Day 25 - Eyemouth to Edinburgh (Port Edgar) - 25th May, 2017

Eyemouth to Port Edgar (Edinburgh) - Thursday, 25th May

I was keen to get out of here today as there was a May Bank Holiday Fun Fare setting up on the quayside which had 'practised' on Wednesday evening. The thought of that going on when we were trying to sleep for an early start was the deciding factor.

As it was we left at 04:40 (High water being 02:40), our second early start in succession, to be sure we cleared the offshore hazards on a falling tide.

It was absolutely flat calm and no wind. For once it was a little warmer for that and the forecast was for no change.

The Sunrise that greeted us was lovely.

It was so flat that I didn't even bother putting out the Main as a stabilizer. It was going to be, as it turned out, the same for the whole trip with the 'Iron Spinnaker' doing all the work set at 1700 revs to give us about 5 knots.  It actually turned out to be perfect timing as the tide was against us for only the first couple of hours, then with us for the rest of the trip up the Forth until we finally berthed at Port Edgar at 14:30 having travelled 54 miles and just before their high water at 15:00.

Passing St. Abb's Head - with its 'Turneresque'  Skies.

I was expecting some horrendous currents at St. Abb's Head, just 3 miles from Eyemouth,  that I had read about. In fact, as the picture shows, it was tranquillity itself.  It was definitely Julia's kind of conditions (sunny and flat calm) that she decided she had been up far to early and went back to bed.

Bass Rock

The coast line along here was full of interest with the of Hamlets and probably fishing harbours to the awesome Bass Rock just past Dunbar about 20 miles into our trip. I had seem it some 10 miles away with its ghostly whiteness in the mist.  Julia got up a couple miles off it to be mesmerised with what she saw as the picture above.  There is a huge bird population on the Rock and the sea was covered in even more birds having their morning swim and breakfast know doubt.

Bird life off Bass Rock

The Lighthouse on Fidra Island

It was time for bacon sarnies, just what the doctor ordered - gorgeous!!

We were about half way through our days trip and the slight mist never completely lifted. We could just see the Northern shoreline of the Forth and the Isle of May about 10 miles away. 

Although I had prudently taken note of hazards from the charts, I had not realized until we were actually here how many Islands of rock there were in the Forth up and past Edinburgh.  These were all obviously well marked and no hazard at all, but gave the trip some interesting sights of the many old churches, castles, buildings and war time architecture on them.

I could see 3 triangular structures way off in the distance, but they looked white and I remember the Rail Bridge was painted Red. Had it been repainted? No of course not, it was actually the new Road Bridge due to open later this summer - I had not realized it was nearly finished some 12 miles away, still in the mist. As we got much closer it became totally clear and what a thrill to actually go under first the Rail Bridge built in the eighteen hundreds, then the Road Bridge which I remember being opened in 1964 and then to see the new Road Bridge in front of us.

The Three Bridges built in different Centuries

Of course we had to fly our 'Lunar Sea' flags under it on our Port Halyard.

Lunar Sea going Under the Rail Bridge

The sun was beginning to become a lot warmer - this is what we had envisaged our adventure was going to be like - perhaps the earlier hard trips of our adventure were behind us now?

Only time will tell. . . . . .