BOATS
in fact were not in any danger. Our friends
stood by until they were certain we could
cope, and after retrieving all the rigging
and sails back on deck we limped back to
harbour. Our planned northern trip was
only a fortnight away, but again we were
lucky in our friends.
Peter Firth had lorries and trailers
available (he had an engineering works)
so he and Jack made the long journey
south to collect a new mast and rigging
from Proctor’s yard.
Blissful holiday cruise
The schools broke up and, as planned,
our two families left for Scarborough
Harbour at the crack of dawn, as
demanded by the state of the tide that
day. The weather was kind and without
any problems we were all later settled in a
safe berth at Hartlepool – not the prettiest
surroundings at that time but kindly people
welcomed us in, taking our warps and
directing us to local amenities.
Then on to Sunderland, where we were
hailed from the police boat and moored
close to them. They were very friendly,
even providing us with a massive crab to
cook for our tea!
Next stop was Blyth where we berthed at
the yacht club moorings, later to be
welcomed and entertained aboard their
floating clubhouse, a retired lightship.
Onwards we sailed, still in good sea
conditions, to brave the sand bar at the
entrance to Amble.
Again, a warm welcome, this time
alongside a rather rusty dredger. The crew
made a fuss of our youngsters, inviting
them below to sup hot, thick tea from hot,
thick mugs and play cards with the fattest
deck I’d ever seen.
We got some transport and walked to
Alnwick to visit the castle and the gardens.
We were now in range of our goal, the
Island of Lindisfarne, also known as Holy
Island. How proud we were when we
dropped anchors in sight of the imposing
castle. Again, a superb welcome. We all
explored ashore.
Later, once the island was cut off by the
high tide over the causeway, we were all
allowed into the local hostelry – there
being no police on duty on the island at
high tide times!
We continued up to Berwick-upon-
Tweed and then to Eyemouth, following a
fishing boat through the Hurcars (daunting
rocks) to the harbour entrance.
There was a festival in progress, with
dancing and fairground stalls and
roundabouts. It was great fun. We
travelled even further northwards to poke
our noses into St Abbs, possibly the tiniest
harbour I’d ever seen.
We chickened out, and reversed pretty
damn quickly! It was now time to think
about our return journey. We called in
again at Holy Island for an overnight stop.
Next morning we set out southwards
only to be very suddenly enveloped by a
thick pea-souper. These sudden fogs are
quite a frequent feature of that north east
coast in the summer months.
We used our echo sounders to feel our
way towards Seahouses and made use of
a knowledgeable fishing boat to guide us
gratefully into Seahouses harbour. While
there, we took a commercial tripper boat
to see the wonderful wildlife of the Farne
Islands, seals and birds.Our return journey to Scarborough was
mostly simple, until on the last lap we
encountered some horrible following seas.
Arriving somewhat relieved off
Scarborough Harbour, our relief turned to
dismay as we realised that to turn across
these seas to enter the narrow entrance to
the yacht harbour was just not sensible.
The alternative was to sail further south
and take shelter behind Tiley Bridge. We
didn’t want to do that – we’d had enough!
So we got on the radio and explained
our situation – emphasising that we had
children on board. We were fortunately
directed into the fishing harbour to await a
lull, and were later able to return to our
usual berths, safe after an exciting and
wonderful holiday.Living the dream
The following year we were able to afford
to order a brand new fibreglass yacht, a
30ft Moody we named SwanSong and so
our ambitions for full-time sailing were set
to become even closer.
The Firths, took their yacht up to Rhu on
the west coast of Scotland for a change
and we would join them later. How very
lucky we were, our future was so bright.Q Look out for Fay’s reminisces
about sailing in Scotland in a future
issue of PBO.North
SeaSCOTLANDENGLANDSt Abbs EyemouthSt Abbs HeadAlnwickBerwick-upon-TweedSeahousesAmbleBlythSunderlandHartlepoolScarboroughNorth York Moors
National ParkNorthumberland
National ParkNORTHUMBERLANDDURHAMNORTH
YORKSHIRENewcastle-
upon-TyneLINDISFARNE
(HOLY ISLAND)
FARNE
ISLANDS
TweedTeesTyneNorth
SeaIrishSeaSCOTLANDDublin ENGLANDGlasgowGrimsbyEyemouthEdinburghLiverpoolScarboroughNnautical miles020‘Sudden fogs are quite a frequent
feature of that north east coast’
To further their dream
of long distance
cruising Fay and her
husband ordered a
brand new 30ft MoodySafe haven: the inner
harbour at ScarboroughPurpleMarbl
esYorkshire/Ala
my