Day 46-Sunday 3rd July- Stonehaven to Arbroath.

We needed to time our departure so there would be sufficient water in Arboath to get into the lock in the inner harbour. This meant leaving at about 10. We made the mistake of getting some shopping before we left because we then got met by the part time harbour master. We hadn't had a key for the toilet block for the 2 days we'd been there so begrudged paying the full dues. He accepted our case and let us off with half.

Just outside the harbour there is another ruined castle. This ones called Dunnnotar Castle and I promise I'm not recycling the same old photo!

There is a rescue centre in Stonehaven and they were using the perfect conditions to practice getting in under the cliffs to get people off the rocks.

The wind was now in the east and once beyond Todhead Point we had enough wind in the right direction to hold a close reach down the coast. Kelvin was now on his mettle and was keen to show me Gil Gilad could sail too. We were each watching the tell tales on our sails to optimise their angles to the wind and constantly trimming them. Today was a dead heat. After nearly 30nm we arrived together.

Somewhere today I notched up my 1000th nm. I've now covered 1019 over the ground, according to the GPS. This part of the coastline continues to have the largest number of sea birds on the water I have seen anywhere. The cliffs are white with guano.Its great to see so much wildlife and such big rafts of birds. The seagulls drop into the sea too but they go feet first unlike the gannets thst plunge in head first like missiles.

People had said that Arbroath is the place for smokies. Right behind the harbour there is a place selling smoked just about everything, but it is smoked haddock that is actually a true smokie.

Arbroath also has a very large ruined abbey. It was here that the Stone of Scoone (sp?) was brought once the Scots nicked it off the English from Westminster Abbey.They call it the "Stone of Destiny" (perhaps because its easier to spell). Independence was pronounced at the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

There wasn't much open in the high street on a Sunday- just a couple of betting offices and this tanning shop, where the woman on the desk had clearly decided you can't beat the real thing.

Every reasonably sized Scottish town I've been in seems to have  good quality old buildings. here the old Corn market has been turned into a Wetherspoons.

It looks like they've given a name here to that problem you get when you've eaten too much yeast.

The trip now looks like this.I really don't know why its displayed on its side. Fresh south easterly winds are forecast for tuesday, which will be hard work beating into. So I either need to stay here or get somewhere near to Edinburgh tomorrow until they pass through.