058:57.868 N
003:17.632 W

Stromness, Orkneys

TC was very well protected off Talmine Beach, we could hear the wind howling through the rigging but she just floated off her anchor with no nodding or rocking which was much appreciated. However, not much sleep with the alarm going at 0400 and away by 0500.

Big day today, we had done our maths over and over again and knew we had to be at the entrance of Hoy Sound, 40 miles away, by the end of the ebb and start of the flood, so needed to be there between 1230 and 1330 for the tide to be slack.

The wind tormented us all day going up and down so we would be flying at 8 knots then down to 4 knots, back up to 8, down to 4, but it was all downwind with a full rig and a poled-out jib, so pretty dreamy conditions with the sun shining on us all day. In the end, we must have averaged our required 5 knots as we were at the entrance by around 1300 which was great.

It was a spectacular arrival, upon leaving our anchorage on the north coast, we could just make out the island of Hoy, by the hour it grew out of the sea and was soon magnificent, dominating the skyline.

The Old Man of Hoy, a 137m sea stack off its west coast, which we’d all heard about for years but never set eyes on until today, came into view. It was difficult to identify, but once abeam, it made a mighty profile gazing out to sea. Initially the island was shrouded in mist, but when this lifted to expose a beautiful green covering of grasses all sparkling in the sunshine, with bright blue sky and dramatic clouds above, it was really breathtaking.

There was a roar echoing down the Hoy Sound as the swell hit the rocks on either side. The first 500m was pretty rough with the inclinometer going from 25° on the left to 25° on the right, it was all rather crazy but didn’t last for long. Thereafter was a smooth calm downwind sail right to the entrance of Stromness Harbour.

A lovely walk around town, it’s a fascinating place with so much ancient and modern history we are looking forward to exploring over the next day or so.

We’re thrilled to be here, it marks half way of our journey; ten weeks since we left and we’ve reached (probably) our most northern spot.  To celebrate, we had put Rudi’s bubbly in the fridge (thank you Rudi!) and have just popped it, raised a glass to the journey and everyone enjoying being with us in spirit. We are feeling so grateful with everything so far.