Yacht Bathia, 182 days: September 2014

Friday, 26 September 2014

Scarborough, Grimsby and Wells-next-the-Sea

We finally left Whitby last Saturday, the weather was still pretty dull but the fog had lifted so we risked a shortish sail to Scarborough and then on to Grimsby.

Scarborough Harbour

A rest day was spent sampling the delights of Cleethorpes a short train ride from Grimsby.

We've just spent a couple of wonderful days in Wells-next-the-Sea (North Norfolk), the entry into the harbour was pretty terrifying, but worth it. We came in just before the tide had turned with 25 knots of wind and a big rolling sea behind us. The Harbour Master asked us to wait for about half an hour before we attempted to enter - it was the longest 30 mins... Once he gave us the nod we started our approach but lost our nerve after surfing in on a particularly large wave made the route unclear. The excellent staff at Wells Harbour came out and guided us in. We were very grateful for their guidance as a local boat had got caught out and grounded just as we were coming in and it could so easily have been us!

Wells Harbour Pilot coming to assist us

We spent today at the Holkham Hall Estate which is well worth a visit with beautiful grounds, interesting shops. We've now completed over 2,000 nautical miles and are well on our way to completing our circumnavigation. Tomorrow we continue south to Lowerstoft.

Fogbound in Whitby

Just before leaving Seaham we took a look at the impressive WW1 sculpture on the cliffs, the piece was on loan but the town and local council have raised the funds the keep it (See BBC news item).

'Tommy', Seaham

Friday we went on to Hartlepool and spent Saturday catching up on laundry and a quick look around the town. Not too much to see in Hartlepool, very large marina and a good view from the top of the tower above the art gallery. Sunday was a good sail down the coast to Whitby, access to the river berths is restricted by the town road bridge with opens two hours either side of high water (18:37 on Sunday). We were a little early so anchored in pretty Runswick Bay for a cup of tea (Runswick Bay).

Whitby Road Bridge Open

Above is the best view we've had of Whitby, we awoke on Monday to murky, foggy, misty conditions and it's been this way all week. Our friend Linda arrived for a few days on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday we explored the surrounding areas and visited Robin Hood's Bay and the Whitby Abbey ruins. A fun day and good to be off the water for a change but the weather was not kind, visibility was poor - mist and drizzle. Today, Friday, it's been a little better and we have high hopes that we'll be moving on tomorrow, the bridge will open around 12:45, and we have a short four hour passage heading for Scarborough.

Some snaps of Hartlepool and Whitby below.

Blyth, Newcastle and Seaham

On the last blog update we had just arrived into Amble, our first English harbour on the return journey down the East coast. As if to prove we were properly in Geordie-land, Rob saw Robson Green as we were enjoying a coffee on a hot and sunny Sunday morning. Katie thought he was making it up but we later heard he was filming in the harbour!

Later that day we caught the tide south and travelled onto Blyth and moored at the Royal Northumberland Yacht Club pontoons in the corner of one of the large docks. Monday saw us exercise our National Trust tickets again and visit Seaton Delaval Hall, a few miles south of Blyth.

Seaton Deleval Hall, nr Blyth

Tuesday we hopped further down the Northumberland coast and travelled 7 miles up the Tyne to St Perter's Basin, a small marina a short bus ride from central Newcastle. The tide was running really fierce and the entry into the basin was very narrow, we sat on the waiting pontoon for an hour to wait for the flow to ease and then went for it, an exciting full speed lunge into the basin. Safely moored we went in search of a recommendation to satisfy a need for good pizza, about a mile and a half north, crossing the Byker estate we found 'Cals Own' and feasted on fine pizza. (link: Cal's Own)

On Wednesday, we toured the city highlights on another great hot and sunny day. In the Baltic museum cafe Rob looked up the Sage events and something caught Katie's attention. There were a few tickets available and we came back into the city for a gastro pub supper (link: The Broad Chare) and then across the Millennium bridge to see 'Elio Pace plays the Billy Joel Songbook' (link: eliopace.com). Not Rob's first choice but a great band and 3 hours of entertainment with all the Billy Joel classics and a few facts about his musical life and inspirations.

Thursday was an early start to ride the tide back down the Tyne and we continued 20 miles south and have stopped into Seaham, a small marina basin within a large historic harbour. The facilities are new and the harbour has seen investment to bring tourism to the town. We've just had bacon butties in the smart new cafe overlooking the harbour and we're off to have a look around. Tomorrow we're making a short overnight trip into Hartlepool marina and then onto meet a friend in Whitby.

Some snaps of Newcastle and Seaham below.

Stonehaven, Arbroath, Eyemouth and back into England

We left Peterhead (Saturday 30th) with full fuel and water tanks, it was cold and wet - much as it had been during our whole stay. Once outside the harbour the weather improved and we had a pretty good sail down the coast for a couple of hours, then as we were passing offshore from Aberdeen the skies darkened all around, the wind suddenly doubled and it poured with rain. Rob was on the helm and soaked, Katie managed to keep under cover and stayed dry. We arrived into Stonehaven late afternoon and were tied up to the harbour wall just as another downpour hit.

Stonehaven Harbour

On Sunday we took a walk along the coast to Dunnottar Castle followed by a pub lunch at the Marine Hotel. The next day we moved onto Arbroath, about a 6 hour sail, to the home of the 'Arbroath Smokie'. In Arbroath we visited a museum dedicated to the history and construction of the Bell Rock lighthouse, the museum was actually in the Bell Rock Signal Tower which used to communicate with the lighthouse by raising and lowering a large ball on a pole above the building. The lighthouse is 11 miles offshore from Arbroath and the world's oldest surviving sea-washed lighthouse; built over 200 years ago and still in use today. (More info at https://www.nlb.org.uk/Lighthouse.aspx?id=539).

Bell Rock Lighthouse Museum

In the afternoon Rob had a 'Smokie' snack as we walked along the cliffs to the north of Arbroath.

We left Arbroath just after 7:15 when the lock gates to the inner harbour opened and sailed onto Eyemouth, a 45 mile passage to our last Scottish harbour before we cross the boarder and continue south.

We left Eyemouth in sunshine but were soon surrounded in fog, we anchored off Holy Island (Lindisfarne) to break the journey across the border to Amble, navigation into the anchorage in fog was a bit tricky - praise be to the GPS chartplotter. Fortunately we woke to brighter conditions and it's been OK weather today, Rob pulled up the anchor and we set off at about 9am and arrived into Amble marina by 2pm for a late lunch.

Some snaps of Dunnottar Castle and Arbroath below.