Gordon..............

Yes, yes I know you thought we'd popped our clogs or something its been so long but there you go. Has much happened? Well we covered a good few miles between the mainland and the outer Hebs as we waited for the winds to shift from the north for more than 10 minutes so here’s a recap.

Faroe

At one point we felt we had a chance to get up to Shetland but 20 miles off Cape Wrath with the rain falling, our self steerer not working properly I’d had enough and persuaded Bee we should head back, sort out the steerer and wait for a better window. Thus we found ourselves back in the wonderful Loch Laxford, great protection and holding and no sea swell. There we stayed for 4 days as the winds blew from the west. Eventually, of course, they didn’t and a quick glimpse at Passage Weather suggested we could make it across to the Hebs for yet another wander around. Leaving Laxford was done in style; 6k+ and fine sailing but within a few miles the wind had died and seas became very confused needing the motor to make any progress and keep fillings in teeth. But then the breeze filled in from the NE and we were on our way. For 30 or so minutes we bowled along happily doing 5k rejoicing in our fortune….10 minutes later the winds were 35k and we were not so smug. Speeds and wind picked up - we hit 9.9k and the wind topped at 41.4k and by now we were down to a double reefed main and white knuckles as we struggled to keep the boat on track. One particularly nasty wave had me thrown backwards across the cockpit landing heavily on my back as we charged along. In reality we could have done with dumping the main in favour of the try'sl or something but the size of the waves coupled with nearby working fishing boats meant heaving to would have been a wet and possibly difficult situation. And of course we only had 25 mile to go, less to gain a little bit of shelter. The bay I’d earmarked as a possible anchorage came in view; a mass of white water and the little protection we had gained disappeared as we sailed across it. The next choice, Loch Grimshader, was open to the east and we hadn’t been in there for 15 years so couldn’t remember how sheltered it was so Stornoway it was for the second time. Isn’t that a great feeling when you finally gain shelter and realise that the madness is over. Until the next time anyway.

The next few weeks we spent exploring more Antares charted areas, relaxing whilst keeping a watch on the weather. We ended up back in Stornoway a couple of more times anchoring in Glumlaig and Sandwick Bay depending on the wind direction. From the former it is difficult to get ashore but from Sandwick, Bee was able to go for a run and we caught up with the only other boat at anchor in the harbour. 

Phil and Lynda, Windora

Kiwi’s Phil and Lynda on Windora dropped in to chat briefly, discuss future plans etc. We spoken briefly by phone and they mentioned they'd cruised Falklands and South Georgia but seemed a little lukewarm in their response about how they found it. You can see why here Seems they and another boat, Diomedea, were heading in roughly the same direction as we were so there might be some shared anchorages ahead. Having said that both boats are bigger than us so there was/is no chance we’d keep pace. Windora in particular grabbed our attention with its inside steering, comfortable pilot house, ketch rig and very solidly built….ah the joys of not standing outside whilst the rains swamp you. Both boats left the following day for the Faeroe's whilst we hung on another day thinking the swells would still be running off the Point of Ness. 
Of course when we left the winds switched to the E and we had to beat our way clear only to have them die as we got closer to the Point. All night we drifted with Ness clearly in view. And much of the next too if I remember correctly. A breeze filled in and we were able to make some northing although the currents pushed us between Rona and the smaller island to its west. That night we drifted off those islands but far enough away not to have concerns about them. The winds finally came back and we began to make better progress. Progress was slow and I hand steered whilst Bee kept an eye on the bird life. A quiet gannet sat in the water next to what looked like a net caught her attention and we swung round to investigate. We needed the motor to make the approach and still the gannet didn't move or show concern. We stopped alongside and realised the bird's beak had become entangled in what was an old green floating rope, the type commonly used by fishermen. We used the big net we keep on board to pick Toots out of the water should she fall in and gently lifted the bird up to deck level. It came aboard slightly alarmed but dragging its trap with it. We carefully cut away the bulk of it then removed as much as was visible from its beak. It sat quietly watching me with an unblinking eye, its beak close to my face as the rope was removed. Bee lowered the net back into the water, the gannet swam free then stopped to check its feathers hadn't been too messed about with before flying off. Hopefully we'd got all the rope free and "Gordon" as we took to calling him/her survives for years to come. There are some advantages to drifting slowly....

We had toyed with the idea of heading direct to Jan Mayan but whilst the winds south of the Faeroe's were vaguely favourable they were definitely not to the north so Faeroe's it was. Things were going ok until 20 miles or so from the southern tip when we ran into the fast south west moving current. Despite sailing NE we were being relentlessly shoved NW toward a turbulent piece of rock strewn water. By now were motoring in an effort to make progress but even so our speed dropped, at times, to less than 3knots. Into Vagur we crept to tie up on the dock and clear customs.

Red throated diver

A couple of things had happened whilst we were sailing up - the nut holding the main gaff saddle had dropped off whilst the main was up causing some alarm. It was an easy remedy once we’d dropped the main but the second issue was a problem with the ironwork holding the mizzen throat block to the mast. It had come loose and the only way to reach it was by ladder. Asking around on the wharf the guy I’m talking to called someone else over and he asked what length I needed. 10 metres…he reeled in shock  but said whilst there wasn’t a ladder that size he could supply me with a forklift and platform to get the job done! He turned out to be one of the ship yard managers and also one of the skippers of the ketch Johanna. A lucky break.

We left there for Tvoroyri a short distance up the coast. The tide was favourable but the wind wasn’t and as the town was relatively close to one of the notorious races and rips that flow between islands we kept close into the shore and thus out of the main stream. The last 8 miles was a long beat, 20 tacks as we worked our way into the harbour. The HM called asking our intentions, seemed relieved we would be anchoring and we joined a Spanish boat at the head of the bay. The Spanish boat had left Stornoway with us but soon left us far behind.

Midvaag

Although Tvoroyri had a festival on the next day we headed out to make the best use of the wind to get up to Midvaag, one of our favourite Faeroese anchorages. The route takes you right through this race/rip I mentioned earlier. Well the winds were about 10k out of the west and the race ran NW so not ideal but not the worst… much of the time it was ok, not brilliant but we were motor sailing across a lumpy wind over tide sea. A couple of times we caught a taste of what it could be like when the bowsprit was buried in a standing wave, the stem lifted a shed load of water onto the deck and we watched in horror as what looked like a 2’ high wave came down the deck at us! All this while being pushed through the water at almost 9k….. Windora and the Spanish boat were at anchor when we arrived. In an evening chat aboard Windora it turned out they had made the trip up from Stowaway to the Faeroes in 35 hours; Angel, the Spanish sailor a similar time (although he had to motor) whereas we had taken 4.5 days….
 

Vestmanna

A few days later we said g’bye to Angel and we motored up to Ventamanna with Windora and later joined by Diomedea. From there to Eidi where we now are, the other two left for Iceland this morning in a short weather window.

Faroe