Inverness

We chugged quietly out of Lossiemouth at about 7:30am the weather was still set fair and the breeze was a good F4 but from WSW exactly the direction we needed to go. Still it was too good a wind to waste so we hoisted full sail and set off across the Firth with our back to Lossiemouth.  Off we went in this direction bounding along at about 5K cross tide and feeling great. After about an hour I went below to log our position and work out the reciprocal course after a tack - I appeared back on deck to confirm to the skipper that despite all of our efforts if we tacked back in towards the coast we would be precisely 1 mile closer to our destination (and possibly less if the tide picked us up and pushed us back)!  We had left Lossiemouth with another boat that we had seen intermittently on our journey along the coast who was also heading from Inverness and I think they must have come to exactly the same conclusion as us since suddenly we were both rolling in headsails and motoring into wind! We had about 30miles to cover and we had to be at Chanonry Point and Kessock Bridge by about 2:30pm to ensure the tide was running with us.

Motoring in such a good wind was frustrating but at least the sun was shining although it still wasn't warm enough to shed the layers! We chugged on for another hour or so and then we felt a slight wind shift and decided to try to sail again - again we  were frustrated as we just couldn't keep the course. 


Consoling ourselves with a mug of hot soup (yes it really was chilly despite the sun) and a Curly Wurly we motored on passing the entrance to the Cromarty Firth, which appeared to have an oil rig parked in it, and on along the coast. Eventually Fort George came into view and on cue one of the Moray Firth dolphins appeared alongside the boat but didn't stay long. This area of the Firth is famous for the pod of dolphins living there as well lots of grey seals and the area off Chanonry Point and the beach is a magnet for dolphin watching trips.  With the tide slack we threaded our way past a couple of dolphin watching boats and headed towards the bridge. 


Kessock Bridge carries the main A9 over the Firth on its way to the northern tip of the UK and is an impressive structure. Below it there are some vicious tides and overfalls due to the meeting of a couple of rivers and various run offs from the hills. The pilot books all advise yachts to aim for the middle of the bridge and helpfully there is a large orange diamond mounted in the middle of the central span. The charts all state that the clearance  under the bridge at high water is 28M and I know our air draft is a little under 15M but as always when approaching a bridge there is always that moment when you are certain the mast will not go under! My fears were unfounded as we quietly slipped under the bridge and then made for the port hand mark into the River Ness and then on into Inverness Marina just in time for the rain to begin!

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