Finding better shelter

 We spent an uneasy night against the pier, worrying about the way Robinetta was rolling despite the shelter. When I woke at 05:30 to bright sunshine and a still boat, Julian was already awake, and checking the weather on his phone.

There were south or south west force7-8 winds in the forecast for Shetland, with a period of South East 4-5 this morning. We decided to take advantage of the short lull to head for a more sheltered refuge, and got up immediately. By 06:00 we had the engine on to warm up and were preparing to head out.

We raised sail, reefed right down, in the sheltered water of the harbour then headed out through the North East Channel, the same way we had come in. Our chosen port of refuge was Vidlin marina, on Mainland, just 14nm away.

At first we were sheltered by Out Skerries, and Julian cooked porridge for breakfast which we ate in shifts.

Sailing past Muckle Skerry

The sea state, moderate in the forecast, was luckily on the low side of possible wave height, and although we were bashing away on best course to windward we made good time motor sailing. It really helped that we were on port tack, so I could helm with my good arm and give Julian some time to relax. The wind direction did not give much time for the wave height to build and Robinetta could power through the occasional bigger wave.

Once we got in the lee of Whalsey we were able to turn the engine off for a bit and just sail. I went below and had a little doze, then made us some hot chocolate; the wind was cold and we had got up early, and tea just did not have enough calories to keep us going!

By 11 am we were in Vidlin Marina, trying to moor up. The water was flat, but the wind was fierce, and my normal slow approach to a berth failed to work. Robinetta ended up spinning round, and I had to back off in a hurry to avoid hitting a motor cruiser on the other side of the visitor berth. Controlling the helm and the engine controls with only one hand proved impossible in the conditions.

Julian took over and brought us in against the pontoon before stepping ashore with both lines. I had to motor forward to stop us being blown in reverse. Docking was not easy!

By 11:12 the engine was off, and we were safely moored up, and very glad to be so. We will probably be here until Friday, as we would be foolish to head out with the forecast weather conditions until then.

In Vidlin Marina