![\"Scotland](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/scotlandweatherfaxjuly301.jpg\")
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There are usually seasonal patterns to weather, often associated with what is going on at the 500mb level. This is particularly true for areas like Cape Hatteras off the East Coast of the US, the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, and the Gulf of Alaska\/Bering Sea region. It is also true for the eastern North Atlantic, the summer weather for which is usually dominated by the Azores High.<\/p>\n
Except this year, as was the case last season, the Azores High is MIA. This has lead to lovely weather in Norway, but also to a succession of depressions forming around the British Isles. The fax segment above is typical of what we have been watching all summer.<\/p>\n
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Given the rapid development, wind shifts associated with frontal passages, shallow sea bed, currents, and areas with warnings of overfalls (square waves steepened by currents), cruising in this part of the world is best done with a wary eye.<\/p>\n
![\"Orkney-Islands-4\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-42.jpg\")
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The 100 miles from Lerwick in the Shetlands to Kirkwall in the Orkneys is a relatively quick nine hours for Wind Horse<\/em>. If it is blowing a gale, say 35 knots, we would not normally think twice about the trip. Except for the overfalls.<\/p>\n The cruising guides all urge extreme caution in their regard, as do most of the small boat sailors we’ve met. But the risk profile is one of scale and heavy weather capability, both of which we have in abundance. We are hesitant to ignore local advice, on the other hand looking at the tides (it is neaps, when tides are at their minimum) and the wind forecast – barely a gale – we slip our lines at 0600 and head south.<\/p>\n There are areas of the world where adverse weather is rare. If this is the case, then waiting for a perfect weather window often makes sense. But in regions with less friendly weather, waiting for ideal conditions often means sitting in one place indefinitely. We prefer to keep moving, but then Wind Horse<\/em> makes this decision easy.<\/p>\n Nine and a half hours later we are rewarded with these bucolic views. Seas have been moderate by our standards, six to occasional ten footers (1.8 to 3m), with just enough water on deck to clean the Lerwick dirt our decks.<\/p>\n So far the Orkneys have a different feel to them. There are castles, Balfour above, and large, prosperous looking farms.<\/p>\n But there are few really protected anchorages. After studying the chart, and talking to Orkney VTS we tucked into Elwick for a peaceful night at anchor. However, a forecast of southeast winds has us moving to the town of Kirkwall a few miles across the sound the next morning.<\/p>\n The town of Kirkwall has invested in a new marina, with two long sections of floating docks to entice visiting yachts to stop. Unusual for this part of the world, the marina is run by a private company.<\/p>\n We had our dock lines ready to come alongside this finger when we were waved off by a grim faced individual who pointed across to the commercial pier across the harbor. “You can’t tie up here” was the pronouncement.<\/p>\n If the docks were light, or the boats were rafted four deep, we would understand. But given the open space and total lack of rafted yachts, we were feeling a little puzzled by this rejection. We later found out that we had been dealing with the marina manager, Willie Watters, for whom the locals apologized. Having now spent a year cruising in Ireland, the UK, and Norway, this is the first person we’ve come into contact with who wasn’t pleasant. We’d say that’s a pretty good record.<\/p>\n We ended up across the harbor with the commercial guys. We are enjoying hanging out with the professional seamen (but the eight foot (2.4m) climb up the steel ladder at low water leaves something to be desired and makes it hard to invite folks aboard).<\/p>\n Fred Pirie is the Harbor Master for the commercial docks here and at three other local harbors. Fred made us feel most welcome, helped with the dock lines, and even offered us a ride into town.<\/p>\n Rather than head off right away to Scotland we are going to take in the sights for a few days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Orkney-Islands-8\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-81.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Orkney-Islands-41\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-411.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Orkney-Islands-25\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-251.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Orkney-Islands-178\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-1781.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Orkney-Islands-180\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-1801.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Orkney-Islands-103\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-1031.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Orkney-Islands-200\"](\"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/orkney-islands-200.jpg\")
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