Almost left behind

Last night we’d all agreed to get the first lock out. It’d been raining hard so none of us had wanted to venture out to pay for the marina. As the lock opened at 07:00 I went up to catch the Harbour Master before he made his rounds of the marina. I was busy paying when I heard Joe on the office radio asking if Mentor was clear to leave the dock. Quickly grabbing my change I ran back to find they’d already loosened the lines and were about to depart. Joe had thought I was down below and had been about to go without me!

It was a long 2 hour motor back to where we’d finished yesterday but when we arrived the wind, which had been forecast for the morning wasn’t there. So we waited, unable to return to Arbroath until 15:00 when the lock reopened. Around 12:00 a light breeze started to trickle in, keen to do something we got ready and gave it a go.

Once we were up on the foils it was just about OK, but we kept hitting patches of nothing where the sea was so glassy you couldn’t see a ripple on the water. It was all we could do to keep the speed going to remain up on the foil. We knew as soon as we dropped down, that would be us done for the day. (You need a lot more power to get your body up out the water than you do to continue any momentum you already have – GCSE Physics at work even on holiday!) We continued on the same tack for as long as we could, slowly leaving Mentor behind us. But we could see the no-wind-line ahead of us, so knew our time was limited.

Exactly half way between Arbroath (21.75 miles) and our intended destination Eyemouth (22miles), we hit it. You could see it clearly up and down the bay, the dreaded no-wind-line. Towards us, small ripples were breaking up the surface of the water giving it a glittery appearance; in front, nothing but a mirror reflection of the clouds, a perfectly undisturbed, windless sea surface. Both of us gradually dropped lower and lower on the foil, until that moment it hit the surface and we sunk down into the water, marking the end of our short spurt across the bay.

Keen to have the feeling of moving forward, we chose to head into Dunbar for the night, rather than return to Arbroath. There’s no wind tomorrow, so after two 12-hour days motoring across the bay without making any kiting progress, we’ll all welcome the rest. The forecast for Saturday looks good, so hopefully we’ll be able to catch-up on the mileage then.

Once one of the most important castles in Scotland, now little remains after not one but two acts of parliment ordered for it’s destruction, because it’s control had so much sway in the balance of power in the region.

Mary Queen of Scots is often associated with the castle. On April 24th 1567, heavily pregnant with the future King James VI, she escaped to the castle after watching her jealous husband Lord Darnley murder her Catholic private secretary, and suposed lover, David Rizzio at a dinner party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

A year later, Darnley was murdered in a fire, virtually everyone was involved in the plot to murder him, but only James Hepburn, the Earl of Bothwell and Mary got the blame. In an attempt to flee the alegations Bothwell abducted Mary and took her captive to Dunbar Castle, eventually forcing her to marry him on 15 May 1567.

A month later, the final showdown between Mary and the Protestant lords took place at Carberry Hill near Edinburgh. No actual fighting took place because Mary’s outnumbered troops gradually melted away. Mary agreed to give herself up on condition that Bothwell was given safe passage – he escaped back to Dunbar castle where he attempted to rally more troups. It was to no avail, two days after Carberry, Mary was imprisoned and at 24 years old started 19 years of captivity, first in Scotland and then in England, ending only with her execution for plotting against Elizabeth I, on 8 February 1587.

Map of today’s route

Map Key: Stew (Red), Islay (White) and Mentor (Blue)

How to Buy Effective ED Medications? generico viagra on line or kamagra can be used treat erectile dysfunction, but if you are not taking care of your overall health, you will not be able to perform properly. The condition comprises an unhealthy lifestyle and cheap levitra prescription appalachianmagazine.com genetic history. So, it advised to but vardenafil generic if only approved by FDA and has passed quality checks. These are generally your occasions wherever get viagra cheap features proved to be quite powerful in fact.
* For details on the difference between Kited and Travelled see our FAQs