Lizzie May -Dolphin watching by pilot cutter in the Moray Firth

Voyage Number	LM1001
Voyage price	£675 for 5 days
Voyage Dates	02/04/2010 - 10:00 - 07/04/2010 - 15:00
Depart from	Leith, Edinburgh
Finishing Port	Inverness
Voyage area	Scotland
Voyage type	Adventure Voyage , Wildlife Voyages
Vessel	Lizzie May
Availability	Fully booked

Voyage Description

Firth to Firth

Sail up the East Coast of Scotland this Easter on a mile building and port visitng voyage of history.

Joining in Leith the historic port of Edinburgh and depart down the Firth of Forth. Stopping on route in fishing harbours and ports from small villages to towns and cities. Possible ports are Dundee in the Firth of Tay, Arbroath famous for its Arbroath smokies, delicious smoked haddock.

Further up the coast is Stonehaven a historic fishing harbour and Aberdeen the Granite City and home to many North Sea oil support vessels. As you round the north east tip of Aberdeenshire there are more famous fishing harbours like Peterhead and Fraserburgh.

Moray Firth leads to Inverness and there are often has dolphins to welcome sailors into the capital of the Highlands Inverness. 

Lizzie May 5 -Day East Coast - ITINERARY

Lizzie May’s skipper will explain the plan for the next few days, dependant on weather and tides. After safety briefings, you will be introduced to the traditional sailing skills need to sail Lizzie May. Apart from her barrel windlass there are no winches on board – just blocks and tackles.

DAY ONE Join 10am

Joining in Leith at 10am gives you time to travel from Edinburg but not much further afield. The skipper will give you an introduction to Lizzie May and a safety briefing before setting off that afternoon or evening. The route is out in to the Firth of Forth but where you stop is dependent on many factors and the skipper will have many places to choose from.

Days two, three and four

This will be the period when you get a chance to explore some of the historic ports and harbours on Scotland’s East Coast. Which ones you call in at depends on the weather, progress made and how much further there is to go. The skippers decision is final in such matters.

Day Five

The voyage ends in Inverness and unfortunately you have to leave Lizzie May to get ready for her next crew. Leaving by 3pm.

Leith, Edinburgh

Leith is the historic port of Edinburgh. In the photo above you can see the old town surrounding the river before it enters the modern docks. The Tall Ships Races have started from this port.

Bus to Leith

To Leith from Edinburgh is about a 20 minute bus ride and there are frequent buses.

Getting to Leith By Road
 

From the South and East head up the A1 into Scotland and as you get close to Edinburgh follow signs for the A199 to Leith.

From the South and West head up into Scotland on the M6 and A74(M) and when you get to Junction 13 take the A73 to Edinburgh. Once near Edinburgh follow the ring road eastward until you see signs for Leith on the A199 as above.

By Coach

National Express

By Train

Raileasy

By Plane

Accommodation
There are lots of places to stay in Edinburgh Visit Scotland has a good local directory.
 

Inverness

This is the last city as you head north in Scotland.

It is ideally placed for access down the Caledonian Canal to the West Coast of Scotland and into the glens out towards Torridon. Further north you will find Wick and eventualy John O'Groats.

It has good rail, coach and air connections and the A9 will take you all the way back to Edinburgh.

It has good restaurants and local accommodation.

Lizzie May sister ship to Eve of St Mawes sailing together in the Fal with St Mawes in the background.

Click here for all Lizzie May Voyages 2010

Lizzie May—Specifications

Lizzie May was built new in 1999 by Luke Powell of Working Sail using traditional construction techniques to create a wooden pilot cutter with real character. Her frames are oak with larch planking and hardwood deck. Lizzie is 42ft on deck with a long 13ft bowsprit and lofty topmast. Her beam of 12ft gives her plenty of flat deck space and her low profile coach house is barely visible so all onlookers see is a traditional boat with lovely sheer lines.

The coach house also provides outward facing seating so you wont miss the scenery. All the rigging is ash blocks and tackles so you wont be sitting down for long.

There are no winches on board so everybody keeps warm and active pulling together. Sailing in Scotland requires a good anchor and true to her working boat origins Lizzie May has a barrel windlass to raise the anchor.

The vessel weighs 18 ton with a long deep keel—ideal for open sea sailing. The large mainsail can be slab reefed and even the staysail can be reefed in strong winds, so with a storm jib too she can make the most of the wilder days.. On light wind days she can glide up the lochs and narrows with a large flying jib and gaff topsail. 

Below Decks

Below decks is very light with loads of character and varnished wood. There are two single berths in the forepeak, three berths in the saloon and a double berth in the starboard quarter with limited headroom (back of the boat). Please remember this is only a 42ft boat with an elegant raked stern so spaces are communal, there are a few low beams and limited storage.

Lizzie has a lovely oak table, a small heater in the saloon, hot and cold water and WC, galley and modern navigational equipment. She carries all safety equipment required for her commercial coding under the MCA (Marine Coastguard Agency) and licensed to sail offshore up to 60 miles from a safe haven.

Lizzie May Skipper Jerry & Skipper- Chef Laurie

Jerry Headley bought Lizzie May in 2007- with the intention of setting up his own charter company, after a rather life changing voyage to Paimpol Shanty Festival on 'Eve of St Mawes.' He was not the only Eve crew on that voyage to find themselves owning a classic wooden boat. (Classical Guitarist James Boyd bought classic yacht Concord - currently nominated for Classic Boat Magazine Restoration of the Year)
 

Jerry's enthusiasm for pilot cutters shone through and it was evident he would make a sociable and relaxed charter skipper. Classic Sailing were thrilled to work with Jerry to establish Eve's  'sister ship' on the West Coast of Scotland, near Jerry's home.  Either Jerry or Laurie Mills will usually be your skipper on Lizzie May.

Skipper Laurie is also a chef. When he is not on Lizzie May he has his own company cooking private dinner parties and performing chef cooking demonstrations at farmers markets with fresh organic produce. Laurie is a former restauranteur and made his name running an award winning restaurant in Royal Deeside.

Photo: Jerry - mid English Channel on Eve's bowsprit  2007

What to bring

Boats have very limited stowage space so please limit yourself to one soft collapsible bag or rucksack (not a suitcase).
Bring a sleeping bag (we provide pillows and pillow cases).
We can supply waterproof jackets and trousers but you may prefer to bring your own if you have them.
A hat for sun or cold weather.
Swimsuit, towel and sun cream.
Flat shoes with a good grip e.g. trainers or deck shoes. Sailing boots or wellies as the sea can wash over the deck (an alternative to boots in the summer is another pair of trainers in case the first pair get wet).
A small rucksack is useful for going ashore.
Camera, binoculars, sketchbook and a good read.
Any medication, spare spectacles, seasick tablets (check which brand with your doctor if you are on any medication)

RYA Cruising Logbook if you are keeping a record of your experience for qualification purposes.

Musical instruments are most welcome.
 

Click here for all Lizzie May Voyages 2010