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24th May 2007
Somewhere in the north sea, United Kingdom - Day 6 - 450 engine hours
I say day 6, but it was really a very long and drawn out extension to day 5. We only managed to get a couple of hours sleep each.
We weren't due to depart until 10:30 that morning. So at 8 am, with a walk for Scamp in mind, I moved the boat closer to the shore. Upon starting the engine the warning buzzer wouldn't go off, along with the charging light. 5 mins. of circuit checking and I confirmed that the alternator wasn't giving any output. GREAT!!! Half empty batteries and a 48 mile offshore trip in front of us.
There was no going back (well I suppose there could have been). Off went the Fridge and I set about removing the alternator whilst Conny walked Scamp. This was easier said than done. It's one thing taking an alternator out in Sawley-Marina, quite another on the choppy sea. Anyway to cut a frustrating story short, fortune was smiling on us and it turned out to be a loose connection inside the alternator.
Hurray... :-) we're on our way........
Rounding Spurnhead at 10:30 am across the notorious Binks Shoals we were greeted with a long 4ft swell. Nice one, just what our stomachs needed!
Well.... full steam ahead north up the Holderness coast (described in the pilot book as 30 miles of the most featureless coastline in Britain). Today was always going to be the one to get behind us. 48 miles between safe havens with no plan 'B' added to which, the need to go up to 10 miles offshore to avoid becoming a Ministry of Defence target in a practice bombing area.
What to say?
10.5 hours of cruising, of which 7 were spent being thrown around. Tiger was up, down, left, right, up, left, down, right, up, left, down.............. well, you get the drift. It was during this time on the way to put the kettle on, that I got caught out and was head-butted by a kitchen fitting. Leaving me with a great big bump on my head.
So much for the weather forecast! I know from my windsurfing days this was not a force 3 or 4. These would have been great conditions for sailing a 5 meter sail and that meant they were more like force 4 or 5.
Land was now way off on the horizon and a couple of times small black fins appeared out of the water as we passed Porpoises. You don't see those on the River Soar!
Having rounded Flamborough Head things calmed down and we reached our anchorage at Filey Brigg at 7ish.
We dropped anchor and set off in the inflatable to walk Scamp when, maybe 50 mtrs away, an inquisitive head popped up out of the water to have a look at us. It was the first sighting of a seal for Conny. It looked like he was looking for a free dinner as he was just outside a netted off fishing area.
Something to eat and then a quick check to see what time we needed to leave in the morning for Whitby. NO WAY! High tide at 9.50 and access only between 2 hours before and 2 hours after. What's more Whitby was 6 hours away and we'd have to push a foul tide. It was now 1045pm and I calculated we needed to leave at sunrise. So alarms set for 0315 am!
25th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - In Action!
Horray! Photos OK -
The memory card was OK and we've recovered the photos. Unfortunately our sony camera, that's taken 5,850 pics over the past 4 years is undergoing surgery and it looks unlikely that it will pull through!
We'll get the diary up to date as soon as possible and get some new photos on.
In the meantime you can see a short video of Tiger bouncing around north of Flamborough Head on the link below. This was when things had calmed down significantly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lX5vF4riN0
NO laughing Keith!
All the Best from P&C&S X
26th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Day 7 - Eng. Hrs. 456.5
We left our comfortable anchorage at 0345am and headed north for Whitby. It was a great run with calm conditions, a fantastic sunrise and beautiful cliffs. The last few hours we pushed a foul tide and went right into Robin Hoods Bay in an attempt to avoid the stronger currents. We reached Whitby at 10ish and headed for the harbour moorings.
After having settled in, we were getting ready to explore the town when, through a freak accident, we lost the camera off the pontoon into 4+mtrs of water. DoooooH........
Plan A - We decided to go in after it. Conny first! Well, it was just tooooo cold. And hey, if Conny wouldn't go in (who's used to swimming in alpine spring water) then there was diddly squat chance of me going.
Plan B - So came our first neoprene clad hero. A local guy called John went home on hearing about our dilemma and came back with wetsuit and diving mask. Unfortunately, it was too deep and muddy and he eventually had to give up looking. (BIG thanks to John)
Plan C - we went to the local tourist information to find out about any diving schools in the area. After a few telephone calls we found diver Neil who arrived on the scene within 30 mins (Big thanks to Neil) On went wetsuit, bottles, mask, weights, gloves and a bloody great knife. 10 minutes later and up he came proudly brandishing our camera in his hand. HORRAY!
That night we slept for England...And Switzerland!
27th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Day 11 - Sun 27th May - Storm bound!
We wanted to stay at Whitby for a day or two but now we're stuck here. Forecast for tomorrow and the day after are up to force 7 winds with moderate to rough seas. Even today winds are onshore (easterly) force 6 and there are 2.5mtr waves rolling in through the harbour entrance.
Whitby is a lovely old town so there are many worse places to get stuck! Trouble is it's 20 quid a night. Ouch....
29th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Don't know what day - lost count! - Tues. 29th May
Still storm bound in Whitby!!!
The outlook doesn't show any improvement for the coming days either.
Whitby is really nice but.....I WANT TO LEAVE NOW!
We've put some more photos taken over the last few days on to the site. There are some nice walks we've done in this area. bla bla bla
30th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Poked our nose out...and had it hit with a baseball bat!
1st - BIG thanks again for all the messages.....
The forecast for today gave out moderate southerly winds, which, because of the coastline here, looked like it would be offshore (meaning flat water! hmn)
That was enough for me - lets go and have a look and if possible make Hartlepool I suggested to Conny.
So we paid our bill and informed the harbourmaster of our departure.
Well, no joking, we'd only been our 10 or 15 minutes when a nasty squall hit. This exaggerated the 'hangover swell' from the past few days of high wind and before you could say 'bloody hell, that's a big wave!' we were in the midst of a right bubbling soup. Wind over tide (which means the waves were steep sided and not nice undulating ones) and we were bouncing down Whitby bay with 2 mtrs waves chasing us.
The further we went the greater the fetch (open water) and the worse the waves became. Being in Tiger was like being in an aquatic bucking bronco!
So guess what??
Yep! We're back in Whitby.
It feels like the line from Hotel California by the Eagles....You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave!
All our friendly neighbours have gone.
Speaking of which, we met a really nice guy called Tim Gray. Tim and his alternating crew are doing a round the UK trip in his catamaran 'Stray Cat' raising money for charity. His boat was something else! 43 feet long, 21 feet wide! and with twin 300 horse engines. It cruises at 21 knots and carries 2,000 litres of fuel!
You can have a look at:
www.passageofhope.blogspot.com
I'm sure any donations would be gratefully received.
1st Jun 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Guess what?
WE'VE ESCAPED!
It's true....
This morning, under a blanket of fog, we slipped away un-noticed and managed to brake the curse that was holding us in Whitby. (sounds like the words of a mad man, doesn’t it? Hmn!)
Anyway, the good news is I can now have a shave. I didn't mention it before but our fallback plan, (if we never left) was for me to get a job as Whitby's Santa Clause! Not any more.....
1st Jun 2007
Hartlepool, United Kingdom - Hartlepool......464 Eng. Hrs.
It's not that we've had a great change in the weather but a small window opened up for us and here we are 24 miles further on in wonderful Hartlepool.
Why Wonderful????
Because it's not Whitby - HURRAY!!!!
No really, it's not that Whitby was all that bad. In fact, with it's stone cobbled streets and various legends it was quite an interesting place to be, especially if you're a Goth. But when your using it as a stop over 10 days at 20 quid a night is more than enough.
Having already given it 2 attempts to leave we were a little apprehensive this morning. However, the forecast gave a foggy start with a freshening south-easterly force 3 to 4 maybe 5.
As we departed Fritz the Harbour Master (see how long we'd been there, we were now on first name terms!) waved us off with the advice to head offshore where it would be clear and added that the coastal fog would burn off in no time.
Out we headed with only the direction arrows of the GPS to guide us! We were soon belting along at a shade under 7 knots (well not exactly belting but you know!) in a right pee-souper. The reports had promised a swell of 3.5ft...yer right. Within half an hour we were being chased by 7 foot (2 meter) waves. Thankfully, the period between the waves was quite large and although uncomfortable, not dangerous.
After 2 hours we were approaching a shipping lane which serves Middlesbrough on the river Tees and we still couldn't see a thing.....scary. We'd left our destination open with a choice of either Hartlepool or Sunderland and now a decision had to be made. We tried a heading that would take us on to Sunderland but the direction of the swell made this VERY uncomfortable...especially for Conny (who still had Whitby shopping legs instead of sea legs) and Scamp didn't look too happy either.
So..we made contact with Hartlepool to ask how entry conditions would be. I was worried that there might be a larger swell at the harbour entrance but were advised that all was OK and so we set our heading accordingly. Thankfully the fog lifted ever-so-slightly as we crossed the shipping area which made things much safer and then closed in again as we approached land. No-kidding....we didn't see the harbour entrance until we were 80 to 100 meters away (glad the co-ordinates I put into the GPS were accurate).
Here we are...foggy Hartlepool.
Locking up into the marina Conny spotted loads of tiny jelly fish and I've lost her now as she's gone off to try and take pictures of them.
Catch U later......X
Somewhere in the north sea, United Kingdom - Day 6 - 450 engine hours
I say day 6, but it was really a very long and drawn out extension to day 5. We only managed to get a couple of hours sleep each.
We weren't due to depart until 10:30 that morning. So at 8 am, with a walk for Scamp in mind, I moved the boat closer to the shore. Upon starting the engine the warning buzzer wouldn't go off, along with the charging light. 5 mins. of circuit checking and I confirmed that the alternator wasn't giving any output. GREAT!!! Half empty batteries and a 48 mile offshore trip in front of us.
There was no going back (well I suppose there could have been). Off went the Fridge and I set about removing the alternator whilst Conny walked Scamp. This was easier said than done. It's one thing taking an alternator out in Sawley-Marina, quite another on the choppy sea. Anyway to cut a frustrating story short, fortune was smiling on us and it turned out to be a loose connection inside the alternator.
Hurray... :-) we're on our way........
Rounding Spurnhead at 10:30 am across the notorious Binks Shoals we were greeted with a long 4ft swell. Nice one, just what our stomachs needed!
Well.... full steam ahead north up the Holderness coast (described in the pilot book as 30 miles of the most featureless coastline in Britain). Today was always going to be the one to get behind us. 48 miles between safe havens with no plan 'B' added to which, the need to go up to 10 miles offshore to avoid becoming a Ministry of Defence target in a practice bombing area.
What to say?
10.5 hours of cruising, of which 7 were spent being thrown around. Tiger was up, down, left, right, up, left, down, right, up, left, down.............. well, you get the drift. It was during this time on the way to put the kettle on, that I got caught out and was head-butted by a kitchen fitting. Leaving me with a great big bump on my head.
So much for the weather forecast! I know from my windsurfing days this was not a force 3 or 4. These would have been great conditions for sailing a 5 meter sail and that meant they were more like force 4 or 5.
Land was now way off on the horizon and a couple of times small black fins appeared out of the water as we passed Porpoises. You don't see those on the River Soar!
Having rounded Flamborough Head things calmed down and we reached our anchorage at Filey Brigg at 7ish.
We dropped anchor and set off in the inflatable to walk Scamp when, maybe 50 mtrs away, an inquisitive head popped up out of the water to have a look at us. It was the first sighting of a seal for Conny. It looked like he was looking for a free dinner as he was just outside a netted off fishing area.
Something to eat and then a quick check to see what time we needed to leave in the morning for Whitby. NO WAY! High tide at 9.50 and access only between 2 hours before and 2 hours after. What's more Whitby was 6 hours away and we'd have to push a foul tide. It was now 1045pm and I calculated we needed to leave at sunrise. So alarms set for 0315 am!
25th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - In Action!
Horray! Photos OK -
The memory card was OK and we've recovered the photos. Unfortunately our sony camera, that's taken 5,850 pics over the past 4 years is undergoing surgery and it looks unlikely that it will pull through!
We'll get the diary up to date as soon as possible and get some new photos on.
In the meantime you can see a short video of Tiger bouncing around north of Flamborough Head on the link below. This was when things had calmed down significantly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lX5vF4riN0
NO laughing Keith!
All the Best from P&C&S X
26th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Day 7 - Eng. Hrs. 456.5
We left our comfortable anchorage at 0345am and headed north for Whitby. It was a great run with calm conditions, a fantastic sunrise and beautiful cliffs. The last few hours we pushed a foul tide and went right into Robin Hoods Bay in an attempt to avoid the stronger currents. We reached Whitby at 10ish and headed for the harbour moorings.
After having settled in, we were getting ready to explore the town when, through a freak accident, we lost the camera off the pontoon into 4+mtrs of water. DoooooH........
Plan A - We decided to go in after it. Conny first! Well, it was just tooooo cold. And hey, if Conny wouldn't go in (who's used to swimming in alpine spring water) then there was diddly squat chance of me going.
Plan B - So came our first neoprene clad hero. A local guy called John went home on hearing about our dilemma and came back with wetsuit and diving mask. Unfortunately, it was too deep and muddy and he eventually had to give up looking. (BIG thanks to John)
Plan C - we went to the local tourist information to find out about any diving schools in the area. After a few telephone calls we found diver Neil who arrived on the scene within 30 mins (Big thanks to Neil) On went wetsuit, bottles, mask, weights, gloves and a bloody great knife. 10 minutes later and up he came proudly brandishing our camera in his hand. HORRAY!
That night we slept for England...And Switzerland!
27th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Day 11 - Sun 27th May - Storm bound!
We wanted to stay at Whitby for a day or two but now we're stuck here. Forecast for tomorrow and the day after are up to force 7 winds with moderate to rough seas. Even today winds are onshore (easterly) force 6 and there are 2.5mtr waves rolling in through the harbour entrance.
Whitby is a lovely old town so there are many worse places to get stuck! Trouble is it's 20 quid a night. Ouch....
29th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Don't know what day - lost count! - Tues. 29th May
Still storm bound in Whitby!!!
The outlook doesn't show any improvement for the coming days either.
Whitby is really nice but.....I WANT TO LEAVE NOW!
We've put some more photos taken over the last few days on to the site. There are some nice walks we've done in this area. bla bla bla
30th May 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Poked our nose out...and had it hit with a baseball bat!
1st - BIG thanks again for all the messages.....
The forecast for today gave out moderate southerly winds, which, because of the coastline here, looked like it would be offshore (meaning flat water! hmn)
That was enough for me - lets go and have a look and if possible make Hartlepool I suggested to Conny.
So we paid our bill and informed the harbourmaster of our departure.
Well, no joking, we'd only been our 10 or 15 minutes when a nasty squall hit. This exaggerated the 'hangover swell' from the past few days of high wind and before you could say 'bloody hell, that's a big wave!' we were in the midst of a right bubbling soup. Wind over tide (which means the waves were steep sided and not nice undulating ones) and we were bouncing down Whitby bay with 2 mtrs waves chasing us.
The further we went the greater the fetch (open water) and the worse the waves became. Being in Tiger was like being in an aquatic bucking bronco!
So guess what??
Yep! We're back in Whitby.
It feels like the line from Hotel California by the Eagles....You can check out anytime you like but you can never leave!
All our friendly neighbours have gone.
Speaking of which, we met a really nice guy called Tim Gray. Tim and his alternating crew are doing a round the UK trip in his catamaran 'Stray Cat' raising money for charity. His boat was something else! 43 feet long, 21 feet wide! and with twin 300 horse engines. It cruises at 21 knots and carries 2,000 litres of fuel!
You can have a look at:
www.passageofhope.blogspot.com
I'm sure any donations would be gratefully received.
1st Jun 2007
Whitby, United Kingdom - Guess what?
WE'VE ESCAPED!
It's true....
This morning, under a blanket of fog, we slipped away un-noticed and managed to brake the curse that was holding us in Whitby. (sounds like the words of a mad man, doesn’t it? Hmn!)
Anyway, the good news is I can now have a shave. I didn't mention it before but our fallback plan, (if we never left) was for me to get a job as Whitby's Santa Clause! Not any more.....
1st Jun 2007
Hartlepool, United Kingdom - Hartlepool......464 Eng. Hrs.
It's not that we've had a great change in the weather but a small window opened up for us and here we are 24 miles further on in wonderful Hartlepool.
Why Wonderful????
Because it's not Whitby - HURRAY!!!!
No really, it's not that Whitby was all that bad. In fact, with it's stone cobbled streets and various legends it was quite an interesting place to be, especially if you're a Goth. But when your using it as a stop over 10 days at 20 quid a night is more than enough.
Having already given it 2 attempts to leave we were a little apprehensive this morning. However, the forecast gave a foggy start with a freshening south-easterly force 3 to 4 maybe 5.
As we departed Fritz the Harbour Master (see how long we'd been there, we were now on first name terms!) waved us off with the advice to head offshore where it would be clear and added that the coastal fog would burn off in no time.
Out we headed with only the direction arrows of the GPS to guide us! We were soon belting along at a shade under 7 knots (well not exactly belting but you know!) in a right pee-souper. The reports had promised a swell of 3.5ft...yer right. Within half an hour we were being chased by 7 foot (2 meter) waves. Thankfully, the period between the waves was quite large and although uncomfortable, not dangerous.
After 2 hours we were approaching a shipping lane which serves Middlesbrough on the river Tees and we still couldn't see a thing.....scary. We'd left our destination open with a choice of either Hartlepool or Sunderland and now a decision had to be made. We tried a heading that would take us on to Sunderland but the direction of the swell made this VERY uncomfortable...especially for Conny (who still had Whitby shopping legs instead of sea legs) and Scamp didn't look too happy either.
So..we made contact with Hartlepool to ask how entry conditions would be. I was worried that there might be a larger swell at the harbour entrance but were advised that all was OK and so we set our heading accordingly. Thankfully the fog lifted ever-so-slightly as we crossed the shipping area which made things much safer and then closed in again as we approached land. No-kidding....we didn't see the harbour entrance until we were 80 to 100 meters away (glad the co-ordinates I put into the GPS were accurate).
Here we are...foggy Hartlepool.
Locking up into the marina Conny spotted loads of tiny jelly fish and I've lost her now as she's gone off to try and take pictures of them.
Catch U later......X
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