80-DAY ADVENTURE CIRCUMNAVIGATING BRITAIN

Tony Moss and his wife Marike cross the North Sea to sail around Britain anticlockwise, braving the Scottish summer along the way

- Tony Moss

According to the news and messages from home, the beginning of July is a scorcher, with the heat almost unbearable.

How I wish we were experiencing the same! Here aboard Pandora in Peterhead, we have leaden skies, rain and a northerly Force 7 wind coupled with temperatures as low as 10C. Summer – what summer? Thank heavens for the diesel heater!

All the way up the east coast of England we have had weather delays and now it looks like our goal of going around Britain via the Orkneys just isn't going to be possible in the time available. We are not alone. There are several other boats of different nationalities attempting the same circumnavigation. One of them left early this morning trying for Wick but he is back again for supper before the fish and chip shop closes.

One by one our neighbours give up the unequal struggle and depart on a course due west towards Inverness and the Caledonian Canal. With a metaphorical tail between our legs, we join them only to find that once inside the Moray Firth the wind dies away to almost nothing and we have to start motoring yet again.

In preparation for our voyage several people warned us to allow for a lot of motoring, and how right they were. If we had unlimited time there would be no decision to make but now with our tightening schedule, we agree that if we can't make at least four knots on the log, then on goes the motor.

I'm a world-renowned pessimist and people often ask me, tongue in cheek, what was the most memorable part of the voyage, and I find it hard to answer. Fortunately, my seaworthy wife, Marike, is the ship's optimist, and she restores the balance. But looking back, our odyssey is like a kaleidoscope of places and events, both good and bad, all blending into one splendid whole.

CLOCKWISE OR ANTICLOCKWISE