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THREE MEN IN A BOAT
HARTLEPOOL TO AMBLE Self, Bill and Tom Friday 17th May 1997 Got up at 07.00 hrs after spending the night on "ELLIE" which is a 30 foot Voyager yacht owned by Tom and Judy, I made a full English breakfast for myself, and Tom had a very basic continental, I think he was a bit worried about being sick. Bill off "RAMPART" joined us and we cast off from our berth to fuel up prior to setting off for Blyth. The wind is blowing from the North which means that it is right on the nose. (If we had been going South it would have been a Southerly wind, this is known as Sod's Law) We set off at 09.15 hrs into the lock and then into the rather lumpy North Sea. The weather was pretty dull and quite chilly and we were having to motor sail at 4/5 knots and the visibility was down to about 1 to 2 miles. We had Seaham on the beam at 12.00 hrs and the visibility was now down to about 1 mile and getting worse. Tom was below lying down and Bill was on the helm just after he'd had another look at his last meal. It was getting quite cold and we still had about 19 miles to sail. We were off Sunderland piers at 13.30 hrs, the sea was still a bit lumpy and Tom was finding the motion of the boat rather uncomfortable. At 15.00 hrs we were just passing the Tyne entrance then onto St. Mary's lighthouse and Blyth was only about 5 miles away. Reached Blyth at 16.45 hrs and it started to rain. Moored up and put the kettle on for a nice cuppa, just as we were tying up, the Marina berthing master was there requesting payment, talk about on the ball! We had a cup of tea then me and Bill went for a pint in the yacht club (which is a retired light ship, and one of the best yacht clubs on the North East coast, in fact on any coast). We then scoured the immediate area looking for locals similar in looks to Bill (He was stationed with the RAF here for quite a while, and by all accounts had a few romantic entanglements). However, they all seem pretty normal looking, so we'll probably look in the town later on for some little Billy's. Went back on board and had our tea, which was a superb curry made with my own fair hands. We cleared up and we all went for a few pints in the club house. We got back to the boat at about 22.30 hrs and had a drop of Scotch ~ or should I say that I had a drop the other two ~~~ well! SUNDAY 18th MAY Got up at 07.00 hrs to be met with thick fog, so sailing looked out of the question. We had breakfast and waited for the fog to lift if it ever does. We passed a few hours playing Poker ~~ Tom and I had a terrible job making Bill keep his clothes on ~~ I don't know what kind of Poker he plays with Joyce? The whiskey bottle also made an appearance and the level in the whiskey bottle was falling as rapidly as the barometer. No chance of getting away today, so we stumbled our way around the Marina looking at boats and we eventually got invited on board a yacht for a cup of tea courtesy of Gordon and his wife. We went back to ‘Ellie' for a bite to eat prior to going out for a few pints. Bill may go in disguise, just in case he is recognised and ends up paying thirty plus year's child maintenance. Turned in, hoping for a better day tomorrow. Monday 19th May Got up at 08.00 hrs, abluted then had a first class breakfast prepared by Bill. Still very misty and we were trying to decide on whether to press on or return home. The mist seemed to be lifting a bit so we decided to go for it and head for Amble. We set off at 10.20 hrs and cleared the Fairway buoy then altered course for Amble. We were still motor-sailing due to the wind being in entirely the wrong direction. Decided to sail between Coquet Island and Amble ~~ it looked rather daunting but proved to be reasonably easy. (I had sailed between once before)! Arrived in Amble at 14.05 hrs the weather was still a bit iffy but the sun (you know that yellow shiny thing) came out for a nanno second so it is still up there. Berthed the boat and had a bite to eat, only a snack because we were going out for a meal at the Marina Hotel that night. We enjoyed a nice meal followed by a few even nicer pints before we hit the flesh pots and bright lights of Amble ~~ or should that be a 40 watt dim light! We quite likely doubled the population of Amble that night (Bill did the same in Blyth all them years ago ~~ but in a different way!) We tacked down the main street, then gibed into an alleyway and finally without the aid of a GPS, made our way back to the boat and turned in after the whiskey bottle had reared its ugly head yet again. Tuesday 20th May We had a lie in then went to have a look at a 33 foot Nauticat which was for sale; it was very nice indeed but well out of my price range by about £30,000 to £40,000. (It is quite a coincidence that on our Hallam trip we found out that Julian a crew member had bought her). We then went for a look at Amble in the daylight; it didn't look any better than it did last night. Returned to the boat and set off for the River Tyne, we were going to go to Eyemouth but the weather was pretty crap and it seemed pretty pointless going any further North. Rounded Coquet Island instead of going in between like we did coming because the tide was falling and I would really hate to have run aground. Set a course for the Tyne and set the sails. We picked up a radio message from the Bark Endeavour which is a replica of Captain Cook's ship and was built in Australia and followed Cooks passage to England. We sighted her just off the Tyne entrance and she seemed to be very close inshore. The cameras came out and we sailed past her and got some good shots, she really looked superb but was rolling quite a bit in the heavy swell. We later found out that she had run aground after getting a rope caught round her prop.(At least Cook didn't have that problem, he just had spears to worry about). We entered the River Tyne and called up the harbour control to obtain permission to proceed up river, the time was 16.30 hrs. We motored about eight miles up stream to the "Ouseburn Water Sports Club" and tied up for the night. Our gourmet cook "Tom" knocked up a curry with potatoes and rice plus a bottle of wine ~~ which had travelled quite well, unlike some of the crew! We then went ashore for a couple of pints and returned to; you guessed it, the whisky bottle. I just can't seem to be able to keep up with the other two at all. Wednesday 21st May Cast off at 07.40 hrs to motor up to the Tyne Bridge, a very strong tide was running due to the amount of rain that we had had. It proved quite difficult to manoeuvre out of our berth due to the speed of the tide. It's also worse when it's not your boat you are helming, but we managed. Had a look at the Tyne Bridge before we motor-sailed down river passing the Endeavour being towed in. Put a reef in the main before going through the harbour mouth, (Bill's idea, and what a good idea it proved to be). It looks quite daunting with the wind over tide situation. However, I knew that once we were outside the piers the sea-state would improve. It was very exciting going out with very large swells but I knew that Ellie and the crew were up to it. We called up the Coast guard for a weather update and they told us it was Force 2/3 going N/East to Easterly. The forecast was entirely wrong and the wind was 6/7 gusting 8 at times, causing pretty big seas with breaking tops. It proved to be a very exciting sail home, and required 100% concentration on the helm because we were running with the wind. Tom is below praying to anyone who'll listen to him, he's got lucky rabbits feet hanging off him, four leaf clovers grasped in both hands, which is pretty awkward when you have every finger crossed as well, as well as having his lucky lifejacket on and his teeth in his top pocket. I can't tell you where he stuffed the flares ~~ just in case! Now could be the time to put a daft offer in for Ellie, I reckon I could have got her for what I had in my pockets at the time, but there was no real problem and everything was running well. The worst part proved to be just off Steetley, where the seas got even worse, but we coped ok, all part of sailing. We got into the Hartlepool Marina at 14.00 hrs after quite a fast sail down from the Tyne, it was an all round good trip, let down by the weather but we made the best of it. Here's to next year and kinder weather, and I'm sure Tom and Bill will drink to that!!!!!!!! TOTAL MILES SAILED 115 Mike Fellows. Comment on this article Tell us your story |
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