Practice makes perfect
It feels strange to be cruising down the flow in the new boat, the ghost of the Stormdrift seems to linger, but the warmth and space and pure solid feeling the Valkyrie has exorcises this from my mind. The chop on the waves would have made life uncomfortable on the Stormdrift, for us now we hardly notice it.
We have decided to go down to Lyness to practice coming in alongside the pier. It is always a good plan to try these things, but as we get closer we can see the Hoy Head in alongside the pier much reducing the amount of room we have to play with. Out on deck i tie the leader - a thin rope - to the very heavy spring (the rope attached from the bow which is the first one to go onto the pier - once this is around the stout black bollard we can manoever with ease) and get ready as we inch closer. The wind howls around the empty deck, catching the tiny balls of snow and racing them around in mini tornadoes over my frozen feet. Closer and closer we edge, i can feel the tension rising, this is not going to be easy, there is a fair chop, a bad wind and not much room. The increase in engine noise lowers my blood pressure - we slowly make our way out of the quay and back into gutter sound. Today was not the day for trying to get along a pier in a new boat. Lets walk before we try to run, neither of us has sufficient ego to risk our boat for this.
Snow on the deck
Clearing it - we have stripped the deck back to allow us to paint it, so it may well leak if we let the snow lie, hence the sweeping.
The Hamnavoe
Girl Mina and the Radiant Queen
The Jean Elaine leaving with divers - note Ronnie in full floatation suit :D just ask him what colour Andy’s wheelhouse is now…..and Kev’s 
On our way out of Stromness
Hoy hills with a covering of snow
Over the upper deck looking towards Graemsay and Hoy High lighthouse.
View from the office window
Ok ok, so i have to stand on something to see over the whaleback……
Me at the wheel
Bloody hell, someone has let the plug out! Very very low tide.
Sunset
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Looooooooook, new toys! Hazel gets it started….
Out of the shed…….
Loaded up and ready to rock and roll…..
Out of focus……nothing at all to do with the fact i have just gone whizzing past at full throttle teehee…honest!
Disappearing off into the….urm……mud, being chased by a goose.
