Week Three
| Date | Blog Entry | Related Pictures |
| 12/07/08 | With
a better forecast although still not a brilliant one we made the
passage from Arbroath to Stonehaven. It was overcast and the
cloud was quite controlling on what the wind was doing but
leaving Arbroath with it on the quarter we screamed along
at over 5knts. The wind coming off the land meant that there was
a flat sea so Padiwak could really get going but it was slowly
changing. To get to Stonehaven you have to follow the coast
around the 'corner' which meant the after a while the wind was
on the nose. It had steadily increased and was blowing between
20-25knts, this wasn't much fun, punching into steep waves and
with each wave horizontal spray would be blasted into the
cockpit. At this moment I was really thinking 'What am I
doing out here?' but once into Stonehaven that thought
disappeared instantly. Stonehaven is a beautiful harbour
probably one of the best so far set into the cliffs. It was the
Stonehaven festival the weekend we arrived so we had bagpipes
playing well into the night along with other instruments, the
sound was heightened on the boat as the harbour has excellent
acoustics surrounded by high cliffs. We met Ian and Andy who we were rafted up to and spent the evening on their boat, thank you for sharing local information and also the lending of the West coast pilot book. We also met lots of other people strangely late at night not on their way home from the pub but on their way to the pub! I'm only going to stay for one night which is a shame as I would of liked to stay longer but I need to make the most of the weather which is looking much better than today, if it isn't I wont be going anywhere! Photos are coming into Stonehaven and of the harbour itself. Thank you to the harbour and the HM for the free mooring in such a wonderful harbour. |
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| 10/07/08 | The weather wasn't too
nice today and it isn't looking to good tomorrow either so I
made the decision to stay in Arbroath today. It has pretty much
rained all day but despite this I managed to go swimming (in the
local pool not the sea!) and also had a look round the town.
Arbroath has a very interesting museum revealing all of the past
history which would normally go unnoticed. The town is
also famous for their 'Smokies' which is smoked fish normally
Haddock. They have a quite a strong taste which I found very
nice the only problem is that there was a smoke house on the
harbour wall and if the wind was blowing the right way it would
fill the boat with the smell of smoked fish. Hoping to leave on Saturday morning heading for Stonehaven before going onto Peterhead. Fingers crossed for improved weather. |
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| 9/07/08 |
Sailed to Arbroath today,
it was a straight sail across the Firth of Forth leaving sight
of land for a couple of hours due to reduced visibility. We made
good speed and had a brilliant sail for about 5hours once the
wind had freshened from about 12o'clock. It was a very
comfortable sail but I was very watchful on the wind in case it
veered round more Easterly as it would have made the entrance
into Arbroath difficult. The weathers not looking to good for the next couple of day so we will need to see what happens. Thank you to George (Arbroath HM) and harbour staff for all of their help and for the free mooring. |
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We are now in Scotland! Again had a very good
day travelling from Amble to Eyemouth in the Borders region of
Scotland. The weather was overcast at first but brightened up
during the day so that we arrived in Eyemouth in brilliant
sunshine. Passing the Farne Islands and Holy Islands was great
it is just a shame that I couldn't of stopped off there for a
night. The entrance to Eyemouth looks pretty daunting as you
approach with the waves crashing against the rocks which
surround the harbour entrance. These rocks claimed lives on the
14th October 1881 when a total of 189 men were lost as an
European Storm lashed the country and boats rushed back to the
harbour. Once passed the rocks the entrance is pretty easy
and with no traffic coming out of the harbour I entered
immediately. As I was coming into the harbour I heard a strange noise which sounded like someone heavily exhaling. I spun round to be confronted by a seal about a foot away from the boat with its large black eyes gazing at me. I quickly put the engine into neutral as I thought he may be stuck in the harbour and I didn't want to hit him. I then found out that the seals had been living there for about 10 years and were quite used to boats. They swim slowly up and down the harbour watching what's going on and are probably being fed by the unwanted fish that the fishermen throw over the side. This is great but now a local seafood stool is selling mackerel for people to feed the seals, but by hanging it off a line so making seals jump for it. This is great for tourism but I can't say I agree with it totally as the seals which come to the harbour by themselves are now going to stay due to the food supply and at the end of the day they are still wild animals. After arriving and mooring Padiwak I was straight back out to sea on Puffin, a glass bottomed boat which takes people out to view the local area. The water is very clear and even in 8 metres (24ft) you could still see the bottom in certain places. We saw all kind of marine life and would recommend it to anyone in the area. Puffins website is: www.ragoodall.co.uk/puffin/ Eyemouth is a beautiful harbour and there are some magnificent views, the next stop will be Arbroath which is straight across the Firth of Forth. Thank you to all at Eyemouth for your help and the free moorings. |
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