Saturday 4 June 2011–Whitby to Sunderland

Forecast is for NE, 4-5 (occasionally 6) decreasing 3-4.  They don’t seem keen on NE wind round here, but it does not seem to be strong and is forecast to decrease so we will take a look. We left via the 07:30 bridge, thinking that if conditions were poor we could come back at 08:00, which was the last bridge opening for that tide.  2 other boats left at the same time, which was encouraging. 
After a while our reef became unnecessary and we wondered if the day would be occupied by motoring again.  However a cloud bank approached and wind filled in from the N, eventually turning to about NE. We made good progress, finding that the swell brought by the wind did not slow us down too much.  However there must be something funny about the shape of the waves, as we both almost fell asleep when steering and found it awkward to move round in the boat.  We had a few pieces of crystallised ginger, a bit strong for me, and lunch was a couple of rolls thrown in the oven for a few minutes and decorated with a bit of marge and cheese – not up to our usual standard.

We berthed at Sunderland Marina next to a Sea Angling boat which was receiving a bit of maintenance. The skipper had already cancelled the next day’s trip as he did not want his anglers to all be seasick.  I think maybe they are right to be wary of NE wind here – we will have to keep an eye on the forecasts.

Brenda and Garry visited in the evening. We ate at the Italian restaurant at the marina.

288 miles done. 357 miles to go. Follow the track on Google Maps