Bernard and John dinghied in to the small pier. They met the A bit later the wind went round to SW and dropped to
warden, signed the Visitors Book and had a quick look round Force 2. Boysterous does not respond well to less than
– well worth it, they said. It was still very windy with gusts 8 knots dead astern and so on went the motor. All night
blowing over and round the hills as we headed off into a we motored on, outside Rona, (did you know about Rona?),
very lumpy sea, wind over tide and waves bouncing off the and in the morning saw our first oil rig on the horizon.
cliffs between the islands of Hirta and Boreray.
The sun shone all day and the wind stayed light and directly
astern. I rang Naomi on the Iridium satellite phone. She told
BIRDS me about gales in Thames, Wight, Portland and Plymouth
while we, now level with Norway, were enjoying another
Then followed one of the most amazing sights I have ever
gentle sunny summer’s day!
seen: Boreray is a dramatic island with jagged peaks and
two outlying Stacs several hundred feet high, one of which
was shimmering white. As we got closer, we could see that
MUCKLE FLUGGA
Stac Lee was surrounded by thousands of birds wheeling
in the wind. The Stac itself was covered in birds, cheek by As day broke we could see the outlines of the Shetland Isles
jowl, or beak to beak, to such an extent that the whole over to starboard. The birdlife increased and we saw one
stac shimmers. fishing boat, that’s all for two days.
This is the largest gannet colony in the world, 70,000 pairs Muckle Flugga is the northernmost lighthouse in the UK and
all piled onto what is a tiny area of sheer rock with a sloping has a small Out Stac just north of that. That’s where we
top. They and thousands of fulmars were gliding around could be sure that we would complete our circumnavigation
and diving for fish while strings of razorbills, guillemots because once there, it would be much quicker to carry on
and puffins sped by at sea level, wings whirring. than to turn back.
The story of the inhabitants of St Kilda and their evacuation We rounded Muckle Flugga and the Out Stac at mid-day and
in 1930 is well known, and people come to see the ruins turned south. Our most northerly position was 60°N 52.40.
of their village and hear the stories of how they lived by The log read 1487.8 nautical miles, well over half way
catching the gannets and fulmars on the sheer cliffs. But for round. This merited a celebration, so out came the
others, it is the sheer quantity of the bird life that impresses, Boysterous champagne. The sun was still shining and the
and I found it one of the great experiences. wind remained SW Force2 although the forecast warned that
the gales in the Channel were now heading our way.
SAILING AGAIN
BALTASOUND
Off we went, heading north and hoping for the wind to back
from NE to north, which surprisingly and obligingly it did. We rounded the island of Unst, the most northerly inhabited
Tacking on to port, we could sail to clear the Butt of Lewis island of the UK, and turned into Baltasound, which had
and its fierce tides. For the time being, we could even point several salmon and mussel farms. There was a wee boating
more or less at Orkney, not quite north enough for Shetland club with showers, the UK’s most northerly bar and hotel,
but well on the way. A couple of tankers went down the and the most northerly bus shelter, decorated and fitted out
channel inside the Flannan Islands while we continued to go in all things Pompadour pink including an arm chair, TV,
‘outside everything’. computer and the Visitors Book which we duly signed.
38 www.oystermarine.com
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