Where do I start ? Left Peterhead (North East Scotland) @ 9.30 having taken on approx 250 gallons of diesel. Fully fuelled and blessed with a blue sky and calm seas we turned the corner of Scotland and headed due south on a course of 180 degrees. We were making good progress and our destination of Amble, Northumberland seemed well within our reach. So much so we decided to try and save another day (as poor weather was forecast for the following day) by pressing on to Whitby, Yorkshire... we had plenty of fuel, daylight and confidence to tackle the North Sea.
We were encouraged by the Inshore Waters forecast which promised light winds from the south and slight to moderate sea conditions. What is it with the bloody Met Office....? all those satellites, computers and gadgets and they can't tell the difference between calm conditions and a Force 6 with 10 foot waves ? We are surely due a formal apology from the Met Office (along with the residents of Sevenoaks) as we found ourselves 25 miles offshore in the most challenging of seas. Well past Amble and some 20 nautical miles short of our target - Whitby.
As the conditions worsened and the seas started to pound Stray Cat at 2 second intervals, I asked Dave my navigator and relief helmsman to look for a safe haven to cut and run to..... the only place with unlimited access in the vacinity was Hartlepool. A quick telephone call to confirm they had room for us, followed by a radio call to Humber Coastguard to change our 'traffic`routing' and we altered course for the beautiful coastal town of Hartlepool (yuck!!)
Our day was about to get worse, on arrival at Hartlepool Marina they informed us that the harbour entrance was only 19 feet wide. No matter how we tried we would not get Stray Cat's fat arse into the entrance. As the Jennifer Lopez of the boating world we have a massive 21 foot beam... no way !!
The only place they could recommend was in the commercial dock next to a 100 foot container ship and downwind of a petrol refinery. No pontoon, no shorepower, just a concrete and timber wall with a rusty ladder. And here we are now.... taking turns to do 3hr watches so that we don't destroy ourselves bouncing of the dockside....
I hope you're all enjoying a good night's sleep and hopefully we'll still be afloat tomorrow to continue our blog. This is the crew of Stray Cat signing off for today....
2 comments:
I have to say I am jolly glad to be on dry land! I am no doubt aware that you are all haaving a good time but the description of those conditions out there make me feel sea sick.
Having watched the weather forecast this evening from the comfort of the sofa, I do not envy you at all.
Be safe, be careful even though you are moored in luxury settings :-) but know that according to TV weather it will/should improve on Monday. Bonus for tomorrow is that the Grand Prix is on, so you will have something to occupy your time with if you can't leave. Would not be complete without a proper G&T though!
Hey there crew. Sounds bleak but surely things can only improve from now on. weather is looking like it will pick it's socks up tomorrow afternoon (apparently). So here's hoping for calmer seas from here on hey ! Take care all - oh and sorry about being a blog virgin and posting up labels instead of comments ooops (as Colin so 'graciously' pointed out to me yesterday ;0). Actually I'm quite proud to not be a blog 'geek', so at least it's been proven now ! Happy sailing - wish we were there (I'm back to work next week so I know where I would rather be !) stay chipper...
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