A little light on the wind front when I first left Wick at 6am but it gradually filled in from the North/ N East as I got further into the Moray Firth and I spent a glorious afternoon sitting on the foredeck, in glorioous sunshine under blue skies, reading, snacking and generally thinking how great life was.... Some big, lazy swells coming in from the North and watched a magnificent dogfight overhead as 2 tornados chased another around the sky, complete with anti air to air chaffe flares getting shot out the back ! Brilliant to watch and closely followed by a pod of acrobatic dolphins with their young.
By 4pm I was 6 miles off Rosehearty, the wind gradually drifting around to the east, just to make life a little more difficult as that was the direction I wanted to go ! So, I began tacking toward Fraserburgh before trying to gain some sea room to round the infamous Rattray Head, all the while the wind gradually increasing and inching its way round to the South (which is where I wanted to head after I cleared Rattray. Once past Fraserburgh, the wind now 20 knots AWS SE, I began to get a mix of large Northerly swells meeting short chop from the South. Welcome to Rattray !
Cracking sailing with up to 8 kts SOG but going East, with a southerly set in the tide. Brilliant ! Wind over tide going around Rattray Hd in rising winds. Thankfully, I had the foresight to have the storm sail laid out and tied off , ready to go "just in case", as I was on my own and didn't fancy having to dig it out and set it up when things were getting hairy.
I put the second reef in and a few rolls on the Genoa and saw plenty of gusts over 30 kts. With Rosally tearing along, well heeled and in her element. Spectacular sunset (pics to follow).
Lots of spray flying around, as well as pitching and rolling as a result of the Northerly swell v S Easterly waves.
Passing 4 miles off Rattray, in the dark, I realised why it had such a reputation. The sea built dramatically and quickly as did the wind. Definitely the heaviest conditions I'd been out in (though nothing compared to what some of you old sea dogs have seen). I was loving it though.
The journey back to Peterhead was a bit of a slog, with plenty of tacking (thank God for my tiller pilot). Eventually made it through the breakwater at 23.00.
It was an exhillerating experience and I loved every minute of it. Though I had a few nervous moments (my Jamaica Ginger Sponge got washed away
) I have probably gained more experience in that one trip than any other. The sense of satisfaction at the end of my journey was good.As I said earlier, probably nothing compared to what most of you are used to but for someone with just a couple of years under their belt and only recently sailing solo, it was a great confidence boost. Rosally performed faultlessly and seemed to be loving it.
Solo sailing ? Fantastic !!!
