Thinking about going around again!

I’ve just had a google at hull marina , doesn’t look too bad and plenty of eateries near by so could be on the visit list
There is a brilliant but slightly gruesome whaling museum, and a historic trawler to visit, the locals are friendly, and Saturday night in town is a thrilling spectator sport :)
 
Mention of Hull always reminds me:-
There is a story that goes way back on my mothers side of the family about when the a new dock was opened at Hull. My father only found out by fluke from an errant family member.
It seems one of the family (2 of my mothers aunts lived in hull & owned properties there & were involved in the business community) was military band master. Now in those days this was considered a very prestigous post. So when the docks were opened , obviously the band played & marched up & down & he waggled his mace about. Well, as the story goes, at some point when all the crowd were watching he had his back to the dock.
He tossed the stick up in the air in an act of show. Stepped back to catch it & you can guess the rest. If you cannot I will give you a hint. There was a big splash :giggle:It bought immediate shame to the family.
My father used to ask my grandmother, (from the Scottish borders), about it if he wanted to wind her up-- if you can imagine a very straight laced woman with pride, who hated the fact her daughter had married a soldier from Essex.
 
Last edited:
When we did it this Summer we hopped Lowestoft to Scarborough, could equally have been Whitby if the wind had been in a different direction.

I would thoroughly recommend Royal Quays in Tynemouth; an easy entrance and a marina with fuel berth, fantastic showers and nice food. And no more expensive than the limited facilities in e.g. Scarborough.

Come to Granton harbour on the Forth! You should have enough depth on the pontoon, and it's hard to beat in terms of being on the edge of a major city. Lockdowns permitting I'd be happy to show you the sights.
 
When we did it this Summer we hopped Lowestoft to Scarborough, could equally have been Whitby if the wind had been in a different direction.

I would thoroughly recommend Royal Quays in Tynemouth; an easy entrance and a marina with fuel berth, fantastic showers and nice food. And no more expensive than the limited facilities in e.g. Scarborough.

Come to Granton harbour on the Forth! You should have enough depth on the pontoon, and it's hard to beat in terms of being on the edge of a major city. Lockdowns permitting I'd be happy to show you the sights.
My mother was from Edinburgh ,Morningside no less ? and I spent many happy days there as a lad. It’s a bit of a detour really. A lot of my family were from Bo’ness
 
Change your boat! There is so much more to the East Coast of Scotland if you are happy to dry out against a wall.

However failing that Stonehaven outer harbour will do you fine during neap tides. I have had pleasant stops at Stonehaven a few times. Dunottar Castle, Outdoor Pool and reasonable eateries.

Montrose is a wee bit industrial maybe but has the depth and I have gone into it on a couple of occasions on large yachts. Strong tides inside, and entertaining conditions in the entrance if there is an onshore sea. One of the attractive things about it, is that other yachts don't often go there, but I suppose there are reasons for that!

I have also sailed a small boat into Fraserburgh, all be it some time ago, and not sure what their attitude to yachts is now. I enjoyed the great hospitality at the Seamen's Mission, and visiting the lighthouse museum is a must when in this part of the world.
 
I think that the recommendations given here illustrate an important point - it depends what your aim is. My aim when going along the East Coast was to get from the Clyde to Titchmarsh as quickly as reasonably possible without over-extending myself or my crew. So, I didn't want to do anything which substantially increased the distance covered, and was quite happy to proceed under engine whenever the wind didn't serve - which was most of the time. Under those conditions, Estuarine harbours in the Humber or the Forth were too far off my track, and anywhere that I couldn't be certain of entering at any time was also off the menu. As I have a deep fin keel, that also meant that drying harbours were also off. From that perspective, the only question was "Do I go into Grimsby or not?" and as I've indicated previously, the answer was that a) it would lengthen our journey overall quite substantially, b) that the entrance to the Fish Dock appears not to be all tide, with no convenient waiting area and strong tides. So, for us, the conservative plan was to go direct from Whitby to Lowestoft.

But if your aim is to visit places of interest on the way round, then a visit to Grimsby and/or Hull might be worthwhile anyway.

Stonehaven NEARLY made it into my list of places to stop at! I've visited it in the past while a teenager in my father's boat, so I know it's an attractive town and that the outer harbour can accommodate my boat. The reason it didn't make it is that there's a real possibility of being uncomfortable if you can't enter the inner harbour (I can't) and unable to leave if there's an easterly wind for several days. As we encountered a lot of Easterlies, we gave it a miss. Also, by that point my crew and I had become sufficiently comfortable with making longer passages that we felt that Peterhead - Stonehaven was a bit short!

I did consider Dunbar, which I was very familiar with in the 1960s, when my dad kept his boat there. But I was concerned that there might not be enough depth in the harbour, which I gather has silted up a lot since then.
 
To avoid the trip up to Grimsby you can always anchor inside Spurn if the wind is suitable, or off the south side if necessary, but there is still a dogleg to Spurn caused by shoals to the north and the separation zone at the entrance.
 
Top