14th to 16th June 2021
We stayed three nights in Wick, waiting for the weather to be just right for crossing the Pentland Firth up to Orkney. This gave us the chance to explore the town; and it was well worth it.
It is not a prettily picturesque town, but no one but the most curmudgeonly would call it ugly, and the longer I stayed there the more I decided it had a distinctive charm. Everyone we met here was friendly and helpful - though this has been true almost without exception since we crossed the border. The marina staff were eager to share with us information about the town and its points of interest, and the harbour master was a mine of useful guidance about our impending passage across the Firth (of which more in a later post).
Having been unsuccessful in our attempts to dine out in style in Peterhead, we were keen to find somewhere to eat ashore. There is, unsurprisingly, a Wetherspoons, and we did have some lunch there on our first full day in Wick; but we were also intrigued by the French restaurant Au Bord de l'Eau. A slight mispronunciation of this name immediately took hold, and we started referring to it as 'The Bordello'. We had some childish fun texting home to our respective wives our plans for the evening.
Wick is home to the Old Pultney Distillery, named after Sir William Pulteney. This gentleman's estates are down in Gloucestershire, but he was instrumental in establishing Wick as a herring fishing harbour in the early 19th Century, and part of Wick is now named Pulteneytown in his honour. The distillery was not doing tours, because of Covid, but there was one place left on a tasting session, which I bagged. A very interesting presentation and the chance to compare and contrast four of their whiskies (and of course the opportunity to buy a bottle).
But it's not all about the whisky. Wick also claims to have the shortest street in the world: Ebenezer Place, which is nothing but a corner between two other roads, with one door on it.
The Wick River, which flows through the town on the way to the sea, has some beautiful walks by its banks. On the day when I walked up the path by the side of the river, the breeze was energetic but the sun was shining. It was good to have a chance to enjoy the charms of fields and the countryside, a soothing contrast from the very different beauty of the sea and coast. With the help of a useful information board, I identified the song of a reed warbler, and then later saw the bird itself. There were also oystercatchers peep-peeping as they flew along with their bright orange beaks.
On our passage to Wick, we had a slight problem with the headsail not unfurling properly. So one of the jobs we had to do while there was to lower the sail, have a look at the mechanism, re-hoist it and see if it worked again. With a bit of adjustment in the halyard tension it seemed to be fine. Our efforts were observed by one of the crew of another yacht that had come in, sporting a blue ensign with a badge depicting an old-fashioned gun on wheels. It was a boat run by the Royal Artillery as a way of training their young recruits and giving them a taste of life battling the elements by sailing round Britain. Other visiting yachts included a French ketch with classic lines, also bound for Orkney and points north.
For much of the time during our stay, the wind blew strongly, even when the sun was shining. For our next passage, up to Orkney, it was vital that the conditions were just right. And now the forecast was beginning to hint at gentler weather. After consulting with the harbourmaster, who had a forecast that agreed broadly with ours, we decided that we would be able to depart on Wednesday 16th June.
Read the next post to learn how it went...
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