and out of Aberdeen. Aberdeen harbour is only interested in commercial vessels and offers no facilities for recreational yachtsmen, which is a pity. I’m sure if they out their minds to it, a small pontoon could be installed. I’m sure it would be well used.

I had telephoned ahead, and had been allocated a berth on the wall at Stonehaven. The harbourmaster also promised to leave a key to the toilet block under a road cone. After I had collected the key, and went for a short tour of the very attractive town of Stonehaven.  

Banff to Peterhead - Round Rattray Head

Inside the Harbour Master’s office at Banff, there had been two pictures of note. One, a picture of Princess Matilda, signed by the owner, Timothy Spall. Princess Matilda isn’t a small vessel and he did well to bring her into such a compact harbour. James, the harbour master said that Princess Matilda spent the winter in Banff, when Timothy Spall and his wife, Shane did their circumnavigation.

The second black and white photo showed the harbour shortly after the Second World War completely filled with fishing boats. Wall to wall and front to back, with not room to squeeze in another dinghy.

James had recommended leaving at 10:00 to catch the current round Rattray Head. As promised the current carried me round, sometimes touching 7 knots. Once again, I was motoring  in a dead flat calm, with a little wind. After I’d rounded Rattray Head, I was able to use the sails a bit, but I still needed the engine on to keep a reasonable destination time.

I moored in Peterhead Marina, assembled the Bickerton bicycle, and headed into down, with the intention of finding a few more provisions for tomorrows breakfast. I found a hotel offering Sunday Lunches up until 19:00, so I had a proper cooked dinner, with real vegetables!

I have had some emails of encouragement, one from Peter H, who is due to join Calviere II at Whitby, and another from Peter Ashbolt, RNLI Maidstone Branch Fund Raiser. He asked if I told Colin at Longhope Lifeboat about the terrible weather conditions we suffer when collecting for the RNLI in Maidstone High Street in November. Sorry Peter, it didn’t seem appropriate.

Rattray Head

Peterhead Marina

Lossiemouth to Banff

I ate on board last night.
In the morning, walking back after my shower, I did have a guided tour of a Westerly Riviera, Oriel, which was also on the Visitors berths. Very nice Motor Sailor, ideal for the Scottish Climate, and heading out to the Orkneys. I again suggested calling to see the delights of Longhope.
I did manage to find a post card before leaving, after I'd fried myself some of the huge mound of food that John had left on board. It’s  well past the best before dates on most items in the fridge. Nothing too green yet.
I left Lossiemouth a few hours before HW. It is 25 miles to Banff, and I didn't want to arrive too near low water as the inside of the harbour dried out.
I spotted some dolphins in the bay as I left. There was a light wind from the NW, so I was able to use the sails for a while, but keeping the engine on to keep the speed up to five knots. After a while, even the little breeze died away and the sun came out.
As planned, I entered Banff harbour about two hours before Low Water. It is a beautiful harbour, and very compact. I barely had room to turn Calviere II before putting her onto a visitors berth.
I walked into town, bought a post card at the tourist Information and some provisions from the Co-op. I'm sitting in the harbour office, wondering where the harbourmaster is, using his wi-fi. I can't get back to the boat as I need a key from the harbourmaster. 
James, the Harbour Master, is a fellow Westerly Owners Association member, with a Centaur. Now that is the sort of job I’d like. Keep my own little boat in my own little harbour, surrounded by beautiful scenery.

Inverness to Lossiemouth

After settling up with Craig, I spent the morning giving the boat a bit of a cleanup, before setting off at 11:00 (HW -1:30). There was little wind and what there was, was from the East. So I did have the engine on all the way.

After passing under the Kessock Bridge and had entered the Moray Firth, I was joined by two dolphins. One was determined to put a good show, jumping right out of the water, falling back tail first. They jumped in and out of the bow wave and the wake. Fantastic, but difficult to photograph as they never appeared in the same location or bearing twice.

The sea was completely flat with barely a ripple. I carried on polishing the boat, just keeping an eye out for the occasional look round, and keeping the log up to date.

I arrived in Lossiemouth at 18:00. I had a quick look round the town, mainly looking for a postcard, without success. Hopefully, I find one tomorrow before I leave.

Some bad news from home, Eddie is being made redundant from June. I hope they give him a pot of money for the big boat, but he is too young to retire.

Inverness

I write this sitting at Craig's desk in the marina office, still using my laptop. My attempts to write the blog from the iPhone have ended in failure.
Yesterday, after waving goodbye to John, I went in search of a iPhone repair man in Inverness. Chrissy’s internet search suggested that there maybe two, one ‘The Apple Store’ and Inverness Mobile Phone Repairs.
The Apple store staff were helpful, but they only had new phones, and arranged under warranty repairs on the latest models.
The phone repair man could change the battery, but he didn’t have one in stock. He could send it off for replacement and it would be ready for collection next week. Not much use to me then.
So I went off in search of a ‘New’ phone. CET exchange had a second-hand iPhone 4 which looked really smart, so I bought it, even though I would need a new ‘micro sim’ card. The young lad in the store assured me that EE – Orange will issue a new sim card in the Inverness store.
I went to the Inverness EE store, and after talking to some chap in India, they would send me a new micro-sim, but it had to be to my home address. Not much use to me then
Back to CET, exchanged the iPhone 4 to a 3GS they had in stock.
I couldn’t download any apps for weather forecasts or to update the blog as the firmware needs updating. To update the firmware, it needs to be connected to iTunes, via a computer.
So this morning, I took my computer and phone to the marina office. After much looking on the internet I determine that to install iTunes on the ToughBook Laptop, I need the latest version of windows. I think it is time to give up, and the only way I can update the blog is when I have a wifi connection for the laptop.
David and Craig in the Inverness Marina Office have been very kind, allowing me to plug the PC into the LAN, and use Craig’s desk for the last hour.


Craig, sitting at David's desk, as I've borrowed his.



The marina is all very new and smart. The paint was still drying on the shower block yesterday. The washing machines in the laundry have been working hard for me.

I was going to pop my sleeping bag into the dryer, but I’m going to run it up the mast as a flag, in honour of my mum’s birthday today. Happy Birthday Mum, Love from Inverness.

Helmsdale to Inverness

We needed to catch the incoming tide again to carry us to Inverness. As Helmsdale is rather shallow, this meant leaving a couple of hours before low water, so we were out of the harbour at 02:15. Very little wind, but sun rise was at 04:15, so it did brighten up a bit. It was a little misty and damp for most of the journey. And then we had a visitor.

Seabastian Seagull  stayed with us for well over an hour. He first landed with much scrambling and squawking and was very unstable up on the pulpit. But he soon took to it like Kate Winslett. After 10minutes or so, he’d fly off, circle the boat a few times, and then settle on the water. After a short while, he’d slip behind by 300 – 400 metres. When he disappeared from view, he’d rise up and come swooping back to his perch upfront. This went on for 10 miles.

We did see a number of dolphins in the bay where the river narrows and the tide speeds up. They weren't interested in us.

We arrived at Inverness Marina at 10:00 and filled up with fuel. There was a dolphin swiming about inside the marina when we arrived. Rather distracting watching the dolphin, when we should have been looking at where we were heading.

John packed his extra large and heavy sailing bag, we took a taxi to the station, had some lunch, and John took the train to Kirkcaldy where is son lives. 

It had been a pleasure sailing with John. An experianced skipper, John has a background in Civil Engineering Surveying. He likes to calculate things out to the second decimal point, and then find an alternative method, so he can determine the error. My planning background means I don’t really care about the detail. If the tide time table says 07:48, then I’m happy to work things out from eight o’clock and not get distracted by the minutes and seconds. Many thanks to John, and also to Jennifer for keeping Johns customers steady in his absence. He'll soon be back with the grandchildren.

Wick to Helmsdale

A gentle motor with the incoming tide towards Helmsdale. We did encounter some local patches of sea mist were the visibility dropped to around 500m. With the AIS we could see any larger vessels, but there wasn't any for miles. Smaller vessels and fishing boats don't tend to have the AIS transponders, so we had to keep an eye out for those, as well as the fisherman’s lobster pots.
My AIS transponder doesn't seem to be working. I get position information on other vessels, but I'm not transmitting. When I plugged the computer in for the diagnostics it told me that the signal from the GPS aerial was suspect, but I haven’t been able to work out what the problem is.
We arrived in Helmsdale at 20:00, and rushed straight up to the pub for a fish & chip supper, with a couple of the single malts.
Helmsdale was spectacularly beautiful, the small village being surrounded by bright yellow gorse.
The harbour master had left his bill on the boat. I left the money in the toilet block and phoned him in the morning to apologise for missing him.

Out and about in Wick

John and I ate in the Wetherspoons and then had a early night.
And then in the morning we returned to Wetherspoons and had the Scottish Breakfast. John had the 'Large Scottish' which was exactly the same as the standard, but time two of everything.
We had coffee on Oakum II, which was alongside Calviere II, with Hugh and Katie. They are making there way out to the Orkneys, up from Oban via the Caladoneon Canal.

John went off for a swim in the pool and we left at 14:00.

Longhope to Wick

Firstly, lets get the bad news out of the way.I woke up this morning and the iPhone was completely dead, despite having been on charge all night. I took it up to the Lifeboat station, and tried the mains charger in there, again with out any success. Dead iPhone. This means that keeping the blog up to date can only be carried out with the laptop, for which I need wi-fi connection. It also means that putting picture on the blog may not be simple as I'll need to download them from the camera, on to the laptop.

I have been carryng one of my many spare phones, so I swapped the sim card into the Manx Telecom phone and now I can send and recieve texts, and talk to my Chrissy.
Other than that minor inconvieniance, a good day.
Colion arrived at 09:00 and drove us over to the Longhope Lifeboat Museum, for which he is also a volunteer. A 1932 Watson Class, kempt in wonderful condition in her original shed. One of the later lifeboats was lost with all hands in 1969.

Colin did offer to take us on a tour of the island but we needed to be away by 12:00
We slipped out the harbour at about five to twelve and we were soon gripped by the tide against us. For a while our speed dropped to under a knot. With very little wind we just had to sit there until the tide turned in our favour, and shortly after we were up to well over five knots.
In the clear sunshine, we motored across the Pentland Firth, leaving a small wake on the flat seas.
We arrived shortly after 18:00 in Wick, where we mored in the marina.

An excess of good living

We had a really good sail out of Stromness, a broad reach in a force four, from the west. We turned on the engine for the last mile into Longhope. Longhope had no signs of life when we arrived, so we moored up inside the small harbour, behind the lifeboat. A short while later we saw a couple walking their dogs. Colin said we were alright where we had tied up, so we stayed put. 

Colin then very kindly worked out the best course and time to leave tomorrow, heading for Wick, using the charts in the lifeboat station. And then he gave us the full tour of the Longhope Lifeboat, a Tamer class. Very high tech, but no less then the lads deserve. 

As a short aside 'Artie', the German shepherd won 'Best Looking Dog' in Kirkwall yesterday. (Left - Colin, Right - Artie)

We walked the short distance up to the Longhope Hotel, which wasn't serving food. It made up for it with lots of atmosphere and an open fire.  John made two good friends, and we did try a few of the scotches. 

Stromness rest day

First, I popped the accumulated washing into the marina washing machine. After a luxurious / necessary shower, I put the wet washing in the dryer and we had breakfast in the cafe opposite the marina. After an easy breakfast I collected the warm washing.

We met Bobby, the marina manager, paid our harbour dues and filled the fuel tanks. Alongside the fuel pontoon was a motorsailor  from Tollsbury, in Essex, who is heading to Iceland and Greenland, singlehanded.

We took the bus to Kirkwall and had a good wander around the town. We had a good look inside the St Magnus Cathedral, were a local accordion group were playing traditional Orcadian music. One of the members sang the Lords Prayer, accompanied by an accordion, and with the acoustics of the cathedral, it sounded really beautiful. 

We had intended to stop at one of the prehistoric archeological sites on the way back to Stromness, but the bus time table made this impossible.     

In the evening, we walked across the road again, this time to The Ferry Inn. We both enjoyed the Seafood Chowder. 

Dinner was followed by two traditional single malts.