The Pentland Firth is the narrow stretch of water between the north coast of mainland Scotland and the Orkney islands. It may not quite have dragons, but the chart of the Pentland Firth has warnings all over it:

"All vessels: Mariners intending to use the Pentland Firth should be aware of very strong tidal streams and sets within the area. Difficulties can be encountered when transiting either with or against the tide. ... Laden tankers not bound to or from Flotta and Scapa Flow should not use the Pentland Firth in restricted visibility or adverse weather ..."

When they're warning tankers not to go here, a little boat like mine has to take things very seriously.

Most southerners, if we know where the Pentland Firth even is, have only seen it on a road map, or perhaps the TV weather map. Those only show the big islands ... but it's littered with little islands and rocks. So if you get the tide wrong, there's lots of things to hit!

Everyone - pilot books, sailors in Wick, the Wick Harbour Master - all agreed that the key to crossing the Pentland Firth is to start the crossing at or just before slack water at the beginning of the west going tide. The key to that is leaving Wick at the right time. On Friday there was next to no wind, making estimating that departure time quite easy - I'd be under power. So at 3pm (or more precisely, 6 minutes before) I left Wick for the 13nm passage to Duncansby Head - the nautical name for what most think of as John O'Groats. With 1kt of tide against me, speed through the water at 5kts, I arrived on time at 18:20.

Except ... the pilot book warns that nothing in the Firth happens according to plan. Expect the unexpected. Slack water was late! So instead of pointing east of my course to counteract a west going tide, I was pointing the other way. And the Pentland Skerries - big rocks at the eastern end - were looking ominous. It's funny how objects that you know from the chart plotter are 2nm away look like they're 200m away when you know there are dragons about!

As I crossed, even though there was only 1kt of wind, the sea was swirling around and there were a few patches of quite disturbed water. The eddies were turning Eowyn around a lot: normally the self steering in a calm under power would keep the heading constant within a degree or two, but she was oscillating through about fifteen degrees either side of the course.

Then the tide began to slack and turn. Within 20mins I'd gone from a 20-30 degree offset to the west, to the same offset the other way. But Eowyn kept on track as I continuously adjusted the heading, the engine performed flawlessly, and on time I was passing Swona to port and South Ronaldsay to starboard heading up into Scapa Flow. That's when I took the photo - the beaming smile is relief!

I followed the coast round to the east, into Water Sound and then into St Margaret's Hope - a little bay on the north coast of S Ronaldsay. Beautifully sheltered and quite deep - used for the RoRo ferry. Supper, tidy up and collapse into my bunk.

I'd conquered the dragon - but if that was it in a flat calm, I really, really don't want to see it in bad weather!

Log of this passage