Blyth to Scarborough

0615 hrs
Cast off the lines and set off southward again. The wind was still from the north and sails were set.

A cracking day sail followed, in ideal running conditions. A lovely F4 over the transom, the sun shining, but cool. Even on a day sail we ran a watch system to keep fresh.

1700 hrs
Called up Scarborough Harbour control to arrange a berth for the night and informed that once the regatta fleet was back in we could come into the harbour and tie up against a tug, they will always find somewhere to fit you in. It was only then it dawned it was a Bank Holiday Weekend.

1800 hrs
Tied up beside the tug Falmouth. In both visits here the harbour team have been extremely helpful, but this is the first time I've tied up alongside a tug.

While sorting out the boat Morris discovered that he had left the forehatch open a crack and the bedding was wet! We got the wet stuff together and headed off to the laundrette and then to find a decent fish and chip shop for a quick meal. Followed by a swift half in the nearest pub while the tumble drier did its work.

We returned to the laundrette to find all bedding was now dry and headed back to the boat.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity, Morris Abbott

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Trip Stats: Distance: 66 nm, Under way: 11 h 45 m, Avg speed: 5.60 knots, Max speed: 8.00 knots.

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Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sun 29 Aug 2021 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Mon 30 Aug 2021

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby

24 hour forecast: North or northeast 2, increasing 3 or 4. Slight. Fair then drizzle at times. Good occasionally poor.

Whitby to Gibraltar Point

24 hour forecast: North or northeast 2 or 3, increasing 4 or 5. Slight, occasionally moderate later. Fair. Good, occasionally moderate later.

Peterhead to Blyth

Friday 27^th August 2021

With an early start and a gray cool morning Morris and I set off on our voyage back to Plymouth.

0730 hrs

After calling Peterhead Control we slipped the berth at the marina, headed out into the main harbour and past the two breakwaters. While it was a flat calm in the harbour there was a four meter swell running just outside the breakwater and I could see the colour drain from Morris's face! Clearly he was not very comfortable, but we had to make our way east for about 1 nm in order to clear 'The Skerries' to the south of the harbour it was going to be a bit of a roller coaster for next 20 minutes as we rode up the face of the waves and over the crest.

As soon as we could we turned south the swell was now behind us and a lot more comfortable, set the genoa, turned off the engine and enjoyed being on the water again even though it was a cold grey morning. Ahead of us lay 150 nm run down to Blyth.

To the south of Peterhead there is Buchan Ness Lighthouse which quickly disappeared from view and Peterhead Power Station which did not! It felt a bit like Dodman Point in Cornwall, all ways there.

With two people onboard again the routine of the boat changed, three hours on watch and three off meaning we could drive the boat very efficiently. With the passage it became apparent that the tide travels from north to south down the North Sea and we had eight hours of tide with us and four against, this really helped keep our average speed up.

28/08/2021

0915 hrs
Tied up at Royal Northumberland Yacht Club stretched our legs on the pontoon and chatted to the other crews who were about then made our way up to their amazing clubhouse, well not a clubhouse but an old lightship, House Yacht H Y Tyne III was previously Light Vessel No. 50. It is the oldest floating timber light vessel remaining in Great Britain and only one of three still identifiable as a light vessel, but we were to early and returned back to Aphrodite to catch up on some sleep.

Royal Northumberland Yacht Club Clubhouse

1200 hrs
With the clubhouse open we went in and said hello, paid for a berth for the night and as the bar was open and lunch being served tucked into a superb gammon steak and a couple of pints. Pub grub at its best. Then toddled back to the boat to catch up on some sleep.

1900 hrs
Considering the great lunch we enjoyed we headed back to the clubhouse for dinner. Perhaps one of the finest steaks that I've eaten in the last few years and couple more beers before heading back to the boat to sleep. To be honest it would have been extremely easy to sit and talk most of the night as the members were incredibly warm in their welcome.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity, Morris Abbott

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Trip Stats: Distance: 135 nm, Avg speed: 6.00 knots, Max speed: 9.00 knots, Under way: 23 h 30 m

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Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 01:00 (UTC+1) on Fri 27 Aug 2021 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sat 28 Aug 2021

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed

24 hour forecast: North or northeast 3 or 4, becoming variable 3 or less later. Slight or moderate, becoming slight later. Fair. Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: Variable 3 or less. Slight. Fair. Good.

Berwick upon Tweed to Whitby

24 hour forecast: North 4 or 5, becoming variable 3 or less later. Moderate. Fair. Good.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: Variable 3 or less. Moderate becoming slight. Fair. Good.

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Peterhead

The day after my arrival the sun shone, people were swimming, canoeing and paddle boarding. The local sailing club and Sea Cadets were all out on the water in dinghies and small ribs. I was even able to get a bit of sunbathing done on deck. Hard to believe I was at 57° 30'N at it felt more like the south coast of England.

I spent several days in Peterhead to rest, reflect and consider my options for the next part of the trip as it was clear to me that going up to Orkney and back down the west coast was not feasible as I was taking much longer to recover from a passage, I was not sleeping well as things were racing through my head, the fog had been hard work, even with AIS, and I was deeply saddened by the outcome of the rescue south of Stonehaven. With the news that the Caledonian Canal was 'closed' for single handed sailors due to COVID leaving me with two options: a) find a crew member and go through the canal or b) turn the boat round and head back to Plymouth.

Reluctantly, I formulated a plan to call for help to get through the Caledonian Canal, then to resume the trip either single handed or with crew and posted a message on social media and waited. If there was no response I'd turn the boat round and head back.

Aphrodite's previous owners now live in Scotland and we discussed laying up the boat near them and resuming the trip in 2022, but I was concerned that COVID might increase again and with Scotland having stricter travel regulations than England I would be unable to visit the boat over the winter. They also had friends who might be able to crew for a while, but the more I thought about it the more I was convinced that heading back to Plymouth was the right call.

The morning following posting my plea for help Morris from SV Bora Bora back in Plymouth called me. He was coming up to help! In the time the call took I went from being extremely downhearted to delighted.

Several phone calls later discussing travel plans Morris then announced that he would be in Peterhead at 2300!

With about 10 minutes to pack he got from Saltash to Bristol Airport, caught a flight to Aberdeen then a bus to Peterhead. The travel gods were clearly on our side.

Morris sent a WhatsApp message from Bristol Airport saying there was some whisky on offer and should he buy some. About ten minutes later, 'oops it is for international travellers only'. The very least I could do was to get a bottle to welcome him.

Peterhead at 2300 in late August the bus station was like a ghost town it just lacked the brushwood rolling down the street, right on time a big yellow bus arrived at the station and Morris and a few people got off the bus. Was I glad to see him!

I had found the one remaining chippy open in town and we sat on a wall and ate a very late supper, headed back to the boat and cracked open a bottle and had a dram. Several quite large ones actually. We both slept soundly that night.

The following morning after a hearty breakfast we sat and went over the options. How much time was Morris able to give, what was the weather doing and what was the best way to utilize both. With northerlies set for the next few days and looking at timings of getting round to the Caledonian Canal and transit times the decision was agreed to to turn the boat round and head back to Plymouth and run the trip as a delivery, where you crack on and put miles under the keel. With the 'council of war' over we headed into town for supplies and lunch. Then back to the boat to do some route planning and to pay the marina fees.

We turned in for a early night as the plan was to do a long passage from Peterhead to Blyth in Northumberland.

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Stonehaven to Peterhead

I woke early, hoping that the fenders had survived the night! They had indeed done their job. Climbed the vertical ladder to the pier and found the showers, spoke with the harbour master and paid for my night against the wall.

Against the wall at Stonehaven

As I got back to the boat the Stonehaven Sea Safari RIB was being prepped for a trip out and I got talking with the crew. How had the summer been with COVID. The skipper asked me what my plans were. I responded with round the UK, but was thinking about cutting through the Caledonian Canal as I was taking longer to recover from a day's sailing than expected. He replied that the Caledonian Canal was not allowing single handed yachts through because of COVID. That was not good news!

A second piece of news was that one of the guys picked up on the rescue yesterday had not survived the night. I was greatly saddened by that news as I was delighted when everybody had been picked up.

The RIB crew helped me with the lines and I returned to the boat, rather thoughtful.

0945 hrs
Departed Stonehaven into a thick fog, a flat sea and no wind. The engine was on again. The Met Office had the forecast right, I was in a F2, but these were very, very big fog patches. I was beginning to wonder if I just moved up the coast with my own personal fog patch.

1200 hrs
The fog had lifted, but still no wind but enjoying the ride up to Peterhead. Quite a few ships either entering or leaving Aberdeen on-route to the oil and gas platforms. More practice with collision avoidance, both with a hand bearing compass and using AIS on the chartplotter.

1700 hrs
Called Peterhead Harbour Control to get permission to enter the harbour, duly granted and watch out for another yacht approaching from the north.

1730 hrs
Tied up at the pontoon on a bright sunny evening. Several swimmers in the water, people on Standup Paddleboards and a few canoeists. Could this really be 57 30' North? It looked and felt more like the south of England.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity

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Trip Stats: Distance: 37.50 nm, Under way: 7 h 40 m, Avg speed: 4.84 knots, Max speed: 5.50 knots.

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Sunrise: 0447 hrs Sunset: 1931 hrs

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Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sun 22 Aug 2021 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Mon 23 Aug 2021

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed

24 hour forecast: East or southeast, backing northeast then becoming variable later, 2 to 4. Slight, occasionally moderate at first in north. Occasional rain then drizzle, fog patches. Moderate or good, occasionally very poor.

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Arbroath to Stonehaven

1145 hrs
For once a start at reasonable hour. On prepping the boat for departure and checking that the cooling water was coming out of the engine I noticed a single red rose in the water by the transom. Quietly commented to myself, 'that's odd' and departed the harbour.

1400 hrs
More thick fog, the Met Office got that right. The VHF sparked into life as a RIB had spotted a small overturned fishing cuddy with a guy on the hull and reports of two other guys in the water about 10 NM from my position. Little I could do as I was slow, but look out for swimmers in the water.

The chartplotter AIS showed that the RNLI were heading towards the scene at speed and I saw an All Weather boat pass me at about 30 knots.

1700 hrs
Arrived at Stonehaven having heard that three guys from the fishing cuddy had been located. My next problem was to get the boat alongside a vertical wall, never done this before!

The solution was to attach a midship line to the steps then climb the steps with two lines and attach them to just about anything!

All of the fenders were on the starboard side, a fender board is really needed on these type of harbours.

Alongside at Stonehaven

I retired back to the boat and watched the wall move backwards and forwards in relation to me and reflected on the day. I am not superstitious in any way and am a 'devout atheist', but found it really odd that I should spot that rose in the water and had watch the rescue unfold in front of me.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity

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Trip Stats: Distance: 30.7 nm, Under way: 6 h 42 m, Avg speed: 4.50 knots, Max speed: 6.00 knots.

Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sat 21 Aug 2021 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Sun 22 Aug 2021

Rattray Head to Berwick upon Tweed

24 hour forecast: South or southeast 3 or 4, occasionally 5 at first, becoming variable 3 or less later. Slight or moderate. Rain at times, fog patches later. Moderate or good, becoming poor at times then occasionally very poor later.

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