Tuesday 30 June 2009

Walking leg 7!

It’s been a bit of an odd leg sailing wise, in that we haven’t really managed to do much sailing at all, mainly due to there not being any wind for the past few days. We have, however, managed to do a lot of walking. Our hike over to Auchmithie from Arbroath was really good. It was a little further than expected (about 9km long), but followed the coast round along a cliff path. There were loads of geological features which make this coastline really interesting. The path also took us through a wildlife reserve, and past many breeding seabirds. Auchmithie is an old fishing village which slowly lost it’s fishermen to Arbroath. It is also the origin of the famous ‘smokies’, which are now mostly known as Arbroath Smokies. There are only a couple little boats in Auchmithie, and a rather run down harbour wall, but it is a beautiful little village tucked into the cliffs. After our walk, and to the delight of the crew, we managed to catch a bus back to Arbroath. Of course, dinner had to be smokies and salad, and I must admit that there is a reason this fish is so famous- it was definitely the best smoked haddock I’ve ever had.
Yesterday ended up being a waiting day. The morning was spent waiting for the fog to lift. We were just about to head out and go for it, and our neighbours John and Marge on 'Janus' were ready to slip us out, then the fog came rolling in again. It was great having Janus alongside for the night, and John and Marge were wonderful to meet and full of helpfull information, being quite knowledgable about the area. Unfortunately it didn’t lift before the locks closed, so we spent the rest of the day waiting for the tide to come back in so we could get out of the lock again. This did give us another chance to adventure round the sites of Arbroath. We went to the signal lighthouse, which is converted into a museum. This was really interesting, and also gave an insight into the hard lives of the fisherwives. I can’t believe it, but the women used to wade into the water carrying their men on their backs out to the fishing boats, just so the men could start the day with dry feet. They then would spend the days baiting hooks, cleaning and packing fish, selling fish and looking after the family – incredible.
We also managed a bit of a kick around in the park and played a game of touch rugby. I must admit, we did bend the rules quite a bit (probably because we didn’t really know the rules so just made up our own ‘Scarlet’ rules – something we’re quite good at doing). It was such great fun though, and the whole crew were in stitches!
Arbroath Harbor were very kind, and gave us a massive discount on our berthing fees- Thank you very much!!
We finally did get out of the lock in the afternoon, but with less than 5kts of wind we ended up just motoring up the glassy coast. We passed even more breeding birds, the most spectacular being a whole load of guillimots, which all had their little chicks out on the water. Guillimots are the closest relatives to penguins, and just like their cousins they only lay one egg a year and this they keep tucked up on their feet rather than in a nest. I can now understand how they are so protective of the chicks when they first go out to sea. It was really quite special seeing a parent bird followed by the chick, diving down or climbing up onto the parent’s back as we came passing by.
It was just one of those days, and the whole crew just didn’t stop laughing for the entire day. We all just had so much fun, and everything that happened was amusing. Maria and Larvell created a fantastic meal for us on route, with Jake being an entertainment show all on his own. Hilarious!
Stonehaven is beautiful. We attempted going out for a day sail today, but unfortunately just as we got out of the harbour, the fog came rolling back in again. With the wind not really there, we decided it was best to do what we have done so well on this leg so far – go coastal walking. Today’s walk took us to the magical ruins of Dunottar Castle, out on a little cliff peninsula, again with many breeding seabirds. The castle is probably most famous for being where a small garrison managed to fend off Cromwell’s army for eight months and saved the ‘Honours of Scotland’ (the Scottish Crown Jewels). It is also the sight where Hamlet was filmed.
Everyone really enjoyed the day and the leg, even though we didn’t get to sail that much. It’s a working evening on board tonight, with the crew getting stuck into making the video and listening to good old Bob Marley. It’s crazy how quickly the week has gone, and that’s it – the end of leg 7.
Cheerio - Cath

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