The wind just wouldn’t shift, and after a storm in Peterhead—during which one pontoon (of he one where Amy was moored of course) had started to break off and could only be saved with chains, winches, and a combined effort (in the end, even the welders from the big harbor showed up), it was clear to me that if I had to sail, motor, or do whatever to propel ourselves against the wind, I wanted to wait for a period of light winds. It finally arrived on Tuesday evening. Until then, it had basically been raining nonstop. I went into town a few more times, made some errands, and set sail around 8 p.m.—in the rain and, as it turned out, thick fog. Not very pleasant, but what can you do. Overnight, the weather cleared up a bit and it stopped raining.
Of course, there was no way I could sleep, what with all the fishing nets, lobster pots, and the fact that I was so close to the coast.
The next morning, the sun came out and it turned into a fine day—with the wind blowing from the wrong direction. I tacked on the spot for a few hours, gave up, and we motored on.
Around noon, I was so tired and exhausted that I dropped anchor in a fairly exposed bay. I just couldn’t go on any longer. Since there wasn’t much wind anyway, the lack of shelter didn’t matter. We had the whole bay to ourselves. The anchor held well, and aside from the constant explosions and machine-gun fire coming from the beach (I’d chosen a Scottish military training area), it was actually wonderfully quiet. The shooting stopped in the evening, and after a few unsuccessful attempts at fishing, I slept like a log.
At 0300, we set off again with the tide towards the southwest corner of the Moray Firth into the Inverness Firth. A few dolphins and seals made an appearance just before we reached the city. I had managed to reserve a berth in the harbor where we docked on Thursday around noon.
Zissi’s bus arrived around 1400, and I was able to pick her up at the bus station. Everything had gone perfectly, and we were both very happy.
We stayed an extra day at the same marina to settle in, do a little more shopping, gather some final information about the Caledonian Canal, and register with the authorities.
Early the next morning, we had a time slot for the sea lock. Of course, I was very nervous, and the entry, going alongside, and throwing of the ropes didn’t go all that smoothly, but the lock keepers were extremely relaxed and friendly, and in no time at all, we’d passed through our first two locks (out of 29) and were moored in Inverness again. This time on the other side (not on the River Ness, but in the canal) and without having to pay. The overnight fees are all included in the canal license.
Today’s World Cup quarterfinal match was England vs. Norway. We found a pub to watch the game and be part of the experience. Of course, all the Scots were rooting for Norway. The Norwegians were rooting for Norway, too. We didn’t really care either way—we were just happy to be part of the party. And the people in the pub who were rooting for England probably didn’t dare to show it. England won…
