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From one archipelago in the far north to the next, we continue our game of hide-and-seek with the low pressures, still looking for the lost summer...
More wintery pictures and a short puffins movie on our
Photos page.
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216 miles sailed
876 miles since the start
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12th June: Lerwick – Pierowall (91 M)
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Finally a true break between two low pressures, the wind should be correct during 48 hours: first 24h from the North-West, then a lull before a new weather system settles, with increasing easterlies (force 8 expected in 60 hours)
So, we need to make the most of it! Most southbound sailors aim for Fair Isle, 40M from Lerwick, which is said to be absolutely stunning – but we decide to skip it for this time, and aim directly for the Orkney islands, a hundred miles away.
In addition to the wind, one needs to take tidal streams into account when planning a passage here. These can create choppy, even dangerous seas at some capes. This phenomenon known as “raz” in French is called “roost” in English – (pronounced “rouste” in French, which translates literally into “beating”, a clear indication to take it seriously!). The Sumburgh roost at the southern tip of Shetland is strong, and dictates the precise time to pass, and a wide berth to be given to the head.
Leaving at 11pm from Lerwick, the wind is still strong but should decreasing. First one reef in the gib and two in the mainsail, then the 3rd reef is put, then the mainsail is taken down altogether… we are still sailing before the wind and in the lee of the island, and we really hope that things will improve before we need to head… luckily, they do: it turns out that the lee of the island was actually making gusts stronger, funneling along the coast… we can release the 3rd reef and set course towards Westray, in the north west of the Orkney archipelago.
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The rest of this passage is a symphony of greys: light grey (the sky and the sea), medium grey (the so-called “night” in these northern regions), dark grey (rain-loaded clouds). The sea is not too high, but it is cold: 9 degrees inside the cabin – you can imagine how this feels outside in 25 knots of wind and a persistent rain…
Around noon, the wind decreases much more than expected. Not clear why, given the general situation, maybe an earlier transition to the next system… anyways, for the time being, it is quiet – too quiet. In a 2 meters swell, we need all the speed we can get to progress. For the whole of an exhausting afternoon, we will manoeuvre to optimize the sails: take down the gib and set the genua, furl the genua again when the wind seems to pick up, then set it out again as it doesn’t increase so much actually, then set the gib again as the wind finally comes, then put in a reef… finally we will have a good 20 knots, and our 2 reefs in the mainsail too. Every time Camille needs to go in front of the mast, on a deck swept by the waves, to handle the sail soaked in cold water. This is tiring. We look forward to our new boat, with the stay sail on a furler…
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Sleepless nights, 5 apparent degrees under the rain, that's waht we call great holidays !
!
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The sun sets behind Westray Island
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Westray finally appears on the horizon, much lower than the Shetland, much more cultivated. In this black-and-white world, we see beautiful white sand beaches (or at least very light grey!). Pierowall bay is well sheltered and we decide to spend the night at the anchor. The evening is wonderful: transparent water on a sandy bottom, surrounded by green hills were black and white horses are roaming free, under a pink sunset … we look at it all through the windows, not willing to get away from our small kerosene heater – before rushing to a good rest under the warm duvet!
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13th June: Pierowall, anchorage and harbour (0.5M)
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Getting out of bed hasn’t been easy … but we have work to do! We need to get into the harbour before the strong easterly winds. We had called the harbour ahead of coming, to check that there would be space for us. Indeed, this is a very small harbour, full of many fishing boats, with space for only 3 to 4 visiting yachts.
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The tiny harbour of Pierowall, Saltimbanque and another sailing boat hide behind the fishing vessels
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The immediate surroundings of the harbour are already gorgeous under this tiny sun!
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Once in the harbour we chat with the Norwegian yacht there, about to leave (and for once in a social mood!). They tell us about their difficulties on Fair Isle: small harbour, moored along a concrete quay, several boated rafted along each other and pushed against the wall by the strong north-westerlies… we don’t regret our choice! And since we heard so much good about Westray, we are eager to start exploring! Even more so as today is a special day: it isn’t raining!
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The island is very peaceful and mostly dedicated to agriculture (sheep, cows..). The soil is sandy, the low grey houses remind us of Northern Brittany. First stop at the Noltland castle: the ruins are well maintained and worth a visit! It’s a big fortified building built in the early 1600s in grey and pink sandstones. There remains several stairs and the outlines of the main rooms, enough to get a good image of its past appearance. The size and scale of it contrast with the rest of the island, populated by single houses and small farms.
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The tower of the Noltland castle.
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As a second destination on our tour, Noup Head. There stands a lighthouse (built by the Stevenson family like all lighthouses in the region, and now powered by solar panels!). The tall cliffs around are home to large colonies of seabirds again. This is not our first encounter with our feathery friends, but we are still filled with wonder at the sight of hundreds of guillemots, gannets, and countless puffins!
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Noup head, the birds, the lighthouse...
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... and the puffins! How many can you find on the picture?
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Third stop, the beaches on the North-East coast, superb with their white sand fringed by turquoise waters… it must be beautiful in summer here… Geologically quite different from the Shetland, rocks from this island are mostly formed from layers of sediments and sand – capturing many fossils. There are traces of ancient waves printed in the sand turned to rock everywhere. Seals are basking on the shore, just as a reminder that we are not in the Caribbeans (in case we had a doubt).
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Only missing something like 20 degrees and we could be in the Caribbean!
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We talk about the kelp "forest" for a reason!
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Historical remains on the island are not only medieval, but also from the neolithic (the famous “Westray wife”, a 5000 years old small statue), a few viking long-houses and several farms from by-gone centuries. Along the shore, low stone walls were used to dry seaweed, then processed into “kelp”, one of the main export of the island in the 1800s.
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Back to the boat, the wind is picking up as expected – and we prepare for the bad weather tomorrow.
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14th-15th June: Westray (ashore)
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We expected east, but the gusts that wake us up at 7am come much more from the North than expected, they hit the boat sideways. We hop in rubber boots in oilies, still in our pyjamas, to add tie up 3 more lines and remove our precious windvane (Bob), which is vibrating dangerously.
The wind is very strong… 50m of fetch in the harbour are enough to create waves which break against the hull, the wind howls in the mast, Laure is almost feeling seasick at the pontoon due to the constant banging… we think there are 40 knots now… the conditions are hostile (and wet! It’s raining a lot!), the best move is to stay under the duvet!
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The wind generates nasty waves in the harbour which bursts onto Saltimbanque!
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The wind is very strong… 50m of fetch in the harbour are enough to create waves which break against the hull, the wind howls in the mast, Laure is almost feeling seasick at the pontoon due to the constant banging… we think there are 40 knots now… the conditions are hostile (and wet! It’s raining a lot!), the best move is to stay under the duvet!
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Non-Westray wife contemplating the "Westray wife"... or might it the opposite?
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Time to stretch the legs a little. We reach the small museum, without expecting much actually given the size of this island (600 inhabitants). We are really positively surprised: of course the exhibition is small and very local in nature, but everything is neatly arranged, with a lot of creativity and care. It seems that the whole community participated, one with some lace made by their grandmother, the other with the door of a barn covered with graffiti’s left by sailors from the past… We are also impressed by the island windfarm : the inhabitants, grouped in the Westray Development Association, have been exploring in the early 2000s several renewable energy options (biofuels, wind, even a home-converted electrical car). In 2009 they commissioned a 900kW windturbine (reasonable size at the time). They had conducted the project by themselves, carried out the studies, obtained the permits and negotiated financing and operations agreement – all just like the big windfarms! Revenues generated by the energy sold since that time are used for new initiatives every year: community gardens, youth center, second hand shop… Access to energy is clearly an important topic here, as was already on the Shetland: many houses have their own wind turbine spinning, some smaller some bigger, from the makeshift version to slightly more professional ones. Living on an island, one learns the value of self-sufficiency…
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The next day, the weather window is too short for us to go anywhere. We stay in Pierowall, which is well located outside of the main roosts (and will therefore be easier to leave when the time comes).
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There are two grocery shops in the village. One, called Rendall, rents out bikes (without locks, they can be left anywhere without fear of being stolen, because “ we live on a sane island”, the owner says…). This is perfect to explore the island further! At first, we try our luck on a beach reputed for its cockles harvests – but without much success. Then we push further, to the ruins of a viking church bordering the sea. It is surrounded by a cemetery which was used until the 1800s. The tombstones are all labelled .. Rendall (were they grocers too ?), or Paterson/Peterson… no more than 10 different family names on the stones. In the museum we read that they used to welcome ship-wrecked people, as the opportunity to start new bloodlines …
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Ruin of the church and old cemetary
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Orkneys are much lower and cultivated than the Shetland
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Biking further amongst the rolling hills, we soon reach the southern tip of the island. From there, we can see the rest of the Orkneys, separated by narrow stretches and strong streams.
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On the way back, we stop at a cliff famous for its puffins. Puffins again, after so many nice bird watching experiences on the previous days … how different can it be? Well, again we are blown away by the sight. The low cliff is easy to reach, hundreds of puffins are just there, so close and so cute! Only the cold and rain manage to tear us apart from the show!
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Puffins !!! We are never tired of them
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Last stop at Jack’s the fishmonger (open Wednesdays and Saturdays evenings), recommended by our friends from Dibona. We find here haddock and smoked mackerel, two geese eggs… and scallops! This will make a delicious dinner to celebrate our stay in the Orkney island… (singular, since we’ve seen only one!)
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16th-17th June: Pierowall – Lochinver (125M)
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We have been waiting for this weather window for days: a nice little north easterly breeze, perfect to round Cape Wrath. Of course the long hoped for window seems to be delayed with every new forecast… but at least it is still there. We only have to wait for one more strong wind morning this Sunday…
Weather forecasts show the wind decreasing from 10am. Yet, it continues to blow… the tide changes at 2pm and we watch, depressed, the minutes being blown away by the gusts… if we leave against the tide, we will have to sail around Papa Westray, that’s 10 miles longer, and we will lose the tide at Cape Wrath too. It is doable, but not preferred.
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Noup Head, from the sea this time!
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At 1.30pm the wind decreases finally. We are out of the harbour at 2pm, right at the time of the tide change. We need one hour to reach the Papa Sound where the stream is strongest. This is neap waters (not so strong stream). Maybe we can still beat the tide and push through… we reach the channel at 5 knots, one hour after the tide change. Looking at the chart, it looks like we’re progressing, progressing … almost! There are already 2 knots of stream against, and we are against the wind too… our only hope is that our engine Junior, with all the strength of its 10 horse power, gets us through. So we try : Junior is pushing as fast as it can, Laure is steering just at the right angle to the wind, to take advantage of each gust, Camille watching the chart and calculating the course eagerly… at 2.6 knots over ground… 2.8 knts… keep going… the channel is opening a little downwind, you can bear away 2 degrees and pick up some speed .. 10 minutes later, we don’t need the engine. 20 minutes more, we have less than 1 knot against. We passed the Sound! It’s great when things work out !
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And now, we just have to bear away and sail downwind towards Scotland. And when sailing passed the tip of Westray, we officially left the North Sea and now sail on the Atlantic Ocean! We set the pole to the genua and enjoy the ride, almost in the sunshine, surrounded by fulmars… The beginning of this passage is slow and quiet, something is telling us that it cannot last… something like this big gray cloud coming towards us… in the end, there isn’t so much rain, but the wind picks up and we are back to our usual 2-reefs regime… now we know: around here, a good weather window means 2 reefs only (not 3)!
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The rest of the trip is quick and efficient, cold and wet too, but less bumpy than the last one. All is grey, punctuated by some bright moments, like the gannets shining in the sunset against the dark clouds, or this big dolphin jumping around the boat in the middle of the night… and finally the famous Cape Wrath, showing through the mist for a few moments to confirm that we are really rounding the end of Scotland!
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For once we have a nice sunset!
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The (in)famous Cape Wrath, the North-West end of Scotland!
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Thanks to our shortcut in the Papa Sound at the start, we reach Cape Wrath well in time to benefit from 6 hours of favorable tide. It is still early in the morning, so we decide to make the most of the nice northerly wind and sail as far as possible along the Scottish coast. Indeed, the chart shows that there is a shore here on the other side of the grey… Sailing downwind is very enjoyable, but it also means that the rain is blown into the cabin, which ends up even wetter than usual. Everything is wet to soaked by now, we have left the notion of “dry” in the Shetland. (As for the idea of “warm”, we have clearly forgotten it in Norway!)
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Between two showers, we catch a glimpse of land. The rocky coast reminds us of Western Norway, with the countless fishing boats and small harbours hidden in the fjords (called here “loch”). Finally we reach Lochinver, where we catch a good night’s sleep before exploring the Scottish Highlands!
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New country, new flag, and new adventures to follow soon...
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