I acquired the charts and pilot books for the north-east and north coasts of Scotland and the Orkneys more than three years ago. This year I got the opportunity to use them for my four week spring cruise. My plan was to launch Sabine at Inverness and take it from there. I knew little of the area and nothing about launching sites and, more important, I knew nothing about safe parking facilities and for this I needed local knowledge. To obtain this I looked through the DCA and the TSA members lists and found two DCA members listed in the Inverness area. I phoned one, David Franklin, and struck gold. When I told him of my plans he suggested Fortrose as being the best place to launch and park, Inverness being a definite ‘no-no’. He then contacted friends in the Chanonry Sailing Club and organised launching and parking for me.

I left home at 17.45 on the 4th of May, stopping for petrol on the motorway south of Sterling, then drove on past Perth before looking for somewhere to park for the night. There were plenty of lay-bys on the A9, but none were set back from the carriageway. I passed two service area signs, which also advertised caravan facilities and in retrospect I would have been better pulling off at one of them. At 23.15 I pulled into a lay-by and got my head down, but my sleep was constantly disturbed by the roar of heavy lorries driving flat-out. I could hear them approaching in the distance, roaring past, then fading away again.

I was up at 0600 to a dull morning with a light drizzle. I had breakfast and was rolling by 0700. Once past Pitlochry and clear of the rain, I was able to admire the scenery and arrived at Fortrose at 09.30. High water wasn’t until 15.30 and I was able to take my time rigging and loading. Meanwhile the wind was picking up from the east making the slipway into a lee shore, so I took my big fisherman anchor and bedded it in on the waterline ready to haul Sabine off her trolley when I launched. Launching then went without a hitch, but unfortunately the harbour is wide open to the east and soon after I had tied up the wind increased and I ended up with a rope across the harbour from the foot of the mast to haul off the wall and my anti-roll device rigged. At 17.30 David Franklin arrived and he suggested moving to Avoch (pronounced ‘Och’) a mile or so to the east. He helped me to cast off and get clear of the wall then drove to Avoch and helped me tie alongside a converted fishing vessel.

Thursday, May 6th. The sun was shining and a stiff breeze was blowing and I soon convinced myself that I needed a day off. I finished tidying the boat, then walked on to Fortrose to see the harbourmaster, as I hadn’t seen him when I launched. He suggested that I move my car into his back yard, where he could keep an eye on it. I did this, then pottered round the cathedral before walking back to Avoch.

Friday 7th. I was up at 05.30 for the shipping forecast which was E 4-5 with occasional rain. I cast off at 07.15 and motored out of the harbour, where I found the wind was NE 4 gusting 5. I set reefed sails, then beat out past Chanonry Point; my course then was dead to windward and I beat up to the entrance to Cromarty Firth. I was going to go past, but the sky ahead was black, so I turned quickly to port and through the entrance to the Firth, which is dominated by an oil platform construction site at Nigg on the north shore, and anchored off Cromarty Harbour, just before it started raining. I didn’t go into the harbour because it was reported to dry out and be foul with rocks and debris. When it cleared, I went ashore for a walk and found that the harbour was as described in the pilot book. The evening turned bitter cold with blustery showers and I didn’t venture ashore. My distance logged for the day was 18.5 miles.

Saturday 8th. I was awake for the shipping forecast which was E-SE 5-4-3. It was a dull damp morning with poor visibility. I hoisted sails and anchor at 07.45 just as heavy rain started. The wind was ENE 2-3. I beat out of the Firth and was then able to lay a course with short and long tacks up the coast. The wind was still ENE, but was f3-4 in the open. By 0900 the rain had stopped and visibility began to improve as I approached Tarbat Ness, giving it a good offing to clear an offshore ledge. By 1500 I tied alongside in Portmahomack Harbour, a more pleasant place than Cromarty. I went ashore for a walk then went to the pub for a drink in the evening. My distance logged was 27.5 miles.

Sunday 9th. At 07.45 it was dull after heavy rain in the night, but the sun was shining by 0900 when I set sail. The forecast was E-SE 3/4 but I found it to be E 2 and I jogged along at 3 knots enjoying the sun till 1300, when it clouded over. By 14.50 I was off Helmsdale Harbour where, despite there being only a light breeze, a big swell was rolling in and, not being too sure about the depth on the bar, I called the harbourmaster to check and he confirmed that it was OK. After furling sails, I lined up with the leading marks and headed into the harbour, where I was directed to a small pontoon by the harbourmaster, who relieved me of £4.75 plus VAT for his trouble. After a brew I went ashore for a walk and found a pleasant riverside path, which I followed for an hour or so before turning back. Back on board I had a meal then adjourned to the Bannockburn Hotel for a couple of pints. My distance for the day was 21.5 miles.

Monday 10th. It was raining at 07.45 when I motored out and set the sails. The forecast was S SE 3/4 but it was blowing NE 1-2 bang on the nose and I was only able to make 2-3kt (about 1kt over the ground) and at 09.15 I gave in and fired up the outboard. By 10.00 the rain had stopped and the sky was clearing, but visibility was no more than two miles and the coast was shrouded in cloud till 12.30, when it began to clear. By 13.30 Clyth Ness light was abeam and, despite the lack of wind, there was a heavy swell and a lumpy sea. By 15.30 I was off Wick Bay and there was quite a swell running as I negotiated the dogleg entrance to the harbour, but the inner harbour was quiet as I tied alongside an old vessel. I walked round the harbour and saw no signs of the harbourmaster or his office, so I went back on board for a meal, then I took my empty petrol containers and went in search of a filling station. My distance for the day was 30.5 miles, with 7 hrs on engine.

Now that I had reached Wick, it was time to review my options for crossing the Pentland Firth, where the tide can run at up to 12kt in places. The recommended passages are:

1) Wick to Longhope, which depended on being off Dunscanby Head by 09.15, then dashing across the Firth taking care to dodge the races off the island of Swona then into Scapa Flow.

2) Wick to Copinsay, a passage which presents no special problems, the only recommendation being to keep 6 to 10 miles east of Pentland Skerries.

Given that I needed to phone home before I left Wick and the swell which was by then breaking over the harbour wall, I decided on 2) and keyed a waypoint east of the Skerries into my GPS.

Tuesday 11th. I was up at 0700 to a fine morning. The forecast was E 3-4 possibly 5. It was near high water and the swell was breaking over the outer harbour wall, but there was not much wind. I went to the phone, then went back on board and at 08.15 set the sails and cast off, then tidied ropes and fenders before motoring into the outer harbour. I swung wide to watch the surges coming through the entrance. They were running level with the quay, then there was a lull, so I hit the throttle and went for it, over two swells, scooted along a backwash trough and a quick turn to starboard and I was out into the bay. I was trying to locate a perch marking a reef to starboard, when the VHF squawked. It was the harbourmaster calling “the 20 foot yacht leaving Wick Harbour.” He didn’t sound to be a happy chappie! Having located the perch and set the autohelm, I went below to the radio to find Pentland Coastguard on the other end. The harbourmaster had reported my leaving to them. They were very concerned about my being out. I reassured them that everything was fine and that the swell was no problem, and then said that I was heading for Orkney and really put the cat amongst the pigeons when I was asked how many persons were on board. I calmed them down a bit when I told them that my course would take me well east of the Skerries.

Once I had got the coastguard off my back I was able to get sailing. The wind was E 2-3 and I could just lay a course for south of my waypoint, hoping that the wind would veer SE to allow for set and drift and enable me to clear ‘Sandy Riddle’, a shoal SE of the Skerries. Unfortunately the wind soon increased to the top end of f4 and stayed in the east. I reefed main and genoa and I plugged on at 4kt with the windvane in charge, putting a tack to the south for half an hour to clear the shoal. Visibility wasn’t very good and all I saw of Dunscanby Head and the Skerries were shadows, so I keyed a waypoint for Rose Ness (Mainland) into my GPS. By 13.30 I was east of my waypoint and bore away onto a fast beam reach on a northerly course. Approaching Rose Ness the visibility was about one mile and once I had identified the headland I was able bear away into Holm Sound then into East Weddel Sound where I anchored for the night. Once I had anchored, I called Pentland Coastguard and gave them my position. The response was rather offhand, so I signed off and put the kettle on. My distance for the day — 37.5 miles.

Orkney has a history going back more than 4500 years and there are more than a hundred brochs and broch sites listed on the islands, but it was the Vikings who made the history books. More recently Scapa Flow has been the anchorage for the British battle fleets during two world wars and it was after a German submarine sneaked in through Holm Sound and Kirk Sound and torpedoed the Royal Oak that Churchill brought in Italian prisoners of war to build ‘roads’ to link the islands. I was anchored behind one of these ‘Churchill Barriers’. The British commandant allowed the prisoners, who were Catholics, to build their own church in two Nissan huts. It is still standing and my anchorage was a convenient place from which to go and see it.

Wed 12th. At 07.30 the wind was blowing E 4-5 with forecast for up to 25kt. The mist had blown away, but it was still dull and drizzly. However it cleared up by midday and in the afternoon I went ashore and walked north across two islands and three of the Churchill Barriers to the village of St. Mary’s, then called at the Italian Chapel on the way back to Sabine. I had done some reading about the Orkneys and knew that they were largely fertile and treeless, yet it came as quite a surprise to see all the tidy green fields, especially when Scotland, north of Inverness, is mostly bog and rock.

Thursday 13th. The forecast was E/SE 4-5, dropping to f3 and I decided to make an early start to get to Copinsay Pass at about high water slack and at 07.30 I motored out of Weddel Sound. It was blowing east f4 as I set reefed main and genoa and beat out of Holm Sound, round Rose Ness and towards Copinsay, when at 09.30 I heard the VHF squawking out a description of Sabine seen off the east coast of Mainland. I set the wind vane then called Pentland coastguard. Someone had reported seeing a sail disappear off Rose Ness. I had ‘disappeared’ round the headland. I assured the coastguard that I was OK and agreed to call them when I was close to Kirkwall. I arrived off Copinsay before slack water and had to tack about for half an hour or so till the tide turned. I then went through the Pass and held my course of 50°M till the clearing lines for Mull Head opened, then bore away on to a fast beam-reach through big seas with Sabine occasionally falling sideways off waves and one rogue breaking right over the top. I was soon round Mull Head and with a following wind it was a dead run past Deer Sound to port and soon Shapinsay was abeam to starboard.

Shapinsay gets no mention in the pilot book apart from the shelter that Elwick Bay affords from northerly winds. Yet Balfour Castle is a magnificent Victorian edifice and there are a number of places of archaeological interest on the island. I was soon through Shapinsay Sound and The String, where the tides run at up to 8kt, and making my way across Kirkwall Bay, dodging the inter-island ferries on the way. I called Pentland Coastguard to tell them that I had arrived and the harbourmaster called me and told me to go to the pontoon at the head of the harbour.

By 1400 I was tied to the pontoon, had paid £9.80 for a 4 day ticket valid for any harbour in the Orkneys and had been given a key to the sailing club. I had a brew, then went shopping and walked round St. Magnus’ Cathedral and the ruins of the Earl’s and Bishop’s Palaces, before returning to Sabine. Then I went into the sailing club for a shower. It turned out to be the club’s race night and three yachts and several dinghies turned out. I went into the club later for a drink and was ignored for a while, then one chap asked me where I had sailed from and of what size was my yacht. When I told him he said “Och, that’s no varry big,” and turned his back on me. I finished my drink then turned to leave. On my way out another chap, who I had seen earlier on the pontoon, asked me where I was heading for and said that he might see me over the weekend. My distance for the day was 27.5 miles.

Friday 14th. The forecast was SE 2-3 going to NE then to NNW. It was fine and sunny with no wind as I cast off at 09.30 to catch the tide and motored across Kirkwall Bay and through The String and Shapinsay Sound, where I found a breath of wind and set sails on a beam reach for Stronsay and crept along goose-winged at 2kt till 1300, when I saw that I was being pushed too far north by the tide, so I started the engine to motor clear and by 13.40 I was through the sound between Holms of Spurness and Little Linga where, although the tide was foul the stream was weak. I now had the choice of either going into Whitehall Bay on Stronsay or to Kettletoft on Sanday. I chose Kettletoft, because the wind was picking up a bit from SW and I could make 3-4kt under sail. Approaching Kettletoft there were numerous creel buoys in about five metres and I found out the hard way that each one had a least fifty metres of rope floating on the surface. After disentangling, I proceeded cautiously past the rest and tied up in Kettletoft Harbour at 1600. After a brew I walked across the island a distance of about four miles then back again before making a meal. Later I went into the nearby pub for a drink. My distance for the day was 18 miles and I had motored for 1.25 hr.

Saturday 15th. I was wakened by Sabine bumping against the wall; the wind had gone round to the NE and when there was enough water I moved into the inner harbour to wait for the tidal stream to turn to the NW. I motored out at 12.10 and set sail for Spur Ness and by 13.15 was into Eday Sound where the tide was rolling and boiling as it raced north. Lashy Sound at the NE end is the widest exit, but I would have had to tack east to clear Lashy Skerry, which reaches nearly a mile off the shore of the Calf of Eday. So, since the wind was light, I decided to go through Calf Sound. The price to pay for cutting the corner was being treated to a bumpy ride through the tail race at the north end of the sound. From there it was a steady beam reach to Pierowall on Westray. The wind faded when I was about two miles off, so I motored in and tied alongside at 16.30. After a meal I went for a walk to see Noltland castle, which was built about 1560 by the Balfour family, then not seeing the pub as I walked back through the village I retired on board for a bottle of my home brew. My distance for the day was 13 miles with 50 mins. on engine.

Sunday 16th. The forecast was E-SE 1-2 and it was dull and calm when I motored out at 0900, then at 1000 I found enough wind to sail. I cleared Selwick Skerry and set a course for Weatherness Sound arriving at 11.45. The wind was light, so I motored through into Rapness Bay, where I anchored for lunch and to wait for the tide to turn to the west through Westray Sound. At 12.45 I motored out and leaving Rousay to port, stayed on engine till 14.40, when I found enough wind to push me along. I would have liked to anchor off Skaill Bay and go ashore to look at Skarabrae, an excavation of a stone age village, but I needed to get to Hoy Sound by 1800 to get the first of the flood into Scapa Flow. By 1800 I was in the Sound negotiating the skerries and by 1900 I was tied up in Stromness Harbour, where many of the other vessels appeared to be dive boats. After making a meal I went for a walk and saw what must be the only trees on Orkney, a few sycamores in a sheltered valley. Later I went for a pint and got into conversation with one of the locals. He told me that there is a good war museum at Lyness on Hoy. My distance for the day was 35 miles with 4.5 hrs on engine.

Monday 17th. The forecast was S/SW 1-2 and the outlook E-NE 2-3-C-V 1-2. The barometer was still high and steady, but a change was on the way. It was sunny and warm in the harbour, but in the open a chill SSE was blowing. I did some shopping and filled up with petrol, then at 10.55 I motored out of the harbour, set sails and beat into Scapa Flow with the last of the flood, then beat south against a fresh SSE f4 and a foul tide, arriving off Lyness harbour at 15.30. The harbour didn’t look inviting, being open to the east, but I furled the sails and started the outboard to motor in and it went on one cylinder. I changed the offending plug and tried again; still only one cylinder, so I limped into the harbour, but didn’t like the look of it and limped out again. I set sails and laid my course downwind to Houton harbour on Mainland arriving at 1730. I limped into the harbour and tied alongside a converted trawler which I had seen earlier leaving Lyness. The skipper was still aboard and I went to see him to check that I wouldn’t be in his way. He was making some adjustments to an ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle). There was a large saloon built on the deck and it contained seating for about 30 passengers with a large TV screen at each end. He took parties out to the historic wrecks in Scapa Flow, lowered the ROV which contained a TV camera and manoeuvred it round the wrecks, while his passengers watched the screens.

Back on board Sabine, I checked the engine for sparks and found that the bottom cylinder was dead, so I whipped the flywheel off and changed the points and the engine fired up on both cylinders. After having a meal I went for a walk on the hill, then went back on board for a bottle of home brew.

The forecast was for it to remain S-SE 3-4, but I had an uneasy feeling and decided to run for Loch Eriboll the next day. My distance for the day was 25 miles.

Tuesday 18th. It was a clear calm morning as I motored out of the harbour at 05.45, after listening to the shipping forecast, which confirmed the previous one. The outboard ran sweetly, as I motored through Hoy Sound with the last of the ebb, but when I picked up a bit of breeze and set the sails, I closed the throttle and was back on one cylinder. Then the penny dropped. I had fitted suppressor caps last year, so I removed the offending one, refitted the old cap and ‘hey presto’, I had two good cylinders again. Soon after clearing Hoy Sound, the wind dropped and I was on engine again. I thought it would be the wind shadow from Hoy and motored on. The wind came back in fits and starts giving me a lift, but not enough to make headway against the tide, which had turned and which didn’t ease till 1300. At 18.30 I picked up a mooring in Rispond Bay, off Loch Eriboll. I had a meal then went ashore for a walk and immediately knew I was back in the Highlands — there were midges about. Back on board, Sabine was rolling a bit, a wind had sprung up from the south, so I rigged my anti-roll device and went to bed. My distance for the day was 64.5 miles and I had motored for 10 hr.

Wednesday 19th. The forecast was still S-SE 3-4, but the barometer was falling. Slack water off Cape Wrath was at 0700 and with over 15 miles to go I needed an early start and I was up and away by 03.40 in a flat calm. I had breakfast once I had cleared all the islands. I also called Pentland Coastguard to let them know that I was leaving the area. They wanted me to confirm that there was still only one person on board, then they told me that I should call Stornoway when I got to Kinlochbervie, because I would no longer be their responsibility. For once the tide was giving me a good lift, plus a slight lift from the sails and I was abeam of the Cape at 0600 after passing between Duslic rock and the mainland. Once round the corner there was a slight breeze and at 06.30 I switched off the engine, but I soon found that I wasn’t making any headway in the tidal chop when the tide began to run north and it was ‘on engine’ again, motor sailing all the way to Eilean an Roin, where I turned SE to look for ‘the hole in the wall’ which is the entrance to Loch Inchard and it was only by setting a compass course and identifying features and islands as I passed them that I was able to find the entrance. Once in the loch, the sun was hot and I shed layers of clothing as I motored up the loch and into Loch Bervie and into the harbour, where I tied up against the quay at 10.15. After a coffee I got my head down to try to catch up on some sleep, but found it to be impossible due to a noisy, engine-driven, power-washer, which started up on the fish dock.

After lunch I went to the phone, then lugged six empty petrol containers to the garage to replace petrol used coming from Orkney. On my way back, with two containers in my haversack and two in each hand, I was given a lift by a chap who was renovating an old 22ft. Eventide on the dock. I decided not to spend the night in Kinlochbervie, so I motored out and set course for Loch Laxford, home of John Ridgeway. I had a look into Loch a’ Chadh-fi where Ridgeway has his moorings, then crept into a tiny landlocked bay off the north side of Loch Laxford. After a meal I went ashore and spent a couple of hours on the hill and it was warm enough without a sweater. My distance for the day was 35 miles with 6.25 hrs. on engine.

Thursday 20th. The barometer was falling and the forecast was for winds of S-SW 4-6 and the outlook was SW 6-7. I decided to head south to Loch Drumbeg, which is sheltered from all but the north and where I could lay up and get to the phone. I got the anchor up at 10.30 and sailed out of the loch being laid well over in the gusts despite being reefed down. Once clear of the loch, I set a course to give me sea room to clear Handa Island, but with the wind varying in strength from f3-5 and direction from S-SW it made a very choppy sea. This was combined with a foul tide and at 1300 I was still on the same latitude, so I went about, laid a course for Kinlochbervie and by 15.15 was tied up against an Orkney Longliner on the yacht pontoon on the east side of the harbour. I went for a walk and then to the pub in the evening. My distance logged was 19 miles.

Friday May 21st. The forecast was SW 5-7 and the barometer had dropped overnight from 1002 to 992mb. There had been heavy gusts and showers all night, which had got heavier by morning and my long hours of motoring from Orkney proved to have been a prudent move. I spent the morning with the Tilley lamp lit on the cabin sole to provide a comfortable fug. In the afternoon the squalls were clearing, so I togged up and went for a walk on the hill, where I had to lean into the wind and the only way to deal with the icy squalls was to stand with my back to them. I arrived back on board at 17.30 just before a blasting hail squall. The forecast at 17.54 was for W gale f8-9. I went to the phone at 19.15. The sky was black and there were strong gusts from the west. Back on board at 19.45 I put the primer on the Tilley lamp to get a fug up, when the storm broke. Sabine heeled suddenly to about 30 degrees and the Tilley lamp jumped clear of the fiddle rails and landed on the cabin sole, breaking the mantle and glass. The storm raged for about half an hour, spray jetting in through the gaps in the companionway doors and the heavy hatch being lifted on it’s track and shunted open an inch, till I put the locking bolt in. Barry of the Eventide came to see me when it had calmed down a bit. His boat had been blown off its blocks and had moved about 4 ft. He said that the gusts had been about 70kt. He brought me two big fenders to supplement mine and in the lull I decided to move across to the fish dock where I would be sheltered. Barry cast off my warps, then went round and helped me to moor up. Peace at last! I soon had the Tilley on and a nice fug up.

Saturday 22nd. I awoke for the shipping forecast at 05.35. It was W/SW 8-9 occasionally 10, so I went back to sleep. There were showers and squalls throughout the morning and I walked up to the garage-cum-hardware store, where I was in luck and replaced my Tilley lamp glass, then went for walk in the afternoon (very hard going in the wind).

Sunday and Monday were similar. Tuesday started windy with the wind easing off in the afternoon and evening and all the trawlers were putting to sea.

Wednesday 26th. The forecast was W-SW f2/3. I cast off and motored out in a flat calm, streamed the log and set the sails to give a bit of lift. By 0900 Handa Island was abeam and at 11.45 Stoer Head was abeam. Then I ran into heavy drizzle, visibility fell to about half a mile and navigation was by compass and eyeball till 14.30, when I was approaching the Summer Isles with great caution. It lifted just in time to make my final approach easy and by 1500 I was anchored in a sheltered bay off Tanera Beg, where there were seals on the rocks. The sun came out and I soon had the dinghy inflated and went ashore for a walk. My distance for the day was 34.5 miles with 8.5 hrs. on engine.

Thursday 27th. The forecast was S-SE 3/4 — NE 3-5. It was calm and wet as I motored out at 0915. By 0935 I was beating into a light southerly, which soon freshened to SW 4, bang on the nose. I beat past Loch Ewe then motored for half an hour to get round Rubha Reidh where I found the wind was S f1, so I stayed on engine and motor-sailed the rest of the way to Gairloch, where I picked up a mooring at Badachro at 18.45. After a meal, I went to the phone then to the pub. My distance logged was 41.5 miles with 3.5 hrs. on engine.

Friday 28th. The forecast was N-NE f5-6. It was blowing NE 2-3 and raining at 09.30 when I motored out of Badachro and across to Gairloch, where I went ashore for some fresh bread. I debated whether to set sail and decided that a following wind of f5-6 was acceptable. At 11.15 the wind was NE 3-4 as I set sail out of the loch. By 12.30 it was f4-5 as I sailed goose-winged before it. In the Inner Sound a big sea was running, evidence of stronger winds further N. By 16.45 I was south of Loch Toscaig (Applecross) and the wind had dropped to flat calm, so it was ‘on engine’. Fifteen minutes later it was back from the east f4, bringing heavy rain with it. I stayed on engine and butted into it all the way to Plockton, where I anchored at 18.30. My distance for the day was 35 miles with 2 hrs on engine. Total for the cruise 483 miles and 48.5 hrs. on engine. After a meal I blew up the inflatable for the last time, went ashore in the rain and walked up to the railway station to consult the timetables for trains to Inverness. Then I phoned David Franklin and asked him if he could meet me at Inverness and take me to Fortrose. He was pleased to hear from me and immediately agreed. I walked back into Plockton and looked into the pub, but it was crowded and noisy with a band just warming up, so I backed out and went back on board Sabine for one of my last bottles of home brew.

Saturday 29th. Up early to a wet morning. I went ashore and walked up to the station in time to catch the train to Inverness and the weather cleared so that I could appreciate the trip on what is one of the most scenic railways in the country. The train was delayed for half an hour at Achnasheen, while we waited for a tourist train to come through and I arrived at Inverness to find David waiting patiently at the barrier. He drove me to Fortrose and helped me to hitch up my trailer and even offered to drive back to Plockton to help me to pull out; a very kind offer which I declined. The road back to Plockton (about 70 miles) is well surfaced and was practically deserted and I made very good time arriving at 18.30. I parked the car and trailer in the car park at the top of the slip and went back on board Sabine for a meal.

Sunday 30th. High water was 07.30 so I was up at 0600 and anchored off the end of the slip by 06.30. I soon had the trailer organised, Sabine floated on to the trolley and winched up and by 07.30 I had pulled clear of the slipway and was having my breakfast. I took my time derigging and left at about 10.30 on the long haul home. By 16.30 I was near Callander and tiring, so I dug out my Caravan Club book and looked up a ‘Certified Location’ near Doune that I had stayed at in the past with the caravan. I phoned and found that there was a vacancy, so I pulled off for the night.

Monday 31st. I left the ‘CL’ at 08.30 to miss the rush hour traffic and was home for a late lunch. I had driven 420 miles from Plockton.

In retrospect mine was an ambitious cruise, but I would say that the north-east coast of Scotland could be a good venue for an interesting summer cruise. There are many small harbours between Fraserburgh and Wick and daily distances could be as long or short as individual skippers wanted to make them.