Blog Archives

Scotland: The Minch and Highlands

The Minch is the strait of water between the Highlands of Scotland and the Hebrides. Strong south-westerly winds regularly blow up this strait making the trip sailing south particularly challenging. At the end of June after days of strong south-westerly … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on July 21, 2019 by | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Something about Scotland

In 2017 when we sailed across the Atlantic from the Caribbean to Ireland and UK, Scotland was just a little too far north to see everything in a few weeks. By all accounts, Scotland’s waters are considered the world’s best … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on July 21, 2019 by | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Scotland: Orkney

The distance from Scalloway on Shetland’s west coast to Kirkwall on Orkney’s Mainland Island is almost 90nm. Our plan was to sail overnight and arrive at Kirkwall the following morning. Although we would have liked to have stopped a night … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on July 5, 2019 by | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Scotland: Shetland

Da wind flans in frae Fitful HeadWast ower fae blatterin seas, Bit never da lang, lang lippen’d sail Whaar lycht an lippnin dees. – From the poem “Flans Frae Da Haaf”
by Laurence Graham The Scottish archipelago, the Shetland Isles, are … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on June 18, 2019 by | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

North Sea: Passage to Shetland Isles

Behold The Hour, The Boat Arrive– Robert Burns, 1791 Behold the hour, the boat arrive;Thou goest, the darling of my heart;Sever’d from thee, can I survive,But Fate has will’d and we must part.I’ll often greet the surging swell,Yon distant Isle … Continue reading →

Aside | Posted on June 8, 2019 by | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments