After visiting Balta Sound (Unst), Vidlin and the anchorage at Lingness we returned to Lerwick where Mike and Anne left and Fin and J joined us. The temporary loss of J’s baggage on the flight from London and near gale force northerlies kept us there for three days, but at last we got away for Fair Isle. We enjoyed beautiful weather on our day there – the skipper walking right round the coast, and Fin and J covering much of the island on photo-shoot. It’s one of these once-seen-never-forgotten places. The sail down to Orkney took much longer than usual due to adverse winds and tide, so we missed the flood tide through the sounds to Kirkwall – running into strong tidal ‘roosts’ which all but stopped progress. We switched to Plan B and spent the night tied up at Backaland pier at the south end of Eday, completing the trip this morning. It is now raining, and with gale force southerlies forecast for at least the next two days we are happy to be snug in the marina.