Hoy, the haar, and the Hamnavoe...

An Orcadian late summer afternoon this year, and scenes like this turn the mind to thoughts of Norse gods and Valhalla. With a ship of older vintage, this could have been a still from an as yet unseen Led Zeppelin video.

But the ship in question this time was the MV Hamnavoe, the replacement on the Scrabster - Stromness crossing of the Pentland firth for the late lamented St.Ola, which was taken off the route in 2003.

As the afternoon sailing rounded the northernmost point of the island of Hoy, the Hamnavoe met the haar (cold sea fog, or 'sea fret') coming the other way, and was slowly engulfed amid much booming from the ship's foghorn.

With the image duly recorded for posterity, I reached for my double-neck Gibson and violin bow....

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BAH-23090 Hoy, the Haar, and the Hamnavoe

(You can see a bigger version of this image in the Gallery: Scotland page on this site)