Tell-tales telling tales

Definition of a flukey wind = tell-tales pointing towards each other. Sailing in Loch Lochy at between 1 and 7 knots. Dramatic scenery, log has just turned 2000

_______________________________________________________________________________
TextMagic - reply to this email to send a text message http://www.textmagic.com

Download new TextMagic Messenger for PC or Mac: http://www.textmagic.com/en/products/MagicMessage

Fried Eigg

Fabulous day out yday in searing heat. Scenic train 2 Mallaig, ferry 2 Eigg, xplored caves, great hill from which we saw loads of places we sailed past in June!

West coast again

56 51.0N 005 05.3W
Fort William, snow on Ben Nevis. On our own for a week with boat because Other Wynns moving house. Enjoying West Highland Railway. Horseflies

high altitude sailing

57 05.1N 004 45.0W
Sunny Loch Oich. At 32m above sea level, prob highest Moondance has ever been. Yesterday- locks, wooded walk, ceilidh and midges.

29 tacks

57 08.8N 004 40.5W
Fort Augustus. Sweepstake on how many tacks to get to end of Loch Ness. Nearest guess still 5 under the actual 29. Breezy, sunny, fab views.

Correct location for Inverness

57 29.4N 004 14.1W
This is where Inverness is really, not out in the North Sea, something went a bit wrong previously.

Freshwater sailing

57 19.8N 004 27.0W
Loch Ness. Very beautiful. And don't get salt-encrusted face when sailing to windward. Bob rows Rosemary ashore with Brompton to get supplies.

successful grapple

New crew Rachel, Bob and Rosemary arrive. Bike retrieved with grappling anchor. Searching for wild raspberries along the towpath.

Submarine biking

57 27.8N 004 14.6W
We watch with horror as our mountain bike slips off the pontoon and into the black water. Have done 2 miles of canal now, 6 locks, 3 bridges.

Motoring is tedious

57 29.4N 00 14.1W
Inverness. Long and tedious motor and sail against the wind. Tied up alongside bleak timber yard. I hate sailing. But we did see dolphins. L

Barbara Cartland

58 06.9N 003 38.9W
Helmsdale, famed for salmon fishing, Barbara Cartland & gold rush. Aground in harbour entrance. Light or no winds. Porpoises and oil rigs.

Herring port

Exhausted after visit 2 award winning & cavernous Wick museum. Sad to see total decline of fishing industry- world's biggest herring port 2 handful of yachts.

F7 across the Pentland Firth

58 26.3N 003 05.0W
Wick. Up at 4am, alas leaving Orkney's enchanting isles. Rough passage across the mouth of the Pentland Firth. F7 at times not as forecast.

Galebound in Kirkwall

Have now passed the zenith of our journey. Westray in the Orkneys marked our furthest point north and we are now heading South again.
Today (Monday) we are in Kirkwall, galebound once again. Adrian is asleep as we all had to get up at 4am to catch the favourable 5 knot tide between the islands. And this is neaps! Certainly don't want an unfavourable tide like that. It was very grey and drizzly at 4am.
Lots to see and do in Kirkwall although the crew visibly wince whenever I suggest seeing prehistoric remains to them. They'd rather go to a cafe. Or clean the boat. Or anything.
They did very well on a headland walk yesterday, observing seals, puffins, gannets, fulmars, skuas, guillemots and razorbills.
When the gales are over we will head for Inverness, possibly via Wick if we have time.
Lucy

-----------------------------------------
Email sent from www.virginmedia.com/email
Virus-checked using McAfee(R) Software and scanned for spam

Heading home

59 10.3N 002 45.2W
Eday Sound. Heading home. Up at 4am. Hove-to because going too fast for tidal gate, 10 knots with tide. Sun- United service with Westrayians.

More prehistory

59 19.4N 002 58.6W
Westray. Hard choppy windward sail F6 from Rousay. Boat went really well. Yesterday a long walk of prehistoric wonders. Adr relaxed aboard!

Rousay

59 10.3N 002 58.0W
Anchored off Rousay. Exciting navigation through islands. Many lovely prehistoric remains all around. Yet another coastguard strike looming.

Neolithic sailing

Mon-sail to Stromness. Tues-neolithic Orkney by bike & bus, fabulous. Wed-to Hoy by ferry, cliff walk & skuas. Thurs-aiming further North. V bad phone signal.i

Old Man of Hoy

58 57.84N 003 17.63W
Stromness, Moondance in Orkneys, hooray! Lumpy rolly sicky sunny rainy rainbow sail by Old Man of Hoy (huge waves, 5 knot tide). No signal.

Snooker at sea

Scrabster is great. Big skip next to boat contains months of kindling and a snooker cue to fix bike pannier. And our own key for the yacht club showers!

Thurso haircut. We want pictures.

Most Northerly Cyclists! Dunnet Head, most northerly point of mainland. By bicycle, after haircut in Thurso.

Round the Cape!

A belated mint aero moment is declared to celebrate the rounding of cape wrath. Hooray!

Scrabster

58 36.70N 003 32.82W
Arrived Scrabster at midnight after splendid 17 hour sail along north coast past Dounraey. Thursday- despotic cleaning. Orkneys in view.

Rounding Cape Wrath

58 38.48N 005 01.00W
Cape Wrath, most NW point of mainland. Pleasant and sunny. Heading East to windward.

very dead whale

18 mile walk to beautiful remote beach, as recom'd by Bob. Jeremy finds a very dead whale or something. Too exhausted to cook so fish supper in Mission.