This morning's job was to refuel at Stromness. In the south, fuelling up is easy, but in these parts an alongside fuel berth is a rare beast, so I was keen to take advantage. The Stromness fuel berth is right in a corner, with the wind blowing off it, so getting in was a little tricky. However, I managed it with no drama and felt a little pleased with myself. The pleasant young lady on duty is a Norwegian/Swedish emigre, loves Orkney, but is afraid of the water: working in a marina seems an odd job, but she helped me efficiently!

I used a spring line to get the stern off the pontoon, it didn't jam when I released it(!) and I reversed out - just as it started to rain. Bother! Fortunately only a short shower, but once out of the harbour full oilskins on ... though not sea boots, which I later regretted.

I had a great sail down through Gutter Sound to Long Hope, with the wind mostly behind me and blowing 15-20kts. Coming up to the anchorage, I noticed that visitors' buoys had been laid in the anchorage. Picking up a buoy in 20kts of wind was going to be tricky, but I didn't want to risk fouling my anchor on the buoy's ground tackle.

First attempt, I got the pickup buoy with my boat hook ... but the pick up was tangled around the main buoy, wouldn't come up, and my boat hook would not release! It was me or the boat hook overboard, so I let go. Then I got out my Hook and Moor boat hook. This very expensive gadget threads a rope through the loop on a buoy. It worked a charm. Some heaving and faffing later, I was safely moored.

Then I noticed the handle of my wooden boat hook, made for me as a 50th birthday present by my father, floating nearby just out of reach. If it had sunk, I'd have been resigned to its loss, but being able to see it gave me no choice. I got the outboard onto the dinghy, lowered it from the davits, and set off after my errant boat hook, which was drifting with the tide upwind.

This is when I regretted the lack of sea boots! A lot of water broke over the dinghy, and I got very damp. However, mission accomplished! The wooden boat hook is back aboard, and now I know it floats! Thanks Dad!

Log of this passage