At anchor River Tay
Wind: Northwest, fresh
Weather: cloudy, occasional showers, mild to warm
Here we sit preparing ourselves for the North Sea crossing and waiting for a
favourable weather pattern. The pattern is not too bad now but I need to
answer a few questions before we up anchor and proceed on out way. In
preparing a more detailed passage plan my electronic charts show a lot of
oil rigs and some major traffic separation schemes between here and the
Dutch coast, so I want to do a bit more research on any local rules and
regulations we need to be aware of and perhaps see if I can purchase a paper
chart of the North Sea with all these oil rigs plotted on it.
I broke out the outboard yesterday morning, cleaned the carburettor, mounted
it on the dinghy and pulled the starting cord. Hey presto, she sprung into
life immediately. Alleluia! - and so far has ferried Thomas and I ashore
trouble free (touch wood).
Tayport is disappointing, the township looks like it has been modernised at
some low point in our Western architectural history (the '60s I'd say) and
consequently is a cacophonous conglomeration of buildings with little
uniformity of design, any charm the place may have had has been lost, though
if you squint along some of the narrow streets and use a little imagination
you can capture something of it.
Dundee a short bus ride form here on the other hand was a pleasant surprise.
As we got off the bus my eye was caught by a sign, "Wallace and Gromit
Exhibition", this is an highly culture place I thought. We found the
exhibition but the entrance fee was a little steep for us poor sailors so we
took in some of the cheaper, ie free sights. While I am sure many Scottish
cities outclass Dundee, as we wandered around the city centre, largely
deserted on this Sunday afternoon, we had the opportunity to stand in the
middle of streets and admire the various styles of impressive stone
architecture. And in the evening we found a pub with wi-fi and cheap
burgers with a Guinness thrown in. In all a good day.
Today is a planning day. Not sure when we will depart from here, hopefully
next day or so. Next stop .. Holland (fingers crossed).
All is well.
Bob Cat:
Scottish weather leaves a little to be desired, sunning myself in the
cockpit one minute and then having to dash below the next as showers race
past, the settee berth continues to be the refuge of choice. As we continue
our journey I shall let you know when we have found Utopia - sunshine,
gentle motion, fresh fish dinners, plenty of pats; it's out there
somewhere . follow your dream . . Zzzzzzz.
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