Peterhead

I am sitting in the boat, safely tied up at Peterhead Bay Marina. The sun is just beginning to set and it will be light for at least another 1/2 hour. It will be light again by 3:00 am.
Departure from Lowestoft only included on exciting incident. As we backed out of our VERY narrow slip. the wind caught the bow and pushed us into the neighbouring motorboat. The result was no damage to the motor boat and a bent running light on Voila. A screw driver and a pair of vice grips were the only tools needed to put it in its place. The fuel dock is in a very awkward spot for big, clumsy sailboats like ours, but we managed that without incident, thanks in large part to the wind being from the right direction.
We headed out into the North Sea at about 11:15. The weather was warm and sunny, but unfortunately this also meant that there was no wind. With engine on and current with us we were flying along at 8-9 knots, at least for the first 6 hrs. By the time the tide changed we were out of the narrow channel where the water funnels and the current against us was not as big a deal. We continued to motor until about noon the next day when the wind finally was capable of keeping wind in the sails as we were being rocked by the swell. As the day wore on we were able to put up our brand new Asymmetrical Spinnaker for the first time. It had us charging along, with no need tor the engine.The wind continued to build as the day continued. Such glorious sailing. Unfortunately at 18:00 when we were trading watches that the spinnaker would come down. The wind had risen to 25 knots. We were going a little slower under reefed main and genoa, but everything was under control.
By morning the wind was regularly gusting to 30 and we were having a great time, but the boat was rolling with the wind behind so it was important to hang on. I giggled as i watched a small bird get drenched in a whitecap and appear seconds later.
Peterhead is an easy all-weather harbour, and we had been here back in the fall. After clearing in with the Harbour Control to make sure we were not going to come face to face with a big ship on our way in, we braced ourselves for the broadside rolling and turned in. My normal instinct when I am nervous is to slow down. You do less damage that way. This time the harbourmaster told us to keep the speed up, and head for the north side of the opening so were not caught by the cross current. Sounder scary, but in reality was pretty easy. By this time the weather had turned cool and drizzly, so we were looking forward to tying up and enjoying a hot meal. We were greeted at the dock by another friendly cruiser to take our lines. Total time about 50 hrs, 326 miles. A friendly dock neighbour appeared to take our lines. There are several nationalities here, headed in just as many directions. A couple stopped by to say hello, but our priorities at the time were food and a nap. We are looking forward to getting to know people better tomorrow.
Cold today. Winds from the south at 30 knots, gusting. Menagerie of yachts here. English, Dutch, Finish. They are going west through the Caledonia canal or north to the Orkneys.

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