The Area
The Area |
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| The coastline of the north coast of
Scotland and Orkney is some of the most inaccessible and dangerous coastline in the whole
of the UK search and rescue region. For most of the area there are no beach front roads and many of what roads that do exist are single track, making access to some stretches of shore impossible to reach without boat or helicopter. The Coastline is mainly remote and cliffy, particularly along the north coast of Scotland. Strong tides, overfalls, and eddies occur throughout the area but especially in and around Orkney. Within this area lies the Pentland Firth, one of the most dangerous stretches of water in the world. At its narrowest it is only 6 miles wide, with 2 channels each of about 3 miles in width. Spring tidal rates reach 12kts and extreme rates can top 16kts. Passage through the firth can be hazardous, especially when a strong wind opposes a spring tide. In such conditions, it is wise to shelter in the bays at either end of the firth and await transit until more favorable conditions exist. There are approximately 140 full Search and Rescue (SAR) incidents per year within Pentland District. One third of which could be characterised as serious. 45% of SAR incidents involve fishing vessels. Click on thumbnails for larger images
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Unusual or Suspicious
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