Round Britain for the RNLI Blog

Today was a complete contast to yesterday… where yesterday there was a biggish sea running… today it was flat calm… yesterday, because of the sea, I was potentially low on fuel if I didn’t watch it and manage my speed in the rougher water… today I had plenty of fuel… yesterday I had a time window which I had to hit Hull at… today there was no timing issues at all… yesterday was quite a different day to today altogether.

Locking out of the marina at Hull I was greeted with a beautiful sight… a River Humber than was completely flat and calm! So, on the plane and speeding down the river at 20kts it was quite a thrill. Past the commercial berths at Immingham and then Grimsby and out into the North Sea. That too was flat and so I was keen to push on as this leg was again 120 miles to Lowestoft. That is pretty much how it stayed all across the Wash. The crossing was very smooth punctuated only by the occasional seal popping up its head above teh surface and peering around as if to say “what is that noisy thing passing by my house?”. I tried to get a phot again but they pop their heads down before I can get the shutter off.

Alas, things changed as I approached the Norfolk coast. The wind got up and teh sea developed a nasty chop that slowed me down to about 16kts. I moved in closer to the coast in the hope of finding smoother conditions and it was slightly better close in and I got a great view of teh coastline all the way from Cromer, past Great Yarmouth and on to Lowestoft.

I had planned on berthing at the Lowestoft Marina but a call from Sally informed me that a member of lifeboat crew was staff at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club and they were positioned much nearer the sea so I decided to stay there instead. On calling them they told me that this Thursday and Friday is the Lowestoft Airshow, possibly busiest day of the year, so I was welcome to stay but it would be busy and rafting was likely. This was great news as I am a pilot and I love airshows so I decided to stay until the weekend. Then they told me that the powerboats are racing at the weekend so it looks like I may be here until Monday!

Entering the RNSYC basin I could see that they were not joking about being busy. Boats were rafted up 3 and 4 deep and there were people everywhere. I was greeted by Paul who suggested that I berth on the end of the hammerhead behind ta big motor cruiser and after they had moved it along a little I fitted nicely on the end. Shortly after tying up I had a call from Mike, the Lowestoft Lifeboat Station Press Officer and I have arranged to meet him tomorrow morning.

So, it looks like a few days of R&R with the airshow and powerboats and to cap it all it looks like there are early signs of another high pressure system developing early next week… let’s hope it sticks around longer than this one did!

If I go to Lowestoft today then it will be another 120 mile leg but the forecasts today are all good and offer a F3-4 although the direction of easterly to south-easterly isn’t so good but they are fairly light so hopefully it won’t kick up much of a sea. At least with the high pressure coming in it looks like it could be sunny for a change and to welcome the better weather I have put on my shorts… perhaps that might scare it away… I hope not.

Departure here is going to be with the tide so I am not bashing into a 2-3kts tide all the way down river so I will leave here at about 0930hrs. That will give me about 45mins of foul tide before it starts to ebb and I will have the tide with me all the way down river.

I won’t decide to go on to Lowestoft until nearer Wells but if fuel and conditions look good then I will miss Wells and go directly to Lowestoft.

More when I arrive.

120 miles, 11 hours and a big challenge. The challenge was to balance the fuel with the speed and to hit the tidal window I had for entry to Hull marina.

It all started with a visit to the lock office in Hartlepool to take a look at the wave heights being reported by the buoy in Hartlepool Bay. These had been up to 3.5m over night but were now showing a more sensible 1.5m. None the less, even 1.5m in my little boat is quite a big sea but I was encouraged by all the forecasts agreeing (for a change) that things were improving throughout the day and so I was happy to go.

But to go to which port? Scarborough was the original plan but with the chance of a high pressure building later in the week and if today’s weather was good I wanted to push on and make the most of any good weather I got. I have had precious little of it and so I didn’t want to waste it! So, if when I were out there the conditions were good I would consider going on to Hull and skipping out Scarborough (nothing personal Scarborough!!!).

Locking out of Hartlepool I said goodbye to the lockkeeper (all the keepers were very friendly and hugely helpful) and set off. The sea immediately had a biggish swell (1.5 – 2m) as the wave buoy had promised but the waves were long duration and I could still plane by just gliding over the top. Once I was closer in to land the sea state improved with more shelter and my speed was good at mostly 18kts. Keeping my speed up meant that the fuel usage was good too for the trip to Hull and I was hopeful that Hull would be my destination.

At Flamborough Head things changed somewhat. I knew it could be rough around the head and so I stayed in close to the shore but I could have been in much closer and I caught the inside edge of the big waves that I could see offshore. It wasn’t long before I was surfing down 3m+ rollers, not breaking fortunately, as I worked my way further in shore to get out of the rough water. After about 10 minutes of this big sea I was in more comfortable water and continued on but my trip across the bay from the Head to Hull was exposed to the north-westerly wind and my speed varied quite a bit as a result. By this time I was committed to Hull and so I had to manage my speed and fuel to ensure that I got there will a sensible reserve. I slowed down in the worst of the rougher sea to displacement speed of about 5kts and this helped a great deal saving fuel. Slowing down wasn’t a problem from a time point of view as I couldn’t lock in to Hull until 1910 hrs anyway but I did know that it would be slow going up the River Humber as the wind was north-westerly and I would be going directly into it whilst going upriver and as it was a flood tide it would be wind over tide all the way.

I entered the river estuary at about 1430hrs and spoke to the Humber port control (Humber VTS) on the radio to tell them what I was up to. I was following the yacht recommended route so they weren’t really bothered about me but it is well worth listening out on CH12/14 when in the Humber… it is a very busy place and not to be treated lightly. The wind over tide made it hard going upriver and at 6kts I settled in for the long trip. Soon the tide kicked in and my speed over ground was up to 8.5kts. In a quite part of the river I turned around and went the other way to see what My speed would be and it was down to 3.5kts… that was 2.5kts of tide.

Eventually I made it all the way to Kingston-upon-Hull (or Hull as it is more commonly called). By that time there was enough water in the marinas basin to get in and moor on the waiting pontoon but if I had got there an hour earlier then I might have had to float around in the river as I couldn’t see anywhere else to moor up to wait. Worth making a note of when you visit Hull.

Yes, a good trip and a safe one with over 60 ltrs of fuel remaining. Good job too as petrol here is the most expensive of the trip so far at £1.53 per litre but it has been going up all the time I have been away hasn’t it!

Paul is in Hull Marina, and is planning to leave tomorrow at about 9am, so that the tide up the Humber is not running too fast. He aims to get to Lowestoft if possible, with Wells as his alternate if he is going to be too late for Lowestoft.

Paul will continue to Hull but can’t arrive there until 7pm so will take it easy later in the journey.

The sea state and weather is much better this morning with the clever wave height buoy in Hartlepool Bay showing 1.25m, wind is F2 and partly cloudy and it is a lot warmer .

I am going to leave early today and see how it is. If it is good and is getting better and I can see that I can make Hull then I will continue past Scarborough but I will not make that decision until when I am nearly at Scarborough in the same way that I bypassed Whitehills. On the other hand, if I decided to go to Scarborough today I may have to find somewhere to anchor up for a few hours as I can not get into there until about 5pm. I think it is worth the potential hassle to get to Hull today as I can then make use of the building high pressure to the south.

More when I arrive at whichever port I end up at!

With the weather still no good for departure to Scarborough I decided that I would take the day out for a sightseeing trip to Newcastle by train so off to the station at 9.30 i went.

I didn’t know if I could even get a train to Newcastle at that stage but on arrival I was delighted that they were hourly. A 15 min wait and on to the train. I was expecting the ticket price to be ridiculously pricey but again I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only £7.10 for a day return. Pulling out from Hartlepool station I had a great view of the coastline and it was patently clear that I had made the right decision… the waves were crashing on the shore and boats were partially disappearing out to see below the swell.

50 minutes later we were pulling in to Newcastle station. I have never been to Newcastle before and I had absolutely no idea of what to expect and even before I left the station I was feeling at home there. The city is just wonderful! It is a modern, cosmopolitan metropolis with a super mix of the ultra modern and the historic. I didn’t get any sense other than a city that was making a big effort to be a great place to live and to visit and in my opinion, based on this one day visit, I believe they are succeeding.

I decided to just walk and see where i ended up and so I walked downhill on the basis that it might lead to the river…. it did and I found the Quayside which has a fabulous walkway all along the riverside. The River Tyne is the strangest colour… it is a chocolate brown! I wonder why?

I had seen the Gateshead Millennium Bridge from the train on the way in to the city and seeing it as I approached the river I walked towards it. It is a superb piece of modern bridge design similar in initial appearance to the Millennium Bridge in London but on closer inspection it is very different indeed with a curved deck. I think it is beautiful and took quite a few pics. I stopped at the bar on the Newcastle side for a beer while I admired.

There are many bridges over the River Tyne that are notable one of which was designed by Stevenson and it is still fully functional. It is a superb river to walk alongside and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Returning to the station I noticed the Life Sciences centre and being very interested in all things science I investigate and found an interactive exhibition on human and bio sciences and not being able to resist I went in. The £8 entrance was a bit steep but it was a great museum and exhibition and one I do recommend especially for kids.

So back to the station. Waiting for the train I couldn’t help but feel that Newcastle was a city I wanted to return to so that I could discover it with the time it deserves. One thing I would say though… it is quite expensive to live there as far as I could see. Accommodation is quite pricey and food seemed so too and I think that the city has a slight London feel (only much better in my opinion) and has London prices but if someone has something that people want then I suppose they  can charge for it.

All in all a great day out and the image that Newcastle left with me for one I loved and I want to return.

Click here for pics…

The wave height metre is still showing the wave heights in Hartlepool Bay at 2.5m so it is still too high to go but the forecast is such that I would expect that to be well down tomorrow morning. If it is then I will be leaving for Scarborough at about midday getting there about 5pm or after (the harbour has access 3 hours either side of HW).

The forecast is still showing a high building over the south with is then forecast to drift eastward clearing the UK by the end of the week. I am hoping to have the opportunity to put together several days of consecutive movement and this might be my chance. My fingers are crossed!

More tomorrow before I leave…

While the south of the country enjoys sunshine, gentle winds and high temperatures, in Hartlepool it is cold, very windy and cloudy. In the marina office there is a Wave Height meter, put there to help the construction team of an offshore wind farm. It is showing 3m waves outside the harbour. So Paul is staying put today and has caught a train to Newcastle to spend the day there sightseeing.

The wind is blowing an absolute hoolie here in Hartlepool and is showing no sign of relenting. I have spoken to some of the lifeboat crew and I have decided to leave it at least until Tuesday before departing.

Today there was a sizable swell… probably 2-3m. The wind is NW’ly but is forecast to go round westerly again either Tuesday or Wednesday.

I wouldn’t be too surprised if I have to push it back to Wednesday so don’t be too surprised either please. This is all I can do… I go with what I have and what the forecasts suggests and make my decisions accordingly but both change hourly and so I have to change those decisions accordingly. I realise that it looks like it is chopping and changing but it really isn’t… I am doing nothing more than the forecasters…. changing my plans based on the weather as it and the forecasts change! Sorry again but believe me, no one is more put out than me!