Stonehaven

We left Peterhead at about 8am and started out with a pleasant moderate offshore breeze - unusual on this cruise so far. We were sailing in company with Tony and Sally on Step Back in Time. We were heading for Stonehaven, about 35 miles due south. We passed by Aberdeen, as this port has the reputation of being too busy with oil industry traffic to have much space for yachts. We were surprised to see very little seaborne traffic entering and leaving Aberdeen.though, but we did see lots of helicopters coming and going.

Our pleasant sailing breeze had been forecast as 'variable,', and to prove the point it changed round to being a head wind for the last few miles. We motored into the little harbour at Stonehaven.

The picture shows Bonita tied up to a fishing boat, herself up against the harbour wall, and Step Back in Time outside us. We had a look around the town. It's clear there is much more wealth here than at Peterhead, with more fancy shops etc. Presumably this comes from being an Aberdeen commuter area as, unlike Peterhead, there seems to be no heavy industry. Peterhead has many businesses servicing a large fishing fleet, whereas in Stonehaven the fishing boats seem to be few, small and old. Peterhead has however invested in facilities to attract yachtsmen, whereas the facilities at Stonehaven are fairly basic. We did however find a reasonable quality restaurant close to the quay.