After a number of days of good going the weather was starting to show signs of changing for the worse. Before the next storm front let rip I was determined to take advantage of every bit of good weather and get as far south as possible.

We needed some supplies but by midday (after a long lie in) we were ready to go again. The wind was non-existent and the sun was shining. Once we had received permission from the harbour control we were soon motoring out through the harbour gaps. The only movement on the water being from the bow wave we were ploughing through the water.

This was one of the few legs when I could sit back and relax. With just the navigation to worry about and the autohelm pointing Silverwind south down the coast. It is seams like the land is on the wrong side after having gone north for two months!

I had in mind a fast passage thirty miles down the coast to the small town of Stonehaven this would bring us within sixty miles (and possibly one days sail) of the coast around Dunbar.

After avoiding a number of ships moving along the coast we were held up for a much more enjoyable reason. As we motored through a large group of sea birds a small whale surfaced thirty meters to our port. After cutting the engine we drifted for five minutes before seeing the large figure surface some distance to our stern and so we moved on.

As we past Aberdeen dusk was starting to come across us and it seemed all too tempting to go in, instead of Stonehaven twelve miles down the coast. Although Aberdeen does not encourage yachts I felt it would be interesting to explore the city, as I know we would be stuck for a few days by the weather.

When I started to get a headache the decision was made and after negotiation with the port control we lined up to enter behind two North Sea supply ships. We were instructed to meet the berthing master by the head of the Albert Basin beside the fish market and we were soon tied up. The berthing master gave us a warm welcome and pointed me away from all the areas in the city not to go to!