July 28, 2006 “Mainland” Orkney.

I must start off the story about getting to Orkney- not that easy. You might have heard the UK has been having some really hot weather. Hot weather here means no wind and the high possibility of sea fog. Being in the Kyle of Tongue (see below) for almost a week, I got frustrated with the lack of wind, bought some more diesel (big bucks- $7.50/US gallon) and took off for Orkney, only 40 miles away. I had a good forecast, E winds clocking to SE and I thought I’d make Orkney in less than 12 hours even if I had to power a good bit of the way.

The first Orkney island sighted was Hoy, the high island. It was a sight to behold- fog was rolling off the cliffs and down to the sea, dark clouds to the north over the mainland, the rumble of thunder. My plan was to pass through the sound of Hoy, a narrow gap between Hoy to the south and “mainland” to the north. Mainland isn’t to be confused with mainland Scotland, as Orcadians call mainland Scotland “Scotland.” I was late as usual- mainly due to the wind being on the nose for half the journey. Back to the story- the tide sluices through the sound of Hoy at a rate of 8 knots. Since Tradition makes 5 knots at the most, being late isn’t really an option. So, being without wind, facing a foggy channel with ferry traffic and the growing darkness things were looking right grim. I figured that I’d just wait for morning and catch the next tide, hoping the morning sun would burn off the fog. The next morning the fog was lifting and I headed for the sound, and as I got closer, the fog descended again! Again, very little wind and the Orkneys are, apparently the birthplace of all fog.

So, a quick look at the chart showed that I might get to the south entrance before the tide turned. The fog looked lighter to the south and off I went. Well, not much luck, the south entrance was completely fogged in. This south entrance is in the Pentland Firth, ominously rated in the top ten nastiest stretches of water on the planet. Currents routinely run up to 12 knots and have been recorded at up to 16 knots at times. Well, GPS to the rescue- I managed to set a series of waypoints and motored (still no wind) in close to the south of the island of Hoy and S. Walls. I had favorable current most of the way, up to 3 knots, but the current turned in the last half hour and was really running by the time I got to the entrance. Although I set the waypoints as close as 100 yards to the shore, I saw land only twice.

Later I anchored in Long Hope, where the lifeboat station covering the Pentland Firth is situated. The lifeboat was out that morning and the Coxswain said the fog was as bad as he had seen. I spent a grand two days on Hoy and S. Walls, exploring ashore, talking with the Coxswain and Engineer at the lifeboat station. They were the most welcoming of all the RNLI lifeboat stations I’ve ever met. Turns out Long Hope is a very famous station for their rescues in the Firth. Some of the pictures they have are absolutely unreal- they have a few of a 32 foot yacht they towed across Scapa Flow in 90 knots of wind!

The Orkneys are awesome for their history- from Neolithic standing stones to the activity during the two world wars. Scapa Flow is a large inland sea and a perfect anchorage for ships. There is a great museum on Hoy with relics of the two wars- anti-submarine nets, torpedos, etc. One of the more amazing pieces of history is the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow in 1919. Supposedly the work of the admiral without any knowledge of the German high command, something like 70 warships went to the bottom of the Flow. More amazingly, 25 destroyers and 6 battleships were raised in between the two wars. The pictures of the salvage are hard to believe- a 28000 ton battleship, 900 feet long and 100 wide being towed, upside down! As such the whole of Scapa Flow is navigatable again, at least to a yacht’s depth. There are, of course several wrecks left in the Flow the focal points for many local dive groups.

Since arriving the weather has been hot, hot, hot. Reminds me of the Bahamas. Not much wind, but that is all set to change this weekend.