The plan was to sail around to Wick, a 9-10 hour sail. The forecast was west or southwest 4 or 5, which was how it started off, we had a nic. Sail with a south west 5 as we headed north to "The String" as we were sailing along at around 6 knots through Shapinsay Sound. We were going well all the way down to Mull Head, at which point the wind backed around to the South. On the nose for the 8 hours to Wick. We sailed for around an hour until we reached our course line south. The wind was a steady 12 knots. We then had to make a choice, keep beating out east with fingers crossed the wind didn't veer to the west again. Or put the engine on and motor south into the wind. We chose the latter. There wasn't any swell or much of a sea, but what small waves there were were enough to scrub some of Pixie's speed. The going was boring, and we weren't looking forward to 7 hours of it. So we changed course to Holm Sound to anchor in Kirk Sound.
We headed west, and the wind went from South to South west, so we altered course back to go south. A few minutes later the wind came on the nose again. Enough was enough, we pointed Pixie west again, the wind followed us around 5 mins later, coming around and blowing from the west, before fading.
We're now anchored in Kirk sound, and the wind is blowing 14 knots from the west. Perfect for sailing south to Wick, but now the tide will be against us!
So now we're relaxing at anchor in the sound where a German U Boat snuck through into Scapa Flow and sunk the HMS Royal Oak. To stop this sort of thing happening again Churchill got the Italian POWs to build barriers to enclose Scapa Flow's eastern side and link the island to the east together. The barriers have created two anchorages in Holm Sound.
Very nice they are too
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