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37-471: Peterhead Bay is a large remote industrial tidal 120° facing coastal embayment , located next to the planned community , commercial fishing and ship building town of Peterhead in the Presbytery of Deer , Buchan , Aberdeenshire , and is in the most easternmost point in mainland Scotland . The bay lies to the south of the town, forming a large natural harbour. It was enclosed by breakwaters , to turn

74-552: A bight . There are various ways in which bays can form. The largest bays have developed through plate tectonics . As the super-continent Pangaea broke up along curved and indented fault lines, the continents moved apart and left large bays; these include the Gulf of Guinea , the Gulf of Mexico , and the Bay of Bengal , which is the world's largest bay. Bays also form through coastal erosion by rivers and glaciers . A bay formed by

111-502: A broad, flat fronting terrace". Bays were significant in the history of human settlement because they provided easy access to marine resources like fisheries . Later they were important in the development of sea trade as the safe anchorage they provide encouraged their selection as ports . The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines a bay as a well-marked indentation in

148-517: A glacier is a fjord . Rias are created by rivers and are characterised by more gradual slopes. Deposits of softer rocks erode more rapidly, forming bays, while harder rocks erode less quickly, leaving headlands . Longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from circa 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat

185-630: A major oil and gas port that began servicing the offshore oil and gas industry in 1973, principally because of the deep water harbour and the short steaming time to the oil fields. It was found out that the Scottish Secretary of State had responsibility for the harbour, in an 1886 act, that prohibited development in the harbour, except as a Haven of Refuge. A bill was introduced in May 1972 permitting other uses. The Scottish Office and Sidlaw Industries, an Aberdeen company made an agreement to lease

222-436: A stream anchor or a kedge into position so that the ship may be pulled out of harbour or away from a hazard. As well as dropping the anchor in position, the longboat would often be used for weighing (raising) the anchor after use. To do this, a windlass was usually fitted amidships and a davit in the stern (or sometimes the bow) to provide a fair lead from the buoy rope or cable to the windlass. A substantial degree of buoyancy

259-413: Is an arm of Hudson Bay in northeastern Canada . Some large bays, such as the Bay of Bengal and Hudson Bay, have varied marine geology . The land surrounding a bay often reduces the strength of winds and blocks waves . Bays may have as wide a variety of shoreline characteristics as other shorelines. In some cases, bays have beaches , which "are usually characterized by a steep upper foreshore with

296-685: Is approximately 1500 ft long. The north breakwater is built of granite which is 18 metres wide and 14 metres deep. Vessels up to 96,000 tonnes have been accommodated on the breakwater. The following are the different areas that are part of the harbour facilities within Peterhead Bay: Bay A bay can be the estuary of a river, such as the Chesapeake Bay , an estuary of the Susquehanna River . Bays may also be nested within each other; for example, James Bay

333-615: The Mediterranean trade. Associated industries such as rope and nail makers were present in Peterhead to support the shipbuilding industries. In the 17th century, most shipping built, was for Greenland whale fishing. A typical whaling ship would be fitted out at a cost between £8000-£10000, each with between six and seven boats with six men in each, with lances and ropes for catching the whale. Vessels were built for common fishing for cod, and other fishing around Barra Head , and off

370-417: The bay for some time. Two guns from the south battery were fired upon her, which forced the privateer to withdraw, outside the range of the guns. During the night, the privateer shott her longboat, with a design to attack ship in the harbour. The longboat came close to the harbour, attacking the guard upon the pier head, with small arms fire returned so briskly, that forced the longboat to withdraw. The next day,

407-533: The bay. Keith Inch was formerly an island, originally separated from the mainland and contained of Abbey of Deer . At streamtide, water ran from the north harbour to the south. It carried a fishing village before Peterhead existed. A large amount of soil and rubble was applied to connect the island to the mainland in 1739. A castle stood on the south side of Keith Inch, built in the 16th century by George Earl Marischal . A small fort and guardhouse were also built, and contained 7 brass cannon, which were retrieved from

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444-404: The beginning of King William's War in 1688, a French privateer of 24 guns, opened fire on the harbour and town, causing considerable damage to the town and harbour, including blowing off the pocket of a woman from her side, while she was standing in her own shop door. The privateer plundered the town of sheep and cattle. A lack of gunpowder in the town at the time, meant that only two cannon in

481-500: The boat when collecting drinking water. Ship's boats were often used offensively, either on their own or when their parent ships were in action. The longboat usually had the largest passenger carrying capacity out of a ship's boats. Longboats were used by both warships and merchant ships. A longboat was fitted so that it could be propelled either by oars or by sail. The oars were double-banked - with two oarsmen on each thwart, each using an oar on their own side. The usual sailing rig

518-435: The coast of Norway and Spain . Ships were later built for export of fish, butter, cheese, grain, and non-consumables such as granite . Imports included coal and iron. In its earliest days, in the mid-16th century, the island Keith Inch in the bay, was a rendezvous for Dutch fisherman, who traveled the bay to catch Cod and Ling . The whaling years at Peterhead Bay, were between 1788 and 1893. By 1840, Peterhead harbour

555-408: The coastline, whose penetration is in such proportion to the width of its mouth as to contain land-locked waters and constitute more than a mere curvature of the coast. An indentation, however, shall not be regarded as a bay unless its area is as large as (or larger than) that of the semi-circle whose diameter is a line drawn across the mouth of that indentation — otherwise it would be referred to as

592-505: The deep water inlet, and is specifically used for the oil and gas industry. The Harbours of Peterhead service the fishing industry and bulk cargo industries. The harbour has two massive breakwaters , enclosing an area of approximately 300 acres in Peterhead bay. The south breakwater, about 2700 ft long, was constructed in 1892–1912 using convict labour from the prison at HM Prison Peterhead . The north breakwater, constructed 1912–56,

629-459: The fort were loaded to ensure the privateer did not land in the town. Later a privateer followed a vessel belonging to Borrowstouness (Bo'ness), which had to run to shore in the bay. After being assisted by the people of Peterhead by using small arms fire, the privateer was forced to withdraw. A similar incident occurred later, when an English ship from the Virginia ( Virginia ) was chased into

666-449: The handling of a ship or her guns, and the weight of a longboat could put excessive strain on the masts and yards which were used for hoisting the boat in and out of the water. Smaller ships might carry a yawl instead of a longboat. The sizes of longboats in the Royal Navy in circa 1705 were recorded in a shipwright's notebook as follows. The Royal Navy started to replace longboats with launches from November 1780. This instruction

703-576: The harbour quay, and dredging began in January 1972, to increase the depth of the harbour areas. By 1973, a large investment was made to improve the harbour facilities and to facilitate the building of a gas and oil terminal. Oil and gas from the North Sea flow through Peterhead Bay. Immediately south of the bay is Sandford Bay . On the North Harbour lies the former island of Keith Inch where

740-409: The harbour, and the towns people and the fort batteries were utilised to force it to withdraw. A later attack occurred when two privateers, shott [lowered] their longboats with an intent to sack the town, but the fort's 18-pounders were used to drive them off. A Leith ship heading to Norway took refuge in the bay, when another privateer attacked them. The 18-pounders were used so effectively, that

777-487: The middle of the 17th century it became increasingly more common to carry the longboat on board, though not universally. In 1697 some British ships in chase of a French squadron cut adrift the longboats they were towing in an attempt to increase their speed and engage with the enemy. The longboat was used for transporting heavy weights. The two most important of these were casks of drinking water, and an anchor and its cable. The supply of water to (particularly) sailing ships

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814-538: The natural harbour into a marina and port, that is now owned by the Port of Peterhead. It was here, on 25 December 1715, that the old pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart , landed and resided at a house at the south end of Longate , owned by Mr James, and being visited by his friends, including George Keith , the Earl Marischal . In 1593 the construction of Peterhead's first harbour, Port Henry basin, began in

851-593: The north breakwater is anchored. Further north of the bay is the South Head rocks, forming the east most promontory. From that point on, the land curves in a north by north west direction to the North Head rock promontory. The small Almanythie Creek flows into the North Sea at that point. The port consists of two areas, which are Peterhead Bay Harbour and the Harbours of Peterhead. Peterhead Bay Harbour comprises

888-431: The original estimate. On 11 October 2010, construction began on a new deep water harbour, in a £33.5 million pound project, called Smith Quay In November 2015, a £49 million pound project was undertaken to build a new large state of the art fish market and inner harbour reconstruction. During the 17th and 18th centuries, both shipping in the harbour and the town of Peterhead itself, were prone to attacks by pirates. At

925-524: The privateer had to tack to escape. McKenzie, the master of a ship from Inverness , was chased by a privateer into the North Bay when the 18-pounders were again brought into use to drive the privateer about. At another time, Captain Alex Taylor of Bo'ness arrived in the bay, and was attacked from the sea in the 1780s, by a notorious English pirate and privateer, Daniel Fall , who had been plaguing

962-416: The privateer still continued to anchor at the other side of the bay. The townspeople decided to load their biggest 18-pounder gun with an extraordinary charge of powder and fired on the ship, forcing her to withdraw with some damage, which was attested by one Patrick Cruickshank, a Peterhead man, who was being ransomed aboard the vessel at the time. In 1704, when Admiral Baron de Pointis (Admiral Ponti in

999-492: The south harbour, which was originally called Sackit-hive . In 1808, civil engineer William Wallace was appointed, on the recommendation of Scottish civil engineer John Rennie to build the north harbour. Rennie had prepared a report in February 1806 on improving the harbour, including alterations to the existing south harbour, creation of a new dock and north harbour. The report was endorsed by Thomas Telford . Wallace's task

1036-583: The vernacular) attacked and burnt Dutch vessels up the east coast, at least 100 vessels were protected in the bay and the guns of the Fort. Scarcely a week passed during King William's War or Queen Anne's War when ships were saved by fleeing to the bay. Shipbuilding in Peterhead Bay has been undertaken since the early 17th century. Vessels were built for the Western India , American , Baltic and

1073-568: The vessel St Michael of the Spanish Armada which foundered and wrecked on the coast, close to the bay. The Meikle battery, shaped as a half moon, commanded the South harbour, and was stocked with 4 x 12 pound guns and 4 x 18 pound guns and was built around 1780. The Little Battery which was built in 1784 to command the entrance the bay, and occasionally borrowed guns from the larger battery. In 1773, civil engineer John Smeaton built

1110-591: Was a keen amateur zoologist who made some important contributions to Arctic biology, giving an account of whale behaviour and history that were reported by the Zoological Society of London . He also made some anatomical diagrams. Gray estimated that Peterhead whalers had killed 4,195 whales between 1788 and 1879. Peterhead harbour now operates a large whitefish fishery fleet and is the largest whitefish port in Britain. Peterhead bay and harbour became

1147-452: Was implemented for all ships of 20 guns and above being built or coming in for repair. There are earlier instances of individual warships requesting a launch instead of a longboat, with several examples in the 1740s. The advantages of a launch were ease of use in carrying water and stores and a greater number of passengers being accommodated. However a longboat was considered to be more seaworthy. Longboats could be found in merchant service after

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1184-504: Was needed in the stern (or bow) to lift a heavy anchor. Other heavy weights carried by a longboat included guns - either as armament for the boat or simply to transport to or from the ship. Special slides were developed for armed boats, so that the gun could be traversed. These would also allow the gun to be slid down into a lower position when not in use, to improve the stability of the boat. Boats were regularly armed, even if only for defensive purposes. Swivel guns may be needed to protect

1221-403: Was single masted, with a gaff mainsail and two headsails - the jib was set on a bowsprit and the staysail to the stemhead. This is a cutter rig , not to be confused with the ship's boat termed a cutter . A ship would usually carry the largest longboat it could store on deck. Consequently their size varied depending on the size of the parent ship. However, too large a boat could interfere with

1258-476: Was so vital that all the boats of a ship would have some capability to carry water, but the longboat had the greatest capacity. The casks carried by a large boat would be "leaguers", which held 150 imperial gallons (680 L). These would be laid in the bilges between the thwarts, filling most of the bottom of the boat and making a load of several tonnes. Anchor handling was of special importance before tugs became widely available. A boat would be used to carry either

1295-479: Was the major whaling port of the Britain with over half the whaling fleet sailing from the bay. David Gray Jr , who was part of a well known Peterhead whaling family, was the most successful captain of Peterhead's whaling fleet, starting work at the age of 14, with a trip to Greenlands whaling grounds. During 43 seasons of whaling, he captured 197 whales and 168,000 seals, becoming known as the Prince of Whalers . Gray

1332-460: Was to deepen the harbour, create a quay wall on the west pier and use any waste material to create a new embankment. More than 39000 cubic yards were removed from the harbour, much from solid rock. The harbour was deepened by 6 feet and a 500 feet embankment formed. Under Wallace's supervision, the main contract was completed in March 1812. £13,000 had been spent, on the contract of works, £6,000 more on

1369-498: Was usually the largest boat carried. In the early period of use, a ship's longboat was often so large that it could not be carried on board, and was instead towed. For instance, a survey of 1618 of Royal Navy ship's boats listed a 52 ft 4 in (16 m) longboat used by the First Rate Prince , a ship whose length of keel was 115 ft (35 m). This could lead to the longboat being lost in adverse weather. By

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