Day 4 - Dunbar to Arbroath

Sunday 26th June - Dunbar to Arbroath - Day 4

We left Dunbar early at 08.00 to take advantage of the north going tide.  While preparing to leave, the seal which was in the harbour on our arrival, came up to the boat to see what the activity was about; happily gave us plenty of room to allow us to leave.

Back through the narrow entrance and the rocky outcrops, we headed into the Firth of Forth.

Bass Rock

To the west we could see the Bass Rock a very large volcanic plug 115 metres high and much whitened by the thousands of nesting gannets.

With full main and genoa, after charging the batteries, the engine was stopped at 09.00.  Though a quarter of an hour later the auto-helm packed in, so we had to hand steer the boat, taking turns for an hour at a time.

Isle of May

By 11.00 we were passing the Isle of May and with the wind increasing we began shortening sail, until 13.00 when the wind eased and sail reefs were shook out.  Around this time, the auto-helm seemed to have dried itself out and was returned to action.

Dolphins at Play

Along came a small pod of dolphins who played for a while, coming in fast from either side of the stern to ride our little bow wave, then turn and repeat the exercise.

One began doing tricks, as he jumped out of the water when just off the beam. It is fascinating being so close to these magnificent animals, who do seem to enjoy human company.  As quickly as they appeared, they were gone.

Arbroath

We had an excellent sail across the Firth and at 14.45 we put on the engine, lowered our sail and called the Arbroath harbour master for permission to enter.

We had to wait a little while for the tide, as we dodged our way around the many lobster pots laid outside the entrance.  We managed to miss them all and alongside the visitors pontoon at 16.15.

Marina

Ashore at 19.00 to the close by ‘Old Boatyard’ restaurant, where I had my first Arbroath smokie; a well-known dish from this area of haddock cooked and smoked over wood chips.

It was different but nice and complimented the mussels and chips which followed.

A walk around the town found it to be very quiet; there is a very impressive Abbey ruin with a visitor centre which may be well worth looking at another time.

We found the Weatherspoon’s pub ‘Corn Exchange’ behind the high street; this is housed in a fine building and very impressive inside.  We were back on board for midnight.

An excellent sailing day across the wide Firth of Forth and for a long time we could see the infamous Bell Rock lighthouse out to the east, a magnificent feat of Victorian engineering.