Round Britain day 11

[Concerto]

Afer 2 nights in Scarborough, it was time to move on.. The forecast looked good with NE 3 to 4 then E 5, however what actually happens is not always as forecast. After slipping the berth and doing a very neat turn using only 1¼ boat lengths to do the 180 turn, I left the harbour and found I was too close to the western harbour arm as there was only 0.1m under the keel! Seeking some distance from the shore, I slowly motored whilst putting the fenders and warps away, before hoisting the mainsail. Once tacked on to course I unfurled the genoa. It was almost hard on the wind and full sail meant I hitting 6½ knots easily. Ahead of me some 2 to 3 miles ahead was a Dutch singlehander in a smaller steel boat, Klapmuts. Having chatted with him on several occassions, he commented as he left I would not take long to catch him.

Concerto was galloping along close to her full rig limit and once past the cliffs of Scarborough, the wind eased but the rougher sea with some rollers from the NE, meant the boat speed dropped quickly to 3½ to 4 knots.. Not good, but I kept sailing and hand steered for better boat speed. I was using the genoa tell tails to steer by as I was helming from the lee side. About half an hour later the wind had increased slightly and I was now making 5 to 5½ knots. I was quickly catching my Dutch friend up, then the wind dropped and I was down to 2½ to 3 knots. This continued for about 15 minutes before it started riding slightly and I was back to 4 knots. My Dutch friend seemed to be wallowing as I passed him to lee. The next time we meet I shall let him have some video of his boat sailing, but the photo below will have to suffice for the moment.. He was only going to Whitby, but by the time he reached there I was probab;y 3 miles ahead after leaving an hour later than him and the distance between the ports was only 18 miles. Off Whitby I was able to ease sheets and make a reasonable 5 to 5½ knots again.

The wind continued to vary in strength for the rest of the sail. The wind was cold and it can only be described as a grey day. Passing the headlands, they all had a hazy look to them. Despite this I still took some photos and videos. As I closed towards Hartlepool, the wind started to head and it became more of a behind the beam reach. When the wind eased, the main boom kept swinging towrds the centre line and then slam back due to the rollers. Eventually I oversheeted the main to reduce the problem until the wind filled in and then it dropped again, etc.

As I crossed the River Tees entrance, the only boat moving was the pilot boat, but as I approached Hartlepool a tug crossed my bows from shore and went to the stern of a small freighter. They were only a couple of hundred metres behind me, so I eased slightly closer to shore as they were going to enter the main Hartlepool dock. After furling the genoa and starting the engine, I prepared the fenders and warps on the port side as the lock only has a pontoon on the port. Once fairly close to the entrance I headed into wind to drop the main. A quick call on the VHF and the lock gates were being opened. A slow approach into the lock ensured a neat berthing, one you would all have been proud of. Another yacht then entered and I was given a nice wide berth close to the entry ramp. If I had entered bows in, the wind would have funnelled down below, so I choose to more stern to. It was so easy as the space between the pontoons was one of the greatest I have ever seen.

I forgot to note the time I left but it was about 11.15 and I arrived in the lock at 18.50 after covering the 42 miles. The tide was with me for virtually the whole journey. Tomorrow I am visiting the maritime museum, so will stay put. I might have to stay another day as northerly wind is forecast and I am not in a rush so I can wait for the wind to change.




Klapmuts.


Safely tied up in Hartlepool.

 

[Neeves]

Forecast are simply forecasts, or educated guesses - they offer no certainty.

Oddly I know Hartlepool well. It was the site of a large chemistry set, I understand since pulled down, abstracting magnesia from seawater. I believe the operation was established prior to WWII, to allow production of magnesium metal but later the focus was on production of MgO (not to be sniffed at - 250,000t per year) for using in steel making (which is my connection).

Hartlepool was also famous (along with other coastal towns nearby) for its 'hars' and 'sea frits' - mists off the sea.

The word Har (I don't know if the town's name is connected or just coincidence) is a word also used in Finland to mean the exact same thing - a mist off the sea. Finland, (maybe) Vikings may be the connection.

Now the Finnish language is described as an Asiatic language and very strangely the word, har (pronounced exactly the same way) means a cloud, or cloudy - in Cantonese.

For other trivia you need to check my contributions to anchor threads

Thanks for the update Concerto

Jonathan

 

[Frogmogman]

Keep the ship's monkey safely on board while you’re in Hartlepool !!

 

[Neeves]

Keep the ship's monkey safely on board while you’re in Hartlepool !!

From Australia

???

I thought this was single handed?



Jonathan

 

[Concerto]

How about the brass monkey?

 

[Klapmuts]

Nice story again and a nice picture of Klapmuts.
Thanks, maybe we'll see again, would be fun.

 

[Halo]

Enjoy Hartlepool. It’s a pity I am committed to a street party or I would come and stand you a pint.
You are making great progress and now have a really interesting leg or 3 ahead of you. I suggest not missing Amble and the Farnes.
Berwick has improved and has a good pontoon whilst Eyemouth has a lot of wind farm business which I am told is becoming restrictive as they have leased a lot of the harbour

 

[Halo]

P S. the thing about monkeys is an urban myth that a French ship washed up in Hartlepool in the napoleonic wars. The only survivor was a monkey which locals thought was a Frenchman so they hung it. Thus the way to insult a local is to call him a monkey hanger.
It is all totally untrue and the actual phrase was first coined in a Victorian music hall act. It’s just one of those tales which is too good not to be true

 

[ean_p]

Forecast are simply forecasts, or educated guesses - they offer no certainty.

Oddly I know Hartlepool well. It was the site of a large chemistry set, I understand since pulled down, abstracting magnesia from seawater. I believe the operation was established prior to WWII, to allow production of magnesium metal but later the focus was on production of MgO (not to be sniffed at - 250,000t per year) for using in steel making (which is my connection).

Hartlepool was also famous (along with other coastal towns nearby) for its 'hars' and 'sea frits' - mists off the sea.

The word Har (I don't know if the town's name is connected or just coincidence) is a word also used in Finland to mean the exact same thing - a mist off the sea. Finland, (maybe) Vikings may be the connection.

Now the Finnish language is described as an Asiatic language and very strangely the word, har (pronounced exactly the same way) means a cloud, or cloudy - in Cantonese.

For other trivia you need to check my contributions to anchor threads

Thanks for the update Concerto

Jonathan

Bit of thread drift so soz and all that........

Further down the coast around the Humber the sea mists are known as sea frets or by the old as I remember as a child, as sea roakes............( thats phonetic as not sure of the spelling.......) A Scandinavian influence is common in the local geographical names etc...... 'Ings' being a common example !

 

[Ribtecer]

Enjoy Hartlepool. It’s a pity I am committed to a street party or I would come and stand you a pint.
You are making great progress and now have a really interesting leg or 3 ahead of you. I suggest not missing Amble and the Farnes.
Berwick has improved and has a good pontoon whilst Eyemouth has a lot of wind farm business which I am told is becoming restrictive as they have leased a lot of the harbour

Another vote for Amble, it's a lovely place.

Great threads, very envious of your trip, hugely envious of your vessel.

 

[Neeves]

P S. the thing about monkeys is an urban myth that a French ship washed up in Hartlepool in the napoleonic wars. The only survivor was a monkey which locals thought was a Frenchman so they hung it. Thus the way to insult a local is to call him a monkey hanger.
It is all totally untrue and the actual phrase was first coined in a Victorian music hall act. It’s just one of those tales which is too good not to be true

No wonder I had no idea what was being said

Lovely none the less. Thanks

Jonathan

 

[Birdseye]

The Danelaw covered much of that area of England so Scandinavian words are not only seen in place names but also in local dialect. For example the word lakin which was used in yorkshire when I was a child - it means playing.

 

[MADRIGAL]

Afer 2 nights in Scarborough, it was time to move on.. The forecast looked good with NE 3 to 4 then E 5, however what actually happens is not always as forecast. After slipping the berth and doing a very neat turn using only 1¼ boat lengths to do the 180 turn, I left the harbour and found I was too close to the western harbour arm as there was only 0.1m under the keel! Seeking some distance from the shore, I slowly motored whilst putting the fenders and warps away, before hoisting the mainsail. Once tacked on to course I unfurled the genoa. It was almost hard on the wind and full sail meant I hitting 6½ knots easily. Ahead of me some 2 to 3 miles ahead was a Dutch singlehander in a smaller steel boat, Klapmuts. Having chatted with him on several occassions, he commented as he left I would not take long to catch him.

Concerto was galloping along close to her full rig limit and once past the cliffs of Scarborough, the wind eased but the rougher sea with some rollers from the NE, meant the boat speed dropped quickly to 3½ to 4 knots.. Not good, but I kept sailing and hand steered for better boat speed. I was using the genoa tell tails to steer by as I was helming from the lee side. About half an hour later the wind had increased slightly and I was now making 5 to 5½ knots. I was quickly catching my Dutch friend up, then the wind dropped and I was down to 2½ to 3 knots. This continued for about 15 minutes before it started riding slightly and I was back to 4 knots. My Dutch friend seemed to be wallowing as I passed him to lee. The next time we meet I shall let him have some video of his boat sailing, but the photo below will have to suffice for the moment.. He was only going to Whitby, but by the time he reached there I was probab;y 3 miles ahead after leaving an hour later than him and the distance between the ports was only 18 miles. Off Whitby I was able to ease sheets and make a reasonable 5 to 5½ knots again.

The wind continued to vary in strength for the rest of the sail. The wind was cold and it can only be described as a grey day. Passing the headlands, they all had a hazy look to them. Despite this I still took some photos and videos. As I closed towards Hartlepool, the wind started to head and it became more of a behind the beam reach. When the wind eased, the main boom kept swinging towrds the centre line and then slam back due to the rollers. Eventually I oversheeted the main to reduce the problem until the wind filled in and then it dropped again, etc.

As I crossed the River Tees entrance, the only boat moving was the pilot boat, but as I approached Hartlepool a tug crossed my bows from shore and went to the stern of a small freighter. They were only a couple of hundred metres behind me, so I eased slightly closer to shore as they were going to enter the main Hartlepool dock. After furling the genoa and starting the engine, I prepared the fenders and warps on the port side as the lock only has a pontoon on the port. Once fairly close to the entrance I headed into wind to drop the main. A quick call on the VHF and the lock gates were being opened. A slow approach into the lock ensured a neat berthing, one you would all have been proud of. Another yacht then entered and I was given a nice wide berth close to the entry ramp. If I had entered bows in, the wind would have funnelled down below, so I choose to more stern to. It was so easy as the space between the pontoons was one of the greatest I have ever seen.

I forgot to note the time I left but it was about 11.15 and I arrived in the lock at 18.50 after covering the 42 miles. The tide was with me for virtually the whole journey. Tomorrow I am visiting the maritime museum, so will stay put. I might have to stay another day as northerly wind is forecast and I am not in a rush so I can wait for the wind to change.

View attachment 136345

View attachment 136347
Klapmuts.

View attachment 136348
Safely tied up in Hartlepool.

 

[MADRIGAL]

Thanks for your logbook entry and the pictures. It looks like you made good time with the tide under you, despite meteorologists' "estimate".

 

[Concerto]

P S. the thing about monkeys is an urban myth that a French ship washed up in Hartlepool in the napoleonic wars. The only survivor was a monkey which locals thought was a Frenchman so they hung it. Thus the way to insult a local is to call him a monkey hanger.
It is all totally untrue and the actual phrase was first coined in a Victorian music hall act. It’s just one of those tales which is too good not to be true

This afternoon I visited the Hartlepool Museum and spotted this panel.

 

[Concerto]

Today I visited the National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool and Hartlepool Museum (they are alongside each other).

The Naval museum cost £9 for a concession entry for a year. It is well worth a visit and Sunday proved to a quiet day, making getting photos without hoards of people quite easy. There are plenty of period style buildings surrounding HMS Trincomalee floating in the dock. Each building has a theme to it like the gunsmiths, the outfitters and of course the chandlers. The Fighting Ships display upstairs is very cleverly built to create the life on fighting ships and how they fought, luckily I had the place to myself so no chattering kids. The firearms display (hourly) has firings of a musket and a 3lb cannon. The Trincomalee has been well restored (but still leaks) and is the oldest floating warship in Europe as she was built in 1817 in Bombay, India by the East India Company for the Royal Navy. This 180ft frigate has been returned to her 1817 condition after a £10.5M restoration.

The Museum of Hartlepool is very interesting as well, but was free. It covers from Roman times through how it evolved and expanded due to coal exports and the railways, the ship building and docks. Plenty of ship models and mechanical machines. There is a very moving small section about how Hartlepool was shelled by 3 German battleships in 1914 causing much damage and lose of life.

In total I spent nearly 4 hours in the two museums and can thoroughly recommend visiting Hartlepool just for them.








Gun deck


Captain's cabin


Mess deck


The Wardroom

 

[Jodel]

A little thread drift if i may... Were the masts on these old ships always painted this colour or were they varnished and this is just a 'modern interpretation' aka cheaper?

 

[Blueboatman]

Really enjoying this

 

[Concerto]

A little thread drift if i may... Were the masts on these old ships always painted this colour or were they varnished and this is just a 'modern interpretation' aka cheaper?

I do not know the actual answer but I have just checked photos of HMS Victory and HMS Warrior and they have the same colour masts. Also most tall ships like the Cutty Sark and SS Great Britain have white masts. So the colour may be a recognition of being a naval ship rather than merchant.

 

[Concerto]

Enjoy Hartlepool. It’s a pity I am committed to a street party or I would come and stand you a pint.
You are making great progress and now have a really interesting leg or 3 ahead of you. I suggest not missing Amble and the Farnes.
Berwick has improved and has a good pontoon whilst Eyemouth has a lot of wind farm business which I am told is becoming restrictive as they have leased a lot of the harbour

You would be most welcome to visit Concerto in Hartlepool. The wind is not favourable for the next couple of days as I do not want to endure an unneccssary long beat - even though the boat is quite capable. If you would like to come, please repond and I will PM you with my mobile number so we can arrange it.