Cruise in Company - 6th June, 2021
The second 'Cruise in Company' of the season got underway beneath blue skies, with a promising forecast of a gentle breeze, F2 / F3, from the west. This was a great relief from the prevailing east coast wind, accompanied by haar, which had been dominating our weather for the past days and weeks.
There was a respectable turnout, with 12 boats represented on the cruise. In such beautiful conditions, and with a rising tide, the decision was made to let the tide help the fleet west 'up' the 'Forth, before turning eastwards (north of Inchcolm) into Mortimer's Deep, and on to a lunch stop at Aberdour Harbour.
Aberdour Boat Club had been advised of our coming and, as usual, had kindly extended to us the use of the facilities in their clubhouse. Once all craft were safely moored alongside, skippers and crew enjoyed each other's company, both onboard and on the harbour pier. Always mindful however of social distancing.
There was some excitement in the harbour when Simon and Fiona Harrison's Sadler 32, MOONWHITE, suffered a halyard shackle failure enroute which required Simon to be hoisted up the mast. Neil Moffat and Stuart Fowler (Solveig) did the heavy work on the winch, with a grumbling running commentary from Neil Moffat, who clearly isn't used to such manual labour.
Notable amongst the fleet today were (from one extreme to the other) Ken Allan's new 13m Sun Odyssey KAMMA, and Lorne Byatt's beautiful 3m wooden sailing dinghy TWINKLE. Lorne sailed single handed each way, putting up a great show, and he was certainly not left behind by the larger vessels in the fleet!
The sun continued to blaze down on us and, following a stop of a couple of hours, the fleet then departed to return to Granton, helped along by the gentle but by now diminishing breeze.
With regard to the weather, we all gratefully acknowledged our huge slice of luck today, and it certainly reminded us all why we enjoy our sailing so much. Hopefully a good season lies ahead!
Brian Robertson
Last updated 11:48 on 9 October 2024
