Concerto
Well-known member
Yesterday I left Lerwick after filling up with diesel at 15.45 to head for the small marina at Vidlin about 21 miles away. I chose this place as it is close to Lunna, where the "Shetland Bus" operated from and nearby is the Cabin Museum (which is unfortunately closed due to a boiler problem).
Leaving Lerwick I decided to have one reef in the main. The run north ward was brisker than I thought it would be, so I decided to stay in cruising mode under just mainsail as I was doing 6½ to 7¼ knots, but this dropped later. During a planned gybe the traveller came unclipped but when I came to try moving it, the traveller rope had been caught between the traveller wheels and the deck. It does seem strange to pass rocky points close by and see 50+ metres of water. The tide at times was boosting the boat speed by as much as 3 knots. After several hours of fast sailing and at times a rough ride - once the boom dipped in the water, I needed to gybe again. Hopefully the traveller would sort itself out. Wham, over went the main and hey presto the traveller freed itself.
As I turned into Vidlin Voe, I dropped the main and slowly motored whilst I prepared the fenders ready for berthing. Arrived at 18.00 as planned, so an average speed over the ground of nearly 6½ knots. It is a small marina and coming alongside was difficult due to the strong breeze pushing me off. The visitors berths are on the hammerhead, but not as easy as you might assume. Firstly there is a step out of about 8 inches at the end of the pontoon (see photo) and secondly there are no cleats, just hoops. After a lot of clever use of the warps to the end support handles handles and a cleat on the stern of the boat alongside, I managed to get Concerto close to the finger and then change the lines to use the loops on the pontoon. Looking at other photos of small marinas here, this system seems the norm, so I will be better prepapred in the future. Next time I will have my reaving boathook ready to feed a line through a hoop. There is both water and electricity available on the pontoon which I was not expecting. The maina is secured by a gate, but a visitor key is on the pontoon that can be borrowed for access ashore.
Last night I felt tired and hence did not get the laptop out. Ended up sleeping for 8 hours 35 minutes, something I have not done for over 6 months. As expected I suffered a few boughts of cramp in my legs despite taking the medicine mentioned in an earlier post. Hoping using the bike tomorrow will help strengthen the leg muscles as I plan to cycle to Lunna Voe to see the quay used by the Shetland Bus. It is making reading the book a lot more interestings with a direct connection to the place. Later in the trip I shall be visiting the Scalloway Museum that has a section devoted to the Shetland Bus. I also plan a stop at Burravoe to visit the Old Haa Museum, which tells the story of the Bohus that was wrecked on East Yell in 1924.
For those wanting a little more information, I have now used about £140 of diesel since leaving Chatham. A lot less than I was expecting. The berthing in Lerwick was £17 per night and electricity was £3 per night (I only had 2 nights), so a total of £70 for 4 nights. Yet to find out how much Vidlin charge for berthing. The only down side is very poor mobile signal, I have to leave my mobile on deck and only get 1 bar of 4G most of the time, but it can drop out.
Safely tied up.
It is a small marina!
The hammerhead step - nasty if you hit it.
For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1
Leaving Lerwick I decided to have one reef in the main. The run north ward was brisker than I thought it would be, so I decided to stay in cruising mode under just mainsail as I was doing 6½ to 7¼ knots, but this dropped later. During a planned gybe the traveller came unclipped but when I came to try moving it, the traveller rope had been caught between the traveller wheels and the deck. It does seem strange to pass rocky points close by and see 50+ metres of water. The tide at times was boosting the boat speed by as much as 3 knots. After several hours of fast sailing and at times a rough ride - once the boom dipped in the water, I needed to gybe again. Hopefully the traveller would sort itself out. Wham, over went the main and hey presto the traveller freed itself.
As I turned into Vidlin Voe, I dropped the main and slowly motored whilst I prepared the fenders ready for berthing. Arrived at 18.00 as planned, so an average speed over the ground of nearly 6½ knots. It is a small marina and coming alongside was difficult due to the strong breeze pushing me off. The visitors berths are on the hammerhead, but not as easy as you might assume. Firstly there is a step out of about 8 inches at the end of the pontoon (see photo) and secondly there are no cleats, just hoops. After a lot of clever use of the warps to the end support handles handles and a cleat on the stern of the boat alongside, I managed to get Concerto close to the finger and then change the lines to use the loops on the pontoon. Looking at other photos of small marinas here, this system seems the norm, so I will be better prepapred in the future. Next time I will have my reaving boathook ready to feed a line through a hoop. There is both water and electricity available on the pontoon which I was not expecting. The maina is secured by a gate, but a visitor key is on the pontoon that can be borrowed for access ashore.
Last night I felt tired and hence did not get the laptop out. Ended up sleeping for 8 hours 35 minutes, something I have not done for over 6 months. As expected I suffered a few boughts of cramp in my legs despite taking the medicine mentioned in an earlier post. Hoping using the bike tomorrow will help strengthen the leg muscles as I plan to cycle to Lunna Voe to see the quay used by the Shetland Bus. It is making reading the book a lot more interestings with a direct connection to the place. Later in the trip I shall be visiting the Scalloway Museum that has a section devoted to the Shetland Bus. I also plan a stop at Burravoe to visit the Old Haa Museum, which tells the story of the Bohus that was wrecked on East Yell in 1924.
For those wanting a little more information, I have now used about £140 of diesel since leaving Chatham. A lot less than I was expecting. The berthing in Lerwick was £17 per night and electricity was £3 per night (I only had 2 nights), so a total of £70 for 4 nights. Yet to find out how much Vidlin charge for berthing. The only down side is very poor mobile signal, I have to leave my mobile on deck and only get 1 bar of 4G most of the time, but it can drop out.
Safely tied up.
It is a small marina!
The hammerhead step - nasty if you hit it.
For anyone wanting to read the reports from the start, this is the link to first one.
Round Britian day 1
