Turn your lap top on its side to view.
| 18. Scotland |
|
Comments [0]
29/08/2009
Sailing on Loch Fyne
| 18. Scotland |
|
29/08/2009, Orkney
One needs low tide to visit the island fort of Birsay Broch. Sadly a NW gale blew in, hammering the area which is at the far north of the Mainland. Not to be deterred, we put on full wet weather gear and struggled across the narrow causeway to inspect the neolithic/Viking overlay village, chapel and fortress. The equally unfortunate manager of the site then followed us across to collect our pass no doubt cursing his luck that dumb tourists were doing this in the pouring rain and screaming wind. All three of us then crab crawled back just as the storm surge was beginning to wash over the causeway. From there it was an inspection of the ruins of one of several Earls palaces before heading SE to the Gurness Broch, another old fort and village. We also toured an old farm house inhabited up until the 60's but fully equipped in the traditional manner of Orcadians. Then it was time for lunch so off to Kirkwall to Helga's restaurant/bothy bar. A further Earl's palace was seen, just opposite the most impressive St Magnus cathedral. Off to the Highland Park distillery for a short tour and taste and then up to Maes Howe for the twilight tour of this neolithic or early Pictish tomb buried in a mound. The vikings had been before us and decorated the place with Runic graffiti, some of which is quite rude. Finally, it was back to the standing Stones of Stenness for a photo shoot in evening light as the wind moderated.
Today, another gale blew in, this time from the SW. 40+ knots out in Scapa Flow. We chose this time to take a ferry trip to the nearby island of Hoy and did the walk out to the Old Man of Hoy, a 134m high sea stack. It was then back to Lyness for a short video presentation of the role of this area in both world wars. Curiously the presentation is projected onto the inside of the wall of an extremely large oil tank. The viewer is also inside the tank, which is about 50m diameter and 30m high. An excellent show despite the diesel background. The gale was still blowing on the way home across the sound.
| 18. Scotland |
|
Just done Hammo Race Week, the big wind day got to 13 knots. Most in 3 to 6 knots. How did Hughie know you were out of the country?
Philc.
28/08/2009, Scorradale, Orkney Island
A full SE gale greeted us upon awakening in Largs marina but by lunchtime it had blown itself out. With Big Blue fully tanked we had a gentle sail back to Rothesay on Bute island to unload and cleanup. A very pleasant night followed with Chris and Viv. This included a trad jazz evening at the famous Esplanade hotel. A big thank you to both of you for the loan of Big Blue - a lovely yacht.
The next phase of our journey saw us flying north to land at Kirkwall on the main Orkney island, known as the Mainland. Renowned for its neolithic, Viking, medieval and more recent maritime history, the island was a compelling destination for us. So, it was into full tourist mode with a small rental car and the Lonely Planet guide. We were able to obtain B and B accomodation at Mrs Clouston's Scorralee cottage and this is quite nice. It is roughly halfway between Kirkwall and Stromness.
| 18. Scotland |
|
25/08/2009, Largs
Largs is described as a "retro Scottish town" and indeed it seems to be a 60's throwback. However, it has an interesting history including the decisive battle of Largs in 1263 in which the Norse were defeated and expelled from Scotland.
The weather is turning grim soon as the tail end of ex-tropical hurricane Bill makes its way here. Ho hum.
Just to remind us about nice sailing, here is a little video taken on Loch Fyne.
| 18. Scotland |
|
25/08/2009, Largs Yacht Haven
The gale was pretty impressive with 40+knots in Loch Fyne. In the marina at Tarbert all the yachts were healed over with the gusts that came on the beam so we had quite a bouncy afternoon in the berth. However, it all passed, which is one of the mercies of this place. The weather comes in quickly but goes equally rapidly. The highlight of the day was drinks and then a very late dinner with John and Susan from Ellen Vannin, a sistership to Big Blue. On Monday a beautiful day dawned and it was off to the island of Arran but this time to the historic town of Brodick halfway down the east coast. Brodick was to be our base for a climb of Goatfell peak 874m. The sail down was all beating to windward in the relentless southerlies that blow at the moment. The topography of the area is also north south so there are actually relatively few sheltered anchorages for this flow. Big Blue punched on down into 15-20 knots of breeze dodging trawlers and the like to eventually pick up a courtesy mooring just off the boat ramp after 4 hours. A short taxi ride to the town of Corrie just north of Brodick gave us access to the track which more or less went straight up to the peak immediately west of the town. It took only 1.75 hours to reach the summit which was cold and windy. However, we were rewarded with views to Ireland, yes, Ireland. The interior of Arran is quite rugged as you will see in the pix. From there we foolishly decided to take the long way down via North Goatfell, The Saddle, and then Glen Rosa. Four hours later we staggered into the dinghy to collapse onto the yacht. Legs are still sore today. The night was quiet fortunately and this morning we set sail back to the mainland in glorious sunshine. The peak of Goatfell remained shrouded in cloud, so we counted ourselves lucky to have achieved the summit and views. A pleasant downwind sail of a few hours finally. We are now in the Largs marina refuelling, washing, cleaning etc in preparation for the return to Rothesay on Bute tomorrow.
| 18. Scotland |
|
