Lerwick Port

Lerwick is then final destination before in the uk before a 200nm hop to Bergen and is the place where we will wait for the correct weather to go . Rob and and Nick will arrive today after and flight to Aberdeen and a ferry to Lerwick making it a thick end of 24 hours to get from Cornwall. That’s a great reminder of how far we have come. Luckily on arrival from a nice little hop round from Noss Island we rafted up with Jon and Cindy from Maine and their American J46. They had just completed 6 summers in Norway and had plenty of great advice for us. After a brief chat we were invited for cocktails and given a list of great destinations for the trip.

NIck and Rob arrived on the overnight ferry. After a short walk to the boat, breakfast was urgent.
Fred, Nick’s old friend who lives in Lerwick arrived for a bacon sarnie & coffee and, he had set up a full day of entertainment. First was a trip to his composite workshop, to see what he had been up to for the past 30 years. Quite a bit, it seems. From making life size Orca whales to scare seals for the salmon industry, to giant wind and heat pump powered heat stores. Today, though Fred was taking us to his family holiday home and for a picnic and fishing at his secret spot in his old Plymouth pilot. When we arrived at the west coast we hopped on the old boat, checked the oil disconnected the electrics and puttered out into the lock. A couple of miles later we arrived at the house which has no road access. What a spot, a converted Croft hidden in the landscape. Which had been converted by Fred and his architect father. We picked up the fishing hand lines and a some water. We headed to a very protected cove to see seals and arctic turns via a cave a smoking engine and bumping a rock en route after eating our lunch on the edge of the beach. The tide was dropping so next stop was the fishing hole. After lining up both headlands and a distant doctors house. The hand made fishing lines were dropped over the side to see what was there. At first we didn’t have much hope as the lures were old and rusty and we had used 2spanners and a shackle as weights. Fred said we we are nearly on the spot as the wind pushed us over the transits. Boom. Rob was in straight away Cod 1 about 3lbs in the bag. These rusty old lures still work. Down they went again boom! Robs says this ones a bit bigger 6lbs cod in the bag. Nick after raiding the tool kit for spanner’s now felt he had the right combination to fish the hole. Booms! String of mackerel. At the same time Rob was in again this time 4lb cod like fish, one more string of mackerel for nick and we were done. 40mins total of fishing and we had a feast to feed the family, Fred called his family to assist with eating the catch, who would of thought it? we were BBQing in Lerwick under what felt like the only tree on the Shetlands, that happened to be in Freds Garden. Top day and top company, a proper treat whilst travelling through, thanks to Fred, Magdalena, and their family for making it fun.

Next stop is to plan the crossing !!.Read more