 | 25 th of June 2011 - The Screaming 60s. |
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| Crew : | Helen and Andy | |
| Destinations : | Scalloway. | |
| Distance : | 12 miles |
After a peaceful night on the anchor, the wind had moved to the south and was gradually filling in as we had breakfast. We left our lovely bay and headed up the coast under genoa and mizzen. Andy had a go at fishing for mackerel but we were going a bit fast. We finally crossed the 60 th parallel.
As we approached Scalloway there were quite a few small fishing boats. We passed between some rocks and Fugla Head light house to pick up some navigation buoys to take us into the harbour, sailing all the way and waving to some people on a small headland.
The wind was picking up and the visitors pontoon was empty so we found a berth on the leeward side of this at the boat club. Andy passed our lines to the marina master who unfortunately was a bit slow to fasten them. With the wind blowing us off, Andy couldn't get ashore. However, eventually, after messing around we got close enough for Andy to jump off without getting wet and we gradually pulled Speedwell close enough to the pontoon to secure all our lines. We later realised that the 'boat club' was a different kettle of fish here as most people have fishing boats. There were only one or two small sailing yachts in the marina.
We did a quick recce of Scalloway and picked up a few groceries. We discovered that nothing much happens on a Sunday so we decided we would have the next day doing chores and reading.
During the evening the wind built up and the pontoon and Speedwell got a bit of a bashing from the wind and waves. Andy secured extra lines ashore so that we wouldn't go anywhere without the pontoon. I wasn't overly confident that the pontoon would stay attached to land as it was a bit old and I read somewhere that it was only for boats up to 40 foot. A number of small fishing boats arrived on our berth and brought with them all sorts of sea birds scavenging for tidbits. This was quite a spectacle to watch, especially the greater black backs, which dwarfed the herring gulls. The fishing boats eventually left for the evening. Overnight the waves slapping on the hull made the noise in the aft cabin just by our heads pretty unbearable so I moved into the saloon and Andy shortly followed.
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