Arbroath

The Scottish weather gods did not appear to be on our side and a look at the 7 day forecast was filled with the number 6 and above. Although we are able to sail in a F6 it's not that comfortable its quite hard work inevitably wet and not something we particularly enjoy! Our initial plan had been to leave Eyemouth for the small holiday town of Anstruther spend a day or two there and then move on up the coast to Arbroath however the delay in Eyemouth meant that this journey would be quite difficult as both Anstruther and Arbroath are drying harbours and so getting in and out requires a certain tide level, Arbroath even has a set of gates which close either side of low water! Looking at tide times meant that we would not be able to leave Anstruther and get to Arbroath before the gates closed (they only operate the gates when the HM is on duty so if the high water is overnight they stay closed!). 

After a bit of thought we decided that we really wanted to press on north and the forecast was not looking good so we would go straight to Arbroath from Eyemouth. So it was we found ourselves drawing a straight line across the chart between Eyemouth and Arbroath and setting off for an 8 hour passage with not a lot to see!

We set off at about 6am to catch the best of the tide along the coast and around St Abb’s Head, it was a bright chilly morning and we were hoping for a good sail. Once round the head we pointed the boat towards Arbroath Harbour and set off. The coast of Scotland slowly dipped behind the horizon and the sky clouded over - I swear the temperature dropped by several degrees. We had to ensure that we kept up a good speed on this leg of the journey because as I said before once the gates at Arbroath close you are stuck in the outer drying fishing harbour if you can find somewhere to tie up or you have to continue up the coast to Montrose. The sea was unpleasant grey and rolling and the boat was surfing down the side of some reasonably big waves - in good weather this would have been fun but in the cold grey drizzle it wasn’t!

About 3.5 hours into the trip we were thinking about what to do to amuse ourselves as there was nothing to see and the boat was ploughing on through the chop when the skipper spotted a fin breaking the surface about 5 metres from our starboard side. Suddenly we were joined by two bottle nose dolphins who spent the next 20 minutes or so playing in the bow wave of the boat dipping and diving under us and popping up on either side. That was just what we needed!

A couple of hours later we spotted the Bell Rock lighthouse and closed on the coast making Arbroath Harbour just after 2pm. Looking back it wasn't that bad a crossing and it didn't rain that much in comparison to the previous day.

Arbroath is a pretty but functional harbour in the centre of the towns seafront - a town dominated by smoked haddock! Smokies are everywhere we even saw a cafe advertising smokie ice-cream - an acquired taste I’m sure!! When we arrived the HM gave us the usual paper-work and information about where the loos and showers were etc but also pointed out on the map where to get smokies something I was very pleased about. Before this trip I read a book written by a somewhat cynical chap who was never slow at finding things to moan about during his sail around Britain and in the book he claimed it was impossible to find smokies! Either a lot has changed since his visit or he had no sense of smell and couldn't see very well!

Yet again the forecast was for winds of 6/7 so a quick stopover looked unlikely so we made plans for a few days. First stop Saturday morning was spent doing chores and then as a reward we found a pub for lunch which was of course Smokie! For those of you who haven't tried these delicately smoked haddock you have missed a treat - they look a little like kippers since they are smoked whole but unlike kippers they have a much milder flavour and are not oily. 

The afternoon was very blustery but two boats decided to attempt the trip to Peterhead - we declined and were very glad as we watched the lifeboat tow in a large Swedish yacht who had run over a crab pot in the swell and fouled her rudder. 

We spent the afternoon looking around the small museum dedicated to the Bell Rock Light having seen the story behind it I am in awe of the engineers and craftsmen who worked in such dangerous and demanding conditions to make safe that dangerous reef. 

Sunday saw us joining the congregation of St Johns Methodist in Arbroath a small welcoming community in a fascinating church. The church itself is octagonal and was designed by Wesley himself who believed this  was the best shape for a building in terms of acoustics and practicality! It was opened by Wesley and the core of the building still stands much as it did then. Unusually for Methodist churches it has two beautiful stained glass windows one recognising and giving thanks for the women who supported their men during the Great Wars (a window dedicated to women other than Mary or a Saint is in itself unusual) and the second commemorating a lifeboat disaster where several members of the same family and the church were lost. This disaster led to a change in the rules whereby members of the same family are not allowed to serve together in the same crew so I'm told.
We also took a walk up to the ruins of Arbroath Abbey where the "Declaration of Arbroath" was written- pre dating the SNP!

The wind persisted into Monday so we took the 15 minute train ride into Dundee a trip along the coast passing through the golfing centre of Carnoustie. It was lovely to see the bits of the Tay estuary that we had missed in our dash for Arbroath and also to be grateful that we were safely tucked up in harbour! We only had time for a quick walk around Dundee and of course a visit to the statue of one its favourite sons Desperate Dan!

Eventually on Tuesday the wind died enough for us to embark on our next leg the long haul to Peterhead!