Then the rain starts and it pours down for the next four hours as Dark Star ambles along, crossing the bay enclosing the golfing mecca of St Andrews, then past the estuary of the mighty river Tay.

The approach to Arbroath turns out to be infested by pots and nets. Every man in Arbroath must have a set of pots out.

The harbour entrance line of approach is 199 degs and it's critical to keep wthin a narrow channel through drying rocks. You must line up two white marks to stay on the right line.

There are pots and buoys scattered across the leading line! In darkness never could you safely approach Arbroath, ring fenced by pot markers. It is one of the worst ports I have entered.

I ease into the inner harbour and wonder where the marina entrance lies since there is no apparent gap in the surrounding quayside. A squeaking noise penetrates the rain and two ancient looking gates slowly open to port.

The gates open 3 hours before high tide, but they are not manned 24 hours, so no movement is possible between 8pm and 7am! I enjoy a fish and chip supper (sadly not an Arbroath Smokie) whilst listening to the France v Portugal Cup Final. It's still raining.

Monday July 11 Arbroath to Stonehaven - 30 miles

Leave Arbroath at 09.00. The short visit did not give time to sample a 'smokie'. It is flat calm so it's back to motorsailing again, but at least the full mainsail can be set.

On arrival I found Arbroath fenced in by lobster pots. Getting out of the place without becoming entangled, seems even harder than it was on entry.

However within two miles of the shore, there is not a lobster pot in sight. I cant believe lobsters all crawl around Arbroath harbour conveniently within 20/30 minutes of the 'fishermen'.

As we pass Montrose, the sun disappears and heavy rain showers appear. Midsummer weather it is not. It is quite an interesting piece of coast but visibility in the rain is often poor.

We slip past the small harbours of Johnshaven and Gourdon, past Inverbervie and Caterline. The rain clears through and the ruined Dunnottar Castle appears on the starboard bow which means that Stonehaven is drawing closer.

As I turn to make the run along the leading marks into Stonehaven Harbour, the approach is accompanied by a thunderstorm complete with torrential rain. Oh joy.

I enter the harbour gingerly, just an hour after low water, expecting to run aground, but without problems, ease around the breakwater and into the inner harbour. 

Stonehaven has no purpose built marina with nice alongside pontoons providing easy access, power and water.

Here are high quaysides, rough harbour walls and slippery iron ladders to climb. I find an empty spot and scrabble around tying up temporarily before starting the climb up the ladder some 20 feet to the top of the quay.

From there long lines are dropped to secure Dark Star. The lines need to be long to allow for the rise and fall of the tide. Too short and the boat is left hanging as the tide ebbs away!

By 16.00 everything is settled and afternoon tea and cake consumed. Exploring Stonehaven does not take very long and I find possibly it's main claim to fame; it gave the world the deep fried Mars bar.

I just can't bring myself to try one. Batter + chocolate, 'No for Me' as nephew Dr Calum Gray PHD, would say.

The other picture is of the most grandiose police station I can remember seeing in such a small town and it's been closed down. They evidently had some big trouble makers in Stonehaven in the past.

It is an odd night spent against the harbour wall. Low tide is 2.30 am and almost on the dot I wake up and go outside to make sure the the boat is not hanging from the mooring ropes!

The brain, or what is left of mine, evidently still ticks away when supposedly asleep. 

Peterhead Virgins- 'Sorry, please say again'

Peterhead at last appears around yet another headland. The pilot book warned that it is a very busy commercial port and cannot be entered without permission.

I duly call 'Peterhead Harbour Control' and get an immediate response but the north east accent is almost impenetrable, and I am a Scot!

However part of the reply definitely enquires whether I have previously visited Peterhead harbour. 

I reply 'Negative, I am a Peterhead virgin'.

Back came the the response 'Vurrrgins are awfy welcome here surr. Proceed at yur best speed to the marina in the south west corner and keep oot o' the way o' the vurry big boat being tugged oot o' the herber'.

Dark Star is tied up in the marina by 15.30. It's cold, overcast and windy. A quick nap is followed by early dinner (scotch mutton pie, potatoes and peas, with dessert of fruit cocktail and evaporated milk).

I am in a better mood to appreciate the surroundings. To one side is busy commercial docks with throbbing diesel engines, cranes and containers.

Behind are large oil storage tanks overloooked by the grim presence of Peterhead Prison. At least two miles distant lie the shops and pubs of Peterhead. Picturesque Peterhead Marina is not!

Oh, and the WIFI system is hopeless. However, toilets and shower facilities are basic but clean.

Entertainment on the visitors' pontoons

There is plenty of entertainment on the visitors' pontoons. A couple dressed in matching yellow and black wet gear, like two big wasps, are preparing their 37 foot yacht to leave.

They look the part and I expect a slick exit. However the wife is still on the pontoon, at the bow, holding a rope while husband has clearly engaged forward gear.

He shouts to let go. She does and just manages to jump onto the moving boat, but leaves the mooring rope on the pontoon where it catches on a cleat.

The yacht, now anchored by the bow, jams tight between the pontoon berths. They are not in any danger other than being close to a relationship breakup.

Also preparing to leave is a Polish flagged yacht just a little bigger than Dark Star. Only one person has appeared. Thinking he is singlehanded I move to lend a hand.

I am staggered to see another four blokes plus a girl emerge from this wee yacht. Each has charge of a rope or a fender...just how many Poles does it take to un-moor a 29ft yacht? And where do they all sleep?

Around 21.00 the electricity throughout the marina fails. A large yacht with a sailing school logo emblazoned all over it had just berthed in noisy fashion, with much shouting of instructions.

A designated crew member plugs in the cable to obtain shore power and trips out the power circuit. The marina staff have gone home at 6pm, so everyone will be on gas and battery power till their return in the morning.

And finally..in tootles a little Fisher motor sailer. They are lovely little yachts, but are very high at the pointy end which makes getting from the bow to the pontoon difficult unless you are a gymnast.

The wife, who has been despatched to the bow with fender in hand, is certainly no athlete, but there is little for her to do as her skipper husband never gets near the pontoon in three tries. 

'I'm sorry, I have only had the boat three days' he shouts. It looks like it would take another three days to berth until we get a line aboard and pull him in. And so to bed..... 

Wednesday July 13  Peterhead Marina - Weather Bound

Wind blowing force 5, gusty, from the north or north west. No point in trying get around Rattray Head today.

Peterhead is the most easterly port in Scotland. It is much nearer to Norway and Denmark, than London and has many visiting yachts from the Baltics.

The Big Decision  - Orkneys or the Caledonian Canal?  

The unsettled weather has put me more than 3 weeks behind schedule and now here at Peterhead, I must decide whether to make passage around the north of Scotland or go through the Caledonian Canal.  

If the weather is benign and a high pressure system sets in for 7 days, it might be possible to go "round the top". 

However without settled conditions, the Pentland Firth and the Atlantic beyond are no place for a small yacht and a solo, 75 year old skipper.

Going east to west "across the top" means sailing with the ebb tide. Any wind needs to be easterly or north easterly, to avoid sailing in wind over tide conditions, 

Going Around the top  - 365nm

Taking the route up to the Orkneys and Kirkwall and then returning back to the Scottish mainland and south to Oban involves a trip of around 365 nm.

If there is period of 7 days of settled weather and I can sail an average of 52 nm per day for 7 days, it might be possible.

However the reality is that since leaving Shoreham By Sea 7 weeks ago, the weather has been so poor that I have never managed to sail further than 120 nm in any 7 day period!   

Sailing against the clock and gambling with the weather is at odds with my sailing philosophy.  Sailing solo is first and foremost, about managing risk.

Short of a miraculous change in the weather and suddenly finding the energy of a 25 year old, I thought it unwise to consider going around the top on this trip. 

Seven days up there could easily turn into three weeks, if storm bound.

The Sensible Option - use the Canal - 153nm

The sensible choice is to sail seven miles north of Peterhead, turn left and head directly west for the 70 nm trip to Inverness and the Caledonian Canal.  

From there to Oban it is 76 nm, a total of 153 nm,  a saving of 212 nm and at least four days, on the route around the top.

Furthermore much of it is in sheltered water with many opportunities for overnight stops. In this current, unsettled weather, I can keep making progress with no danger of being storm bound.

Poor weather has already put me well behind schedule and I really want to have time to cruise the Scilly Isles before the season ends.  

The forecast for the coming week is for yet more bad weather so Caledonian Canal - here we come.

An estimated 3,000  "navvies", Scottish and Irish,  toiled with little more than picks and spades for the 19 years it took to build the Canal. Successful and safe use of this amazing construction, is a tribute to their labours.

(Author's Note:  A couple of weeks later, again storm bound for a week, this time  in Stranraer, I knew I had made the sensible and correct decision!)

At least the sun is out, so today is a "dhobi day". Everything in Dark Star is taken out and aired. Diesel and calor gas are purchased and once again the contaminated oil again is pumped laboriously from the sail drive.

The waste oil does not look nearly so 'milky' as the last lot. I feel pretty confident that replacing with fresh oil once a fortnight is a workable solution.

Also attention is given to the roller furling on the genoa which had jammed yesterday. Later in the afternoon, when the wind dropped, I am able to unroll the sali and examine the problem.

As suspected it was halyard wrap. The new jib halyard had stretched allowing the sail to slide down the reefing furler. This is soon remedied and hopefully won't give any more trouble. It's a pretty satisfactory and constructive day.

Keep Turning Left

Many fellow sailors have probably spent too much time watching the videos posted on Youtube by Dylan Winter. I believe Dylan is a professional cameraman working for the BBC.

However his Youtube videos 'Keep Turning Left' are strictly all his own work and are a wonderful account of a slow, meandering trip around the UK in a small sailing boat.

Unfortunately I just missed meeting Dylan, but his Westerly Centaur Harmony has been parked here in Peterhead marina, for the time being. Keepturning Left

Thursday July 14   Peterhead Marina - Weather bound

Blowing force 5 from the north west, so again, no movement possible out of Peterhead today. Later in the afternoon the weather forecast shows a favourable change of wind to the south for tomorrow, Friday, but by 1500 it could be blowing 30 knots!

Too rich for me but there is an early 7/8 hour gap from 07.00 before the strong winds arrive. However, at that time the tides are all wrong.

Later in the evening various forecasts do not agree on the time of arrival of the weather system. It will probably be safer to stay put in Peterhead tomorrow. It's frustrating juggling with such unsettled weather.

Friday July 15 Peterhead Marina - Thoughts on the Caledonian Canal

I will probably put out this blog early since it looks as if rapid progress might be made towards Inverness and the Caledonian canal on Sat/Sun/Monday.

This morning I have been reading up on transiting the Canal. It's 60 miles long with 29 locks and 8 swing bridges.

From the north end at Inverness it stretches south west to Fort William. Loch Ness comprises 23 miles of the Canal's length. It takes a minimum of two/three days to transit the canal, but you buy a permit which lasts for 6 days, so there is no particular rush.

The Canal Guide says each boat should carry three or four lines of about 45 feet each, to reach to the bottom of the deepest locks. Well, I have two hands, but this leaves another line or two looking for a bodily appendage. No suggestions please.

Getting close to the half way point
When sailing down Loch Ness, Dark Star will have covered over 750 miles since leaving Shoreham By Sea, but I reckon that is not yet the halfway point on this trip. 

Just had a chat with a young man from Denmark sailing solo in a 30 foot 'Folkboat'. He is waiting for the wind to go west and carry him over 300 miles back to Denmark. Expected journey time is 60 hours.

He will 'just power nap' on the way. And I am fretting about a 37 mile trip round to Whitehillls/Banff?

Thanks for reading this. 

Next up Peterhead to Inverness