On May 23, 2025, after leaving the massive port of Southampton, the MS Vista sailed east through the Solent Strait, between the south coast the England and the Isle of Wight. The next port was to be Edinburgh, Scotland, a 36-hour voyage to the north. Unfortunately, when the ship arrived there in the Firth of Forth, on the morning of May 25th, there was a 2-meter swell and a 30 MPH wind. They were supposed to go ashore by tender and with those sea conditions, it was impossible to do so. As a result, they scrubbed Edinburgh off the itinerary, turned around and headed back out to sea. This was very unfortunate but the decision was made for the right reason, namely the safety of Mrs. Gym and the other fair ladies aboard.
When they nixed the Edinburgh visit, that gave the Vista more time to make the next stop in the Orkney Islands. The Vista could therefore throttle back the engines and give everyone a more comfortable ride in the windy conditions. In the fullness of time, on May 26, the ship tied up to the dock in Kirkwall, The capital of the Orkney Islands. The Vista had thus completed a trip up the entire eastern seaboard of the UK in less than 3 days.
Gym and his lovely companion got off the ship shortly after the gangplank was in place. They were going to check out several of the highlights of Mainland, Orkney, as follows:
1. The Orkneys are an Archeologists dream. Neolithic and Pictish sights have been discovered there and there are stone circles older than Stonehenge on the island. Gym and his fair bride checked these out;
2. Mary Queen of Scots' brother, Robert Stewart, the Earl of Orkney, built a castle on the island and although today, it is in need of renovation, it looked like it was once an upscale crib. Gym and Mrs. Gym saw this;
3. The dynamic duo split an egg salad sandwich in the town of Stromness. This seaside village has tons of character and the locals go out of their way to accommodate you;
4. Highland Park Scotch Whiskey is distilled here but Gym did not have time for a tasting; and,
4. The coolest thing that Gym enjoyed experiencing was seeing Scapa Flow. During both World Wars, this was where the Royal Navy set up shop. It is a natural, deep water harbour in the middle of the Orkney Islands that provided sheltered berthing for the Allied Atlantic fleet. There were two tragic events that happened there though. In 1919, almost a year after WW1 ended, the German caretaker crews scuttled the German High Seas Fleet in the harbour. Today, this is a popular diving spot to check out these ships. Then in 1939, a German U-Boat found its way into the harbour and sunk the battleship, Royal Oak with the loss of hundreds of young British sailors. Divers are prohibited from diving near this wreck because it is a war grave.
The guide on that day was Allison, a native Orcadian that was very proud of her heritage. Her great-grandfather left the islands to work in Canada for the Hudson's Bay Company. He made a fortune in the fur trade and returned to buy a farm near Kirkwall that the tour bus drove past. Today, her brother runs the farm which is just outside the Arcadian capital.
That night the ship sailed southeast towards the Hebrides.
Stay tuned!
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| The quaint little Stromness Hotel on Ferry Street in Stromness on Mainland Island |
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| Colourful fishing boats in Stromness harbour |
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| Tide is low |
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| Scape Flow is the resting place of dozens of WW1 German Navy vessels that were scuttled a year after the fighting stopped and the tragic wreck of the Royal Oak that was sunk in WW2 with the loss of 800 young British sailors |
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| Stoned of Stenness, a henge on Mainland Island Colourful That predates Stonehenge |
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| Some very unattractive but happy sheep |
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