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Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
28th June onwards
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28th Jun 2007
The Kyles of Bute, United Kingdom - Hello Mr. midge, your not a very pleasant fellow are you?
On arriving at our anchorage for the night our first priority was to spin Scamp. So into the dingy and off we went. It was now 8ish, it had just stopped raining and the wind had dropped....oh dear! Mr. Midge and his pals were out aplenty. Within minutes we were being eaten alive! The day before we'd seen these slightly silly looking nets that go over your head, how we wished we had them now! We returned to Tiger with a swarm of the little chaps following us, quickly boarded and shut all the doors and windows....phew!
Now then...the Royal Marines have found that Avon's 'skin so soft' has a certain ingredient that repels midges. Fiona first showed us an article about the stuff and it's got legendary status up here, referred to as SSS (I wonder why!). Anyway, isn't it great to know we've got one of the best fighting forces in the world and with such nice complexions! Hands up the marine that discovered that then! :-)
Unfortunately we haven't got any.....
30th Jun 2007
On route to Crinan, United Kingdom - A few days Later...
'The Crinan Canal for me
It's neither too big nor too wee
Wild foamin' breakers fair give me the shakers
The Crinan Canal for me'
Yep, we've reached the Crinan Canal. This 11 mile stretch of canal short cuts a 130 mile trip around the hazardous Mull of Kintyre (that's it! I'm going to be singing that song for weeks now!) and brings us out into the Atlantic Ocean and the Western Isles (Hurray)
We spent 2 nights in the Kyles Of Bute (because one was just not enough) before heading round to Tarbert. The name Tarbert came from Viking days when they used to drag their boats across land to save sea miles but actually this Tarbert had a cheekier history behind it. Apparently in around 1098 the Treaty of Tarbert was agreed between Scottish King Edgar and Magnus Barfod King of Norway. This declared that any Western Isle that could be sailed around would become the property of Norway. Liking Kintyre so much and seeing a great opportunity, King Magnus had men drag his ship along the narrows at Tarbert and thus claimed the massive peninsula of land to the south. Cheeky or what?
We spent just one night in Tarbert (mainly for shopping) before heading off. The forecast had given a north-westerly forecast backing southwesterly. So we spent some time at a place called Benmore Island before crossing the lock to Ardmarnock Bay. Whilst returning to Tiger from a walk at Benmore we saw the smallest seals playing in the bay (how cute). Anyway, the wind dropped as forecast (hurray they got it right) and we made our way 3 miles over to the other side of the lock to Ardmarnock which would give shelter from the forecasted south westerlies. We arrived at the anchorage, the wind turned to the south west and we had a really calm nights sleep (isn't it boring when everything goes to plan!).
Today we headed up Lock Fyne with a force 4 or 5 winds behind us on 3 feet of swell (which was great because it was following us) and entered into the Crinan
The Kyles of Bute, United Kingdom - Hello Mr. midge, your not a very pleasant fellow are you?
On arriving at our anchorage for the night our first priority was to spin Scamp. So into the dingy and off we went. It was now 8ish, it had just stopped raining and the wind had dropped....oh dear! Mr. Midge and his pals were out aplenty. Within minutes we were being eaten alive! The day before we'd seen these slightly silly looking nets that go over your head, how we wished we had them now! We returned to Tiger with a swarm of the little chaps following us, quickly boarded and shut all the doors and windows....phew!
Now then...the Royal Marines have found that Avon's 'skin so soft' has a certain ingredient that repels midges. Fiona first showed us an article about the stuff and it's got legendary status up here, referred to as SSS (I wonder why!). Anyway, isn't it great to know we've got one of the best fighting forces in the world and with such nice complexions! Hands up the marine that discovered that then! :-)
Unfortunately we haven't got any.....
30th Jun 2007
On route to Crinan, United Kingdom - A few days Later...
'The Crinan Canal for me
It's neither too big nor too wee
Wild foamin' breakers fair give me the shakers
The Crinan Canal for me'
Yep, we've reached the Crinan Canal. This 11 mile stretch of canal short cuts a 130 mile trip around the hazardous Mull of Kintyre (that's it! I'm going to be singing that song for weeks now!) and brings us out into the Atlantic Ocean and the Western Isles (Hurray)
We spent 2 nights in the Kyles Of Bute (because one was just not enough) before heading round to Tarbert. The name Tarbert came from Viking days when they used to drag their boats across land to save sea miles but actually this Tarbert had a cheekier history behind it. Apparently in around 1098 the Treaty of Tarbert was agreed between Scottish King Edgar and Magnus Barfod King of Norway. This declared that any Western Isle that could be sailed around would become the property of Norway. Liking Kintyre so much and seeing a great opportunity, King Magnus had men drag his ship along the narrows at Tarbert and thus claimed the massive peninsula of land to the south. Cheeky or what?
We spent just one night in Tarbert (mainly for shopping) before heading off. The forecast had given a north-westerly forecast backing southwesterly. So we spent some time at a place called Benmore Island before crossing the lock to Ardmarnock Bay. Whilst returning to Tiger from a walk at Benmore we saw the smallest seals playing in the bay (how cute). Anyway, the wind dropped as forecast (hurray they got it right) and we made our way 3 miles over to the other side of the lock to Ardmarnock which would give shelter from the forecasted south westerlies. We arrived at the anchorage, the wind turned to the south west and we had a really calm nights sleep (isn't it boring when everything goes to plan!).
Today we headed up Lock Fyne with a force 4 or 5 winds behind us on 3 feet of swell (which was great because it was following us) and entered into the Crinan
Sunday, June 24, 2007
24th June onwards
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24th Jun 2007
Holy Loch, United Kingdom - The calm Clyde
Going to have to be quick. We've met up again with Claus and Myraca from Holland (we met them first time in Whitby). We trundled down from Bowling this morning to Holy Lock to meet them. Had a walk from hell yesterday, the details of which will have to wait but it was all down to my bad navigation! Doh X
25th Jun 2007
Holy Loch, United Kingdom - Blow your heart out!
Forecast northerly 6 or 7, occasional 8. Thankfully we have all the surrounding mountains to shelter us now and only the odd squall to worry about - Horray....
After saying our goodbyes we left Bowling and made our way to Holy Lock as already mentioned. We were a little sad to leave Bowling. A great bunch of people and a lovely area. Special thanks must go to Alec the lock-keeper for recommending a walk up to the Humphrey lock. We set off on Saturday at around midday and a couple of hours later arrived at the top of the hill by the lock- beautiful.... Now I recalled that Alec had said to make our way round the lock and soon after we would get to a second lock from which we could return having made a circular route - great....
Conny asked if we should go round to the left of the lock where pine trees were growing and it looked really nice. But oh no! I could see a man walking his dog around the other, really bleak and barren, side of the lock and suggested that must be the way. Doh...
To cut a long, peat boggy, wet story short, we eventually reached another lock and were told by some fishermen that a main road was a 20 minute walk down a nearby track! Nearly an hour later we reached the road and then a pub, from which we ordered a taxi. It was now nearly 7pm and we'd been walking since midday! Anyway a 10 mile ride and we were back at Bowling Harbour.....
We never did set eyes on the man and his dog again!
28th Jun 2007
The Kyles of Bute, United Kingdom - Holy Loch to the Kyles Of Bute
Doh... no signal for 2 days soz to those that keep logging on and finding no updates but we just couldn't get online. Looks like this will become more common from now on as the mountains block our signal. Anyway, we're cruising around now so there's probably not going to be as much to talk about. We're in Tarbert now but more about that later.
Looking back..... we spent a couple of great nights in Holy Loch in the company of Klaas and Maryke. On the first night Conny cooked our favourite 'calorie bomb' meal for everyone, consisting of tortellini with a blue cheese and cream sauce (yum yum better loosen that belt off!).
The following day we took a bus ride out to Loch Eck (by eck) and took a walk down past the Botanical gardens and down the lock's edge. We returned at 6.30 to find we had missed our bus by a few minutes which meant a 2 hour wait for the next one. Conny suggested using the time to go on another walk. What a good idea I thought! Anyway, off we went on yet another walk through the 'tall tree walk'. Consisting of pine trees up to 140 years old, this turned out to be the highlight of the day. We returned at 8.45, by this time starving hungry, only to find Maryke had cooked for all of us.....fantastic!
Where did that big concrete thing come from ?
Tuesday we said our goodbyes and set off down the Firth of Clyde in convoy. We'd been underway for perhaps 45 minutes when, looking out of the back of Tiger, I noticed a concrete structure some way off. This puzzled me as I hadn't seen anything noted on the chart. Moments later and I realised it wasn't a concrete structure at all, it was a submarine! Tracking towards our starboard side at about 15 knots and with it's own pilot boat as a sentry, it looked quite ominous. In the event it passed us some way off but there could have only been 50 meters between it and Klass and Maryke's boat!
Having accused every marina, harbour and port we've visited of not listening to there vhf (marine radios) the truth finally dawned on me the other day.... in that we had a problem with out aerial....doh. So we dropped into Kip marina to buy a new one before continuing our trip up the western Kyle of Bute....beautiful or what!
Holy Loch, United Kingdom - The calm Clyde
Going to have to be quick. We've met up again with Claus and Myraca from Holland (we met them first time in Whitby). We trundled down from Bowling this morning to Holy Lock to meet them. Had a walk from hell yesterday, the details of which will have to wait but it was all down to my bad navigation! Doh X
25th Jun 2007
Holy Loch, United Kingdom - Blow your heart out!
Forecast northerly 6 or 7, occasional 8. Thankfully we have all the surrounding mountains to shelter us now and only the odd squall to worry about - Horray....
After saying our goodbyes we left Bowling and made our way to Holy Lock as already mentioned. We were a little sad to leave Bowling. A great bunch of people and a lovely area. Special thanks must go to Alec the lock-keeper for recommending a walk up to the Humphrey lock. We set off on Saturday at around midday and a couple of hours later arrived at the top of the hill by the lock- beautiful.... Now I recalled that Alec had said to make our way round the lock and soon after we would get to a second lock from which we could return having made a circular route - great....
Conny asked if we should go round to the left of the lock where pine trees were growing and it looked really nice. But oh no! I could see a man walking his dog around the other, really bleak and barren, side of the lock and suggested that must be the way. Doh...
To cut a long, peat boggy, wet story short, we eventually reached another lock and were told by some fishermen that a main road was a 20 minute walk down a nearby track! Nearly an hour later we reached the road and then a pub, from which we ordered a taxi. It was now nearly 7pm and we'd been walking since midday! Anyway a 10 mile ride and we were back at Bowling Harbour.....
We never did set eyes on the man and his dog again!
28th Jun 2007
The Kyles of Bute, United Kingdom - Holy Loch to the Kyles Of Bute
Doh... no signal for 2 days soz to those that keep logging on and finding no updates but we just couldn't get online. Looks like this will become more common from now on as the mountains block our signal. Anyway, we're cruising around now so there's probably not going to be as much to talk about. We're in Tarbert now but more about that later.
Looking back..... we spent a couple of great nights in Holy Loch in the company of Klaas and Maryke. On the first night Conny cooked our favourite 'calorie bomb' meal for everyone, consisting of tortellini with a blue cheese and cream sauce (yum yum better loosen that belt off!).
The following day we took a bus ride out to Loch Eck (by eck) and took a walk down past the Botanical gardens and down the lock's edge. We returned at 6.30 to find we had missed our bus by a few minutes which meant a 2 hour wait for the next one. Conny suggested using the time to go on another walk. What a good idea I thought! Anyway, off we went on yet another walk through the 'tall tree walk'. Consisting of pine trees up to 140 years old, this turned out to be the highlight of the day. We returned at 8.45, by this time starving hungry, only to find Maryke had cooked for all of us.....fantastic!
Where did that big concrete thing come from ?
Tuesday we said our goodbyes and set off down the Firth of Clyde in convoy. We'd been underway for perhaps 45 minutes when, looking out of the back of Tiger, I noticed a concrete structure some way off. This puzzled me as I hadn't seen anything noted on the chart. Moments later and I realised it wasn't a concrete structure at all, it was a submarine! Tracking towards our starboard side at about 15 knots and with it's own pilot boat as a sentry, it looked quite ominous. In the event it passed us some way off but there could have only been 50 meters between it and Klass and Maryke's boat!
Having accused every marina, harbour and port we've visited of not listening to there vhf (marine radios) the truth finally dawned on me the other day.... in that we had a problem with out aerial....doh. So we dropped into Kip marina to buy a new one before continuing our trip up the western Kyle of Bute....beautiful or what!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
20th June onwards
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20th Jun 2007
Kirkintillock east of Glasgow, United Kingdom - How wet! - 506 eng. hrs.
We woke up this morning to pouring rain....
After a little confusion over when we should leave (a second boat bottled out because of the rain) we set off at 8.30. How cool (and expensive for BW) we had our own crew of 4 guys and a van to go ahead and prepare all the locks and swing bridges for us (apparently on this section they do it on health and safety grounds).
The sun came out mid morning and after passing through Falkirk the scenery become fantastic (watch this space for Conny's photos). Altogether we covered about 17 miles and climbed up 18 locks.
We're now at the halfway point and start our decent at 8am tomorrow. We were warned not to go any further today as we're nearing the Maryhill area of Glasgow which has a fearsome reputation. Apparently, when they first re-opened the canal, they had so much trouble with youths climbing onto boats (in broad day light and with people on board) that they had to introduce police escorts and even that didn't entirely stop the problems. Having said all this, they now try to get boats through in the mornings when the trouble makers are still in bed....touch wood and everything crossed for tomorrow!
22nd Jun 2007
Bowling Harbour, United Kingdom - Arrival on the 'other side'!
Well that was painless enough!
After a first hour of wooded canal we entered the suburbs of Glasgow. The sun was shining and the concrete rendered blocks of flats didn't look bad at all (though we did comment to each other on how things would probably look a lot different under a dull and raining grey sky).
Today we were travelling with another boat skippered by Robert. We'd spent a couple of hours with Robert the night before and helped him get through half a bottle of scotch. Robert was out on his ex-fishing boat for a few days and had chosen the canal as a poor weather alternative to going out into the Clyde. He was now returning to his mooring at our destination point for the day.
Soon we reached our first of 20 locks for the day and met up with another 4 man team that would be aiding our decent back to sea level. We were now in Maryhill and although scars of decay and neglect were evident, a lot of re-generation has gone on and the place didn't look so bad (probably the sun again).
Our descent through the locks was effortless. It's always easier going down locks as there's less turbulence and less strain on the ropes and we were soon stopping at lunchtime slap bang in the middle of the Clydebank shopping centre. Conny went off to the shops to refuel Tiger with essentials and because we had been advised not to leave the boat unattended, I had to stay behind.....doh and I like shopping so much! :-)
After an hours break we set off through a few lift bridges and a few more locks and we arrived at a very strange lock. Known as a 'drop lock', this was effectively a chamber built below one of Glasgow's busiest roads under which we passed (see photo). By 4 o'clockish and having covered 13 miles we reached Bowling Harbour....what a beautiful view opened up in front of us! Having been closed in by wood lined canal for the past hour suddenly, beyond the pretty Bowling basin, miles of the Clyde estuary opened up in front of us....fantastic.....we'd reached the other side!
Kirkintillock east of Glasgow, United Kingdom - How wet! - 506 eng. hrs.
We woke up this morning to pouring rain....
After a little confusion over when we should leave (a second boat bottled out because of the rain) we set off at 8.30. How cool (and expensive for BW) we had our own crew of 4 guys and a van to go ahead and prepare all the locks and swing bridges for us (apparently on this section they do it on health and safety grounds).
The sun came out mid morning and after passing through Falkirk the scenery become fantastic (watch this space for Conny's photos). Altogether we covered about 17 miles and climbed up 18 locks.
We're now at the halfway point and start our decent at 8am tomorrow. We were warned not to go any further today as we're nearing the Maryhill area of Glasgow which has a fearsome reputation. Apparently, when they first re-opened the canal, they had so much trouble with youths climbing onto boats (in broad day light and with people on board) that they had to introduce police escorts and even that didn't entirely stop the problems. Having said all this, they now try to get boats through in the mornings when the trouble makers are still in bed....touch wood and everything crossed for tomorrow!
22nd Jun 2007
Bowling Harbour, United Kingdom - Arrival on the 'other side'!
Well that was painless enough!
After a first hour of wooded canal we entered the suburbs of Glasgow. The sun was shining and the concrete rendered blocks of flats didn't look bad at all (though we did comment to each other on how things would probably look a lot different under a dull and raining grey sky).
Today we were travelling with another boat skippered by Robert. We'd spent a couple of hours with Robert the night before and helped him get through half a bottle of scotch. Robert was out on his ex-fishing boat for a few days and had chosen the canal as a poor weather alternative to going out into the Clyde. He was now returning to his mooring at our destination point for the day.
Soon we reached our first of 20 locks for the day and met up with another 4 man team that would be aiding our decent back to sea level. We were now in Maryhill and although scars of decay and neglect were evident, a lot of re-generation has gone on and the place didn't look so bad (probably the sun again).
Our descent through the locks was effortless. It's always easier going down locks as there's less turbulence and less strain on the ropes and we were soon stopping at lunchtime slap bang in the middle of the Clydebank shopping centre. Conny went off to the shops to refuel Tiger with essentials and because we had been advised not to leave the boat unattended, I had to stay behind.....doh and I like shopping so much! :-)
After an hours break we set off through a few lift bridges and a few more locks and we arrived at a very strange lock. Known as a 'drop lock', this was effectively a chamber built below one of Glasgow's busiest roads under which we passed (see photo). By 4 o'clockish and having covered 13 miles we reached Bowling Harbour....what a beautiful view opened up in front of us! Having been closed in by wood lined canal for the past hour suddenly, beyond the pretty Bowling basin, miles of the Clyde estuary opened up in front of us....fantastic.....we'd reached the other side!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
19th June onwards
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19th Jun 2007Carron Sea Lock - Grangemouth, United Kingdom - That was easy....499 eng. Hrs.
What to say....12.5 miles down the Firth of Forth and we're in the Forth and Clyde canal. Horray....
The swell is about 1 centimetre and we're no longer rocking or straining against the flow or ebb of any tide..a bit odd actually.
8.30 start tomorrow as we're escorted by British Waterways staff through the first half of the canal to Glasgow (OK, it must be rough then!).....
Conny is already missing the jellyfish and seals. And I'm missing the challenges of the sea a bit...but not that much!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
10th june onwards
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10th Jun 2007Holy Island, United Kingdom - Holy smoke! Where did the time go!
Went to walk Scamp this morning at 10am and we've only just got back 10pm!
We rowed to the Lindisfarne shore this morning and met with Bjorn and later on, Co from Holland. After doing the priory bit, the castle bit and the dog walking bit, we ended up in one of Holy Island's two pubs for a quick drink! Yeh right with Bjorn?
After three drinks we tore ourselves away from the pub only to end up on Alan and Rhoda's boat drinking again! (they were the couple in the 80's we mentioned before). They'd arrived in the bay from the Farne Islands this morning.
Just got back to our boat having eaten only Rocky bars, dried apples from Conny's Mum and Wolf'P' and hot chocolate from Bjorn's flask all day.
7am start so we're going to hit the sack shortly.
Bye for now.... X
P.S. We'll try and get some photos on soon...
11th Jun 2007
Somewhere in the North Sea again, United Kingdom - Och eye....guess where we are?
9.15 and we're in Scottish waters!
12th Jun 2007
Eyemouth, United Kingdom - Bonnie Scotland - 486 eng. hrs
We've managed to steal an hour to update the blog at last. Since leaving Blyth we've been in convoy with Chilli (Bjorn) and Birdie (Co). These guys have been great company and we've had a really good time together. It's also been nice to have some silent companions out at sea, especially when we've been a few miles offshore in fog. Sounds like some sort of joke when you describe us....an Englishman, a Swiss girl, a Danishman and a Dutchman. Although we haven't travelled with them, we've also been with Alan and Rhoda (New Chance) quite a bit.
We're now in Eyemouth and it looks like we might be here for a day or two as some cold fronts pass over the UK. Most of the yachts we've met are heading for the Western Isles but have to travel north to Inverness before heading southwest through the Caledonian Canal (Lock Ness). We are unique in this company as we are heading into the Firth of Forth to pick up the Firth and Clyde Canal (which has height restrictions for yachts).
This morning Birdie and New Chance headed off and it looks like Chilli (Bjorn) will be leaving first light tomorrow. It's really sad to say goodbye but hope to meet them again 'on the other side' so to speak.
Well the fog and mist have gone. Yesterday the sun came out and now..... it's raining...doh.
We met a guy called Ridley yesterday who is in charge of the compiling and restoring of a number of boats for a new maritime museum being built here. He has invited us to some old farm buildings on the edge of town to look at the collection which we're going to do in bit.
Looking out of the window now there are seals patrolling up and down the harbour waiting for any tit bits they can get from the fishing boats.
Conny is busy shrinking photos so we should have loads of new photos to look at.
Catch you soon.......x
13th Jun 2007
Eyemouth, United Kingdom - Just for the record...
One thing we forgot to mention was our arrival at Eyemouth. We'd been surrounded by fog for most of our journey, added to which we were some miles offshore. As we slowly made our way to the coast the sky started to open up to blue and the sun streamed through. We rounded the headland towards Eyemouth threading our way through rocks on both sides with waves braking over them. The scene was quite dramatic. Then as we entered harbour and all the madness of the approach subsided, five seals came to greet us. It was amazing and Conny was REALLY excited.
After mooring up we celebrated our arrival in Scotland by cracking open a bottle of champagne with the others.....
14th Jun 2007
Eyemouth, United Kingdom - Guess we'll be staying here then!
Met Office Forecast - Rattray Head to Berwick on Tweed - Thursday 14th June - 1200 UTC....
Northeast force 4 or 5 increasing to force 6 later....
Sea state - moderate or rough.....(when this index was created it was with ships in mind. 'Moderate' means waves up to 2.5 meters and 'rough' up to 4 meters!
OK we're not going anywhere then! And nor did Bjorn. If we'd carried on, as did 'Birdie' and 'New Chance', we'd now be in the calmer waters of the Firth of Forth....but we didn't...so now it looks like a few more days in Eyemouth.
But that's OK...it gives us time to catch up with things including the shaving off of my 'Whitby Santa' beard at last.
Conny's back on the photos again, so more to come....
17th Jun 2007
Eyemouth, United Kingdom - On your marks....
Strong winds in the week kicked up a right swell. It's strange but when you're looking out to sea with no reference points it can look quite smooth. It's only when a ship passes and you see it's 6 meter bow ploughing through the waves you think...OK maybe not then! Yesterday the winds died away leaving behind them such a swell. The forecast is predicting calmer weather until Wednesday so we're going to give it another day and go for it tomorrow.....only 25 miles and we'll be in the sheltered waters of the Firth of Forth so fingers crossed.....unfortunately there are two headlands to get around first, both of which can have nasty overfalls.
A chap named Johny Johnston (imagine Sean Connery speaking the name) introduced himself to us the other day. Another really interesting guy, spent 30 odd years as a fisherman on his own 57 foot boat, 14 years as lifeboat man including 6 years as Coxswain of a big Trent class lifeboat and 13 years as Harbourmaster. Johny spent alot of time telling us about the history of the area and then offered to take Conny, Bjorn and myself to a nearby headland at St. Abbs in his car to look at the outstanding scenery. The car ride was scary as hell....it's the first time in weeks we'd gone faster than 7 miles an hour and it felt bloody quick! :-)
Having enjoyed the place so much we decided to walk there the next day on Conny's birthday. When we set off all was well but as we put more and more distance between ourselves and shelter it started to rain! And it rained and it rained. It wasn't until we were soaked to the skin it stopped. As we were 5 miles away we thought it best to get a taxi or bus back. Easier said then done! We saw one taxi which we tried to flag down but he just gave us the thumbs up, smiled and carried on. We waited at a bus stop for a bus that didn't arrive. And then, just as we were preparing ourselves to walk back, a young guy pulled up and asked if we knew where a petrol station was. Yep we said, in Eyemouth, we'll show you....thank you to Jack for the lift!
Going to take it easy today I think, tomorrow could be a 50 miler.......
18th Jun 2007
Port Edgar near Edinburgh, United Kingdom - Day no. ??? eng. hrs 496
Alarms set for 5am with a 7am start...After more than 2 weeks with Bjorn we said our farewells this morning. Bjorn setting off north, ourselves setting off northwest-ish.
Having covered 50 miles today in 10 hours, we're now in Port Edgar which is just past, what has to be the 'Arnie' of all bridges, the Forth Rail bridge. I love this bridge! It came into being because another bridge, the Tay Rail Bridge at Dundee, collapsed whilst a train was on it leading to the tragic deaths of many on board. So shocked was everyone at the time that when the Forth Rail Bridge was conceived a design was chosen that couldn't possibly fail. (thanks for anonymous message putting the story straight) Over-engineering at its best and fantastic looking!
Getting here represents a big milestone for us. We celebrated passing under the bridge with more Champaign and a long blast of the fog horn. It's was great, some workers on the bridge (probably painting it!) heard the noise and started waving and cheering. They probably thought we'd circumnavigated the globe or something but it was great anyway!
359 nautical miles since leaving Redhill and having faced weeks of onshore winds and uncertain weather forecasts that changed all the time, it means we're now on much more friendly waters. Albeit that we now leave the challenges of the north sea and head for the notorious canals of Glasgow with the threat of dumped shopping trolleys and flying bricks!
Anyway, not long now until we'll be in the Western Isles!
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Sunday, June 3, 2007
3rd June onwards
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3rd Jun 2007
Sunderland, United Kingdom - Why Eye! - 468.5 eng. hrs.
Y I man, we're in Sunderland!
5th Jun 2007
Blyth, United Kingdom - Blyth - 473 eng. Hrs
A bit further north today....It must be my birthday! Oh...it is!
Thanks for the birthday messages.
Will catch up with the diary as soon as possible.
X
6th Jun 2007
Blyth, United Kingdom - Winter timewarp!
It's absolutely freezing. It only reached 10 degrees yesterday and we're having to wear winter clothes. I'm beginning to wonder if we've actually warped ourselves to Iceland or something. But hey, we're not feeling sorry for ourselves and it's SO nice to get so many messages from everyone telling us how lovely and warm it is where they are! Hmm! :-)
I'm feeling a bit worse for wear this morning. I'm not sure if the pizza I ate was a bit off but I think it more likely that the combination of rum, Guinness and larger I drank yesterday has something to do with it. You see, it went like this - we've met a guy called Bjorn (cool as you like) from Denmark. He's got a great trip planned! He left Denmark last week, sailed 2.5 days over to Sunderland where we met him. Now he's going around Scotland, down the Irish coast, across the Bay of Biscay, along the coasts of Spain and Portugal, across to the Canaries and then! Across the Atlantic to spend 6 months in the Caribbean! It's a hard life but someone has to do it!
Anyway, Bjorn had taken on so many supplies that he no longer had room for this bottle of Rum. So yesterday he asked us if we would help drink it (with it being my birthday and that). Well you know us -always there to help....now Bjorn has more room on his boat 'Chilli' and I have a thick head! Conny doesn't seem any different so maybe it was the pizza. :-)
Making progress up the North Sea coast has been painfully slow and at times very uncomfortable. Since the end of our first week we've been plagued by this easterly or north easterly airflow. Even though recently the winds haven't been strong, we still face a 2 mtrs swell on the nose (that apparently is still a handover from the storms 10 days ago), winds that only make this swell more confused and fog!
Hartlepool to Sunderland the other day was a bumpy ride but we had a visit from Fiona to look forward to. Our friend Fiona from Redhill was on her way back from Scotland and dropped in for a few hours. It was great to see her, a familiar face and our first visitor. Apart from meeting Bjorn and having some great conversation (and strong bitter spirits), the rest of our time at Sunderland was spent trying to leave. This meant walking to the beach every few hours to survey the conditions and led to Scamp getting completely knackered.
Back to yesterday - another bumpy ride against the head on swell to Blyth. Blyth harbour is an interesting place, apparently a submarine base in days gone by. After a 3 hour walk along the beach with Bjorn, we spent last night in the Blyth Yacht Club which is based in a fantastic old boat originally built as a light vessel. The members of the club were really friendly and welcoming and made us feel like we had arrived at home. Conny got talking to a very interesting guy called Peter Nicholson who has spent many years as a ski instructor in Switzerland. When working there he often stays with the famous skier Zurbriggen (Stray Cat Tim, we wonder if you know him?) Peter seemed to be a fountain of knowledge on almost every subject and was very interesting and funny to spend time with.
We're going nowhere today and we're staying in our sleeping bags until the weather improves!
Hope you're all well. Bye for now....
8th Jun 2007
Blyth, United Kingdom - Sunny Blyth!
The suns come out...... HORRAY!
Still in Blyth waiting for a period of settled weather before we set off for the Farne Islands.
We're enjoying being in Blyth. One of the great things about the trip is the people we're meeting on the way. We're spending about our fifth day now with Bjorn and having a real laugh with him and the other Blyth yacht club members we've met (up until 3.30 this morning on different boats)
Changing the subject completely.....In 2004 I had an accident and hurt my back. The injury eventually led to me changing job and it still troubles me now. I've been told by doctors not to expect a full recovery and sometimes I feel really sorry for myself and fall into the 'cup half empty' trap.
The reason for mentioning this is that it's strange how life teaches us some very powerful lessons at times. A couple of things have happened in the past 24 hours along those lines..
The first instance was a boat pulling into harbour the day before yesterday. It was a 34 foot yacht with three sails that would be a handful for any 2 man crew. Well this boat was crewed by a guy called Alan Cawthorne (86 years) and his wife Rhoda (83).Since retiring 20 years ago they've sailed over 40,000 miles visiting just about everywhere. Even though Alan has a de-generative eye disease (which led to him running around with his shoes on the wrong feet when they arrived) they still sail everywhere together. On talking to him later he told me about a very important lesson he had been given at the age of 19 years old whilst fighting in world war two. He said quite bluntly "I got shot in the arm whilst at the same time my comrade next to me got shot between the eyes!" He went on to say that after that he always made the most of every minute and refused to be restrained by his age or ailments. He did ask us not to mention their age to the coastguard because, he said jokingly, if they new, they'd probably have all the lifeboats on the east coast on standby.
Within hours of being told this story by Alan I heard the terrible news that a school friend of my Son's since they were 4 years old had been killed outright in a car accident. He was only 18 years old!...............
9th Jun 2007
Holy Island, United Kingdom - Pressing North! - 481 eng. Hrs.
Hey! 37 miles further north....
We're at Holy Island next to the Farne Islands and surrounded by seals....Wow!
We travelled north with 2 other boats today. Having an end of trip drink at the moment (seems to be compulsory!) Hello from Co (from Holland), Bjorn and ourselves. X
Sunderland, United Kingdom - Why Eye! - 468.5 eng. hrs.
Y I man, we're in Sunderland!
5th Jun 2007
Blyth, United Kingdom - Blyth - 473 eng. Hrs
A bit further north today....It must be my birthday! Oh...it is!
Thanks for the birthday messages.
Will catch up with the diary as soon as possible.
X
6th Jun 2007
Blyth, United Kingdom - Winter timewarp!
It's absolutely freezing. It only reached 10 degrees yesterday and we're having to wear winter clothes. I'm beginning to wonder if we've actually warped ourselves to Iceland or something. But hey, we're not feeling sorry for ourselves and it's SO nice to get so many messages from everyone telling us how lovely and warm it is where they are! Hmm! :-)
I'm feeling a bit worse for wear this morning. I'm not sure if the pizza I ate was a bit off but I think it more likely that the combination of rum, Guinness and larger I drank yesterday has something to do with it. You see, it went like this - we've met a guy called Bjorn (cool as you like) from Denmark. He's got a great trip planned! He left Denmark last week, sailed 2.5 days over to Sunderland where we met him. Now he's going around Scotland, down the Irish coast, across the Bay of Biscay, along the coasts of Spain and Portugal, across to the Canaries and then! Across the Atlantic to spend 6 months in the Caribbean! It's a hard life but someone has to do it!
Anyway, Bjorn had taken on so many supplies that he no longer had room for this bottle of Rum. So yesterday he asked us if we would help drink it (with it being my birthday and that). Well you know us -always there to help....now Bjorn has more room on his boat 'Chilli' and I have a thick head! Conny doesn't seem any different so maybe it was the pizza. :-)
Making progress up the North Sea coast has been painfully slow and at times very uncomfortable. Since the end of our first week we've been plagued by this easterly or north easterly airflow. Even though recently the winds haven't been strong, we still face a 2 mtrs swell on the nose (that apparently is still a handover from the storms 10 days ago), winds that only make this swell more confused and fog!
Hartlepool to Sunderland the other day was a bumpy ride but we had a visit from Fiona to look forward to. Our friend Fiona from Redhill was on her way back from Scotland and dropped in for a few hours. It was great to see her, a familiar face and our first visitor. Apart from meeting Bjorn and having some great conversation (and strong bitter spirits), the rest of our time at Sunderland was spent trying to leave. This meant walking to the beach every few hours to survey the conditions and led to Scamp getting completely knackered.
Back to yesterday - another bumpy ride against the head on swell to Blyth. Blyth harbour is an interesting place, apparently a submarine base in days gone by. After a 3 hour walk along the beach with Bjorn, we spent last night in the Blyth Yacht Club which is based in a fantastic old boat originally built as a light vessel. The members of the club were really friendly and welcoming and made us feel like we had arrived at home. Conny got talking to a very interesting guy called Peter Nicholson who has spent many years as a ski instructor in Switzerland. When working there he often stays with the famous skier Zurbriggen (Stray Cat Tim, we wonder if you know him?) Peter seemed to be a fountain of knowledge on almost every subject and was very interesting and funny to spend time with.
We're going nowhere today and we're staying in our sleeping bags until the weather improves!
Hope you're all well. Bye for now....
8th Jun 2007
Blyth, United Kingdom - Sunny Blyth!
The suns come out...... HORRAY!
Still in Blyth waiting for a period of settled weather before we set off for the Farne Islands.
We're enjoying being in Blyth. One of the great things about the trip is the people we're meeting on the way. We're spending about our fifth day now with Bjorn and having a real laugh with him and the other Blyth yacht club members we've met (up until 3.30 this morning on different boats)
Changing the subject completely.....In 2004 I had an accident and hurt my back. The injury eventually led to me changing job and it still troubles me now. I've been told by doctors not to expect a full recovery and sometimes I feel really sorry for myself and fall into the 'cup half empty' trap.
The reason for mentioning this is that it's strange how life teaches us some very powerful lessons at times. A couple of things have happened in the past 24 hours along those lines..
The first instance was a boat pulling into harbour the day before yesterday. It was a 34 foot yacht with three sails that would be a handful for any 2 man crew. Well this boat was crewed by a guy called Alan Cawthorne (86 years) and his wife Rhoda (83).Since retiring 20 years ago they've sailed over 40,000 miles visiting just about everywhere. Even though Alan has a de-generative eye disease (which led to him running around with his shoes on the wrong feet when they arrived) they still sail everywhere together. On talking to him later he told me about a very important lesson he had been given at the age of 19 years old whilst fighting in world war two. He said quite bluntly "I got shot in the arm whilst at the same time my comrade next to me got shot between the eyes!" He went on to say that after that he always made the most of every minute and refused to be restrained by his age or ailments. He did ask us not to mention their age to the coastguard because, he said jokingly, if they new, they'd probably have all the lifeboats on the east coast on standby.
Within hours of being told this story by Alan I heard the terrible news that a school friend of my Son's since they were 4 years old had been killed outright in a car accident. He was only 18 years old!...............
9th Jun 2007
Holy Island, United Kingdom - Pressing North! - 481 eng. Hrs.
Hey! 37 miles further north....
We're at Holy Island next to the Farne Islands and surrounded by seals....Wow!
We travelled north with 2 other boats today. Having an end of trip drink at the moment (seems to be compulsory!) Hello from Co (from Holland), Bjorn and ourselves. X
Saturday, June 2, 2007
2nd June
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2nd Jun 2007
Hartlepool, United Kingdom - Foggy....
The wind's sort of dropped and NOW we've got continuous fog...Doh
Maybe we could have continued today but reports from others gave very bumpy conditions and the weather forecast gave threats of force 5 south easterlies which in the end didn't materialise. There are now 2 swell patterns coming off the sea from the recent storms/high winds and this is creating a right mess. With this sea state and the lack of visibility we decided to give it a miss today.
Just for the record! The weather the UK has been experiencing recently has been very unseasonable. The time between mid May and the end of June is usually the most settled period of the year with predominantly south westerly airstreams.......That's why we went when we did! So much for weather prediction....
We'll try again tomorrow...Meanwhile Conny is still trying to take pictures of jellyfish!
Hartlepool, United Kingdom - Foggy....
The wind's sort of dropped and NOW we've got continuous fog...Doh
Maybe we could have continued today but reports from others gave very bumpy conditions and the weather forecast gave threats of force 5 south easterlies which in the end didn't materialise. There are now 2 swell patterns coming off the sea from the recent storms/high winds and this is creating a right mess. With this sea state and the lack of visibility we decided to give it a miss today.
Just for the record! The weather the UK has been experiencing recently has been very unseasonable. The time between mid May and the end of June is usually the most settled period of the year with predominantly south westerly airstreams.......That's why we went when we did! So much for weather prediction....
We'll try again tomorrow...Meanwhile Conny is still trying to take pictures of jellyfish!
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