Round Spurn Head
After a brief hold up at the Fish Dock lock waiting for traffic we were back out into the River Humber and the big ships ploughing up and down the deep water channels. We stuck to the edges in water far too shallow for the big boys until we spotted a gap big enough to let us cross from the south to the northern side of the river. A brief chat with Humber VTS and we were cleared to cross over which made me very happy as we were now close to the infamous Spurn Point and I was able to get a good look at it! On a nice calm day it was lovely but I can imagine how scary it must be in poor weather with a big sea running! Rounding Spurn Point in glorious sunshine and motoring gently out to sea avoiding the sandbanks close to the shore we were joined by a couple of seals having a good look at us. I’m sure that once they had established we weren't a fishing boat so there was no chance of an easy meal they disappeared!
Motoring along the coast was not the most interesting as it is generally quite low lying although we could see the start of hills in the distance and we knew Flamborough Head was about 30 miles away. As the hours moved on the wind began to fill a bit so we spent a happy hour setting our large cruising sail -especially designed for light winds blowing from behind the beam. Most of the progress we were making was tide driven but we couldn't reach Bridlington too early as it is a drying harbour so we needed water to get in.As is the way with sailing no sooner did we get the big sail set than the wind swung around a bit and filled in so down it came again and out went our big genoa by this time we were going faster than planned and so looked as if we would be at Bridlington too early! The wind continued to strengthen and as the afternoon turned to early evening it got noticeably colder. We arrived at Bridlington Harbour about 30 minutes earlier than we planned but on calling the HM we were told that the tide was not as keen as us and so we would have to wait for about an hour for the water! So began the brain numbing task of motoring round outside a harbour waiting for the tide - made even worse by the sight of very shallow draft fishing boats making for home and disappearing behind the harbour wall! To make matters worse the cold wind was augmented by a fine drizzle and the sky was promising more rain. Eventually the HM called us in and we motored gingerly into the harbour only to come to a gently stop about 10 feet from the pontoon - over the next 30 minutes we eased her gently across the mud with the rising tide until we were safely tied up - just in time for the heavens to open! Soaked and cold we filled up on chicken curry that I had made the day before and went to bed. The skipper however set his alarm to get up just as the tide was lowering us into the mud to make sure we didn't lean over onto the pontoon cleats - and we do this for fun!
Motoring along the coast was not the most interesting as it is generally quite low lying although we could see the start of hills in the distance and we knew Flamborough Head was about 30 miles away. As the hours moved on the wind began to fill a bit so we spent a happy hour setting our large cruising sail -especially designed for light winds blowing from behind the beam. Most of the progress we were making was tide driven but we couldn't reach Bridlington too early as it is a drying harbour so we needed water to get in.As is the way with sailing no sooner did we get the big sail set than the wind swung around a bit and filled in so down it came again and out went our big genoa by this time we were going faster than planned and so looked as if we would be at Bridlington too early! The wind continued to strengthen and as the afternoon turned to early evening it got noticeably colder. We arrived at Bridlington Harbour about 30 minutes earlier than we planned but on calling the HM we were told that the tide was not as keen as us and so we would have to wait for about an hour for the water! So began the brain numbing task of motoring round outside a harbour waiting for the tide - made even worse by the sight of very shallow draft fishing boats making for home and disappearing behind the harbour wall! To make matters worse the cold wind was augmented by a fine drizzle and the sky was promising more rain. Eventually the HM called us in and we motored gingerly into the harbour only to come to a gently stop about 10 feet from the pontoon - over the next 30 minutes we eased her gently across the mud with the rising tide until we were safely tied up - just in time for the heavens to open! Soaked and cold we filled up on chicken curry that I had made the day before and went to bed. The skipper however set his alarm to get up just as the tide was lowering us into the mud to make sure we didn't lean over onto the pontoon cleats - and we do this for fun!
Comments
Post a Comment