A SMALL BOAT ROUND BRITAIN
The most daunting day yet of our attempt to circumnavigate Britain in my tough but small 27ft Rhea has arrived. We have made it to Wick at the north-east tip of mainland Britain, but ahead lies the perilous journey along the exposed north coast of Scotland via the feared (and only to be attempted in ideal conditions) Pentland Firth. If we make it through this infamous strait that separates Scotland from the Orkneys unscathed, we will eventually be confronted by the even more ominously named Cape Wrath at the far north-west corner of Britain.
Since the fateful night that we decided to undertake this adventure back in the autumn of 2018, I have been constantly tracking the coastal and inshore forecasts for this stretch. Not once have I seen the sea state ‘smooth’ appear in the forecast and only on a couple of occasions has ‘slight’ made it on to the page. On the other hand ‘moderate to rough’, ‘rough to very rough’ or simply ‘high’ seem to appear with almost monotonous regularity. No wonder I have spent most of the last six months falling asleep thinking about this leg and then waking up having nightmares about it. This morning is no
