Leg 3 – Whitby to Edinburgh

1 Jul – Whitby to Seaham The prize for nicest port of call was pretty much a dead cert for Limehouse until we got to Whitby. Whitby was delightful – pleasantly touristy without too many kiss-me-quick cowboy hats and amusement arcades. The two must-haves are fish and chips and Whitby Jet. I hope Sue enjoyed the Jet! Seaham turned out to be another charming port of call. The original plan was to go to Hartlepool, but Sue saw the new marina at Seaham on Crimewatch (of all things) and reckoned it looked worth a visit. She was right. Outstandingly helpful marina staff, a lovely (if tiny marina), lots of very nice, new facilities – and just £15 a night for a 41 foot boat!

 

Daily statistics: we did 32.83 miles through the water and 35.5miles over the ground; a tide gain of 2.68 miles. Our running time was 8 hours, mainly under sail at a delightfully leisurely pace.

2 Jul – Seaham to Blyth

A short passage of around 20 miles from Seaham to Blyth. With a fresh SW wind, it was difficult to go slow enough and, under genoa alone, we were still doing 5 knots with a reef. We planned to anchor for lunch in Cullercoats Harbour but, after a very cautious entry, decided there simply was not enough water for comfort.

Our anchoring preparations had, however, revealed a problem with the windlass. Unusually, it raised the anchor just fine but refused to lower it. Once at Blyth (great parking, Mark) we spent an interesting afternoon convincing it to work . I think the mallet finally did it.

Blyth. Not immediately striking. A sort of post-apocalyptic look. But the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club was a revelation. Quite a Clubhouse…

Which now looks a bit more like this, pending a Lottery-funded refurbishment.

We enjoyed the hospitality enormously….

Daily statistics: we did 18.2 miles through the water and 20.6 miles over the ground; a tide gain of  2.4 miles. Our running time was 4 hours and 15 minutes, of which sailed for about  3 hours.

3 Jul – Blyth to Amble

Another short hop, during which we struggled to go as slow as we needed to! Navigating the Coquet channel and entering Amble needs a good rise of tide. We needed to do about 4 knots or less, even having left Blyth as late as 1045.

Tactics included anchoring off Newbiggen for lunch. The windlass worked faultlessly. However, picking up the tripping line proved a challenge which resulted in bruised hand and boathook overboard drills. Boathook recovered and hand recovering thanks to Wendy’s Arnica Ointment.

The Coquet Channel was tricky – not much water in the narrow navigable bit – but not as tricky as Amble (Warkworth Harbour) itself. The harbour is heavily silted and sandbanked and an error of only a few feet early in the tide will put you aground. However, here we are. More absolutely charming and helpful marina staff (from whom their southern colleagues could in some cases learn a lot) and a pleasant and welcoming town.

Daily statistics: we did 22.4 miles through the water and 23.5 miles over the ground; a tide gain of  1.1 miles. Our running time was 6 hours and 15 minutes, of which we sailed for about  4 hours. Since leaving Eastbourne, we have done 557.9 miles. Scotland is just around the corner……

5 Jul – Amble to Eyemouth via Lindisfarne

The pattering of rain all night on deck as we wrapped ourselves deeper into our duvets below had been quite nice. At 0700, it was time to get up and the pattering promised only wetness – which it delivered.

The weather was distinctly “claggy”; wet and misty in a way that penetrates to the very core. We missed a lot of spectacular Northumberland scenery on account of not being able to see it and concentrated on getting nice and damp instead. And switching on the radar. Which I only do when we really can’t see very much. The radar indicated that there was an island-sized blob ahead, which was comforting.

Wind, tide and swell made Holy Island anchorage a non-starter but we found another one just south in the bit of water known as “Wide Open”. Yes; it really is called that.

Mark, Derek and Carl then played a game called anchors, in which we attempted to deploy two anchors from the same boat (bower and kedge for the cognoscenti) because they were there. We learned a lot, had lunch, learned even more getting the anchors back aboard and took some nice photos in the sunshine that was starting to replace the clag.

We then set off for Eyemouth, getting in to which proved interesting for all sorts of reasons, not least of which was the presence  – in a tiny harbour – of a working dredger the same size as Milton Keynes.  But most important was an improptu rendering of “Flower of Scotland” as we passed Burnmouth.  Anyway, here we are. A lovely day had by all – despite the rain – and all safe and sound ready for Edinburgh tomorrow.

Daily statistics: we did 40.7 miles through the water and 42.1 miles over the ground; a tide gain of  2.4 miles. Our running time was 9 hours and 10 minutes, of which we sailed/anchored for about  3 hours. Since leaving Eastbourne, we have done 599.96 miles, which is as near 600 as you can get without actually being there. And we’re in Scotland!

6 Jul – Eyemouth and Firth of Forth to Port Edgar

An interesting start to the day. Stalwart retainer of the Harbour Office, Alex, and I tried to work out how the card machine worked so I could pay! It took us a little time to succeed, much to the bemusement of a waiting Dutch skipper. So, off a little later than planned, at 0840, as we sailed out into brilliant sunshine bound for Edinburgh.

The forecast winds up to F5 completely failed to materialise and we motored sunnily past St Abb’s Head.

Ahead in the mist and rain lurked Bass Rock; guardian of the Firth of Forth and home to millions of seabirds.

Not much later, the thundery showers we had been promised actually did arrive and we were all back in oilies once more.

Bass Rock – with its snowy icing of guano and more than a few seabirds – was pretty stunning. Especially charming were the Puffins, which appear to have a take-off run longer than a jumbo jet; aerodynamic they are not. But they always managed completely to disappear every time someone reached for a camera.

We stopped for lunch in the lee of Craigleith Island. This time, we couldn’t be bothered with bowers, kedges and trips – so we just dropped the anchor. Which worked.

Lunch finished, the anchor was weighed and we enjoyed the superb scenery of the Firth and its many islands, culminating with our arrival at Port Edgar and the Forth bridges. I still can’t see why they’re called Forth ‘cos I can count only two-and-a-half of them. Derek feels that I may have missed something important….

 

Once secure, bubbly was cracked and our safe arrival toasted, followed by dinner at The Hawes Inn, with our very kind hosts Derek and Janice; thank you both very much again.

Mark and Wendy have been superb shipmates for the last two legs. Everything was done before I could even think of it. And in the quiet, unfussy way that marks sailors who have done an awful lot of sailing. We’ve also had a great deal of fun, and that was only enhanced by the arrival of Derek for the last two days, with his gentle humour and an endless store of anecdotes.

Statistics for our final day indicated – for the first time – a tide loss of 1.6 miles; we really shouldn’t have stopped for lunch!  Otherwise we did 52.38 miles through the water and 50.76 miles over the ground. Our running time was 9 hours and 5 minutes, of which we anchored for about  45 minutes. Since leaving Eastbourne, we have done 650.74 miles. Mark and Wendy are the longest serving and longest travelled crew so far at 13 days and 412.97 miles. Derek holds the record for the shortest at 92.88 miles, which is nevertheless nearly the same mileage you need for RYA Competent Crew.