Blog updates

 I am in Lerwick harbour and the internet varies from unusable to very slow, at least during the day, hopefully it will be better today (Saturday) when business are closed or if it was a fault yesterday. I put placeholder posts on before arrival so have a few pics uploaded. I'll be adding text when I can by cut and past from offline writing and will tidy up when I can.

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

A pleasant sail northwards under the cruising chute, although I did have to motor through Mousa Sound due to a changing wind that came too far forward for the chute, which I had already gybed 3 times in the changing wind.

Entering Mousa Sound.

Mousa Sound and Broch.

Mousa Broch c 300BC and the tallest and best
preserved Broch in existence.

Gulber Wick, chosen for better protection and isolation

of the three bays close to Lerwick.

Grutness Voe to Lerwick

16.6 NM in five and three-quarter hours.

Click here for Lerwick.

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

I was awake half an hour before the alarm and left at 03:15 which was just as well as the tide turned rather earlier than the atlas said and was already running east out of North Ronaldsay Firth which I did not want to go down with all of the tidal races on the eastern end, I also wanted to get north. Very early in the neap flood, with no wind and relatively calm seas, only the odd set of 2 - 3 metre waves were coming through, I kept quite close in to the island where Rosts (potentially dangerous tidal races with over falls, breaking seas etc) often develop.

With little or no wind I continued under engine and once past the island I recalculated the course to steer to clear Fair Isle using my Navpro navigation software and got a strange result, it showed a track hardly deviating from the rhumb line which could not be right with up to two knots of cross tide. If I had used the suggestion I would have run into Fair Isle or even missed it to the south instead of passing well clear to the north. I estimated a course and did some investigation.

There are very few tidal diamonds in the area, although the tidal atlas fills in a lot of the gaps albeit just arrows of varying size without numbers attached. The software interpolates between the diamonds but it became clear that it was taking the nearest diamond but one well to the west of the start point north of North Ronalsay where the tide runs east-west rather than one to the east that runs NE - SE. I continued to eyeball the course from the plotter and ended up steering about 15 degrees north of the recommended course, something to remember on the way back. Update: when I ran several routes east - west the suggested headings and tracks made complete sense. 

Fair Isle in the distance. On a clear day you are never out of
sight of land between Orkney and Shetland.

Leaving Fair Isle behind. In front and to port the fair weather

cumulus is over Shetland, from 7 secs into the video Sumburgh

is just visible on a large screen well to the left of that.

On Facebook in real time:

"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."

I didn't have to pay more than about 20 minutes under engine when the wind faltered and I went from chute to fore and aft sails and as I headed up to round the Sumbrugh Rost, with good visibility, light winds and some fishing vessels inside the rost I cut the corner a bit with no problems, the tide helping as I closed as it turned from NW flowing to North, the tide was another reason for staying so far south and east on the approach (see the chart below).

The iconic view of the Shetlands, Sumbough Head.

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

Grutness anchorage and Sumbough Airport.

61.4 NM in just under 13 hours.

Slide show Kirkwall to Grutness.

Click here for Gulber Wick, just short of Lerwick.

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

Text from  real time Facebook posts:

"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, 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 from plan in the benign conditions mainly 10 - 14 knots, W or WNW, over a neap tide."

"Shetland tomorrow and probably a good bit of motoring."

Sailing north-west through Westray Sound

The south end of the Sound of Faray, Faray on the left.

Faray

Red Head, the N end of Eday.

Otterswick, a very large bay and rather featureless,

especially on a misty day. The video needs to be

played at half speed.

More photos in the slide show on the next post covering Otterswick to Gurtness Voe.

30 NM in six and a quarter hours.

Click here for Gurtnes Voe, Shetland.

2025 5th May Day 37 Kirkwall to Shapensay.

A very short hop on Monday, 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 knots it had been and I grabbed the boat hook and the opportunity and got the pick up easily and first time. It must have looked very professional from the shore 😄

Approaching Shapensay, Elwick extreme right..

Elwick, Shapensay, one boat in the anchorage on one of the
free visitors moorings.

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.

Just 4 miles in an hour and a quarter.

More photos in the slide show on the next but one post covering Otterswick to Gurtness Voe.

Click here for my positioning leg to Otterswick, Sanday.

2025 30th April Days 33 - 36, Kirkwall.

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 that is applicable:

"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 had taken the trouble to turn the boat round to face west 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.