Long Haul to Peterhead
Again this was another leg of compromise. We had looked at stopping in Montrose - the pilot books say they welcome yachts - but had been advised by local skippers that the wash from the large commercial vessels passing makes for an uncomfortable berth. We had also looked at Stonehaven which everyone told us was a very pretty harbour but again it is drying so we would have to time our entrance and exit very carefully. We could have done that but it would mean that we may miss a weather window to get around Rattray Head which we couldn't risk.
Rattray head is another insignificant looking bump on the coast of Scotland but is a very difficult stretch of water with big tidal currents, shallows, rocks, reefs and overfalls. The received wisdom is go round either with the tide slack or with you, the wind in the same direction as the tide (and hopefully in the same direction as you) and between 2 and 5 miles off the coast! In the words of one Scottish fisherman I spoke to "Aye it can kick up a bit rough round there" - this is a chap that goes to sea no matter the weather! Timothy Spall in his series about circumnavigating the UK got it wrong and the TV footage shows an unpleasant passage around the headland.
So with that in mind we decided to bite the bullet and head the 65 miles directly to Peterhead in the hope that the predicted good weather for the following day would materialise! As we left Arbroath the wind was behind us but only blowing 3-4K so not really enough to sail without our big cruising sail, as we started to think about putting it up the wind went up a few gears and was blowing 15-16K too much for the big sail. So it continued for the next 11 hours one minute no wind at all next a F6 but all from behind us, add into this squally rain which arrived horizontally into the boat cockpit and it was not too much fun!
Past Montrose and Stonehaven the coastline starts to become more industrial and we started to see some large vessels both on the horizon and on the AIS screen. We knew we were approaching Aberdeen and its busy harbour. The pilot books say that all vessels must call up Aberdeen harbour and request permission to pass through the area I decided to call them up let them know we were there and tell them we were passing south to north - the German boat we had been shadowing for a while simply turned on his AIS and carried on sailing! Both strategies seemed to work!
Just north of Aberdeen harbour is a huge anchorage for the large vessels that use the port and it gave us a chance to look at some of these vessels close to. There seems to be an increasing number of ships which look at the front like the cockpit end of a modern passenger jet with a rounded bow going all the way up to the bridge. This then all falls away to a flat cargo area, so from another angle they look like Old Mother Hubbard's shoe!
Pressing on in the rain we passed the site of the Trump golf course and further north still Slains Castle a very imposing large ruin sitting on the cliff top.
At about 4:30 I phoned the harbour master at Peterhead to let him know we were on our way - it can be a bit difficult arriving at a harbour if everyone has gone home because simple things like keys or codes to the loos are vital to know! Often there is a gate on to the mooring pontoons and without the codes you are trapped on the boat. He was very friendly and helpful telling me that he finished at 7pm but would happily wait for us to arrive! (Our ETA was 6pm so it shouldn't have been a problem).
At about 5:45 we were off Peterhead and I called up the port control for permission to enter, his response was to keep approaching and call him again when we were "quite close" but he had two large vessels leaving! Not sure how close "quite close" is we carried on motoring slowly towards the entrance until the two big supply ships had left and then called up again - this time he told us to proceed into the harbour. During my phone call with the marina I asked about diesel and the HM came back on the radio to ask if we were the yacht that needed fuel - if so the Marina Master would meet us on the fuel dock! All of the harbours we have visited thus far have been really welcoming and helpful and some of the busier ones "down south" could learn a thing or two from these friendly places. Peterhead harbour is really busy and for the port control to help us with this as well as provide directions into the marina would be unheard of in the south east - the best we have ever had from Dover port control has been "make best speed the Pride of Kent is behind you".
Thirty minutes later refuelled we were tied up in Peterhead Marina which if you look in one direction is quite pretty but if you look in another there is a view of commercial vessels a gas terminal or Peterhead Prison! Never mind it was safe and secure and the cheapest nights mooring we've had thus far - and the showers were hot!
The evening forecast was still looking good so we went to bed ready to finish the north going leg of our journey and turn west the following day.
Rattray head is another insignificant looking bump on the coast of Scotland but is a very difficult stretch of water with big tidal currents, shallows, rocks, reefs and overfalls. The received wisdom is go round either with the tide slack or with you, the wind in the same direction as the tide (and hopefully in the same direction as you) and between 2 and 5 miles off the coast! In the words of one Scottish fisherman I spoke to "Aye it can kick up a bit rough round there" - this is a chap that goes to sea no matter the weather! Timothy Spall in his series about circumnavigating the UK got it wrong and the TV footage shows an unpleasant passage around the headland.
So with that in mind we decided to bite the bullet and head the 65 miles directly to Peterhead in the hope that the predicted good weather for the following day would materialise! As we left Arbroath the wind was behind us but only blowing 3-4K so not really enough to sail without our big cruising sail, as we started to think about putting it up the wind went up a few gears and was blowing 15-16K too much for the big sail. So it continued for the next 11 hours one minute no wind at all next a F6 but all from behind us, add into this squally rain which arrived horizontally into the boat cockpit and it was not too much fun!
Past Montrose and Stonehaven the coastline starts to become more industrial and we started to see some large vessels both on the horizon and on the AIS screen. We knew we were approaching Aberdeen and its busy harbour. The pilot books say that all vessels must call up Aberdeen harbour and request permission to pass through the area I decided to call them up let them know we were there and tell them we were passing south to north - the German boat we had been shadowing for a while simply turned on his AIS and carried on sailing! Both strategies seemed to work!
Just north of Aberdeen harbour is a huge anchorage for the large vessels that use the port and it gave us a chance to look at some of these vessels close to. There seems to be an increasing number of ships which look at the front like the cockpit end of a modern passenger jet with a rounded bow going all the way up to the bridge. This then all falls away to a flat cargo area, so from another angle they look like Old Mother Hubbard's shoe!
Pressing on in the rain we passed the site of the Trump golf course and further north still Slains Castle a very imposing large ruin sitting on the cliff top.
At about 4:30 I phoned the harbour master at Peterhead to let him know we were on our way - it can be a bit difficult arriving at a harbour if everyone has gone home because simple things like keys or codes to the loos are vital to know! Often there is a gate on to the mooring pontoons and without the codes you are trapped on the boat. He was very friendly and helpful telling me that he finished at 7pm but would happily wait for us to arrive! (Our ETA was 6pm so it shouldn't have been a problem).
At about 5:45 we were off Peterhead and I called up the port control for permission to enter, his response was to keep approaching and call him again when we were "quite close" but he had two large vessels leaving! Not sure how close "quite close" is we carried on motoring slowly towards the entrance until the two big supply ships had left and then called up again - this time he told us to proceed into the harbour. During my phone call with the marina I asked about diesel and the HM came back on the radio to ask if we were the yacht that needed fuel - if so the Marina Master would meet us on the fuel dock! All of the harbours we have visited thus far have been really welcoming and helpful and some of the busier ones "down south" could learn a thing or two from these friendly places. Peterhead harbour is really busy and for the port control to help us with this as well as provide directions into the marina would be unheard of in the south east - the best we have ever had from Dover port control has been "make best speed the Pride of Kent is behind you".
Thirty minutes later refuelled we were tied up in Peterhead Marina which if you look in one direction is quite pretty but if you look in another there is a view of commercial vessels a gas terminal or Peterhead Prison! Never mind it was safe and secure and the cheapest nights mooring we've had thus far - and the showers were hot!
The evening forecast was still looking good so we went to bed ready to finish the north going leg of our journey and turn west the following day.
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