Walking leg 7!

It’s been a bit of an odd leg sailing wise, in that we haven’t really managed to do much sailing at all, mainly due to there not being any wind for the past few days. We have, however, managed to do a lot of walking. Our hike over to Auchmithie from Arbroath was really good. It was a little further than expected (about 9km long), but followed the coast round along a cliff path. There were loads of geological features which make this coastline really interesting. The path also took us through a wildlife reserve, and past many breeding seabirds. Auchmithie is an old fishing village which slowly lost it’s fishermen to Arbroath. It is also the origin of the famous ‘smokies’, which are now mostly known as Arbroath Smokies. There are only a couple little boats in Auchmithie, and a rather run down harbour wall, but it is a beautiful little village tucked into the cliffs. After our walk, and to the delight of the crew, we managed to catch a bus back to Arbroath. Of course, dinner had to be smokies and salad, and I must admit that there is a reason this fish is so famous- it was definitely the best smoked haddock I’ve ever had.
Yesterday ended up being a waiting day. The morning was spent waiting for the fog to lift. We were just about to head out and go for it, and our neighbours John and Marge on 'Janus' were ready to slip us out, then the fog came rolling in again. It was great having Janus alongside for the night, and John and Marge were wonderful to meet and full of helpfull information, being quite knowledgable about the area. Unfortunately it didn’t lift before the locks closed, so we spent the rest of the day waiting for the tide to come back in so we could get out of the lock again. This did give us another chance to adventure round the sites of Arbroath. We went to the signal lighthouse, which is converted into a museum. This was really interesting, and also gave an insight into the hard lives of the fisherwives. I can’t believe it, but the women used to wade into the water carrying their men on their backs out to the fishing boats, just so the men could start the day with dry feet. They then would spend the days baiting hooks, cleaning and packing fish, selling fish and looking after the family – incredible.
We also managed a bit of a kick around in the park and played a game of touch rugby. I must admit, we did bend the rules quite a bit (probably because we didn’t really know the rules so just made up our own ‘Scarlet’ rules – something we’re quite good at doing). It was such great fun though, and the whole crew were in stitches!
Arbroath Harbor were very kind, and gave us a massive discount on our berthing fees- Thank you very much!!
We finally did get out of the lock in the afternoon, but with less than 5kts of wind we ended up just motoring up the glassy coast. We passed even more breeding birds, the most spectacular being a whole load of guillimots, which all had their little chicks out on the water. Guillimots are the closest relatives to penguins, and just like their cousins they only lay one egg a year and this they keep tucked up on their feet rather than in a nest. I can now understand how they are so protective of the chicks when they first go out to sea. It was really quite special seeing a parent bird followed by the chick, diving down or climbing up onto the parent’s back as we came passing by.
It was just one of those days, and the whole crew just didn’t stop laughing for the entire day. We all just had so much fun, and everything that happened was amusing. Maria and Larvell created a fantastic meal for us on route, with Jake being an entertainment show all on his own. Hilarious!
Stonehaven is beautiful. We attempted going out for a day sail today, but unfortunately just as we got out of the harbour, the fog came rolling back in again. With the wind not really there, we decided it was best to do what we have done so well on this leg so far – go coastal walking. Today’s walk took us to the magical ruins of Dunottar Castle, out on a little cliff peninsula, again with many breeding seabirds. The castle is probably most famous for being where a small garrison managed to fend off Cromwell’s army for eight months and saved the ‘Honours of Scotland’ (the Scottish Crown Jewels). It is also the sight where Hamlet was filmed.
Everyone really enjoyed the day and the leg, even though we didn’t get to sail that much. It’s a working evening on board tonight, with the crew getting stuck into making the video and listening to good old Bob Marley. It’s crazy how quickly the week has gone, and that’s it – the end of leg 7.
Cheerio - Cath

Cutting it fine!

The Royal Highland Show was pretty interesting. Quite agricultural, with forestry and country displays, horse and livestock events and every imaginable tractor on display. We watched a bit of forestry rescue, show jumping, duck herding by a border collie and quite an impressive mountain bike tricks display. There was also a very interesting tent on sustainable energy, which was a great for us all to learn more about sustainability and alternate sources of energy. The wave energy display was quite interesting, but I keep on wondering how long it will take before there are tidal energy turbines in place. I think it’s a matter of trying to use any natural energy where ever possible. They also had wood chip boilers and stoves on display, which are considered carbon neutral. Larvell and Chris also had a go at the cycling power display, and raced each other. The bikes pump water up a tube with a float at the top. It was quite a close match with both boys cycling furiously, but Chris just managed to pull ahead by centimetres in the end. A bit of huffing and puffing when they got off, but what a great way to show what our energy is worth, rather than just taking it for granted all the time.
After the show it was back to the boat and a reasonably early night before our sail to Arbroath. A big thanks to Port Edgar Marina for making us feel so welcome and for the berthing over the week. We really do appreciate it!
Unfortunately, as things go, we had ENE winds – exactly where we wanted to go! What with the fog delaying our departure in the morning and a rather slow slog out of the Forth, we ended up having to motor straight into the wind to try get to Arbroath on time before the tide gates closed. We also had a few seasick crew, so missing the lock would not have been fun for them! At least the wind wasn’t very strong so we could quite easily make progress. We managed to get into Arbroath Harbour with minutes to spare, and the lock literally closed about 10 mins after our arrival. Close! [27/06/09 17:00]
Our passage today did take us close to St. Andrews – a place very special to Gordon Applebey, a great friend of the Trust and Scarlet’s late owner. Thanks to Gordon and his family we are able to do what we are doing today. The adventures we have had have been incredible, and each and every one of the crew who have sailed on board Scarlet have really enjoyed their time on her. She is an incredible yacht from an incredible family, and we really do appreciate her use. Our original plan was to go to St. Andrews and anchor off in the bay to visit, but unfortunately the onshore winds made this difficult to do.
Today is a shore side day for us. We’re going for a hike along the cliffs over to a little village about 3miles away, and of course we are going to go and find ourselves some famous Arbroath Smokies (some kind of specially smoked haddock… yum). It’s a bit of a misty drizzly day – perfect Scottish walking weather!
Cheers, Cath

Round South Island

It feels like it’s been ages since we moved anywhere, and in fact it has. We’ve been in Port Edgar for nearly 10 days. Our new crew have arrived and are settling in, of course with a game of UNO already on the go. This week we have Chris, Jonathan, Jake and Larvell has come back for more (YAY). We also have our volunteers Olly and Maria (from Skandia).
The last week has been quite a busy one. Our Round Britain team all had a few days off over last weekend, and of course being gluttons for punishment, Simon and I got the express train back with Michael and Jay to London (only 4hrs – about as long as a flight would take with all the checking in hassles etc.) then headed back to the Isle of Wight for the JP Morgan Round The Island Race. For some silly reason (to raise money for the Trust I think) I decided to test whether I could still ride a bicycle, and cycled round the Isle of Wight racing against Frank and Simon, who were both out sailing.
We had a pre-race bbq at UKSA with the crew from both of the Trust boats and with some of the JP Morgan cyclists, who I would be following the next day. It was really good to see all the EMT team and Choe, Hatty, Joe and Larvell again, and to meet more crew, some of whom will be sailing with us further along our path. It was also Larvell’s 18th birthday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY LARVELL!!!
I can happily say that the weather was definitely in my favour, with some light winds slowing the boats down a bit enabling me to beat them round the course without killing myself. Joey Bootle and I started off together, but soon after, my need to stop and enjoy too many views of the boats behind me (and a much needed rest for my rather unfit cycling body), I was soon out on the roads on my own. It was really beautiful and peaceful, and such a nice way just to be able to recap on all the happenings of the past few months. The island is a little hillier than I thought it was, and the route slightly longer, but I still managed to crawl round the 95km course in about 6hrs. What a great experience, and I will certainly be looking up some of the cyclists I met along the way to do some more cycling when I finally return to the south. A big thank you to the JP Morgan cycling team organizers and to Jo and Nic from the Trust- all out cycling had a fantastic time, and the little energy breaks were very much appreciated (and needed!!).
After a quick catch up with various friends along the way, I had the great new adventure of experiencing a sleeper train back up to Edinburgh on Monday night. This is definitely the way forward for travelling longer distances in the UK. I don’t know if it was the novelty of sleeping in a train where my cabin and bunk where actually slightly bigger than what I am living in on Scarlet, or if it was the freshly made beds, quite drink in the lounge carriage while departing, or the early morning wake up call with a cup of tea. It was so much easier than having to wait in airport lounges, go through security, all with the hassle of queues and checking in and then still having to make your way into the city at the other end. And then there is also the added and much needed advantage of the trains burning so much less carbon than an aeroplane… Got to be a winner!
Back on Scarlet and ready to go. Karen and I caught up with a bit of maintenance work this week, and then had Elaine for Skandia join us today. She very happily undertook the daunting task of polishing stainless, and thanks to hers and Maria’s (our Skandia volunteer for the week) efforts Scarlet is looking nice and shiny again!
We have a good leg ahead of us, and we’re starting it off in style tomorrow. We’re heading to the Royal Highland Show to experience the best of traditional Scotland. Can’t wait!
Good night, Cath.

Wildlife, borders and fantastic sailing.

What an incredible island Farne Island is. Michael and I went for a little walk to get a closer look at the wildlife ashore. We weren’t technically allowed to land on the island in the morning, but some friendly wardens from the Wildlife Trust let it slide and allowed us to have a wander (we gave them a small donation in thanks). The terns were bombarding us from every direction, and thankfully we had followed the advice from the cruising guide which suggested we should wear hats. Michael, being much taller than me, had a few more pecking birds to deal with than me, but I also got a fair share of terns pecking at my head. The reason being that they are in the height of their breeding season, and all the little chicks are starting to hatch. It’s amazing to be able to get so close. The island is also home to breeding puffins, guillemots and cormorants. It was a real privilege to be able to get so close (without disturbing them too much). We were also incredibly lucky with our timing. In three weeks time most of the birds will fly away again, with the fledglings making their first journeys out to sea, where they live for most of their lives.
It was a little sad leaving the peace of the island, but more exploration of the coast was waiting. We had another nice and peaceful sail up to Eyemouth, our first Scottish stop. It’s amazing to think that we have already sailed all the way to Scotland, the time is really flying by!
Eyemouth is a fantastic little village, and we had another friendly welcome from the local harbour master. The whole crew went on a beautiful cliff walk up the coast, then back on board for a superb meal and the new game of the week – Tension. We were all quite impressed with ourselves as we actually manage to play this game by the proper rules, and haven’t yet come up with Scarlet Rules for it.
Sailing up into the Firth of Forth yesterday was yet another great day out on the water. The highlight being sailing past Bass Rock. From a distance it looks like a snow capped rock, but as you get closer it becomes apparent that the entire rock is just covered in big white birds. The gannet colony is really impressive. They are really beautiful birds and to see so many of them so close was incredible. We managed to get Scarlet quite close in next to the cliffs of the rock, and had birds flying all around us. The wind went round to behind us for the first time in a long time, and finally we got the opportunity to get our cruising chute out for a stretch, which was pretty cool and a good bit of afternoon activity, which everyone really enjoyed.
Further up the Firth we saw more seals sunning themselves on the port channel buoys. There were seals on every one, with a few more seals being on channel marker no.16. You could almost imagine the conversation of the seals, ‘hey guys, should we go hang at no.16 today – it’s all happening there’, as if they were choosing which pub to go to.
We’re now tucked up safe and sound in Port Edgar, where Scarlet will be spending the next week having a little rest. We’re all heading into Edinburgh for a bit of city exploration, then it’s a visit to Edinburgh Hospital tomorrow. Jay and Jodie are hard at work creating a picnic lunch for us, looks good!
It has however been a little bit of a slow morning, and a little sad to say goodbye to Lauren, who did another fantastic job as our volunteer this week (and thanks Lauren for providing the ‘buckets’ for our endless tea).
Right, off to Edinburgh we go…. Cath

Beautiful Farne Islands

We’re in the Farne Islands, and it is safe to say that these islands are better than expected! We’re currently anchored in the Kettle, a little haven in the middle of a horseshoe of islands, mostly rocky outcrops off Inner Farne. The islands are home to an incredible amount of seabirds, all coming ashore during the summer months to breed. There are guillemots, puffins, terns, gannets and gulls. We’ve also been blessed to have a load of seals come up and say hello. We are the only boat in our little anchorage, making it very peaceful, just us and all the wildlife. My perfect kind of place!
We’ve had a couple great days out so far. The wind has been light, but at least enough to keep us moving, and with not having huge mileage to cover each day, we have been able to take our time and cruise slowly up the coast. We stopped in Amble on Saturday night, which is a rather sleepy little fishing village on the Warkworth River mouth. As always, the marina staff were really friendly and helpful. I was quite impressed by their push for yachts to go green, encouraging recycling and providing the facilities to do it. Once settled, Michael and Jay got out the crabbing lines, but unfortunately were not that successful. Jodie made some chocolate-apple cup cakes which went down really well (both before and after dinner!).
Lauren joined me in a run along the river to Warkworth Castle. This coastline is really quite impressive, with ruined castles on almost every point. We sailed passed Warkworth Castle, Dunstanburgh Castle, and now have Bamburgh Castle in view.
Looking out over Farne Island with it’s old and new light houses with the castle in the far distance makes a beautiful landscape to get lost into. We had quite a few moments of the whole crew just chilling up on deck (and literally chilling too… the weather is not quite warm just yet), watching the wildlife go by.
Everyone was quite excited when we started seeing our first few puffins. These are really sorrowful looking little birds, but incredibly cute. They look a little like sad clowns. They are a little clumsy in the air, and have to flap their wings an incredible 300 to 400 beats per minute to fly. This is because their wings are adapted to help them swim through the water, allowing them to dive down and catch fish, mostly sand eels. They can also hold plenty in their beaks, and somehow manage to catch more fish while still holding onto the ones already caught. Apparently the record stands at an incredible 62 sand eels!!
We were met by some very friendly day touring boatmen, who know this area like the back of their hands, and helped us get settled in a rather tricky anchorage. Once they had left for the day, they offered us the use of their laid moorings, which always makes for a better night’s sleep.
A very peaceful night sleep indeed! It is just beautiful to wake up to the sound of small waves crashing over the outer rocks and the birds….. and nothing else. Michael and I are off to brave the paddle over to Inner Farne to do some island exploration, while the rest of the crew are going to fend off any pirates from our yacht.
Another fantastic day on the great yacht Scarlet!
Cheerio, Cath

Thanks to Royal Quays Marina

Our new crew have arrived and seem to have settled in pretty quickly. Although, I suppose this is a little easier as both Jay and Michael were sailing with us on leg 2, so are pretty familiar with the way things are on Scarlet. We spent a great evening playing cricket in the park followed by a great dinner cooked by our chefs Jay and Michael. I have a feeling were in for a treat on the food front this week. Jodie and Lauren have gone off with Simon to stock up on a couple more ingredients… to make things like chocolate muffins. Yum!
I’ve been really impressed with the service at Royal Quays Marina. The staff have been really friendly and helpful. Thank you to all at Royal Quays for making us so welcome!
The facilities are also pretty good, and I am particularly impressed with the recycling facilities. We can actually recycle most things (including plastic bottles). They even had bins for used oil filters, not something you see in every marina.
We have a really good leg lined up, with slightly shorter day hops out sailing, but also going to Farne Islands, a nature reserve close to the Scottish Border.
Newcastle is our last major English stop for quite a while, and it won’t be long till we cross the border to Scotland. Yet another accent to get used to!
We’re off to enjoy the sunshine and fair breeze for an afternoon of gentle sailing up to Amble.
Cheers, Cath

The Tide Waits for No Man

Thankfully Michael from Scarborough Engineers arrived early on Monday morning to sort out our engine. It was just a matter of removing the lift pump and taking it back to the workshop to remove the end of the bleed screw that had sheered off. He was really friendly and helpful, and was back on the boat and had the engine running in no time. Lucky for us, as we had time to kill waiting for the tide to come in enough to give us water to exit the harbour.
We were blessed with one of the best days out sailing yet (again, but this was a fantastic day of sailing!).
Imagine it – 10 to 12 kts of breeze on the beam, sunny skies and one of the most spectacular parts of the English coast – the cliff faces of North Yorkshire dotted with beautiful old villages huddled into secret little bays. We were cruising along quite happily and peacefully, but unfortunately had the tide against us which made our progress rather slow. This didn’t bother us too much as we were able to sail quite close in shore and really did get to enjoy the scenery. We were just a little sad to be sailing past Whitby, it would have been amazing to stop over, but unfortunately our engine problems meant we had to push on.
Everyone on board really enjoyed the afternoon, and sailing into the sunset over Hartlepool was amazing.
The down side was that due to the tide slowing us down a little more than expected, we just missed getting into Hartlepool marina lock by a matter of minutes, so not wanting to risk bumping the ground on a falling tide we went over to Victoria Dock, where a very kind Tees VTS controller helped us find a berth for a few hours while we waited for the tide to come in a bit to allow us into the marina. This berth was a little questionable – designed for hardened sea fishing vessels rather than our elegant yacht, with broken wooden pillars jutting out. With little wind and a quiet sea we managed to hang off this dock for a couple of hours, and Karen and I settled in to a cups of tea and fender duty, making sure our elegant yacht remained elegant, and not transformed into a workhorse.
Dave joined us for the 1am transfer from the fish dock to the marina, and the boys enjoyed their sleep. We were met by Bradley and Simon in the early hours, then finally got a few hours sleep at the end of another long day.
As they say, the tide waits for no man, so our sleep was a little short lived and we were all up at 7am again to get out of the lock. Hartlepool Marina were very kind and wouldn’t accept payment for the berth for the night. Thank you!!
Unfortunately the forecast didn’t hold true for the day, and the force 4-5 decreasing 3 was more like 5 increasing 6 from the NNE – pretty much on the nose, making it a rather wet, windy day on the water. The North Sea also has a horrible habit of forming really choppy, unpredictable swells which sent water over the bow again and again. Well, I suppose at least we managed to get the boys completely soaked before the end of the trip! They all really enjoyed themselves though, and are much more hardened sailors than they were at the beginning of the week. Unfortunately Bradley was a little under the weather again, but is in good spirits now.
Skandia put on another great welcoming, and this week we got to meet Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson (Skandia Team GBR). Ellen was also down to say hello to the crew before her talk. It is really great for our crew to meet such inspirational people.
We’re all back on the boat after another great talk by Ellen. The boys have been really hard at work again, as it is already the last night of the leg which means Video making night. They’ve done really well, and guess what… are now playing UNO!!! [09/06/09 22:00]

We're in the West from now on!

Hull was quite interesting. Our early arrival into Hull gave us a day to explore the town, and having Annelise (marine biologist) with us was great when we went to The Deep. This is the Europe’s first submariam aquarium. We basically had our own personal tour guide. The Deep was really good, and the main tank was brilliant, with about 10 different species of sharks and loads of fish of every description. We also went and visited the Maritime Museum, which was a bit of a grim eye opener to the old whaling industry. The only disappointing thing about Hull was the amount of rubbish littering the gardens and streets. A bit of a pity as it is a rather charming old town. Lizzie, Luke and Larvell did a really good job at the Nottingham Hospital, and the smile on one little boy’s face was brilliant – hopefully we will see him sailing next year, when he’s old enough.
After a really friendly welcome to Hull, we also had a really friendly departure. John from the Hull Yacht Club invited our new crew to the Yacht Club for pizzas and ice cream on Friday night. This was a great gesture and a good time was had by all. The boys had been hard at work all afternoon getting final preparations done for the next leg of our voyage. We also had an early morning planned, so the pizzas and cold drinks were very welcomed! Thank you to John for organizing dinner for us.
Another early tide for us on Saturday morning so we were up at 5am again. I’m getting used to these early starts. On board we have Bradley Boatman, Tom Broughton and Tim Able as our crew. We also have David Stead from Skandia as our volunteer for the week. I think our first passage was a little bit of a rude awakening for our new crew, what with the early morning and winds on the nose coming out of the Humber River. Unfortunately as we were coming out on the tide, this did mean that we ended up having wind against tide making the beat out of the Humber a really bumpy one, with short steep seas building up at the River mouth. All the boys were rather green and I could see that they weren’t overly impressed with this sailing thing, and I kept on promising that it would all be much better and very pleasant as soon as we were out of the river and heading North to Scarborough. And of course, as soon as we did, it did become a lot more pleasant. Pretty much perfect sailing conditions again, with a great 15 to 20kts from the East give us a good reach up the coast. The sun even came out for a little while. Unfortunately this still didn’t help for some, and there were a few seasick crew again. The afternoon was pretty spectacular sailing though, and the coast line is becoming really beautiful to sail along. It was also a rather significant sail, as we crossed over Greenwich Meridian again coming out of the Humber, then again as we headed west. This is the last meridian crossing for us – from now on it’s all in the West for us. The cliffs of Flamborough Heads are quite impressive, but unfortunately I didn’t want to get too close to explore them with onshore winds. Coming into Scarborough is magical. The town is situated below the ruins of the old Scarborough Castle which makes quite an impressive approach. Big cliffs and rolling green and yellow hills surround the town. I was a little bit worried with our earlier slow progress out of the Humber, as we are restricted on entry into Scarborough harbour due to the tide. We made it though and are happily snuggled into the old Harbour, with a welcoming wave from Neil (the Harbour Master) who also very kindly helped us out with a couple issues- thank you Neil!
Scarborough is a charming little town. It seems to be a typical old seaside town, with a busy fishing harbour filled with lobster traps. The pier has it’s usual entertainment arcades and funfair, but everything here seems to be just a little more authentic. After a walk around the Castle ruins David treated us to ice creams from the Harbour Bar, which is a great retro styled ice cream parlour, with award winning ice cream certificates dating back quite a few years.
Tim and Bradley have been hard at work in the galley this evening, and it looks like we have a feast for dinner. It’s smelling really good….. garlic mushrooms followed by lasagne – yum!

Our Eastern most point and the best sailing so far!

We have just had the best three days of sailing we could possibly have hoped for! After a rather peaceful night on anchor in Walton Backwaters, we got up at 5am to catch the early tide up to Lowestoft. The initial leg was a bit of a beat out of the Orwell River mouth, and with a steady 18kts of breeze from the East it didn’t take long before we could free Scarlet up a bit on a long close reach up the coast. Unfortunately there were a couple seasick stomachs, but this didn’t get the crew down and there were smiles all round. With the tides, wind and sun all in our favour, we made it into Lowestoft around lunch time. We stayed at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club, who did a fabulous job of making us feel welcome.
After a little afternoon siesta (much needed after our early active start) we set off walking along the beachfront of Lowestoft. It’s quite quaint and just a little kitch, with the typical pier entertainment arcade and ice-cream parlours on the town quay. We actually found a sandy beach which was quite a novelty. It made the perfect space for us to do a bit of kite flying. Everyone did pretty well, but it must be said that Larvell is a bit of a kite flying pro. He was really good at doing various tricks and turns with the kite.
Simon Cadle from the RNSYC very kindly invited us to dinner a the yacht club that evening. They were having a celebratory 60’s evening, which ended up being very entertaining for us. We had a great meal, surrounded by hippies and Elvis Presley, and watched the band play. Within an hour Lizzy, Lauren and Annelise were up dancing, and soon after Luke joined them. Lizzy really is a dancing queen and looked like she was having an absolute ball!
A big thank you to Simon and Roger from the RNSYC for such a fabulous and warm welcome, we really did enjoy our stay in Lowestoft.
Unfortunately we had to call it an early night, as we had another early tide train to catch. This time it was across The Wash, and our longest passage on the trip so far. The weather Gods were definitely with us again, and we had absolute perfect conditions for our passage. A little less wind, but still a good 10 to15kts from the NE with calmer seas (and no seasickness) and clear blue sunny skies! We were sailing as soon as we left the harbour, and managed to get from Lowestoft to the River Humber on one tack! Initially close hauled have us a great sail up the coast past Great Yarmouth, and we enjoyed sailing up our most Eastern point of our Round Britain Voyage. As soon as we rounded the corner we eased off the sails and were happily close reaching for the rest of the day. We had only about an hour that we had to motor sail (due to the wind dropping a bit too much) but then the rest of the day was just perfect sailing. Luke, although starting off with a bit of serpentine sailing, soon got the hang of driving and managed to get our boat speed record for the leg of 10.4kts. Everyone loved the day, and also managed to catch up on a little sleep with various bodies scattering the decks like a bunch of lounge lizards sunning themselves in the sun. Larvell also got involved with a bit of navigation.
We managed to keep sailing all the way into the Humber River, where we picked up a mooring buoy for the night (we didn’t have enough water to get into Grimbsy at that point). It was a bit of a bumpy mooring though, with the wash from ships rocking the boat, as well as a bit of wind against tide holding the boat in a funny angle.
This morning was a rather leisurely morning compared to the last couple, and we managed to actually sleep in a little. Again, the weather Gods were with us, and we had another perfect morning of sailing up the Humber River. We managed to keep sailing all the way up, and it did feel a little like we were the only people there. For such a busy port, the Humber was rather quiet today, with only two ships passing us. Were now in Hull Marina, with another friendly welcome from the marina staff. We are here a day early, but at least this now gives us the chance to do a bit of shore side activity, after our epic three days of perfect sailing. We also crossed over the Greenwich Meridian again as we sailed passed Grimsby. This is the 4th crossing, and only two left to go.
So, in one successful leg, we’ve completed the longest day passage so far (100nm), we’re turned round the Eastern most point of our voyage and crossed the Meridian again, all in perfect sailing conditions with HAPPY PEOPLE ON BOARD! Hooray!!!