China Girl, UK Circumnavigation - Year 6

From Cromarty to Inverness, CG's winter home was only 17 miles, the wind was very light, we got 10 minutes of sailing in our last trip of the season but essentially it was a motoring day.

05 September 2024

Cromarthy firth

This is the view from CG looking the other way in Cromarty Firth. No so good.

05 September 2024

Wick to Cromarty in our passage plan was 55 miles, mostly on a heading of about 220 (SSW). The wind had been south-westerly for days and we didn't fancy a 55 mile beat so we delayed and watched the weather like hawks. Eventually a day of Westerlies, not too strong was forecast so we went for it. We [...]

05 September 2024 | Castle of May

Castle of May

Dunrobin Castle and Castle May are both well worth the visit if you are ever up that way. The latter has been kept just as HM The Queen Mother left it the last time she visited in 2001. The lady that introduced us to the castle had been working there since she was a child, she was probably in her 70s. [...]

26 August 2024 | Wick Marina

Bye Bye Orkney

It's time to leave Orkney and head south back to mainland Scotland on our way to our winter base in Inverness. Landfall on the mainland will be Wick. Much thought and head scratching has gone in to this trip: timing, distance, tides and mostly the sodding weather. Perm all these. From where we are [...]

26 August 2024 | Wick Marina

Washing the outboard

From Calf sound a 2 hour trip on the motor to Whitehall in Papa Sound on the northern end of Stronsay. It was mostly upwind and we couldn't be bothered to tack all the way. Two nights on a visitors buoy and a look around the village.

Stromness, neolithic remains and Scapa Flow

25 July 2024 | St Margaret's Hope Bay

Ann and Steve Crome | Sunny, rain soon

We spent 5 nights in Stromness. It's a very small town but there is a lot to do from there. Not least the plethora of neolithic remains in the area. There are two sets of standing stones within walking distance of each other, Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar, both less impressive but much older that Stonehenge. A little bit further on there is Skara Brae, the remains of a 3000 year old stone age village. Excellently presented with a lot of information. Between all these is an ongoing dig at Brodgar, another much larger stone age structure of unknown use but thought to be a meeting place; I bet the O2 won't still be there in 3000 years.

Left Stromness yesterday for a hard beat straight into the wind across to the other side of Scapa Flow at St Margaret's Hope. Pretty little village with an excellent cafe/pub for lunch. We haven't found out what she hoped for. We're spending a week or so exploring Scapa Flow then going to the more northerly Orkney islands and Kirkwall. A crewmate, Ray is joining us for a week from August 13th; we may go to Fair isle if the weather is right.

Photo shows the ongoing neolithic dig.

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