Over a couple of pints outside the Geordie karaoke bar, we compared notes on our experiences so far. I asked him what he would say in response to the inevitable question of which was the best bit of the trip. In the end it was not a place or a time, but the continuous feeling of being happy and content in the experience. He said it is a rare for any of us to be 20 miles away from another person and to be dependent totally on your own resources. There is a satisfaction that emerges from this. Libby Purves spoke of a passage well planned and completed. When there are so many passages joined together, this amounts to a significant achievement. It results in a serious contentment.Its a good answer.
Before leaving the marina I was intrigued by a boat being rigged on one of the pontoons.It looked like a frame had been formed to pull up a mast, but a vhf ariel had been put on top. This was the mast it is difficult to imagine what sort of rig this will have.
I managed to get a shower before we left and noted the absence of such notices like the ones I had seen in Amble. These said no gutting or cleaning of fish! Imagine going in to get a shower and being confronted with that!
It looks like the passage down the coast will involve short hops and careful timing.Those harbours which don't dry out seem to have locks or bridges that have restricted hours of opening.We caught the first opening of the lock.and motored out into a very still sea. I passed closer to the industrial plant I had seen yesterday.
There was a village tucked into the cliffs,which we passed called Staithes. It looked every bit like an east coast Clovelly. Putting the above image together with this one demonstrates the variety along this bit of the coast.
In the glassy smooth sea it was difficult to tell where the sea ended and the sky began.
There were some interesting patters created by the dimpled water and cloud reflections. I just turned on the auto helm and sat in the bow listening to the radio, soaking up the sunshine and taking photos.
On BBC Newcastle, Johnathan Miles was running a phone in programme on mid-life crises.This is a sensitive issue for me after the one I went through that resulted in my divorce, but there were some great bits about blokes who go out and buy large motorcycles and both sexes who go and get tattoos. the old guys with their bikes were described as " all squeaky leather and attitude!".
I had wanted to visit Whitby on this trip it has such a strong maritime tradition and its associations with Dracula and other tales have given it a mystique in my imagination.On the approach, there were all sorts of boats taking tourists out. There were the usual speed boats but also this mock square rigger.
The skyline is dominated by the ruined Whitby Abbey.
Coming into the harbour between the two slender lights and the solid stone wharfs I had a strong sense that many many seafarers had come into and out of this harbour. It was a much stronger feeling than I have had anywhere else.
The swing road bridge, which allows access the berths further up the river Esk only opens every half hour for 2 hours either side of high water. That places heavy restrictions on when you can get in and out of the place.When the bridge finally swung open we were confronted by the most bizarre thing I have ever seen on the water. A dredger barge was propelling itself though the bridge by using the bucket arm to reach down to the river bed and pull it forward. The bucket would then reemerge and stretch forward for the next pull forward.
The marina office is in an interestingly designed building, which obviously takes its references from an upside down hull.
Across the water there is still some serious boat building going on, which is good to see.
After a walk to the chandlers to get my next couple of charts I went into town.There was a busker with a string puppet who he was operating it to play the piano. I presume it was mime to a recording, but it looked good a drew a fair crowd.
Whitby was the place Captain James Cook served his seaman's apprenticeship before becoming famous. In its heyday Whitby had the sort of reputation for turning out good seamen that plces like Dartmouth enjoyed later. The difficult conditions on the East coast of shallow waters and exposed harbours meant you became skilled or dead.
There is a museum in the17th century house which belonged to Cook's master, the Quaker shipowner John Walker. Cook seems to have been a favourite of Walker and Cook used to write long letters to him when he was doing his voyages.The house is furnished in typical no nonsense Quaker style, with no pictures and bare floorboards.I particularly liked the simple staircase up to the loft,where the appentices lived.
The museum contains some good models and details of cook's ships, the two most famous being the Resolution and the Discovery.This is the Resolution
On the way back to Hylje I studied an information board next to the swing bridge. It seems there has been a bridge here since 1351 when Edward 111 gave his bailiffs the power to collect tolls. A lifting bridge was erected in 1766, which was operated by ropes. It seems it often got tangled with the ships' rigging.
This was replaced with another bridge in 1855 which used mannually operated winches until these were replaced with water driven ones.
The current bridge was built in 1908.
Whitby is the very picturesque town you expect it to be. I'm glad we made the effort to get in here.The soonets we can get out is 2a.m, but that's not likely to happen.1.30pm is more likely!
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