Eyemouth to Arbroath

We were a crew of three this morning – Jan and Rob joining me on board Blue Star, Roger being unable to travel north until a few days later. We were anxious to make some progress whilst the weather was good, and Diane and Madeline were hoping to meet us in Inverness by the following weekend.

Several things occupied my thoughts as I walked back from the shower block in Eyemouth this morning: 1) how best to turn the boat around ‘on a sixpence’ in the narrow confines of the upper harbour, the width made all the narrower by several ‘layers’ of boats rafted up on each side; 2) the need to leave the harbour on time, before the tide had fallen leaving only a brook which would be no use for navigating a 37ft yacht down – I couldn’t help noticing that one of the big fishing boats was already aground and leaning at an awkward angle against the harbour wall, and 3) the need to avoid the multiple rocks just outside the harbour entrance, many of them just below the water surface. Fortunately we managed to tick all three boxes and soon found ourselves with sails hoisted pointing in the direction of Arbroath. However, it soon became clear that the wind was coming from the wrong direction and we realised we had to roll away the headsail – we started to do so when the furling line jammed and we were faced with a sail that was trying to flog itself to death. Jan went forward and worked some magic and soon the sail was furled away and we were motor-sailing with just mainsail raised. Later in the day we dropped the mainsail and motored for a while before the wind returned from the east and were able to sail well at over 7 knots. By mid-afternoon however, whilst the sun had come out, the wind disappeared once more and we completed our journey to Arbroath under sail.

During the trip we had noted what looked like an iceberg over to port – it was Bass Rock, completed cover in guano! There was also Bell Tower, a lighthouse built on a rock that otherwise loomed just below the water surface in the middle of the sea some 10 miles or so offshore. Rob made bacon butties for breakfast, and a sandwich lunch, and the sun had made a good appearance during the day whilst the sea had stayed reasonable flat. An enjoyable day!

Several forecasts for the next few days are rather gloomy though, so we shall see.

Jan looks out at the 'iceberg' seen on the horizon

Arbroath seen from our marina berth

A bit fed up.......

Whenever I am shortly to go sailing I always have a close eye on the weather forecasts during the preceding week. Most of this week the winds off Eyemouth have been from the south. Forecsats have suggested that on Monday, when we plan to sail, the winds would come from the west, then go round to northerly during the rest of the week. 'Oh well' I was thinking, 'at least we might get a sail of some sorts on the Monday if we are sailing northwards'. But the chief organiser of weather seems determined to scupper that too. This morning when I looked at least one forecast suggests winds from the north on Monday too! Oh great (not)! I know we can motor if we have to make progress, but somehow the motion of the boat isn't quite the same, and the noise from the engine doesn't half grind away at you after a while, and it is such a blessed relief when you can finally turn the engine off! 'Why don't you just do several tacks and sail?' I hear you ask. The thing is, when you have 50 miles to do you really need to be going in the right direction if you want to get there by a reasonable hour, and progressing directly, albeit under engine power, is usually faster than several tacks under sail.

More use of the engine seems to be our fate...!

What Ship, Where Bound?

.....Ah! You noticed perhaps that I haven't posted anything recently? To be quite honest that is because there hasn't been much to report. Least ways not with regard to the ship. In this case I refer to the good ship (yacht) 'Blue Star'. And where is she bound? Well you sort of know that.....although our more immediate plans have been updated somewhat, which I will tell you about shortly.

I should explain that the title of this post refers to something that I have been working on recently. It is the title of a talk being given by the famous yachtsman, journalist and TV presenter Tom Cunliffe to members and guests of Stafford Coastal Cruising Club on 10 November at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre. Tickets are an absolute steal at £10 each and it will be a brilliant 'do', so please do reserve your ticket if at all possible, and I shall look forward to seeing you there!

I don't think Tom's talk will be about Blue Star, so I will fill you in on that score. After our epic sail from Newcastle to Amble, and the brilliant sail from Amble to Eyemouth, Roger and I took a scheduled and well deserved break, and we have both been at our respective homes catching up on other matters. During that time Diane and I took a short break in Norfolk, visiting the Queen's residence at Sandringham and also making a visit to several picturesque holiday towns along the coast, including another visit (for me) to Wells-next-the-Sea.

Our intention now is to resume the circumnavigation during the first week in September when we will be joined by Rob and Jan for the trip from Eyemouth to Inverness. I am praying for some good weather!
Once in Inverness we shall have another crew change before passing along the Caledonian Canal to the west coast of Scotland. We have decided to then arrange a suitable place for over-wintering Blue Star; Greenock on the river Clyde has been recommended whcih will take a further 5 days or so to get to, passing along the Crinan canal which itself should be very interesting.

After the winter we shall 'go over the top' of Scotland as we continue our circumnavigation of GB. I hope very much that the Jet Stream will have shifted north by then; apparently that is what is responsible for our near non-existent summer this year!

Diane outside our Sandringham residence - the one we rent out to the Queen ;-))

Amble, and a great sail to Eyemouth!

On our 'day off' we took a short walk to Warkworth, past the nature conservation area of the river (we saw the herons) and past the castle to the Masons Inn for refreshments. In the evening we visited Coquet Yacht Club in Amble where we were warmly greeted and where a club member bought us each a drink! How very kind and welcoming!

The next day began  with an 0630 departure to catch the north going tide. The sea was nicely flat - hooray for that! Initially there was little wind and so we motor-sailed, another yacht left Amble shortly after us and followed us northwards. The Farne Islands appeared over the horizon and we set a course which took us between them. As we emerged the other side the wind picked up and we were able to hold a great port tack beam reach all the way to Eyemouth, with the sun joining us for a good part of the way. It was great sailing, despite the cool wind, and we clocked over 8 knots boat speed. Arriving at Eyemouth we carefully threaded our way between several large rocky zones to find the harbour entrance, which turned out to be very narrow - we had to stop quicky to let a RIB out before we could enter! We tied up alongside an old fishing vessel, the Admiral Collingwood, as requested by the harbour master. We took a short walk around town and noted the seals in the harbour - some were 'jumping' up at the returning fishing boats as fishermen gave them a fish, and further down the harbour bystanders were entertained as fish were suspended on a line and pole above the water for the seals to 'jump' up at!

It was a great end to the week, and helped us to get over the earlier disappointments.

The wildlife reserve with Warkworth Castle in the background

Warkworth castle

The (low lying) Farne Islands

Holy Island (Lindisfarne) with its sandy beaches

Roger helming, the Farne Islands in the background

Approaching Eyemouth

Eyemouth harbour - seals next to the fishing boat wait for a treat!

Blue Star berthed in Eyemouth alongside the Admiral Collingwood

Feeding the seals at Eyemouth