Kirkwall

28 May 2015

On Tuesday afternoon the guests came aboard for the trip from Aberdeen to Oban. After the usual welcome, we enjoyed the quiet evening with unusual weather for Scotland, dry and calm winds. The next morning we left very early for the minimum of 130 miles to Kirkwall at the Orkneys. Minimum of 130 miles, because we were not planning to follow a straight line. First along the coast to Rattrey Head and then Morey Firth, to get more west before the wind would shift. We started the engine, because the wind was still asleep, but around breakfast the wind woke up and one by one the sails went up. We followed the coast the whole day and looked at all the different ships. We also attracted many visitors. We saw many helicopters flying back and forth between the oil platforms changing their course to take a look. And even the dolphins came along to play with waves from our bow.
It was a day of nice sailing with a southwestern wind, during the night it shifted to the west, so we could sail during the night too. This morning we took the sails down just east from Mainland because the entrance was in the wind. We have just moored at the quay in Kirkwall and everyone is on land to discover the island’s old churches, stone henges and many other remnants of the Picts, Vikings and later landlords.