Scarborough to Lowestoft

30/08/2021

0730 hrs
After a quiet night tied up against the tug the alarm went off and we got the boat ready for the long trip across the Wash to Lowestoft. Having done this passage on the way up I knew it would be a long haul with lots of interesting pots, windfarms and ships to look out for!

We called up Lowestoft Control and requested permission to depart, cast off and headed out of the shelter of the harbour into a dank misty morning.

1030 hrs
About 3 nm east of Flamborough Head showers and bright spells, with lots of pots, but thankfully not the rate of tide that I had on the northward journey.

Off Flamborough Head

This was more the life! Both Morris and I settled down to a long passage and the watch system. Our usual three on three off.

2300 hrs
I was on watch in a choppy sea and a gusty wind when a banging started at port side of the transom! The fuel tank was loose and with the chop was banging in its mounts. With the boat sloshing about in the dark there was little I could do on my own until Morris came up to relieve me at 0000 hrs. As soon as he did I looked to make repairs but it was not easy. I stuffed a few towels down between the tank and its mounting to try and quieten things down a bit. Not sure if it made any difference! After half an hour I retreated to my bunk as I had the 0300 - 0600 hours watch which is never easy.

31/08/2021

0300 hrs
Coming up on deck we did our usual handover and as Morris headed down below I checked the chartplotter as usual. That's odd its telling me the tide is against us when clearly it is with us. I checked the screen that shows the GPS information only do discover that the chartplotter thought it was 01/01/2002! At least it knew where we were in space if not time.

0500 hrs
While in the channel just off Great Yarmouth doing about six knots I spotted a vessel in the channel about a mile ahead of us going south at about one and a half knots and was postiting the boat to the starboard side of the channel in order to over take the vessel she turned and started coming towards us! Not what I was expecting and confusing my pilotage down the channel even more! I came to the conclusion that she was waiting for enough water to get into Great Yarmouth.

With the light slowly dawning Morris came up on deck to get ready for going into Lowestoft.

0630 hrs
We called up Lowestoft Control and asked permission to enter the port, slipped quietly between the pier heads and found a berth at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club visitor pontoon, at least it was light when we made our entrance then got our head down for a few hours.

At about 0930 hrs the berth master came round and said hello, and that he was surprised to see me back and with crew.

1200 hrs
The clubhouse was open and we popped in to pay for our stay, the bar was open and they had some very tempting sandwiches so we treated ourselves and mulled over the options.

Given the mileage we had done since Peterhead it was decided that a rest day was needed and that would would depart in another 36 hours.

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Crew: Sandy Garrity, Morris Abbot

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Trip Stats: Distance: 148 nm, Under way: 23 h 00 m, Ave speed: 6.46 knots, Max speed: 8.50 knots.

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Weather: Inshore waters forecast to 12 miles offshore 01:00 (UTC+1) on Mon 30 Aug 2021 to 01:00 (UTC+1) on Tue 31 Aug 2021

Whitby to Gibraltar Point

24 hour forecast: North or northeast 4 or 5. Moderate, occasionally slight at first. Occasional drizzle or showers. Good, occasionally moderate.

Outlook for the following 24 hours: North or northeast 4 or 5. Moderate. Occasional drizzle or showers. Good, occasionally moderate.

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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