Breakfast on board

There was little to see on Saturday morning in Dunbar. A thick east coast sea fog, or haar, had silently stolen into town overnight. But if you looked carefully in the early morning light, there was a quiet group of sailors scuttling around their little yachts, dropping the moorings and heading out of the harbour.

I was on the Heron, Stuart on the Seline, Davey on the Wee Beastie, and James and Gordon on the Freedom. The sea was like glass without the slightest breath of wind as we slowly motored along the coast in a little flotilla.

The fog drifted in and out but navigation was never a problem. The coast appeared through the mist and we would gently adjust the heading.

Along past the wildfire rocks, and the wreck of the Ponderosa,  it was easy to sea how a ship can be lost.

Further west and the South Carr loomed out of the fog and we could here the moaning calls of the seals on the rocks. Then it was time to turn into the shelter of the secluded bay at Seacliff.

As we dropped anchors and rafted the little boats together, the sun began to burn through the fog and the temperature started to climb. The sea was gently lapping on the sands, the kettle was whistling as I brewed up some coffee and bacon was frying in the pan.

We sat soaking up the early morning sun and enjoyed breakfast. There were a few people walking on the beach and a couple of horses came down to the shore. One rider brought her horse in for a swim near the boats and somehow I didn't take a photo.

 

The morning passed as the boats swung languidly on their moorings.  Eventually we felt the gentlest stirrings of a breeze as the tide turned. Without too much effort, anchors were hauled, stowed and lines were cast off.

 Banks of fog drifted through on the light easterly breeze as we headed around the South Carr and on to a rough bearing of 150 degrees.

An hour or so and we were back to civilisation.

That might be the last outing of the sailing season. If it turns out to be, I'm not complaining.

Sailing as it should be done.

Sometimes you just have to grab the moment and get out sailing. Last Sunday was as good a day for sailing as I've seen for a long time. The sun was shining, there was a light but steady breeze and there was only the slightest swell.

So the little outboard was fired up to get me off the mooring but as soon as I was out of the harbour entrance, the motor was off and the Heron caught some wind in her sails.

Davey came out for a sail on his yacht 'Wee Beastie' but was having problems getting tension in his mainsail.

It didn't matter too much, It's still a faster boat than the Heron.

Davey soon passed me and headed off into the distance. I just set the tiller and headed north.

I often take photos of the horizon when I'm out sailing. I don't post many because they don't convey what I really experience. In the pictures the sea looks empty but when I'm sailing it's full of movement, changing colours, birds, the sound of the water and wind and of course the insignificant dot that is the Heron slowly bobbing along in the midst of it all.

With the back of my neck suitably burnt I turned south to get a bit of sun on my face and headed along the coast to the east of Dunbar.

I gybed off the east beach the tried my best to goose wing back to the scart rocks. Having the wind directly behind you might sound easy but if you sail, you'll know how tricky it can be.

Back in the calm of harbour and the colours are changing again as the sun starts to get a little lower.
Then this weekend, the weather was really settled again on Saturday. There was no real wind to speak of but I wanted to get out on the water and so hatched a cunning plan to spend the afternoon practising the black art of anchoring. 

It's probably best not to tell anyone that you intend to drop an anchor as it is amazing how many experts there are out there. And none of them agree.

After dropping the hook a couple of times and feeling it set on different grounds I heard the buzz of an engine and Stuart appeared on the Seline.

My back was beginning to complain with hauling up 11 meters of chain so happily agreed to go for a motor to the yacht Carioca which we could see bobbing around a mile and a half off-shore.

We all rafted up and sat chatting and some cold beer was passed around.

The boats creeked and groaned and slowly swung around on the tide and soon Jamie appeared on the Ambition to increase the raft of sloth to four. As the tide started to ebb, the Carioca had to head in to harbour as it draws a lot more than our little boats. The change in the tide also brought a little breeze and we gathered ourselves together, cast off the lines and hoisted some sail to get home.

Days like these are few, and can be far between, but are good for the soul.