Plotting and Scheming
Currently doing preparation work for a little 4 day jolly over the forthcoming bank holiday weekend. No major distances involved, but some nice stops – particularly as the weather forecast is looking really nice.
Currently, the plan is to do the first leg – Limekilns to Musselburgh – on the Friday. Musselburgh is very tidal, and there isn’t much wind forecast, so if I don’t do the distance within a single tide then instead of overnighting at Musselburgh harbour, I’ll aim for Inchkeith island and spend the night there with the ghosties and seabirds. There are some advantages to overnighting in Musselburgh; for one thing, I’ll be able to spend a sunny afternoon lounging on the foredeck with beer and a book in full view of my workplace. For another, there’s a damn good Indian restaurant and some nice pubs within staggering distance of the harbour.
Next stop is Dysart in Fife, where I plan to spend what remains of Saturday until Monday morning enjoying the local food and good company. It’s a fairly short trip and as it’s across the mouth of the estuary isn’t likely to be as short of wind as further upstream will be. If I’m at Musselburgh overnight, I’ll be leaving on the morning tide and heading straight over, but if I end up overnighting on Inchkeith, I’ll most likely leave a bit early and take a more roundabout route along the Vows and Long Craig.
Monday morning is likely to be interesting – it’s the longest leg, Dysart back to Limekilns, and Dysart doesn’t have a huge tidal window. Which gives me a choice of leaving at 5am on the ebb and having a ridiculous amount of time available in case I have to tack all the way back up the Forth, or waiting until after lunch and keeping my fingers crossed against having a long wait until after midnight to get back in to Limekilns. The forecast, as it stands, is predicting fairly steady Northeasterlys for the whole 4 days, so I don’t imagine getting back will be too much of a problem – it’ll be a straight run downwind.
So, I have courses (and alternatives) plotted and ready to go. Cleared all the winter gear out of the back of the car, and have most of the summer stuff already stowed on the boat, so I’m pretty much good to go.
Leave a Comment