Goodbye to the Broch, Hello Lossiemouth

We finally said goodbye to The Broch and set off at 7 am for Lossiemouth, some 35 miles away.
We were sorry to leave Fraserburgh as we had grown fond of it and thanks again to Lianne who gave us useful information and recommendations of where to go and did our laundry for us! You are now an honorary Lunar-tic.
Me, Josh and Lianne on Lunar Sea at Fraserburgh.
The weather was calm but overcast and we did get showers later on, but all in all an uneventful sail except that it took much longer than we thought. The tide should have been with us but for some reason we didn't get the benefit of it so it was 5pm before we reached the harbour. RAF Lossiemouth is nearby so we had a fly past of fighter jets as we arrived. Josh saw a whale on the way up, but as I was reading by the time I looked up it had disappeared and only a ring on the water showed where it had been. We also saw some porpoise in the distance. Porpoise are shy and don't come near boats unlike dolphins that will come and play around a boat. So far no dolphins but lots of seals and one whale sighting today.

The harbour master, Amanda, had told us that if we arrived after 4pm the dock office would be closed so we could pick up our welcome pack at the Steamboat Inn. However, Amanda came to greet us and welcome us as she had seen us arriving just after 5pm as she only lived across from the harbour. How typical of everyone we have met up here in Scotland, so friendly and helpful. We had to visit the Steamboat Inn as tradition dictates and were met by a lovely golden retriever and a small black shitpoo puppy! We did have a quick wander around but not much to report, a very quiet place but perhaps it is the time of year.

We will be up early again tomorrow to leave by 7.00am and hope to get to Inverness by early afternoon. We are meeting up with friends Mick and Linda tomorrow and then Pauline joins us on Thursday. Our party will then be complete and we will head off into the Caledonian Canal for a lovely cruise and the easy bit of our holiday.

Comments

  1. Cousin Sue14 June 2017 at 05:20

    So pleased the weather had finally turned a little kinder for you. Enjoy the 'cruise' down the canal. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. NO NAME28 January 2018 at 09:21

    so beautiful work!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day one and two of the Caledonian Canal - the adventure continues

Image
The Lunatic crew for the Caledonian Canal   We entered the  Clachnaharry sea lock at Inverness for the 1.30 lock and were met by a very helpful, calm lock keeper who talked us through. There was a large sign saying Ireland this way! Clachnaharry Sea Lock, the entrance to the Caledonian Canal, The Great Glen, Loch Ness and Ireland! The lock was timed so that you could then sail through the railway swing bridge, then on to the Muirhead flight of four locks. We had relaxed once we got on to the canal, thinking things could only get better and there is much less to worry about in a canal as opposed to being out at sea, no tides to think about for example. How wrong we were, we were forgetting this is the Lunacy cruise. At the second lock Mick fell in! We heard a plop and a splash and Mick had fallen into the lock between the lock wall and the boat. Josh's quick thinking saved the day as he put the long swim ladder over the edge and Mick managed to climb up before he
Read more

Day 48 and the return to our home port of Ramsgate.

Image
Lunar Sea and her crew back in Ramsgate  Dear Readers, we finally arrived back in Ramsgate five years after setting off on 1 May 2017. The weather then had been atrocious, but it couldn't have been more different for our return. It was promised to be the hottest day of the year, so we had plenty of sunshine and not very much wind. lt did pick up to about 12 knots as we approached Ramsgate, so we managed to get the sails up and the flags flying for our entrance to Ramsgate.  Leaving Dover, heading for the Eastern entrance,  on our way home now. It had been an uneventful 4 hour trip from Dover to Ramsgate, but for some reason the unusually hot weather had created an optical illusion and we had a really clear view of France as we passed Deal. Perhaps it is the high pressure, not sure why?  France, shall we go there instead? We had Josh's daughter Jo on board and Owen and Jordan, two of Josh's grandchildren, joined us in Dover for the day sail. When we got to the approach to Ra
Read more
Image
  Hello again from Lunar Sea in Portishead. The boat has been here for two years now and we are continuing our adventure from tomorrow, the 31st May, by locking out of Portishead Marina (near Bristol in case you wondered) and we will be heading for Penarth Marina (near Cardiff) for our first stop. Then on to Padstow via Watchet for a night's stay and then probably an anchorage for one night off Clovelly, to break up the 18 hour trip from Watchet to Padstow.  We have been so lucky to have found this charming marina which has been Lunar Sea's home for two years, we will be sad to leave, but excited to be on the homeward stretch of our marathon around the UK sailing trip. It was supposed to take 2 years, but due to bad weather in year 1 and a mutinous crew, plus the pandemic in the third and fourth year, it will have taken 5 years (assuming we get back to Ramsgate this year, watch this space!) Wish us luck, calm seas and a good wind. I will try and do a daily blog, sailing conditi
Read more