Lack of wind necessitated motoring to Orkney from Cape Wrath, but meant
we could round spectacularly close in under the cliffs and lighthouse,
and pass well inside the Duislic Rock. A long, uneventful 13 hour
passage took us in through Hoy Sound and up to the marina behind
Stromness Pier. There a local marine electronics man helped us fix the
autopilot – its like having an extra crewman back again. Once more we
took advantage of free buses to do some sightseeing and climb another
hill. The Stromness Hotel is hosting most of Orkney’s Jazz Festival (a
rather grandiose description of two trad bands from Edinburgh playing
over a long weekend) so last night we enjoyed some good old traditional
jazz from Bill Salmond’s Louisiana Ragtime Band and the Diplomats of
Jazz. An interesting character was the bass player who played in both
bands, dressed in tuxedo playing euphonium in one band and casually
dressed on double bass in the other. Fortunately he was a also
quick-change artist between band sets. We went across to Hoy this
morning but the exposed anchorage, cold wind, and cloud nudging the
hilltops dissuaded us from a hill trip – so we will return on another
occasion and in better conditions.