Day 1 - Blyth to Scarborough

Selene

Wednesday 3^rd June 2015 - Blyth to Scarborough - Day One

The Crew

With Alex Tweddle (skipper), Jack Evans (crew) and Dave Durrant (crew), "Selene" left her home port of Blyth at 10.00.

We had been waiting two days for a break in the weather, the original plan to sail straight for Den Helder in Northern Holland. It had to be abandoned and this year’s adventure totally reversed from the original itinerary.  We hoisted the main sail with one reef within the harbour and set off towards the piers and headed south.

St. Mary's Island

Passing St. Mary’s lighthouse we unfurled the genoa by 1/3^rd and passing the river Tyne piers the engine was switched off.

The weather forecast was for west/south westerly winds of force 3 to 4 and with a southerly going spring tide, we were making very good progress.  Staying closer inshore than normal, this gave us a little shelter and by 16.00 we were into Tees Bay, looking at its newly erected wind turbine farm.

Staithes

Into Yorkshire and passing the wonderful fishing village of Staithes, here I have very happy memories, as this is where we came for the school summer holiday and stayed in an army camp at the top of the village.  In those days, it was still mainly a fishing village with the women dressed in their long dresses and shawls.  Today its dependency is on tourism.

Whitby High Lighthouse

With the shelter from the imposing Yorkshire cliffs, we took out the reef from the mainsail and pulled out the full genoa.  Past the very popular town of Whitby is the Whitby High Lighthouse, standing proudly on it’s cliffs.

Sunset

The engine was started and genoa furled at 21.00, as the tide was now against us and trying to make port before low water at our destination.  We entered Scarborough harbour at 22.00 with one metre of water beneath the keel and mighty relieved to be alongside a marina pontoon.

Ashore at 22.30 and into the nearest pub, the ‘Golden Ball’, the two pints of beer were like nectar and a fitting end to successful day.