Dunkirk Relic

Sad to see a historic boat in such a state, and getting worse every time I see her. She's the Skylark, and rescued around 600 from the beaches of Dunkirk in WW2. More info here - and you can buy her for just £1.

I actually (obviously erroneously!) thought she had been sold and was going to restored, but sadly not. She's currently sunk in the River Leven and is now breaking up, with her railings having come off since the last time I was there.

At least the ducks are making use of her. :-)

Trains (and boats)

I've been reminded (several times, by different people!) that my blog hasn't been updated for a very long time again! A lack of time to sort the 1000s of photos from the summer, combined with wrist problems meaning I can only edit a few at a time - and the necessity of combining finding time when my wrists are playing ball to allow me to get on with it - has meant it's been a few months since the last update. I am planning to start blogging more regularly again, and the photos are gradually being sorted, so over time you'll find out what I've been up to over the last few months.....

Meantime, though, here's what I was up to this weekend...

I know my blog posts are more usually about boats, but this one is about trains (and the odd boat.) Yesterday I went to the Aberdeen Model Railway Show. The folk I was with were more interested in the trains, layouts and technical side of running them, but I found all the landscaping fascinating and had an unexpectedly enjoyable few hours at the show. I thought I'd reach my boredom threshold way before that!

I was interested to find that you can buy little figures, farm animals, buildings, etc all to the correct scale to match the different scales of the different gauges of railways!

There was even a real miniature steam train - you could both see and smell the steam.

Some folk/clubs had made the most amazingly detailed landscapes for their railways - houses, cars and roads, tunnels and even the odd boat....

I was also amused to see that you could buy a wee Canadian canoe, complete with paddlers.

Sails in Stromness

As we were watching to see if the Europa would put her sails up (she did, but only a few as you can see)

... another ship, the Tecla, set off...

... followed by the Maybe ...

... and then the John Laing.

The bay was starting to look like it must have done years ago, with sailing ships coming in and out.

I went out on an Orkney Yole for a sail around the harbour. It was great fun and getting to see the tall ships from the water was brilliant.

Back ashore again, I spotted a crew member relaxing aboard the Gallant.

We then headed up Brinkie's Brae to get some views looking down into the bay.

The Europa was sailing out in the Flow, heading back to Stromness.

Ships were still leaving ...

... and arriving. The Wylde Swan took her time coming through the tide race off Graemsay.

What fantastic sights these boats make. And I should be seeing even more in Shetland very soon now.

A sea of masts

A sea of masts is how Stromness looked on Monday when I visited. There were around 9 tall ships berthed there, then throughout the day the numbers kept changing as some ships left and others arrived.

Some of the ships were just gorgeous - all polished wood and brass. This one is the Christian Radich.

We were able to go aboard the Sorlandet for a look around her decks. Again, I jumped at the chance!

She had a bell at each end of the deck.

The deck of the Sorlandet was a great place to look across at the Christian Radich, who had won the first leg of the race from Waterford to Greenock. She had just arrived in Stromness and was being readied for a "party on the poop deck" to be taking place in the afternoon.

Aboard the Sorlandet there was also work ongoing...

Lots of small boats were out, enjoying the views of the tall ships from the water. We spotted Jimmy Moar from Hoy, who had featured in the Spirit Dancer DVD!

The deck of the Sorlandet also proved to be a great place to watch as the Eurpoa headed off for another "party on the poop deck".

She was a beautiful sight as she headed off towards Scapa Flow, and we decided to watch for a while to see if she was going to put her sails up.

Mir

The Russian ship, the Mir, was the largest of the tall ships to call into Orkney. She berthed at Hatston Pier (presumbly being too big to berth at the Kirkwall Pier or marina) where she dwarfed cars.

They were allowing people on board to have a look around the decks, so I jumped at the opportunity!

She really is tall. Last year with the Spirit Dancer, some of the crew were allowed up the rigging of the Statsrad Lehmkuhl to take photos and video of the Spirit Dancer canoe passing below. The masts of the Mir were much higher though, and it looked like 4 stops (crow's nests?) on the way up.

Even the ship's wheels were huge.

The decks were extremely wide...

 ... and there was even space to set out a stall selling a selection of 'Mir' branded goods and photos.

A very impressive ship, with the reputation of being the fastest tall ship in the race. She didn't win the first leg, though, from Waterford to Greenock, as that was won by the Christian Radich, which also visited Orkney. It'll be interesting to follow the race results to see how she does in the next leg from Lerwick to Stavanger.