Concerto
Well-known member
The object was to sail round the whole of Britain in my 1980 Westerly Fulmar, with only 3 things that I must include, round Out Stack, the most northerly point of the UK, meet with my daughter and her family in North Wales and be at the Southampton Boat Show every day. I did sail past the most easterly and southern points as they were impossible to avoid. The weather was not suitable to go out to Soay, St Kilda, the most westerly point of the UK. I should have visited Londonderry as the most westerly harbour in Northern Ireland, but time limits came into play.
The trip should have started by the end of April, but some upgrades to Concerto that over ran due to technical problems, and it started on 27th May 2022 When I started, I forgot to read the log, so I cannot quote how many miles I travelled, but it is about 2,000 miles.
The trip was completed in 54 day sails over 127 days, including some quite long distance and in rough weather. Being singlehanded, I set Force 7 as the limit in the weather forecast for sailing. Well four days it reached Force 8 and one day reached Force 9. Both Concerto and I survived all the weather could throw at us, with only a few very minor breakages. To be honest, I enjoy heavy weather sailing as you can sail faster and further.
The further north you sail, the colder it gets compared to down south. On 19 July, when the hottest day of the year was recorded, I was sailing with a long sleeved thick shirt, thick sweatshirt, full oil skins, boots, and a thick wooly hat with the jacket hood up. It was about 13C, the normal summer temperature range for the north of Scotland is 15 to 20C. I did not see 20C until I was in the Scottish southwest isles.
The early part of the trip had many delays due to unseasonal northerly winds. Delays in Lowestoft and Wells meant I later pushed harder to make up time.
Wells-next-the-sea
Once I passed the Humber, the East Coast of England was more interesting than I expected as there were plenty of castles and places to see. I feel this is an under rated area to sail as there are plenty of harbours along a fairly straight section of coast but quite exposed in any easterly winds. Scarborough, Hartlepool and Amble were all worth visiting.
Hartlepool with HMS Trincomalee in the foreground
The East Coast of Scotland has many limited access tidal harbours which is a problem, so I planned to visit only those with full tidal access. The arrival in Eyemouth was slightly hairy as the entrance is only 32m wide and there was a Force 8 blowing out of the harbour. Whitehills was a delightful small harbour that definitely was worthy of the Runners-up award in 2021 for the marina with under 250 berths and if a Gold Anchor marina. By comparison at Stonehills, you moor against a concrete wall with up to 3m tidal range. However, the walk into town has a boardwalk with marine sculptures. It was then onto Peterhead, where the marina was large and sheltered. The marina in Wick was quite spacious and there is a useful chandlery close by and a very interesting local museum.
Entrance to Whitehills Marina
Stonehaven
In Orkney and Shetland there are virtually no trees, so the landscape looked quite bleak and in places very rocky. The days were incredibly long and still quite light at midnight. Kirkwall has a huge number of cruise ships visit every year, but post Covid it has dropped from 220 to 170. By comparison Lerwick will have just under 100. Both island groups have a variety of marinas and anchorages, with the smaller ones using the Norwegian marina pontoons that do not have cleats but hoops, which can make berthing difficult. The better bit was these small harbours were only charging £15 per night irrespective of length and included electricity. Some places even had boxes to place the berthing fees in, so they were very trusting. When I berthed in Fair Isle, the fee was £20, but you could stay for 4 nights, however the honesty box had £300 to £400 in cash in the box. Rounding Out Stack and Muckle Flugga was a big disappointment as thick fog prevented me seeing the rocky cliffs. Whilst in Lerwick I saw an electric folding bike in a shop window and thought it would prove useful, and it certainly proved so.
Concerto in Kirkwall at 23.15
Berthed in Fair Isle
The high point in Shetland was visiting Lunna. This was the place where the Shetland Bus started. During WWII many fishing boats left Norway when the Germans invaded. Later during the winter months some of these vessels returned to Norway under the cover of 24 hour darkness with agents, arms and radios. On the way back to Shetland they brought people escaping from the Gestapo. As I walked off the pier, a pickup drove up and the man started striding towards me. Ooops, what had I done wrong. So, I greeted him with what a fantastic place filled with history. He melted and told me about the many people connected with the Shetland Bus. He then unlocked the building to show an inscription carved in a stone relating to a special operation to try and sink the Tirpitz. Finally, he asked if I would like to visit Lunna House, where the crews lived. You bet. He then phoned Tony, the owner, and I then spent an hour and half looking over the house. Later I went to Stromness, where the operation was moved to in 1942 and visited the museum that had section devoted to the Shetland Bus.
The quay at Lunna
Returning to the Orkney Islands, I visited Scapa Flow. Entering from the west was probably the roughest place I have ever sailed, with waves of 4 to 5m peak to trough as I was running in with a Force 8 with wind over tide of about 5 knots. Progress was very slow and looked as though I was in trouble, so someone called out the RNLI. By the time they arrived, I had passed the worst bit of water. Visiting the museums relating to the scuttling of the German Fleet at the end of WWI is worth doing.
My welcoming committee arrived on this vessel
Part of the new Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness on Hoy
Heading for the western isles of Scotland did not go according to plan as the wind direction was not as forecast making it a full beat, making me miss the tidal gate at Cape Wrath. Instead of arriving in Kinlockbervie by about 10pm, it was 3.30 the following morning. Some places I visited include Lochinver, Stornaway and Scalpay, before heading for Oban. Working through the western isles was great as it had stunning scenery, but I unfortunately could not visit as many places as I would have liked. In the future I plan to return to visit many of the places I missed.
Lochinver
Sailing between Skye and Benbecula I had my first ever encounter with dolphins on the bow, they stayed for about an hour. Later some more arrived, and as I closed on Lochboisedale marina, another pod made a brief appearance. I took a lot of videos and though I could make a 5 minute video, but I eventually reduced it down to 9½ minutes for YouTube. If you like dolphins then you will see 2 long clips that are very special, as most people have never seen either in real life, but I was very lucky to see both on the same day.
Heading further south to Ardfern, I met several forum members. One suggested we go for a bike ride together which was different. However, he refused to try flying my drone as he knew he would want to buy one. Another has led to me being asked to participate in an all day event at the Cruising Association on sailing round Britain in one trip as all the other speakers will cover sections in detail. Heading south the island of Gigha was stunning with such clear waters and I cycled to both ends of the island and visited the famous gardens.
The pontoon at Gigha
Part 2 in the next post as text is too long in a single post. It does mean I can now include 24 photos.
The trip should have started by the end of April, but some upgrades to Concerto that over ran due to technical problems, and it started on 27th May 2022 When I started, I forgot to read the log, so I cannot quote how many miles I travelled, but it is about 2,000 miles.
The trip was completed in 54 day sails over 127 days, including some quite long distance and in rough weather. Being singlehanded, I set Force 7 as the limit in the weather forecast for sailing. Well four days it reached Force 8 and one day reached Force 9. Both Concerto and I survived all the weather could throw at us, with only a few very minor breakages. To be honest, I enjoy heavy weather sailing as you can sail faster and further.
The further north you sail, the colder it gets compared to down south. On 19 July, when the hottest day of the year was recorded, I was sailing with a long sleeved thick shirt, thick sweatshirt, full oil skins, boots, and a thick wooly hat with the jacket hood up. It was about 13C, the normal summer temperature range for the north of Scotland is 15 to 20C. I did not see 20C until I was in the Scottish southwest isles.
The early part of the trip had many delays due to unseasonal northerly winds. Delays in Lowestoft and Wells meant I later pushed harder to make up time.
Wells-next-the-sea
Once I passed the Humber, the East Coast of England was more interesting than I expected as there were plenty of castles and places to see. I feel this is an under rated area to sail as there are plenty of harbours along a fairly straight section of coast but quite exposed in any easterly winds. Scarborough, Hartlepool and Amble were all worth visiting.
Hartlepool with HMS Trincomalee in the foreground
The East Coast of Scotland has many limited access tidal harbours which is a problem, so I planned to visit only those with full tidal access. The arrival in Eyemouth was slightly hairy as the entrance is only 32m wide and there was a Force 8 blowing out of the harbour. Whitehills was a delightful small harbour that definitely was worthy of the Runners-up award in 2021 for the marina with under 250 berths and if a Gold Anchor marina. By comparison at Stonehills, you moor against a concrete wall with up to 3m tidal range. However, the walk into town has a boardwalk with marine sculptures. It was then onto Peterhead, where the marina was large and sheltered. The marina in Wick was quite spacious and there is a useful chandlery close by and a very interesting local museum.
Entrance to Whitehills Marina
Stonehaven
In Orkney and Shetland there are virtually no trees, so the landscape looked quite bleak and in places very rocky. The days were incredibly long and still quite light at midnight. Kirkwall has a huge number of cruise ships visit every year, but post Covid it has dropped from 220 to 170. By comparison Lerwick will have just under 100. Both island groups have a variety of marinas and anchorages, with the smaller ones using the Norwegian marina pontoons that do not have cleats but hoops, which can make berthing difficult. The better bit was these small harbours were only charging £15 per night irrespective of length and included electricity. Some places even had boxes to place the berthing fees in, so they were very trusting. When I berthed in Fair Isle, the fee was £20, but you could stay for 4 nights, however the honesty box had £300 to £400 in cash in the box. Rounding Out Stack and Muckle Flugga was a big disappointment as thick fog prevented me seeing the rocky cliffs. Whilst in Lerwick I saw an electric folding bike in a shop window and thought it would prove useful, and it certainly proved so.
Concerto in Kirkwall at 23.15
Berthed in Fair Isle
The high point in Shetland was visiting Lunna. This was the place where the Shetland Bus started. During WWII many fishing boats left Norway when the Germans invaded. Later during the winter months some of these vessels returned to Norway under the cover of 24 hour darkness with agents, arms and radios. On the way back to Shetland they brought people escaping from the Gestapo. As I walked off the pier, a pickup drove up and the man started striding towards me. Ooops, what had I done wrong. So, I greeted him with what a fantastic place filled with history. He melted and told me about the many people connected with the Shetland Bus. He then unlocked the building to show an inscription carved in a stone relating to a special operation to try and sink the Tirpitz. Finally, he asked if I would like to visit Lunna House, where the crews lived. You bet. He then phoned Tony, the owner, and I then spent an hour and half looking over the house. Later I went to Stromness, where the operation was moved to in 1942 and visited the museum that had section devoted to the Shetland Bus.
The quay at Lunna
Returning to the Orkney Islands, I visited Scapa Flow. Entering from the west was probably the roughest place I have ever sailed, with waves of 4 to 5m peak to trough as I was running in with a Force 8 with wind over tide of about 5 knots. Progress was very slow and looked as though I was in trouble, so someone called out the RNLI. By the time they arrived, I had passed the worst bit of water. Visiting the museums relating to the scuttling of the German Fleet at the end of WWI is worth doing.
My welcoming committee arrived on this vessel
Part of the new Scapa Flow Museum at Lyness on Hoy
Heading for the western isles of Scotland did not go according to plan as the wind direction was not as forecast making it a full beat, making me miss the tidal gate at Cape Wrath. Instead of arriving in Kinlockbervie by about 10pm, it was 3.30 the following morning. Some places I visited include Lochinver, Stornaway and Scalpay, before heading for Oban. Working through the western isles was great as it had stunning scenery, but I unfortunately could not visit as many places as I would have liked. In the future I plan to return to visit many of the places I missed.
Lochinver
Sailing between Skye and Benbecula I had my first ever encounter with dolphins on the bow, they stayed for about an hour. Later some more arrived, and as I closed on Lochboisedale marina, another pod made a brief appearance. I took a lot of videos and though I could make a 5 minute video, but I eventually reduced it down to 9½ minutes for YouTube. If you like dolphins then you will see 2 long clips that are very special, as most people have never seen either in real life, but I was very lucky to see both on the same day.
Heading further south to Ardfern, I met several forum members. One suggested we go for a bike ride together which was different. However, he refused to try flying my drone as he knew he would want to buy one. Another has led to me being asked to participate in an all day event at the Cruising Association on sailing round Britain in one trip as all the other speakers will cover sections in detail. Heading south the island of Gigha was stunning with such clear waters and I cycled to both ends of the island and visited the famous gardens.
The pontoon at Gigha
Part 2 in the next post as text is too long in a single post. It does mean I can now include 24 photos.
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