It was another grey morning. We saw our pals on Flying boat set off about 0830 headed for Wick. They had been with us since Lochalsh . We kept an eye on them all day … on marine traffic. They arrived 9 pm. We set off st 9 so as to get the tide going out of Hoy Sound. Trouble was the wind was coming from the west so the result was horrible big waves that we just had to bash into under motor. I was praying that there would be enough wind that meant we could just sail with the head sail. The thought of having to put up the main in that sea was frankly 😱. On Angelique, Julian has to physically go to the mast to hoist the sail whilst my job is keeping her head to wind during the procedure. All okay in reasonable weather and not massive waves. Anyway we got out of Hoy Sound and turned right. Wind was southwesterly so a good direction and about 18-25 knots so we just put the headsail out and were on our way to to mist northerly point of our trip. It wasn’t a comfortable ride as the seas were rough and tossing Angelique from side to side. Fortunately I had remembered ( what I learned a few years ago) to wedge foam pads into all the cupboards, especially those with pans etc in them. This stops the contents from banging against the doors continuously for 8 hours…. so annoying! Pasties for lunch were a highlight of the trip. The coastline is stunning with dramatic cliffs and lonely lighthouses. Strange to see from the sea, what we had trod on a few days ago. In the grey and the gloom we finally approached our destination.
We had seen a tiny bit of blue sky …..
on the way and at one point you could actually tell where the sun was ….. even if you couldn’t actually see it. After Nope head we gybed and made course for Papa Sound which separates Westray from Papa Westray. We furled the headsail and motored through the sound and on into Periowall marina. Men from the commercial vessel that went in before us kindly took our lines and helped us tie up. Shortly after we had a visit from Jacob the acting Harbour master, who was SO welcoming and kind. He gave us the phone number for fish and chips who actually delivered them to the boat! Amazing and delicious. Thank you! Then a successful night on the tv! ( It doesn’t work everywhere) Liverpool won the cup and Sam Ryder came second in Eurovision!!! Truly a night to remember…… and I can have a lie in tomorrow! 👍
What I learned today……. when seas are mountainous and skies are grey, even the tiniest bit of brightness brings comfort.
Angelique 