So scared I was sick - twice.

We are a bit out of sync here but I will just upload yesterday's vid for you.  The Pentland firth will have to wait.  We set off from Wick, near the top of Scotland, John O'Groats way like, for Peterhead, 80 odd miles away across the Morray firth.  I say the Morray firth, it might as well have been the North sea as we were offshore.  The forecast was for N - NW winds of 5 - 7 on Beaufort's scale.  Enough to blow your hat off anyway.  However it was going to be behind me all the way and Peterhead is approachable in all weathers if you have the bottle.

Even in Wick bay which was sheltered you could feel the swell.  Exiting the bay the swell broke over the shallows.  Here it was 2 metres and once off shore a bit it calmed down and became more regular with just the odd slapper to dampen the decks.  Once we had got far enough to be out of the shelter of the land it got really exiting.  We were pulling 5.5 knots with just the full genoa.  We were hitting 3 metre swell now and a few big ones came together and made the wheelhouse dark until they lifted the stern and we started to surf.  10.6 knots was the fastest and by this time I had returned my breakfast to the deep.  I always get sick when I am a little anxious.  Anxious, I was feckin terrified.  Nice feeling though.  I had a coke and a few biscuits and felt a bit better.  By the afternoon it settled down to a steadyish 23 knots apparent and the second headsail was hoisted.  Tutak likes this rig going downwind in a blow, tracking well, Samantha, the autopilot, has less work to do.

I had allowed 16 hours for the trip.  You have to work it backwards as you need to hit Rattray head with the tide going the right way.  This wind over Rattray's tide would have been murderous.  We did it in 13 anyway and the swell and counter current made for a considerable swell off Peterhead.  They had cancelled the pilots' boarding and they are used to it up here, enough said.