Wells Harbour...

Well, well Wells…

What a difference when we came out of Wells.  A light southerly blowing makes all the difference!  The entrance is practically flat (what a relief!) and we follow the channel out and pull out the foresail.  Weather forecast is for stiff south / southeasterlies and that’s what we get.  15knts of wind and with the tide we top 9.4knts over the ground. 

As the rather chilly and wet day progresses the wind starts to rise (not forecast) and we have to reef in a bit but still arrive an hour too early for free flow on the lock.  (Ended up doing 6knts under bare poles down the Humber)

Now blowing high 30’s and pretty rough in the shallow water outside (certainly no lee behind a working dredger just a lot of mud and sticks!) but the lock keeper is playing hard ball and wants us to tough it out… B@#t#@$d!  Wants to know if we are locals, do we have any kids on board etc.  Finally hear one of the wind farm vessels (Sea Ferret) calls up to go in and cheekily ask to lock in with them.  Luckily they take pity on us but we have to squeeze ourselves in through a partly closed lock gate and jam ourselves alongside.  A very snug fit to say the least.  Lock keeper decides to go free flow as we leave the lock… B#$t@*d!!  A snippy man to say the least; makes a point of bollocking us for dawdling into the marina.  We are trying to reorganise our ropes and fenders.  I think he may need a change of career…  (Could be worse apparently he has a habit of charging £50 a go!)

The life and grimes of Grimsby...

You can’t take the Grim out of Grimsby!!

Anyway the Humber Cruising Association (HCA) marina was a lovely respite and we got a wonderful welcome.  Shame about the rats and rubbish outside the main gate.  (Well some rats on the pontoon too but not the marinas fault.)  As one bloke told us later “It looks like the Luftwaffer have just left!”  Bramble in her element of course and no way we are going to get stowaways!  Not sure I could deal with this amount of rubbish on a regular basis; at one stage I was standing ankle deep in broken up polystyrene fish boxes and other sundry trash picking up one of Bramble’s number twos thinking what is the point!?

In another amusing incident an irate gentleman yelled at me for letting Bramble look under a container, pointing out it was food processing property.  I had to point out the fact that a dog was tip toeing across the yard was the least of his troubles as Bramble was actually intent on a bit of rat trapping!  He had the decency to look a bit ashamed moved off quick smart! 

Still we didn’t come to Grimsby to be wowed by its scenic delights but rather to catch up with friends and family.  Nice to see everyone (Karen, June, Mary, Ron, Pete, Sue, Ann and Graham).  Really appreciated you all dropping by! And a very special “well done” to June (Murray’s Mum) for making it down the pontoon to stand next to CC!  If we had known how scared you were of water we would have tried to move closer!

Scarborough from the castle

Tackyville – or Scarborough as you may know it!

Finally leave Grimsby (the HCA call it hotel California and were surprised we got away so easily!) and head up to Scarborough.  We finally get a nice sail in and some sun (Bramble basking in her basket in the cockpit). 

Unfortunately on the way we learn that Sarah Ketteridge passed away peacefully in the morning.  It was a long battle with cancer but it still leaves you unprepared somehow.

The Scarborough Harbour Master has assured us we can stay afloat in the harbour so we rock in and Andrew helps us tie up.  Yachties beware to drying grid further in on the right.  There is not a lot of room to turn round in and you wouldn’t want to get caught out on a falling tide!!  We take a nice walk up to the castle and check out the tat shops and seaside amusements in town… not my cup of tea but it is very picturesque from the top of the hill.  Turns out to be pretty pricy as well £31 per night and extra if you want a shower!  Good job it is only one night we want!

Coming up the harbour from the entrance

Wonderful, wistful, Whitby…

We leave to bright light of Scarborough as early as possible (nervous moment trying to negotiate the line of boats and miss the mud) and have to motor up the Whitby.  Dolphins sighted and stacks of birds (Puffins yay!!) along the way.  Nice to be in sea coloured water again instead of mud coloured sludge.  The entrance to Whitby was spectacular and the harbour is stunning from the water.  Felt like a Japanese tourist on speed with the camera out.  So this was what it must have been like for Captain Cook returning home.  To get to the marina (upstream on the River Esk) you have to past through a revolving bridge which splits in half and swings back towards the bank to let you past.  Whitby is a lovely spot, somehow peaceful despite the tourists with higgledy piggledy houses and cobble streets on one side and busy fishing docks on the other.  It seems austere and timeless and yet vibrant and new, all at the same time.  We love it and settle in for a couple of days to enjoy the sights.  Cruisers note: the harbour master here is really lovely, the facilities are great and they best washing machine and dryer we have come across and cheap per load too!

Now that's a seawall!

The next day is a nice one so we take the bus to Robin Hoods Bay (Not related to Sherwood Forest).  Bramble inspires ohhh and ahhhs with her completely relaxed attitude to bus travel (she was looking particularly cute that day!) and then insists we go straight down on to the beach and a good job to or we would have missed the amazing sea wall defences they had built to stop the village falling of the edge of a rather large drop.  Apparently there used to be a road to Whitby along the top but that has long since vanished over the side.  We enjoy a pint and a yarn at Ye Dolphin and then wander back to Whitby along the Cinder Track (Coastal track too nerve wracking for our cliff diving dog, or was it me??!)  Once back we get invited to drinks on “Ocean Rival” a Rival 41.  Very cosy and we swap boat tours.  Adam, Diana and Michael are making for Scotland to but putting in rather longer legs than us… we feel a bit lazy!  And so our trip to Whitby comes to an end but not without a visit to the Magpie Café (“Best fish and chips in the world” – well the UK, we will give you that!), then we drift off to dream of roperys, beached cobs, tall ships and even taller tales of the high seas.  Now this is a cruisers harbour.

All heart in Hartlepool

Still heading north but the weather has become decidedly edgy and changeable.  The Metservice here has a hard time forecasting anything.  What we get on the radio is mostly what we know already.  Usually the forecast format is “imminent” - means something will happen within 6 hours, “soon” - between 6 and 12 hours and “later” - after 12 hours but here it seems to be “imminent” - ahhh you noticed that change did you?  “Soon” - yes we are starting to get the nervous impression something bad is happening now, “later” – who gives a toss it’s never right anyway!  I will never pooh pooh the NZ metservice again!

Still it’s on Ok day and we have a good sail in fluky winds dodging the pot markers and set nets (hope we don’t get to use the rope cutter!).

Hartlepool has a great marina and we get the most heartfelt welcome yet.  (Not that I understood much of what was being said as the accent was quite thick but the body language was good!)  Grimsby could take a leaf out of Hartlepool’s book and regenerate their dock in the same way.  There’s a lovely museum, an historic dockyard and a scattering of bars and restaurants surrounding the marina and we make full use of the local amenities when the weather cuts up rough the next day with howling winds and lashing rain… boo hiss England in the spring!

A walk on the Tyneside

The wind abates slightly and we bounce our way out of Hartlepool and crash up the coast.  Not pleasant sailing (“shitty days sail” the log reads!) and CC can’t get in the groove in the huge confused swells and pesky pot buoys are everywhere.  Finally give up on going to Blyth and turn into Tynemouth instead.  A good call and a surprisingly nice marina in pleasant surroundings.   Yet another warm welcome; sorry Graham, even harder to understand you!  We wander about a bit in the park for a bit before defrosting in the showers and then get chatting to some aspiring sailors… Go on Paul and Joelle you know you want to!!

Blown about in Blyth

We are determined to make progress today!!  So off we set…”another shitty start” the log reads as we crash and bang out of the entrance at Tynemouth.  Bramble is all eyes and big ears as she rolls around the cabin looking like she has had one too many.  Has to be said it was a hell of a racket down below with everything getting thrown about wildly.  Not something we like on a regular basis!  Finally get the sails up and that settles it down a bit and we get an OK sail if somewhat chilly.  Due to the underlying swell we opt for Blyth rather than Amble (Wise move but more about that later!!).

The Yacht club has a great spot and an old lightship acts as club HQ and bar.  Really welcoming people and we appreciate the lower price for berthing as well!   We ignore local advice and venture into town for a couple of pints at “Olivers” (yes, it looked a bit rough; no, we didn’t see any evidence of drugs!) before joining the rest of the sailors in the clubhouse for food and drinks.  A really enjoyable night.

More wind and rain!!  We decide to sit it out before moving on to Amble (the entrance is tricky but more about that later!!)  We stock up of food and read books and then take a Sunday stroll to Seaton Sluice down the coast.  Lovely beaches in this neck of the woods and it great to see all the dogs careering up and down the sand dunes, digging holes and playing havoc with the driftwood.  It’s a shame that May the 1^st marked the day when a lot of beaches become no go zones for doggy beach bums.

We join the old blokes in the Delaval Pub for the 12 to 2 session and Bramble get treated like royalty.  How much black pudding and cheese can one dog eat??  One old dude in cowboy boots and a “syrup of fig” turns out to have been a boundry rider in Oz during the 50’s among other things.  What great lives people lead if only we took the time to ask.  Still windy and cold so we catch the bus back.  Love that you can take your dog public transport here!

A scramble into Amble

The wind has dropped a bit and the swell gone down slightly so we make an early exit to catch the right tide and head for Amble.  There is a bit of trepidation about the entrance as everyone has warned us it is shallow, narrow and prone to sand banks.  Wells all over again??  We get in a short sail before the wind and tide head us and we power up the iron donkey… time and tide wait for no boat and it is getting bouncy out here again.  Finally we get to the entrance and sure enough it’s a rollercoaster.  We roll and rocket through; swept along with the muddy, yellow foaming crests, yawing from side to side trying to avoid in turn the sea wall and the pier.  I tell Murray not to look behind, (don’t want him to have a heart attack just before his birthday!) but I saw him have a sneaky look.  I wonder if he will want to go out again??!  The calm of the marina is a welcome relief and Amble itself is a sleepy if somewhat dour village.  We have to hire a car so Murray can go to Sarah’s wake so we take the opportunity to take a short drive up the coast.  Its lovely countryside; rolling and green (discounting the countless fields of yellow rape!) and the beaches and dunes go on for windswept miles.  It reminds us of the Catlins but the tiny villages with their hand hewn stone harbours keep you strictly rooted in the UK.  Craster was particularly quaint and Newton by the Sea has one of the best pub views anywhere in the world.  If you like walking, the Northumberland Coastal Path would be a really interesting jaunt.

Eider rather have sunny weather thanks!

Here’s something to finish with… I have never seen an Eiderduck; always assumed they occurred in places like the Arctic.  So why is it we are surrounded by them here???