Nudging into northern territories

Post date: Apr 23, 2015 12:16:24 PM

The Humber marks the border between what is considered South-East vs North-East.

I'm staying in Grimsby for a day to wait for some better winds tomorrow to take me up to Scarborough - another long trip (65 miles)

The South-East is characterised by treacherous sandbanks and vicious tides. But I've been sailing in such hazards for years and my training has paid off well - I've got this far without going aground!

I've written up my latest passage experiences, one which was a mesmerising night sail and another that featured a daring, mid-passage emergency repair (yes, I may be egging this up a tad).

So, 4 passages in and I'm happy with progress. The winds have been consistently against me, yet I have still managed to sail 60% of the time. That's good. I also no longer feel as nervous or apprehensive about the venture and having got 10% of the way with no hitches or embarrassments I really feel like I'm going to get it done.

That said, I keep on getting comments about the difficulty of going round the top of Scotland what with the huge currents and overfalls (steep nasty waves). I knew this would be a test and I could have wimped out by going through the Caladonian canal - but I'm only going to do this once and I'm going to do it properly!

The North-East promises a new different experience which is going to be interesting, challenging and, I hope, fun. We shall see. Stay tuned.