Several things occupied my thoughts as I walked back from
the shower block in Eyemouth this morning: 1) how best to turn the boat around ‘on
a sixpence’ in the narrow confines of the upper harbour, the width made all the
narrower by several ‘layers’ of boats rafted up on each side; 2) the need to
leave the harbour on time, before the tide had fallen leaving only a brook
which would be no use for navigating a 37ft yacht down – I couldn’t help
noticing that one of the big fishing boats was already aground and leaning at
an awkward angle against the harbour wall, and 3) the need to avoid the
multiple rocks just outside the harbour entrance, many of them just below the
water surface. Fortunately we managed to tick all three boxes and soon found
ourselves with sails hoisted pointing in the direction of Arbroath. However, it
soon became clear that the wind was coming from the wrong direction and we
realised we had to roll away the headsail – we started to do so when the
furling line jammed and we were faced with a sail that was trying to flog
itself to death. Jan went forward and worked some magic and soon the sail was
furled away and we were motor-sailing with just mainsail raised. Later in the
day we dropped the mainsail and motored for a while before the wind returned
from the east and were able to sail well at over 7 knots. By mid-afternoon however,
whilst the sun had come out, the wind disappeared once more and we completed
our journey to Arbroath under sail.
During the trip we had noted what looked like an iceberg
over to port – it was Bass Rock, completed cover in guano! There was also Bell Tower,
a lighthouse built on a rock that otherwise loomed just below the water surface
in the middle of the sea some 10 miles or so offshore. Rob made bacon butties
for breakfast, and a sandwich lunch, and the sun had made a good appearance
during the day whilst the sea had stayed reasonable flat. An enjoyable day!
Several forecasts for the next few days are rather gloomy
though, so we shall see.
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| Jan looks out at the 'iceberg' seen on the horizon |
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| Arbroath seen from our marina berth |
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