Rex Home port Shetland Scotland

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

After meeting Rex and sox on here I decided to pull out the Atlas and see exactly where you developed your sense of humor. God what a remote and beautiful part of the world Shetland Scotland is. I took the liberty, Rex I hope you don't mind of putting together some images I have scoured on the Internet. Rex this is truly an aria I would to visit one day stunningly beautiful, maybe you can add to this thread.
http://www.wildlife.shetland.co.uk/pics/globe.gif

http://www.bbinscotland.co.uk/maps/shetland.gif http://www.worldtour-of-scotland.com/tour/images-tour/3107-shetland-air2.jpg http://www.hp.europe.de/kd-europtravel/shetland/sunset2.jpg http://www.scottish-heritage.co.nz/graphics/Crofthouse.jpg http://www.thu.no/shetland/shet0033.jpg

About Shetland
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shetland is an archipelago of over one hundred islands. Despite being a group of islands it is always referred to as Shetland, or the Shetland Isles, never the Shetlands. Although part of Norway for over 500 years, and still proud of its Norse traditions, Shetland is part of the United Kingdom and zoogeographically Shetland is the northernmost extension of the British Isles. Most of the islands lie north of 60 0 latitude. The latitude of Lerwick (the main town)* is 60 0 09 ‘ N, longitude 1 0 09 ‘ W. Out Stack, the most northerly piece of land in Britain off the north coast of Unst, lies at 60 0 51 ‘ N and 1 0 58 ‘ W.*

At their closest, Shetland’s nearest neighbours are the archipelago of Orkney, 70 km south-west (ignoring Fair Isle halfway in between which is politically, culturally and zoogeographically part of Shetland), Mainland Scotland 140 km south-west, Norway 275 km to the east and the Faeroe Islands 300 km to the north-east. However, parts of Shetland are nearer to Norway than they are to Mainland Scotland.

The islands range in size from Mainland, which accounts for over half the land area, to hundreds of tiny uninhabited stacks and holms. There are currently 14 inhabited islands. Four are connected to Mainland by road bridges, namely East Burra, West Burra, Trondra and Muckle Roe, while a bridge also connects the two islands of Out Skerries. Vaila and Noss are both seasonally inhabited. South Havra and Uyea are the only other islands to have been inhabited within the last century.

The islands group is relatively long and narrow and the coastline is highly indented (the total length estimated to be 1450 kilometres), while nowhere in Shetland is more than 6 kilometres from the sea. Petta Water, south of Voe, is generally accredited with holding the distinction of being the furthest point from the sea. The western coastline is particularly indented and provides a wide range of nesting and feeding areas for birds - seacliffs, offshore stacks and skerries, holms, small islands, deep geos, extensive voes or inlets, rocky shores, shingle shores and sandy beaches. The highest cliffs in Britain are found in Shetland, on Foula where they rise 1220 feet above the sea.

The climate is relatively mild due to the influence of the North Atlantic Drift sea current which is an extension of the Gulf Stream, and the average rainfall is about the same as Devon. During summer there are almost 24 hours of daylight and it is possible to read by natural light at midnight, a time Shetlanders call the 'Simmer Dim'.

Mainland holds the majority of the human population, followed by Yell, Unst, Whalsay, Bressay and Fetlar, although several other islands also have small communities. Travel between the islands is facilitated by several roll-on/roll-off car ferries per day to the major islands (although prior booking is recommended) and almost daily ferries and inter-island flights to most of the other inhabited islands.

[ 03-08-2003, 03:38 PM: Message edited by: Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ) ]

[Rex Fearnehough]

Okay Joe. I'll start on it tomorrow.
A couple of things though, the last picture in the series that you posted, is in the south of the little island of Bressay where I live. That is a dangerous gorge, but more on it tomorrow.
http://centralpets.com/critter_images/mammals/dogs/DOG_0000080_20011006150356.jpg
This is an almost carbon copy of Sox after she's been on a seal hunt.

[Rocky]

Curious Rex, you have telephone cable? Or satellite?

Closest I ever got was Iona in the Hebrides. Now I live in the most densely populated state in the US and feel isolated. Don't you ever feel cut off from the world up there?

[ken mcclure]

Ahhhhh. Now look up the Isle of Lewis. That's whence my clan hails - MacLeod of Lewis. And I WILL get there someday.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

All day I waited for your input Rex and nothing :(

[Rocky]

He's being mum bout it Joe. Maybe the wind died down and the power went out.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Na he is too busy down in the bilge scolding Donn

[Dale R. Hamilton]

You got me interested too Rex- Very beautiful, serene. But whats it cost to live there- I know the tax structure for the UK is hardly enviable- ant different where you live?

And while I being so curious- how does one make a living there? Sorry if I'm too nosey- but in moments of high stress I often fantasize about what it must be like to live in the Islands.

[Rex Fearnehough]

Shetland. So I have been asked to tell you about my home.
First I must tell you that I am not a Shetlander, I'm not even a Scot.
I'm an Englishman.
History.
Believed to have been inhabited from 3,500 BC, the late Stone Age.
Pytheas sailed around Britain in 3rd century BC and started a huge problem by naming a place, Ultima Thule, so Shetland along with 5 or 6 other places have tried to prove that they are in Thule.
The first recorded history begins with the Norsemen.
Of the race that preceded the Norsemen nothing is really known.
Traditionally it is believed that two distinct races inhabited the islands here. Little hill men and the Picts or Pechten. The Picts are said to have lived underground and I see the sense in this because we don't have trees.
Rant. I believe that the name Pict is a mistranslation.
Pictish graves very often have combs as grave goods or depictions of combs on grave stones and the Latin for comb is Pecten.
Unrant.
"The Orkneyinga Saga" carries the most references to Shetland, or Hjaltland as it was known during the Norse period.
Various Earls subjugated Shetland from the Norse to the Scots.
I live on an island named Bressay, it is approx a 1/2 mile east of Lerwick and it is absolutely jam packed with history.
My hobby amongst other things is the history of Bressay. So that is what you are going to get. I will where necessary also give conventional history.
Language.
Probably Celtic originally, then Norse or Norse/Gael. Now english with some of it's own words and grammar.
Words.
Aa --- to owe
Aamos --- a promised gift to someone on condition that a wish
is granted to the giver.
aidge o a time --- occasionally.
aer --- oar.
aeshin-head --- top of a side wall of house inside roof.
aff-bidden --- forbidding.
amp --- state of anxious expectancy.
antrin --- occasional.
ase --- ashes.
atween da bed --- in a semi - invalid condition.
an da fire
aze --- blazing fire.
weather.
Temperate. the winds and rain are the problems. Above I mentioned the lack of trees. If you sow seed here and the wind picks up, the seed ends up in either Norway or Canada. See how many trees they have. A lot of them are ours.
If you want to ask questions as I go along please do. It's the only way that I can tell if I am boring you or not.
There are some question there already but I don't know how to get from there to here and back again.
I'll answer them tomorrowish.
Good grief that was 5000yrs of history in one post.
http://opkikkertje.nl/smilies/februari/knuppel.gif

[rbgarr]

A while ago my wife and I drove ourselves all the way around the shoreline of Scotland, even taking the ferry to the Orkneys. Our favorite place was a tiny harbor in the NW of Scotland ,the village of Scourie. A wonderful movie, 'Local Hero', gives a flavor of the area.

[Rocky]

Can you sail to Norway or Scotland? Dyin to know!

[Rex Fearnehough]

Once I get the boat finished and I am confident in it. I could see it happening.
The boat is only an open 16ft Shetland model and the weather is capricious to say the least.
http://www.leejoo.nl/animated/onthewater/leo_Man_dobbert.gif

[Alan D. Hyde]

Read The Shetland Bus.

A great true story.

Much of which takes place on the waters between the Shetlands and Norway, in wooden boats.

Alan

[ 03-14-2003, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Alan D. Hyde ]

[mmd]

(North Sea) "weather is capricious to say the least." -Rex F.

You, sir, are a master at understatement. :D

[Rocky]

Wow, Rex the Red, that's cool! Actually on sober reflection is sounds like a good way to never be heard from again.

[ 03-14-2003, 07:02 PM: Message edited by: Rocky ]

[Rex Fearnehough]

It may seem strange but it is possible to sail round the coast of Shetland from the North Sea to the Atlantic in a few hours, but it is easier to cross the road to the Atlantic pulling your boat 3mins.
It's at a place called Mavis Grind you can see where it is on the map, but it is not named.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

OK let me get this ya got no trees on the island ? So let me ask ya Rex how do ya build a boat ??? :rolleyes: :eek: :rolleyes: :eek:
North Sea :eek:
http://stommel.tamu.edu/~baum/paleo/seamaps/north-sea.gif

[ 03-15-2003, 11:05 AM: Message edited by: Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ) ]

[mmd]

I'm sorry, Joe, but I can't resist...

...the same way you do in the densely forested bowels of Lower Manhattan! :D

[pjwalsh]

Rex,

I am interested in your 18' Shetland boat. In 95' I built a 14' dingy that was based on the Shetland boats. Paul Johnson designed it as a tender for the 36' Venus he was building at the time, and I took advantage of the molds. Paul's original cruising boat was an 18' Shetland boat that he decked over and went trans-Atlantic in sometime during the 1960's.

I still have the 14' boat and have been thinking of fitting it with a sailing rig - what kind of sailplan is typically used there?

cheers,

Peter

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Originally posted by mmd:
I'm sorry, Joe, but I can't resist...

...the same way you do in the densely forested bowels of Lower Manhattan! :D We got trees :D
http://integraonline.com/~nancyb/T_low_gamma_c.jpg

[mmd]

Yeah, Joe, but I bet somebody would be mighty disgruntled if'n ya cut one or two o' those scrawny things down an' started rippin' 'em into toothp..., I mean, planks. ;)

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Originally posted by mmd:
Yeah, Joe, but I bet somebody would be mighty disgruntled if'n ya cut one or two o' those scrawny things down an' started rippin' 'em into toothp..., I mean, planks. ;) How about this one. Look it already comes with running lights
tongue.gif
http://www.vonwentzel.net/Pictures/02-01-NYC-Visit/DSCN6965-pp.jpg

[ 03-15-2003, 03:16 PM: Message edited by: Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ) ]

[mmd]

Nice tree, Joe, but I suspect it ain't growin' no more. This has been fun, but methinks that we have stolen your thread, Joe, and in the process cut poor Rex right out of the dialogue. :(

Rex, how about a bit more on Shetland history? I, for one, am interested (really!). Were the islands fortified during WWII, and was there a defensive garrison deployed there? How difficult is regular transport of goods and people to and from the islands currently? Do you get much snow cover in the wintertime or is the Gulf Stream effect strongly felt there as it is in the west of mainland Great Britain?

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

I agree MMD. This was only a test. Now back to our regularly scheduled programing, already in progress. :D
http://www.sub-tv.co.uk/pics/SkyDigital/ITN_bars_16_7_2000.jpg

[ 03-15-2003, 03:54 PM: Message edited by: Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ) ]

[Johannah]

More, please, sir. :cool:

Oops, cross posting again.
Sir=Rex
Not you, Joe. :D

[ 03-15-2003, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: Johannah ]

[Rex Fearnehough]

Now to try to answer some questions.
Rocky we have normal communications up here, all the Tv and normal amenities. You also asked if I felt cut off from the world up here, the answer is yes and it's great. I live alone with Sox, I was married but it didn't work out and after too many failed affairs I realised that I'm a failure at relationships. So I became a semi hermit..
Dale the cost of living is high up here everything has to be shipped to us, You can also ask any questions you like, never hold back with me.
during stormy weather we do at times run short of goods. I was told when I arrived up here that you cannot starve in Shetland and it's true.
The people are taciturn but friendly, Ive said it before on the forum that if I am not seen for a while someone will make an excuse to see if I am alright. They worry about invading privacy but they know what is happening. The work up here is fishing, fish processing, crofting and oil..
The fishing at the moment has dropped back due to legislation and the fact that we were overfishing. We in Britain learned nothing from the Grand Banks collapse. The old syndrome that it could not happen to us.
Crofting or small farming, mostly of sheep, it brings an added income and also helps keep the table full. They are not a poor people but they are great at improvising. I'm retired of which I am glad, I just don't have the time to have a job.
We have pretty good weather never really hot but also never really cold, but the winds are a problem. Anything from the south I hate. The air is fresh though, it is changed by the wind every two minutes.
The Immerman current comes over from the gulf and passes us keeping the weather temperate.
mmd, that about the trees in the bowels of Manhattan was hilarious.
The trees that are up here are small and they all bend in the same direction. Often we will get gales in May/June and the salt laden winds damage any new unprotected shoots. I am at the moment growing some trees, willows do grow well here,( including ground willow,) but they never grow very big. Now while I am on about trees. Lovely little Jo, I am trying to grow a Sitka Alder it's doubled in size in two years and seems to be healthy, I have it in a container and it is now around four feet tall so I will risk it in the ground this autumn.
Peter the sailing boats are mostly for racing around the harbour and they are Bermudan rigged. We have a restored gaff rigged Fyfie in use. If you want to see it type in The Swan Shetland it has it's own website.
Joe most of the wooden boats up here, consist of bits of pleasure boats that come up here for jaunts. We are pirates.
I have not edited this as it is too long for me to read. I hope you can make sense of it.
I will eventually get into a rythm.
Cigarette time.
http://www.gifs.net/animate/galmove.gif

[ 03-15-2003, 07:43 PM: Message edited by: Rex Fearnehough ]

[Rex Fearnehough]

pjwalsh, I forgot you but here goes. My boat is a 16'Shetland model. I did want to rig it traditional with a lug but it would have been impractical singlehanded, until I'm back in practise again, so, I'm going to rig it sliding gunter, the other consideration is my age. I'm not as old as Joe and probably fitter but my bones don't always want to go in the direction my brain tells them to.

[imported_Steven Bauer]

Rex, have you read The Voyages of the Aegre? It's the story of a 10,000 mile long voyage in a 21' Shetland boat. The author (Nick Grainger)had the whole thing on the web but recently took it all down to persue more traditional publishing methods. But this guy has the first few sections on his web site:
Aegre link (http://www.perfectpocketyacht.com/page65.html)

He's now planning a trip (with John Ridgeway, who rowed accross the Atlantic in the 60's) to build awareness of the plight of the albatross in the Southern Ocean. They will travel from Scotland to South Georgia Island and Back! I think they have BBC backing for this trip.

www.savethealbatross.org (http://www.savethealbatross.org)
From the Crazybird Yawl website:

The 'Save the Albatross Voyage' is being undertaken to raise public awareness of the plight of the albatross in the Southern Ocean, to lead to activity which will stop the needless slaughter of the albatross.

It is estimated that up to 100,000 albatrosses are being needlessly slaughtered by illegal longliners in the Southern Ocean. 17 of the 24 different types of albatross are now endangered. This is completely preventable.

Leaving the North of Scotlandac in late July, we will sail to Cape Town via the Canary Islands and Tristan da Cunha. Then on to Australia via Kerguelen. Then to NZ and the Chatham Islands, then on to Cape Horn and Patagonia. Then the Falklands, South Georgia, and perhaps back to Tristan, before heading back up the Atlantic to Scotland. We expect to be back in Scotland, completing the circumnavigation, about May 2004

Steven

[ 03-15-2003, 10:14 PM: Message edited by: Steven.Bauer ]

[John Gearing]

Couldn't resist this shot of Bressay from the air??

http://www.shetland.gov.uk/splan/graphics/arial.jpg

[ 03-17-2003, 08:15 PM: Message edited by: John Gearing ]

[Alan D. Hyde]

That's beautiful, John.

Thanks.

Alan

[skuthorp]

Thank you. My mob hail from Uist off the west Scottish coast. smile.gif

[Mrleft8]

Yeah.... But where are the pictures of the ponies?.....

[John Gearing]

Okay, good point. I deserve it for not checking! I deleted the red X and found this instead. Man, that sucker has big nostrils! I wouldn't want him to sneeze on me!

http://www.zetnet.co.uk/sigs/ponies/graphics/olympus.jpg

[ 03-31-2003, 08:44 PM: Message edited by: John Gearing ]

[Mrleft8]

Nice picture of a little red X in a box John... Is that what those rare Hartford ponies look like? I've only heard about them... never seen one! :D

[John Gearing]

Hartford ponies look like this..... ;)

http://www.fordvehicles.com/images/2003/EN/photo/cars/mst_pgextmain2.jpg

[Mrleft8]

OMG! :eek: TINA TURNER turned into a Shetland pony!