Firstly I haven’t forgotten to finish the last post, its just that it was a busy few days and quite a bit to compile.
Leaving Stromness was the start of the final leg of our trip we were starting to head South. We left Stomness on Thursday when the tide had changed in Hoy Sound and entered Scappa Flow. The grave yard of the German Fleet after the First World War and the Final resting place of HMS Royal Oak after it was torpedoed by a German submarine in 1939 with the loss of 835 men.

















We continued on to Longhope. Something was in my mind about the Longhope Lifeboat being lost some years ago. Our plan was to pick up a mooring or anchor, but when we got there the wind had picked up and the visitor buoys would have been very uncomfortable and anchoring didn’t look appealing. We managed to squeeze into the corner of the harbour against the wall behind the lifeboat. Longhope harbour is on the Island of South Walls attached to the Island of Hoy by a causeway. It is off the tourist track and everyone we saw or spoke to was incredibly friendly. We we went for a walk to the old Lifiboat station that is now a museum, housing the old slipway launched lifeboat. The road was quiet, but every car that passed us, the driver waved. Even a group of children playing in a garden we passed called out “hello.” Unfortunately we were too late to visit the museum, but managed to peer through the windows.
We later went to the “Royal Hotel” for a couple of drinks and again we couldn’t have been more welcome, being included in conversations with the locals in the pub. One was a crew member of the current RNLI lifeboat and confirmed my memories of a Lifeboat disaster in 1969 with the loss of all 8 crew members.
















The next morning required some detailed planning as we were about to cross the feared Pentland Firth. I worked it out using two different books for guidance and Michael also worked it out and all three workings gave roughly the same time to head into the Pentland Firth to get a Sleigh Ride towards Duncansby head, the NW corner of mainland Scotland. It involved catching the last of the Westbound tide to Aith Hope which is where the old Longhope Lifeboat station is located. It was quite sobering to think a crew of 8 launched down that slip in stormy weather to never return.
We rounded Cantick Head and picked up the Westbound tide. However, we got about halfway along South Walls and we ran in to some swerling water, which turned out to be the change in direction of the tide. It was still too early to start the crossing so we pushed against the 2kt tide to Aith Hope. At the calculated time of 11.10 we headed due South as the books suggested. Instead of being pushed sideways to pass between the two islands of Shona and Stroma we were traveling straight across. A quick discussion over the VHF and we decided that we needed to deviate from the pilot book instructions. The Eastward flow hadn’t started. We continued on and the tide did start flowing, initially at about 2.8 kts up to about 4kts at Duncansby Head and got us down to Wick by 15.30.
We had very little breeze and what there was was NW with the tide and the sea was extremely calm, not the cauldron we expected.


















