After we had left Moray Firth some heavy clouds were building up behind us. We could escape most of it but one front crossed us with some medium gusts and pouring rain adding little lightning and thunder still a few miles away. Impressive, what grumbling mother nature can build up and throw at you, if not in a good mood.
It then became a race towards the northeastern tip of Scotland marked through Fraserburg or Peterhead nearby. We had to get around that landmark corner in time to catch the winds which shall take us further to the East over the North Sea. Our weather window was tight and not getting into these winds in time would have caused us headache and trouble. As the winds along the Scottish coastline were not only variable in strenght but also in direction, we had to use the engine most of the time to ensure we don´t let our on-off chance go – hit the important landmark before it gets dark and catch the southerly winds. Finally we got there in time and waived the alternative to stop in Peterhead Marina and wait for another weather window, which was not apparent at all for the next few days ahead. So far so good.
Favorable winds took us through the first night. 15-20kn TWS and around 90° – 120° TWA were perfect conditions to cross these busy and highly respected seas. Our straight courseline was set to leave the oil & gas fields at safe distance, minimum 5nm.
Clear blue sky and plenty of dolphins entertained us during the following day. Perfect sailing conditions, only the skipper was fighting with himself. Leaving Inverness with a light cold and headache, some weak seasickness added to my mood, which can be summarized: totally useless! I was glad Co-Skipper and Tidemaster Jan stepped in and did most of the watch & work with minimum breaks for taking rest himself. Feeding the fish with some tasty lasagne finally resolved the knot and wellbeing increased from mile to mile. I have no further comments to that, only questions!?!
Before the second night broke in a Danish sailor crossed our line and reminded us one more time to keep good watch, day and night! As he had no AIS and we were on collision course, it is of utmost important to keep the 15min watch cycle for thorough and sharp lookout. All technic in the world cannot replace a good sharp lookout. So now, the second night is over and all is back to normal routine. The oil & gas fields are behind us, we have crossed Greenwich median and have arrived back in the Eastern lines of longitude.
There are two hundred nautical miles to go and we will arrive in Skagen/Denmark, our first choice destination for landfall, not only to for the Remoulade! 🙂
Let me get this overdue Logblog published now and download the latest weather data to see, if we can rely on the wind until arrival.
Fair winds…
