2025 May 8th Day 40. Grutness Voe to Gulber Wick.

 WIP Place holder whilst I catch up.

Entering Mousa Sound.

Mousa Sound and Brough.

Gulber Wick

16.6 NM in five and three-quarter hours.

2025 May 7th Day 39. Otterswick to Grutness Voe, Shetland.

 WIP Place holder whilst I catch up.

Text from Facebook posts until I have time to elaborate.

Shetland under the fair weather cumulus off the

port bow shortly after starting to sail.

"After 8 hours under engine I’m finally sailing 7nm NE of Fair Isle, I’ll probably have to pay for it later with more engine to keep clear of the Sunbough Rost and more adverse tide further N, but it will be worth it for the quite and lack of vibraton. Wind W 8 - 10 knots, main and chute."

Grutness anchorage and Sumbough Airport.

A celebratory drink for finally getting here after a serious
attempt last year and not being able to "nip over" in 2020 & 2021. 

 

61.4 NM in just under 13 hours.

Click here for Gulber Wick, just short of Lerwick.

2025 May 6th Day 38. Shapensay to Otterswick, Sanday

 WIP Place holder whilst I catch up

Text from Facebook posts until I have time to elaborate.

"Apart from the fact it was cold there was nothing about the wind to complain about today, although when it twice blew over c 16 knots it was at times I could have done without it - once against a 4 knot tide in the Firth of Westray and once on a dead run in shallow water approaching the entrance to Otterswick, Sanday just a few miles from the north of Orkney.

30 miles over the ground in six and a quarter hours sailing from offing to offing. I did cut a few corners in the benign conditions mainly 10 - 14 knots, W or WNW, over a neap tide.

Shetland tomorrow and probably a good bit of motoring."

30 NM in six and a quarter hours.

Click here for Shetland.

2025 5th May Day 37 Kirkwall to Shapensay.

A very short hop, mainly to avoid another days marina charges.

Elwick Bay on the southern side of Shapensay had good shelter from the wind and there are two free moorings. I was warned that the shelter from waves is not too good in a south-westerly due to refracted waves, I am getting quite a lot of that with a north-westerly and it is not particularly comfortable, and making the spag bol for dinner will be a trial, but the wind is forecast to moderate significantly as it backs to westerly over night.

There was not much point in going further north as it would just mean a later start tomorrow to catch a favourable tide into the Sound of Faray. Hopefully I’ll make Otterswick on the north side of Sanday tomorrow and Grutness, Shetland, or a bit further on Wednesday, I suspect motoring will be required but neap tides and light winds should calm the seas a little.

When the sun is out it’s actually feeling quite warm now when out of the wind (all of 50F) different to the last few days and especially nights when I have been using two sleeping bags to keep warm.

Leaving Kirkwall; it was a very short hop but I

did get to sail all of the way once out of the marina.

And I lucked out with the mooring, there was one

available and when I went up to it for a reccy the wind

dropped a bit from the 20 knts it had been and I 

grabbed the boat hook and the opportunity and 

got the pic up easily and first time.

It must have looked very professional from the shore 😄

I knew I had seen the anchored boat before on this

trip but could not place it. Then I remembered it

was in Kirkwall marina, and went back there after

a brief stay.

Photos when I get a better internet connection.

Just 4 miles in an hour and a quarter.

Click here for my positioning leg to Otterswick, Sanday.

2025 30th April Days 33 - ?, Kirkwall.

WIP

A lovely morning on Wednesday and a quick motor with the tide down to Kirkwall, in the afternoon it was even warm enough for me to ditch the thermally lined trousers and winter shirt in favour of summer attire for a couple of hours and I was feeling a bit down for not having left for Shetland but as I posted on FB there is an old aviation saying:

"Its better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air

than in the air wishing you were on the ground."

As I write this on Thursday I am feeling much better about it as it is cold and I'm being bumped around a bit in the marina, the shelter is rather better than I feared from looking at the chart and I took the trouble to turn round to face west and to lay on the north side of the E - W pontoon so am being blown off and the main hatch is to leeward, although its been closed today.

Wind gusts @13:00: Orkney 31 knts, Fair Isle: 29 Knts Shetland 33 knts.

Approaching Kirkwall

Orkney is very dependant on the cruise ships but it does result in
busy streets and lots of touristy based shops although how some
of them make a living in a few months of the year I don't know.

14.4 miles in 3 hours.

Update Friday

If this mornings models are correct I should be able to move out of the marina on Sunday or Monday and head for Shetland on Monday or Tuesday. 

Update Saturday

The wind is now round to the north 20 gusting 30++ I should be able to leave the marina when the wind goes round to the west on Monday and move north on Monday or Tuesday ready for the off. Ironically with light winds forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday it may be best to wait for a nice southerly forecast by some models for Thursday but with the high pressure area slow moving and close by it’s anyone’s guess what will actually happen that far out, or even on the day. 

My 2 favoured models for Tuesday lunch time

Click for Shapensay.

2025 29th April Day 31, To Fersness Bay, Eday.

Draft WIP

 After arriving at Gairsay I did some serious work with the pilot, the tidal atlas within it (much more detailed than the official Admiralty on) and notes from the Orkney marina's web site. The latter are very good but densely written without chart-lets, I found myself doing what I have criticised others for doing - flipping backwards and forwards on the iPad trying to orientate myself and identify places, once I realised what I was doing out came the paper chart and things became much clearer.

I had intended to leave for Shetland from the nearest sensible point, Otterswick, Sanday. I could not get there by a sensible time for an early start next day, but worked out that with the tide next morning my intended intermediate stop off at Fersness Bay, Eday would make a leg from there to an anchorage in the south of Shetland viable also that I could get to Fersness Bay at a sensible time leaving at about 16:00 to catch the first of the northerly flowing tide into the Sound of Farray, which only runs for about 4 hours.

Going another twenty odd miles direct to Lerwick would be a stretch and I would be arriving to an unfamiliar harbour at night or at dawn if I was lucky or used the engine a lot, so I discounted that option.

The latest forecasts were sort of encouraging so at 15:50 I was on my way again, into the Westray Firth for a very quick ride north.

With 4 - 5, occasionally more knots of tide, even making 5 through
 the water I was going crabwise for much of the way.

Into Westray Firth before the stronger tide and disturbed water.

A little later and to stay sailing might well have

let me be swept past my destination as the boat

was swinging wildly in the eddies and loosing power

as the sales alternately flapped in the breeze or were

were sheeted in far too tight. Fortunately there was no

swell coming down the Firth, if it had it would be

quite a long diversion or a dash to a safe haven.

Approaching the entrance to the Sound of Farry, just 

as tide turned to run into it. Fortunately close to shore

the tide was significantly less and quite calm. The

fish farming support ship following me probably 

was timing his run as I was. He passed close behind

as I turned into the bay.

The anchorage, rather nice in these conditions but 

exposed to the north.

I should have used a polarising filter on
the camera but forgot I had one with me until
later, but if you look carefully you can see
the chain out 20m or so.

The water was lovely and clear, I could see through more than 6m of water to plant the anchor between the scatted weed and see the chain on the sea bed way out, certainly 20m and with polarized glasses I am fairly sure I could see the anchor 30m away. 

I got some dinner on the go and checked the forecast. Not good:

24 hour forecast [from 19:00]: Variable, becoming south 2 to 4, increasing 5 or 6 later. Slight or moderate. Rain or drizzle with fog patches, showers later. Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

I might have lived with that but the models I later downloaded had very strong winds, >30 knots, arriving Thursday mid day ish, (later gusting 40) that could catch me out on the final bit to Lerwick. 

I contemplated wating for the midnight forecast but decided not to as I would not get the detailed models until the tide had turned foul in the Sound of Farray. So I had to work out when I could leave for Kirkwall, fortunately that was easy and the best start was just before eight so I could have a lie in.

Stromness to Gairsay: 32 miles in six hours.
Gairsay to Eday: 10 miles in 2 hours.

Click here for Kirkwall.