CNG - Sailing By

Well,it seems that the main project was to get to Wick. Come Hell or High Water! They over came both! They had a great time sailing, once they were an hour and a half out of Plockton they did some great sailing and enjoyed the feel of Lakota under sail for some time. After that, the weather was against them and they had to motor for much of the trip until they arrived in Scrabster about 1am on Tuesday 28th April. They had a few hours sleep and by 6am they (Lilttle Don) were ready to get out in to the sea and head for Wick. The tide was with them and they made good time to Noss Head where they could get the main sail up and enjoy the actual feel of sailing in to Wick.

To arrive in Wick by 12 noon was a much earlier than they were expected. It was great to think that they had achieved the first leg of the journey without too many worries.

Dad and Big Don, managed to go to Wick to take a look at the Lakota. Big Don went onboard but Dad will need a more stable path before he considers setting foot onboard the Lakota.

So far it as been a very intense trip. The 'boys' have been keen to get up the West, along the North and partially down the East to Wick. They have done a great job and I just long for the day that I get my feet ondeck and become part of this adventure.

Sailing By
C
xx

Well, the bold lads were in Scrabster from 1am until 6am. Strong tides helped them sail in to Wick.
Update later.

Well, no idea how they have managed it but they tied up in Wick at 12 noon.

I will have to get an update from the skipper, tonight, and fill in the blanks on this blog.

What will they do for three days? We won't sail from Wick until mid-day Saturday so I hope that they are 'swabbing' the decks.

Message from Lakota 12:47 Monday 27th April - They have passed Cape Wrath and are halfway to Strathy Point. This is the most arduous part of the trip. The tides are strong and the wind is head on. It will make for interesting sailing! The going has been good, and fast! The photos show the lumpy sea and the fabulous sunset. We won't see that on the East coast.

The three sailors from left to right - Alan Cairns, David Sutherland and Little Don.

Wish I was there! 'Sailing by'

Signing off.
CNG

LAKOTA - Little Don's 50th Year trip of a lifetime

The day has finally arrived! The Lakota is ready. Little Don and Alan Cairns are ready to go. Problem? Yes, Dave hasn't arrived. Has he slept in, does he have a hangover and won't arrive at all? Good questions. But no, neither of the above applies. He is just totally useless at reading a timetable! He was supposed to arrive in Plockton at 11am. He was two hours late! Classic Dave, well done! Anyway, all's well that ends well, they eventually let go the ropes at 2:30pm. Don't have any details on the first six hours but at half past eight tonight Don phoned to say they were off of Rona and they had 15 to 20 knot winds prevailing and had sailed all the way so far. They plan on sailing through the night as Dad predicts that they will be at Cape Wrath by tomorrow afternoon. The time may not be accurate at this time but I will update the blog as I get information.

Alec phoned earlier saying that he had phoned Don earlier to ask if he was ready for the big adventure. He didn't know that the trip had been pulled forward a day and that the guys were already sailing North.

I spent yesterday buying stores and then cooking chilli and rice and chicken and vegetables. Now all frozen along with boiled potatoes ready for the trip to Caithness next week. It will keep us going for the first couple of days at least. I have enough stores to feed us for a month but I have asked Alec to get eggs and Orkney fudge!

I will update what I get from the intrepid sailors tomorrow. It is now getting really close, and very exciting.

We will soon be sailing the East coast.

More tomorrow.
Signing out.

CNG